no arrangement tab

Several months ago, I purchased an external display and was able to connect my MacBook Pro to extend my screen. After doing this for over a month, something happened and I have not been able to do this ever since. I have tried different HDMI cables and Apple adapters to no avail. It is as though the MacBook can no longer identify the external display, the monitor shows no connection and the MacBook doesn't show an arrangement tab or identify any additional displays. Has anyone else had such an issue and been able to recover?