Display resolution changes during sleep

This does not look quite like anything I've seen here already. Mid-2010 Mac Mini, OS X 10.9.2, Acer V173 monitor with 1280 x 1024 maximum resolution, connected via Apple Mini DisplayPort to VGA adapter (because the monitor has only a VGA input). Resolution is set at 1280 x 1024. I have Display Menu installed and the icon sits at the top in the menu bar.
Display goes to sleep when there is no user activity for a few minutes (because although the display doesn't use much power it's still against my nature to waste any). I wake it up by hitting a non-printing key such as control, option, command, or all three together. Often as not, the display wakes up in a lower resolution. I can usually restore it to 1280 x 1024 by using Display Menu, but then I also have to resize some of the windows that have been shrunk by the lower resolution.
I don't want the display resolution to change. I tried resetting NVRAM and repairing file permissions, no help.
Why does the display resolution change without my knowledge and consent? More to the point, how can I keep it from doing that?

Another helpful hint, again I forget where on this discussion board I saw it, is that holding down the Option key while hitting the Scaled button in Display Preferences gives a wider choice of resolutions. Ordinarily the only resolution option is 1280x1024, but the Option key brings up others, including 1280x960.
On the theory that Apple doesn't like the 5:4 aspect ratio of the native 1280x1024 resolution of the monitor, I set the monitor resolution to 1280x960 yesterday (June 23). There's a little distortion from using a 4:3 aspect ratio on a physically 5:4 monitor, but if two weeks go by (July 7) without the resolution going bad, I will try a new (or used) monitor.
The next question is, would Apple dislike a wide screen aspect ratio? If it likes 16:9, would it dislike 16:10? With my hardware and OS, and a 1080p HDTV/monitor connected with an HDMI cable, would the resolution stay put?

Similar Messages

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  • Losing Display Resolution on Sleep or Reboot

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    Thank you for contributing to Apple Support Communities.
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