laptop to tv

I have a Dell laptop with a VGA port and want to hook it up to my HDTV. I bought a DVI to HDMI cable, and DVI to VGA converter, however my laptop doesn't recognize that it's connected to the tv. I get a "no external device detected" message when I try to switch display modes. What is the problem here?

I also just discovered the tv has a "PC" port which is VGA, I may just have to use that, but would prefer to not have to buy more cables if I don't have to!

 

Im afraid you will need to use the vga "PC" port on your TV.

Vga cables are relatively cheap compared to the likes of HDMI ones which i think are far too overpriced!

 

Thanks everyone. I got a VGA cable it works, however every so often it loses the signal for a second, the screen goes blank then it reloads the image. Is this a bad cable or a problem with the signal from my laptop?

 

If you bought a decent cable, basically anything that's not the cheapest,

Then it's probably the laptop, but i dont see how that can be fixed, how frequent are the pauses? or rather, how annoying are they?

 

My boyfriend found the cable at his work when they moved offices. I doubt they'd get a super cheap cable, but it could be old, looks like it's in good condition. My laptop is also a little old, about 3 years old so guess it could be either.

The pauses aren't so bad that it's not worth watching the laptop on the tv, happen maybe once every 10 seconds only lose about a second of audio. Maybe I'll see about getting another cable to test if it's the cable or the laptop.

 

sounds like a good idea to me!

A lot cheaper than a new laptop.