How to Add a Virtual Monitor in Windows 11 and 10 (Virtual Display Driver, Parsec VDD and Dummy Plugs)

To add a virtual monitor in Windows 11 or 10, install an indirect display driver such as the free, open source Virtual Display Driver (run winget install --id=VirtualDrivers.Virtual-Display-Driver -e), then open Settings > System > Display and extend your desktop to the new screen. Windows has no built-in option to create a fake or dummy monitor. The alternatives are the Parsec Virtual Display Driver, which is aimed at game streaming, and a hardware HDMI or DisplayPort dummy plug that tricks the graphics card into thinking a monitor is connected.

I use virtual and dummy displays on headless machines in my homelab, where a Windows VM or a GPU box has no monitor but still needs a proper desktop for streaming, recording or remote control. This guide covers the software options, the hardware option and the problems you are likely to hit.

Quick answer: add a virtual monitor in 5 steps

1. Install the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable if you do not already have it (the driver needs vcruntime140.dll).
2. Open Terminal (Admin) and run winget install --id=VirtualDrivers.Virtual-Display-Driver -e, or download Virtual Driver Control from the project's GitHub Releases page and click Install.
3. Check Device Manager > Display adapters for Virtual Display Driver.
4. Open Settings > System > Display, select the new display, and choose Extend these displays.
5. Set the resolution and refresh rate you want, then use the screen in your streaming, recording or remote tool.

Ways to add a virtual (dummy) monitor compared

Method 1: Virtual Display Driver (recommended)

The Virtual Display Driver (VDD) is an open source project led by MikeTheTech that creates virtual monitors which behave like physical ones. It is built on Microsoft's Indirect Display Driver model (IddCx), supports custom resolutions and refresh rates beyond what physical monitors offer, HDR on Windows 11 23H2 and later, custom EDIDs, and ARM64. Its drivers are code signed through SignPath, so you do not need to turn on Windows test signing on x64.

Install with winget

Open Terminal (Admin) or an elevated PowerShell window and run:

winget install --id=VirtualDrivers.Virtual-Display-Driver -e

Install with Virtual Driver Control (VDC)

1. Go to the project's Releases page and download the latest Virtual Driver Control zip (VDD.Control). At the time of writing that is release 25.7.23.
2. Extract it to a folder and run the app. VDC is portable and signed.
3. Click Install. VDC can also enable, disable, reload and uninstall the driver.

ARM64 users currently need the manual method or the PowerShell scripts in the project's Community Scripts folder, as the release notes explain.

Configure the virtual monitor

• Arrange it: Settings > System > Display, then Identify, drag the screens into position, and pick Extend these displays.
• Resolution and refresh rate: choose them in Display resolution and Advanced display like any monitor.
• Number of monitors and custom modes: use VDC or edit the settings file, then reload the driver:

C:\VirtualDisplayDriver\vdd_settings.xml

Uninstall it

Use Uninstall in VDC, remove Virtual Display Driver under Display adapters in Device Manager, or run:

winget uninstall --id=VirtualDrivers.Virtual-Display-Driver

Method 2: Parsec Virtual Display Driver (Parsec VDD)

Parsec built its own virtual display driver so that a remote host can show extra screens. Inside the Parsec app, adding up to three virtual displays is a feature for Parsec Teams and Warp customers; free users get the Fallback to Virtual Display setting, which adds one display when no other display is detected.

If you want Parsec's driver without the Parsec app, the open source parsec-vdd project provides ParsecVDisplay, a tray app that adds and removes virtual displays and changes their resolution, refresh rate and orientation (up to 4K and 240 Hz). Download it only from that project's Releases page. It is a good fit for game streaming hosts and for Hyper-V GPU-partitioned guests, where the built-in Hyper-V display cannot be disconnected.

Method 3: HDMI or DisplayPort dummy plug (hardware)

A dummy plug (also sold as a headless display emulator or "ghost" adapter) is a small HDMI or DisplayPort connector with an EDID chip. Plug it into the graphics card and Windows sees a real monitor on a real GPU output.

• Choose this when an app needs the GPU's own output (some games, GPU encoders and capture tools), when you cannot install drivers, or when a server reboots unattended after driver updates.
• Pick the right plug: match the port (HDMI or DisplayPort) and the highest resolution and refresh rate you need, such as 4K at 60 Hz. The plug only offers the modes in its EDID.
• No setup: Windows detects it as a monitor. Set the resolution in Settings > System > Display.

IddSampleDriver: why older guides use it

Microsoft publishes an IndirectDisplay sample driver to show developers how the Indirect Display Driver model works. From 2021, community builds of that sample (shared on GitHub as IddSampleDriver, first by roshkins and then in an easier-to-install fork by ge9) became the popular way to add virtual monitors: you trusted a certificate, then used Device Manager's Add legacy hardware to install the .inf file. Those builds are unsigned, were last updated in 2023 and 2024, and support far fewer features. The Virtual Display Driver began as a fork of this work that added HDR, and has replaced it for most people. If an old tutorial tells you to install IddSampleDriver from a random download site, use the signed Virtual Display Driver instead.

What to use a virtual monitor for

• Game streaming with Sunshine and Moonlight: stream a desktop at the exact resolution and refresh rate of your TV, tablet or Steam Deck instead of your physical monitor's, or stream from a PC with no monitor at all. Sunshine is the host and Moonlight the client.
• Parsec and remote desktop tools: give remote sessions extra screens, or keep a physical screen private while someone works on the virtual one. Remote support apps that capture the console, such as AnyViewer, also need an active display on headless PCs.
• Remote Desktop (RDP): RDP creates its own session display, so you normally do not need a virtual monitor for it. Use the Use all my monitors option in the client for multiple screens.
• Headless servers and VMs: GPU servers, render boxes and Windows VMs with GPU passthrough (see my Proxmox GPU passthrough guide) often need a display for apps or encoders to start.
• Screen recording and streaming with OBS: put a browser, a slide deck or a game on the virtual screen and capture it with OBS Studio while you keep working on your main screen.
• Extra workspace and testing: preview multi-monitor layouts or resolutions you do not own, or feed several virtual screens into a VR or AR desktop app.

Download safety: official sources only

A display driver runs with high privileges, so where you download it matters.

• Virtual Display Driver: only github.com/VirtualDrivers/Virtual-Display-Driver (its old address, github.com/itsmikethetech/Virtual-Display-Driver, redirects there) or the winget package VirtualDrivers.Virtual-Display-Driver.
• Parsec VDD: Parsec's own app from parsec.app, or the nomi-san/parsec-vdd Releases page for the standalone app.
• Avoid forks and re-uploads of these projects, "driver download" websites, and YouTube links to file-sharing sites. Several GitHub forks copy the Virtual Display Driver's name and README; check the owner is VirtualDrivers before you download.
• Visual C++ Redistributable: get it from Microsoft Learn.

Troubleshooting

If you record tutorials or stream on a virtual screen, Amjid's course Professional Video Streaming Using OBS Studio covers scenes, sources and streaming settings step by step.