Can't run slideshow / screen show won't start; Icon appears on task bar

Problem

You doubleclick a PPS file or open a PowerPoint presentation and start a slide show but nothing happens. An icon for the presentation appears on the task bar, but clicking it doesn't switch to the slide show view of your presentation.

Solution

The application may have moved, for whatever reason, to a secondary monitor that's not actually there. To fix this:

• Press Alt+Tab repeatedly to select the application or window that's missing.
• Press Alt+Spacebar then M (you won't see any result from this because it's happening off screen).
• Press the arrow keys to move the missing window back onto your main (visible) screen.
• Press Enter once the missing window is visible. You can then drag it by the title bar to wherever you want it.

Solution

The presentation may be set up to use the "Secondary monitor" for slide shows.

If there's only one monitor attached to the computer, it'll be the Primary monitor. The slide show will be shown on the secondary monitor that isn't there, also known as the "air monitor" or "nowhere mon". You see an icon on the task bar and that's it.

To fix the problem:
If you're running PowerPoint 2002 or later

• Choose Slide Show, Set Up Show... from the main menu bar, or if running 2007 or later, choose Slide Show, Set Up show on the Ribbon.
• In the Set Up Show dialog box, look for the "Multiple Monitors" section and under "Display slide show on" choose "Primary Monitor"
• Click OK and try viewing your show again

If you're running PowerPoint 2000

• Choose Slide Show, Set Up Show... from the main menu bar
• In the Set Up Show dialog box, look for "Show on" and in the dropdown list, change "Primary Monitor" to "Monitor 1"
• Click OK and try viewing your show again

If that doesn't fix it ...
If your laptop is connected to a port replicator, check its video configuration. One user on the PowerPoint Newsgroup reports:

"The presentation was using the primary monitor. But my notebook is connected to a port replicator with a video out that I never use. The port replicator was configured so that the unused video out was the primary and the notebook itself was the secondary. A quick change to turn off the unused video out and the presentation worked like a charm."

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