Dual Display in Windows XP

Normally, to use 2 monitors simultaneously (without mirroring the display), you need a special graphics card that can do this. Most laptops will allow you to use the built-in LCD, an external monitor, or both simultaneously. However, this feature will only mirror the monitors.

Unless you custom build a laptop, you will not have the video capabilities to even extend the desktop.

With your user saying he wants totally separate desktops with their own Start Menus, he is essentially saying he wants to run 2 independant instances of Windows.

Sorry, unless your user wants to spend $10k (or more) to get a vendor to custom build him a laptop with multiple CPUs, and multiple graphics cards (if it can even be done), I think he is dreaming. I can't even think of any readily available desktops that will allow him to do this.

One possibility (although probably not on his laptop):
With a graphics card that will allow the use of multiple monitors (and the capability to extend the destop), and with software like VMWare or Virtual PC (that will allow the creation of a "virtual" PC), he could do this:
On the extended desktop, on one monitor he can run his normal destop. He could then open an instance of VMWare or Virtual PC, create a second "virtual" Windows PC and move this "virtual" PC to the second monitor.

Hope this helps.

I agree with Tim Walsh on this.
What your user wants to do can't be done.
The only suggestion, like Tim said, is to run VMWare on the system, and drag the VMWare window onto the 2nd display area.
Now, running VMWare takes up 1/2 of your physicalRAM, so the user will notice a performace hit! It also chews up a good portion of available CPU usage (30% at least).
It just might be easier to give your user a 2nd system, with a KVM switch.

Let me get this straight. He wants you to connect a monitor to his laptop, and then wants two entirely different desktops, each with its own Start menu, displayed on each screen? This is interesting.

What would happen if he were to click on the Start button with his mouse? Will both start menus pop up? If so, and the menus are different, how does he know what program he'll be selecting (if he moves the pointer to a program in one start menu, if may not be the same program in the second startmenu).

Desktop displays are a function of the XP profile. You boot the PC, and select the profile. How would you get a different desktop on the other screen? Since you can only view one users desktop at a time, how are can you possibly do what hewants?

Good luck.