This Fix Makes Multi-Display Setups Better on Windows 10

Having multiple displays is a great productivity boost when you’re streaming, editing, or trying to distract yourself with a show in the background while grinding away in your favourite online game. It’s too bad Windows 10 makes them a chore to use.

For some reason, when you put a Windows computer to sleep while using two or more displays, open windows jump over to your main display when the system wakes up, forcing you to reorganise your layout every time you boot the PC from sleep mode.

Thankfully, Microsoft is working on a fix for the issue — which Microsoft calls Rapid Hot Plug Detect (Rapid HPD) — that keeps your open apps and folders where you left them before putting your PC in sleep mode. Microsoft assures the fix “is not limited to monitor manufacturer, hardware specs, connector type, or cable brand,” and applies to all Windows 10 PCs with multiple monitors and laptops connected to an external display, regardless of a user’s system settings.

The Rapid HPD fix will be released as part of the October 2021 update later this year, but those who can’t stand reshuffling their apps every time their PC wakes up can join the Windows Insider Program to get the update right now.

Note that the Windows Insider Program isn’t for everyone. While you get new features early, the test features are often unfinished, system bugs are more common, and you may have to update your PC more often. If you’re cool with those caveats, you can join the Windows Insider Program here.

Windows Insider build 2187 (currently found on the Dev channel) should arrive for your PC shortly after you sign up for the Insider Program, but you can check for available system updates in Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update, and click “Check for Updates.”

You can also check your Windows 10 version in Settings > System > About. The OS build number is listed under “Windows Specifications.”

Insider Build 2187 (or the October 2021 update later this year) is the only requirement for fixing the Rapid HPD issue. Once it’s installed, you should no longer experience the desktop reshuffle issue while using multiple displays.

[Engadget]