The taskbar appears on the wrong monitor after you change the primary monitor in Windows 7

Symptoms

Consider the following scenario:

• You are using multiple monitors in Microsoft Windows 7.

• You change the monitor that is used as the primary monitor.

• You log off the computer.

After you log back on to the computer, one or more of the following symptoms occur:

• The taskbar appears on the wrong monitor. For example, the taskbar appears on the secondary monitor and the desktop icons appear on the primary monitor.

• When you start a program, the program window does not start on the same monitor as the taskbar.

• Dialog boxes do not appear on the same monitor as the taskbar.

• Desktop icons are spread across both montitors.

These symptoms occur if you are using a video adaptor to which you can connect two monitors (for example, you are using a single video adaptor that has two VGA connections so that you can run two monitors at the same time), and you follow these steps:

1. In the Screen Resolution window, you click the monitor icon that represents the secondary monitor.

2. You click to select the "Make this my main display" check box, and then click OK.

3. You log off the computer.

4. You log back on to the computer.

Cause

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section

Resolution

To resolve this problem, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Run, type "desk.cpl" in the Open box, and then click OK.  Alternatively, right-click on the desktop and select "Screen resolution" from the drop-down menu

2. Click the monitor that you want to use as the primary monitor.

3. Click to select the "Make this my main display" check box if it is not already selected.  (Note: The "Make this my main display" check box is unavailable if you click the monitor that is currently set as your primary monitor.)

4. Assuming you have selected monitor #1 for your primary monitor, select "Show desktop only on 1" from the "Multiple displays" drop-down menu, and then click Apply.  (If you had selected monitor #2 for your primary monitor, then you should have selected "Show desktop only on 2" from the "Multiple displays" drop-down menu.)

5. Click "Keep changes" when the pop-up dialogue box appears.

6. Select "Extend these displays" from the "Multiple displays" drop-down menu, and then click Apply.

7. Click "Keep changes" when the pop-up dialogue box appears.

8. Optional: Drag the monitor icons to the positions where you want them, and then click OK.