Is there anything specific I need to know in order to...

[brainsmile]

hook up a laptop to a monitor or do they all pretty much work that way? I'm looking for a laptop for a friend and they want to use their crt monitor. Do they need any specific things for this to happen?

[glagic]

nope. they should all be able to do it. i think all laptops have a vga port. some are coming out with dvi ports. just plug it in and youre set to go. setting it up to mirror the desktop on the crt or extend desktop is something you play with later on

[Nija]

usually there is a VGA adaptor on the back of laptops (at least the few I've seen) and take the CRT monitor cable and plug it in there.

A good docking bay is the best thing though.

[chadlnc]

Nope, I'm doing it right now. I use both the laptop and CRT monitors for an extended desktop. If the laptop has a VGA port that is all they need. If the CRT monitor does not show a picture there is usually an "F" key to switch it over, mine is F8. You can also turn it on by going to control panel - settings.