[F8Va] Dual Monitor Issues

I've been browsing these forums for a while now, and generally found them really helpful. In fact, it was partly Ken's F8Va Review that prompted me to buy the machine - so thanks to him for that! Just last night I was finally able to rid my notebook of Vista and get XP on instead (another thanks is in order for E.B.E.'s XP Installation Guide).
So here's my situation - I currently have my laptop plugged into an external LCD with desktop extended. The External LCD is primary, the laptop is secondary. I have a hotkey setup to switch these settings when I unplug the laptop.
Currently, my desktop is always extended...so when I close my laptop lid, if I move my mouse to the right hand border of the primary display, it will still shift over to the laptop screen, despite it being off. (This can be quite frustrating when trying to close windows!)
When I was running Vista, I think I had pretty similar settings, except the dual monitoring ran quite differently. What I would like to replicate on XP then, is a situation where dual monitoring is enabled, but only in use while the laptop lid is open. In other words, when I close the lid, I want the machine to switch to a single monitor mode, with the output being to the external LCD. Additionally, as soon as I unplug the external, I would want the primary monitor to switch to the laptop instead.

I'm going to assume that I've done something wrong somewhere along the lines with my driver installations (graphics do seem a little choppy at times, even just browsing on Firefox) . Any ideas on how I can fix this situation? Many thanks~

 

I do not know how you could automate those monitor viewing settings that you mention, although I hope other members will have some suggestions.

As to graphics, a good way to see if you did "something wrong" is to run 3DMark and compare your scores with those in Ken's review. If there are significant differences (say > 10%) then you can conclude that yes, something may be wrong.

You could try a recent laptopvideo2go driver.

PS: Thanks for the mention of my XP guide.

 

Well, I seem to have mostly resolved the problem by using a combination of Catalyst Control Centre and ATI Tray Tools. The former allows me to switch primary displays, the latter allows me to switch between single and dual displays. Not quite as convenient as I had it before (automatic switch with just the opening or closing of a lid), but for now I'm satisfied with it. But I will keep looking for a more elegant solution =D.