Choose Your Software

• 1). Use ScreenRecycler to set up your Compaq Presario 1200 as an external monitor if your other computer uses the Apple OSX operating system. ScreenRecycler is designed to work with the the OSX operating system, although it will still work with the Windows operating system on your laptop. The latest edition of ScreenRecycler will cost you, but you can download a basic previous version for free. The free software might be more glitchy and so suffer an occasional delay in processing the image, but it does the job.
  
  
• 2). Use Zonescreen to set up your Presario 1200 laptop as an external monitor if you don't need to use the screen to play hi-def videos or play graphics intensive games. Zonescreen is free to download but it is an old project and has stopped being developed. This means that there can be a delay on the display when the computer is performing intensive functions, such as watching videos.
  
  
• 3). Download MaxiVista if you need to use your screen for intensive processes. MaxiVista is not free, but it is more advanced than ZoneScreen and rarely suffers from any delays. It provides a good resolution and frame rate for watching videos and playing games.
  
  

Setting Up

• 1). Connect your desktop computer and Presario 1200 laptop to your home network. This means either plugging them into your router using cables, plugging wireless network adapters into them (although most modern laptops will have a built-in wireless network adapter) or a combination of these two things.
  
  
• 2). Connect them with an Ethernet crossover cable if you don't use a home network. Plug one end into the Ethernet slot on the back of your computer and the other into the back of your Presario 1200.
  
  
• 3). Install your chosen software. This will send and receive information over your network about the state of the desktop display. Download the software to both your main computer, to send the information, as well as to your laptop to receive and display the information. For detailed instructions on how to use each program, use the program's Help feature or see the manufacturer's Website.