DisplayLink Windows 10 Drivers, Software, and Gotchas for Multiple Monitor Setups

With the availability of the Windows 10 upgrade you might be wondering how Microsoft's latest OS handles a multiple-monitor setup. Since returning from an extended trip and slapping my Surface Pro 3 into its docking station, I can say that the experience is pretty pleasant.

I performed my Surface Pro 3 Windows 10 upgrade over hotel Wi-Fi in NYC late Tuesday night, so I was away from the docking station to get that configured at the same time. When I was finally able to use the docking station, Windows 10 reconfigured all of my add-ons in less than 10 minutes.

I run multiple monitors over USB. I know, the Surface Pro 3 dock includes a MiniDisplay port, but I've actually found that the USB connections has better connection and performance results for video.  To supply this connection I use the massive Plugable USB 3.0 10-Port Hub. And, like most multiple monitor configurations, the DisplayLink driver and software is required. Prior to Windows 10, the DisplayLink software provided additional configuration and customization features that Windows didn't provide. With Windows 10, much of that configuration has been integrated with the new OS settings applet – basically handing over some of the tuning functions to Windows 10.

For example, the only non-Windows 10 function in the DisplayLink software now is "DisplayLink Manager" which only shows the currently installed driver version...

For me, when I inserted the Surface Pro 3 into the docking station with the Plugable hub attached, Windows 10 identified my setup and updated the DisplayLink driver and software automatically. If you find that Windows 10 fails to do this for you, you can download the most current driver from here:

DisplayLink USB Graphics Software for Windows V7.9 M0

DisplayLink recommends that you run version 7.9 or later to work with Windows 10. But, it also doesn't come without caveats, most of which DisplayLink blames on Windows 10 and not the driver. You can find the gotchas to be aware of here:

Windows 10 known issues

Even if you aren't upgrading to Windows 10 soon, you'll probably want to grab the updated driver anyway, as it provides some important bug fixes. Version 7.9 supports Windows 7 and higher.