Thanks for finding those links however I could not find the drivers I needed for a Pavillon dv7 -4031TX.
However I did finally managed to solve the problem. Let me recap what my problem was.
1) I could not adjust the screen brightness using the f2 and f3 function keys.
2) I could not find the brightness slider were it usually was.. i.e. (Control Panel\Hardware and Sound\Power Options)
3) My laptop would not recognise an extenal monitor.
How I fixed the problem:
1----> Go to,
and go to driver graphics and download your graphics driver and follow the directions. At the end of the installation it will ask you to restart the computer.
0nce you have restarted your computer you should be able to adjust the the screen brightness again using the fn keys or the brightness adjuster slider in "Power Option" window.
2-----> Activting 2nd Monitor
Go to device manager.... Got to Start-> right click on "Computer" and click on "Properties". Click on "Device Manager". Now click on "Monitors".
Now connect the exernal monitor to your laptop while watching where the monitor icon appears under "Monitors". It should appear as "Generic PNP Monitor".
Now right click on it and select "Update Driver Software..." then search automatically for updated drivers. Install the new drivers. You should see the name "Generic PNP Monitor" change to some other name.
3-----> Restart your computer. You should find that after having done all this you should be back to normal.
Regards
Peter