It should be possible using the legacy version of Windows.
I got Windows 11 installed on my early 2009 24" using the plop boot manager and a legacy Windows usb installer:
View attachment 2368013
Hey, hew did you make a Legacy USB? The problem isn't much so the installation but something wrong with my BIOS parameters. For example, if I boot a Plop CD , which is Legacy I suppose then I still get a black screen on the built in display.It should be possible using the legacy version of Windows.
I got Windows 11 installed on my early 2009 24" using the plop boot manager and a legacy Windows usb installer:
View attachment 2368013
I have established that my main physical screen (iMac display) is detected by the OS radeon driver as output eDP-0, name 'Color LCD', and it is connected but not lit. The external physical screen is detected as output DisplayPort-0, name 'L1710B', and is connected *and* is lit.
Both these outputs are connected to logical (X) screen 0 and they both fit into the viewport of 1920x1080.
If I let KMS set up the graphics it sets DisplayPort-0 to have resolution 1920x1080 (it should be 1280x1024). The kernel modesetting seems to get confused between the two display ports, using the resolution of eDP-0 and assigning it to DisplayPort-0, but then disabling the eDP-0 for some reason.
If I use 'nomodeset' at boot then DisplayPort-0 gets resolution 1280x1024 (correct). This is probably the result of radeon driver probe.
Since it is possible to show terminal output on the iMac display before X starts I suspect that X (or the radeon driver) switches off this output as not being usable.
To me the question is why does the eDP-0 output get switched off? The logs do not offer much except
...
(EE) Radeon(0): channel eq failed: 5 tries
(EE) Radeon(0): channel eq failed
(EE) Radeon(0): clock recovery reached max voltage
(EE) Radeon(0): clock recovery failed
....
perhaps the radeon driver fails to establish the clock frequency for the monitor (iMac display) and switches it off as a precaution against damage?
Earlier I used the ati proprietary driver on ubuntu 10.10 and that worked when driving the iMac display, so it is possible, just not with the OS radeon driver (yet).
I thought you would pursuit the approach of Registry Editing....
As you already have Windows up and running, visible on the external display.
Now all you have to do is fiddling with Regedit to get the internal display show something.
Maybe I'm wrong.
But for reference purpose, if you can post some image in the Device Manager, Properties of the graphic Drivers, etc... or the Regeditor parameters, it will be of much helpful information, rather than your own wording description.
The below links are just for your reference, if you insist in following this path.
Worst case scenario is your Windows will runs weirdly, or both of you display will be black out.
Just make a reserved SSD with Windows pre-install to prepare for such cases.
Setting Hardware Information in the Registry - Windows drivers
Setting Hardware Information in the Registrylearn.microsoft.com
What registry key or windows file determines where monitors are placed in a multi monitor environment?
I have a laptop with a USB to VGA adapter which allows me to add a third monitor to my laptop (the second monitor uses the onboard slot). It worked fine on Windows Vista - you could go into Windows'superuser.com
(The below 2 links I just leave here to access later)
Windows Registry Demystified: What You Can Do With It
The Windows Registry is a database where Windows and many programs store their configuration settings.www.howtogeek.com
The 50 Best Registry Hacks that Make Windows Better
We're big fans of hacking the Windows Registry around here, and we've got one of the biggest collections of registry hacks you'll find. Don't believewww.howtogeek.com
I've selected the 'Show hidden devices' option in Device Manager and now I can see an additional Monitor under display adapter, however it says it's disconnected. See the attached pictures for reference.
Regarding the Regedit, what exactly do you want me to take a screenshot of?