Dell Vostro 270 using two monitors with not fuzzy HDMI and screen rotation

The Dell Vostro 270 is a great value desktop PC and whisper quiet. It is as speedy as one needs for office work. At under £300 for a system box, I can't fault it even for editing pictures, audio or video. I replaced the Dell supplied keyboard and mouse with a Gyration set.

I was about the replace the on-board Intel HD Graphics with a twin-monitor ATI Radeon card, as I have on several previous Dells, but was delighted to find both VGA and HDMI monitor outputs. Information elsewhere conflicted on whether you could use both at once. I really needed to extend the desktop space by using monitors, however persistence shows that you can:

• Connect the VGA socket to one monitor (LG1710B) with a standard VGA cable.

• Simultaneously connect the HDMI socket to the second TV/monitor (LG M237WDP) using an HDMI to DVI cable (This was sold as a Sky box to digital monitor cable). 

• Save yourself time by not trying to use HDMI to HDMI. When I connect the Dell Vostro 270 HDMI to the HDMI of the LG LG M237WDP the result was too blurry. Although the graphics driver settings can be set the HDMI output to monitor quality instead of TV quality, I couldn't get a sharp enough result. I had been here before and failed. I previously sent the output of a iMac to the LG M237WDP and got a blurry picture. An iMac to DVI cable made the LG display well.   

• All was well with the dual monitor setup above, however I needed one monitor image rotated to portrait orientation. The Dell supplied graphics driver had no rotation option. An update of the Dell graphics driver at the Intel website, using the Intel machine detection web page furnished me with a 64 bit driver with the rotation option.

• This Vostro came with Windows 8 and much-to-hate. However the redeeming feature of Windows 8 is that in a multi-monitor setup, the annoying start menu and modern apps live on one screen while the desktop apps work on the other. Pressing Windows key + Pgup or Windows key + PgDn toggles the suffocating Windows 8 start menu between the two monitors.

• I'm still not liking Windows 8. I'm going to see if Windows 8.1, due soon, will change this annoyance. If not, for 8 dollars I will buy peace with Stardock's Start8 and Modernmix apps. Modernmix is the one to love: it lets you run Windows 8 modern apps in a window instead of full-screen. I don't need full-screen apps on a desktop PC where I've always got multiple apps open at one time.

 

Logitech Dinovo keyboard charging problem solutions

The dinovo Edge is one of Logitech's premium quality keyboards with a flat profile, quiet keys and Bluetooth so that it pretty much works on anything. Over a few years use I can vouch that a charge of the battery has it working for a couple months. A 10 minute charge lasts a whole day. And though these are no longer unique features, the keyboard is lovely to use. My only gripe is that it's less useful for left handers.

Backing up these claims is a three year warranty. I've worked on Logitech stuff for years and it is typically very up to spec. 

There are several reports of a problem where the normally green blinking charge light alternately blinks red and green. One solution is to contact Logitech and get their experience on this. 

But you could try a few other things first. The hassle is in proportion to the gain. My thesis is that if a battery says it's charged or throws an error, it's more likely due to a signal from the temperature pin of the battery or a change in the charging current or suchlike. These occurs in situations other than "it's broken or dead". Here's what I do when I think the keyboard is sick, rather than terminally ill: 

a) Repeatedly put the keyboard in and out of the charging dock. Try this with the keyboard either off and then on. One way or the other, you might be able to recharge it. This worked for me.
b) Drain the battery (put a weight on a Fn key) and see if you can better charge from this empty state. This also worked for me.
c) If the red / green flashing recurs leave the keyboard somewhere cold. Then charge till you see an error, then cool and repeat. This worked for me and we were working good for months at least.

d) Not tried yet and I'm keeping this in reserve: use a different power supply to get enough juice in the battery to make it happy again. As with over-discharged mobile phone batteries, a higher or lower charging rate can knock some sense into them. Monitor this in case the temperature goes awry.

e) I have not tried to replace the battery. The battery is not soldered to the board, however removing the orange underside will make a mess of it. I'm saving this for a desperate moment. 
[UPDATE:  After  successfully using the tricks on this page over a few years, I ran out of luck,  the red-green flashing continued and my desperate moment had arrived. I followed a Youtube video to use a hairdryer to remove the orange underside; then undo several screws and ultimately to swop the battery for a new one. The 'new' battery  actually came from an old Sony camera. This has been a huge SUCCESS as the keyboard now hold a charge and also charges with ease. 

f) Some folk suggested to unpair the keyboard, reinstall the (optional) Setpoint monitoring software or hitting various keystrokes. I suspect these are accidentally useful.