Connecting a 2nd monitor to my 27" iMac

Hi All, I am looking to buy a 2nd monitor to go with my 27" 2.9 GHZ iMac (purchased May 2013) and wandered if anyone could provide some advice on the best way to connect it through a thunderbolt port and is there anything I must ensure the new monitor has or certain specifiction. i am looking to buy a 27" monitor to sit aside my current one. Thanks in advance for any help.

Unless it's an Apple Thunderbolt display or some other Thunderbolt disply you simply connect a MiniDisplay port to (VGA, DVI or HDMI) depending on what the external display has and connect it up. The System Preferences - Diskplays and setup the setting the way you want. This is the ONLY way it will work. There are hundreds of Youtube videos that show you how, here is one example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKkPmJ1lZ4Y

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Losing connection to 2nd monitor when iMac sleeps

I have a 2nd monitor connected to my 21" iMac (late 2013) with Mavericks via displayport/thunderbolt port to HDMI. I had the same one with the same link connected to my old 2010 Macbook Pro, and I never saw this.
What happens is when the computer goes to sleep, all of the windows on the second screen move to the iMac, and my Wacom tablet even goes from being mapped to ONLY my second monitor to being only mapped to the iMac!
This is kind of driving me crazy, and I have searched and Googled and just can't find a solution.
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Try a reset > Mac OS X: How to reset the printing system

What cable do I need to connect a 2nd Monitor from the thunderbolt port?

Hi I have got one of the brand new iMac's with thunderbolt ports - what cable do I need to connect my Imac to a 2nd display either VGA or DVI - also is there a budget version about as well as I am sure its going to cost a lot from the apple store

Thanks I understand that I need another cable and have that from when I connected my old PC to the 2nd monitor.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB570Z/A?mco=MTY3ODQ5OTY - is this the one I need if going to DVI
I just dont want to waste more money on a cable that says its for an imac to 2nd screen and find it doesnt fit
For info my iMAC is the latest version (27" with the 2 thunderbolt connections and 1 firewire)
Thanks

Mac Pro 3.1 (early 2008) lags since I connected a 2nd monitor - HELP!!

Hey guys,
I just bought a 2nd monitor and i have lags every 5 seconds which
last about half a second (feels like 10 or less fps during the lag).
It happens with all kinds of applications. It gets worse with multiple
applications openend at a time. The crazy thing is that it only occurs
when i start to use both monitors at the same time. When i e.g. use
Logic 9.1 and use one monitor everything runs nice and smoothely
but as soon as i move the window slowly to the 2nd monitor i can
see the window lagging while I'm moving it. This is really annoying
because it seems not every input from the mouse/keyboard gets
into the system and its not a smooth workflow at all.
I switched the monitors connections but it didn't help.
Mac Pro (Early 2008) 2.8Ghz 8-core
Snow Leopoard ( 10.6.2 )
6GB RAM (2x2gb kingston, and the usual 2x1gb)
ATI 2600XT and 3 HDD.
1 Monitor 24" LG W2452T running at 1920 x 1200
1 Monitor 22" Samsung Syncmaster 2243BW running at 1680 x 1050
I really hope that you guys can help me out with this one.
What could be the problem? The ATI 2600XT should definately
be able to handle two screens at once with such little graphics
in logic 9 ?!
I want to run Logic 9 and an analyzer software (Spectre from AudiofileEngineering)
at the same time but its not possible with the LAG.
The problem/lags also occur when i sync the monitors.
Would a 2nd graphics card be a solution? But as I said
before its not a graphics demanding application.
Is it a hardware or software problem?
Summary:
- The whole System lags (not just one monitor) when
I start to use both monitors (having application windows on both).
I've got minor lags when using only one display and leave the
2nd one with the desktop wallpaper clean.
I tried:
-using only the 2x1 GB RAM which came with the mac pro
-using only the 2x2 GB Kingston RAM
Thank you in advance for your help guys!
Rick

Hey all,
I wasn't able to fix this yet.
I did everything I can think of. I even tried to wire
one monitor with a VGA cable but it didn't help.
I even have small lags when I am moving the Safari window
between the 2 monitors. Really little lags then but they
definitely are noticeable. I can make a video of that
if that would help someone understanding.
Hope there is someone out there who can help me with this.
Thanks already for any advice!
Cheers,
Rick
Edit: Do you think a new graphics card like the ATI 4870 would
help it? But I really don't want to spend more money just to
have 2 monitors while i have already 2 dvi connections on the
ati 2600XT.
Message was edited by: RickUnique

Connecting a 2nd monitor

I want to buy either a Dell or BenQ 2nd monitor for my mac book pro.. are these monitors compatible??

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/features.html
On the new MBPs, they have a Mini DisplayPort, which supports VGA, HDMI and DVI outputs. You could get the Apple LED Cinema Display - it might be a little more expensive but it'll definitely work with the new MBPs.
BTW, it'd be handy if you put your system details in the text boxes above the 'post message' button when you put something in this forum...that way we'll know what you're running without you having to keep typing it in all the time.

Connecting two external monitors to 21.5" iMac

I have a 21.5" iMac at work. I also have two older vga/dvi monitors that are not getting any use at home. Is there a way I could hook these two monitors to my iMac desktop at home even though I only have one mini-display out on the back.
Back of the computer is 4 usb 2.0, 1 Firewire 800, 1 Mini-display
I would like to be able to operate each monitor as extended desktops (to the right and left of the iMac) I found a converter box, but I am looking for something a little cheaper. Would getting dual vga to dvi then a dvi to mini display work or is there an adapter that goes from mini diaplay directly to dual dvi or vga?

Rudegar I hate to say this but you are wrong, I have successfully connected 2 20 inch monitors to my 21.5 inch imac using a usb to vga converter and the thunderbolt to vga addapter, the usb to vga adapter works but still is not as fast as the thuderbolt to vga cable. So if you are planning to use the 2 extra monitors for an enlarged gaming screen, your out of luck but for actually doing work it works perfectly.

I have an old 30" apple cinema display (2005) I want to use as a 2nd monitor to a new iMac (2012). I don't just want mirror image of iMac; what's the best way to do this?

I have not bought the iMac yet but will do so very soon and just want to make sure I have what I need to get everything setup including adding the old faithful 2005 30" cinema display. Currently I am driving the old 30" cinema display with a macbook pro also purchased 2005 and happy to say I got a lot of good miles out of this rig. What's the best way to connect the old 30" monitor as a second display for the new generation iMacs?
Other Questions
I can find online new in unopened box a 2012 iMac 27" i7 with 1T Fusion Drive for $1899 no sales tax. This seems like a pretty good deal since I notice the same is available from Apple refurbished for $100 more plus sales tax. I know that they say the Fusion drive is a lot faster on 2013 models but some of the speed tests I reviewed online showed the 2012 i7 and 2013 i7 very close on speed for both storage and processing. Any thoughts?
I don't like changing batteries so I would buy a separate Apple keyboard with numeric pad since it only comes with wireless keyboard. I'm a trackpad enthusiast having been using my macbook pro trackpad with current set up; and I am prepared to buy the Apple trackpad and replace batteries every 2 months but I would greatly prefer USB connection and rechargeable trackpact. I know Logitech makes one so if anyone is using and knows how it compares to Apple's I'm all ears.

<http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5891>
You can use USB for the Apple trackpad.
<http://www.mobeetechnology.com/the-power-bar.html>

2nd monitor possible on new imac 24"?

I just ordered new imac (24"). Will I be able to hook it up to a 2nd (older Dell) monitor to expand the desktop? If so, what adaptor would I use?

For an external drive I'd recommend a Firewire 800 drive. Unless you are going to be running the computer from the external HD or doing high end video work FW 800 will be more than enough.
The drives I'd recommend are:
OWC (www.macsales.com) Mercury Elite Pro series
Lacie Quadra D2 series
G-Tech G series
All have similar build quality and feature sets. Personally I use Lacie but wouldn't hesitate to use OWC or G-Tech either.
As time goes by there may be other solutions (splitters etc..) and I believe the TB port can daisy chain however you would need to find an external HD with a VGA or DVI output which I don't believe exists. Your alternative is to return the 21.5 and save more money until you can afford a 27".

Arrange option missing when a 2nd monitor is connected

I connected a 2nd monitor to my 1.9 pre-Intel iMac g5 but I can only mirror my destop. When go under Display preferences, I am not given the option to arrange the displays.
What am I missing?
~reicko

That is how Apple designed those iMacs. The Intel-based iMacs were the first iMacs to allow extended desktop.
However you may want to take a look at Macworld's "Screen Spanning iMac" article.
Message was edited by: Duane

MacMini (2011) problem with Thunderbolt display if 2nd monitor is connected via HDMI/DVI adapter

Hi,
iam running a MacMini (2011) 2.3GHz i5 with Mac OS X 10.7.4 16 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 256 GB Samsung SSD.
If i connect a Thunderbolt display only - all is fine.
But if i connect a 2nd monitor ( Samsung S23A700) via HDMI / DVI adapter (original Apple) the major screen (Thunderbolt Display) sometimes
is going black and immidiately back to normal. It looks like that it happens very often if i scroll down with the Apple Magic Mouse.
Any ideas?
Thanks in advance
Thomas

I have exactly the same problem. MacMini Server i7 (mid 2011) Macmini5.3.16Gb ram.
Mini and Thunderbolt no blink-outs.
Mini and Thunderbolt and Dell 23" connected to HDMI-DVI connector, the Thunderbolt display blinks out when system is under stress as in the Develop module of Lightroom 4.
I thought it was a problem with my Thunderbolt display, and since its on a VESA mount, I didn't really want to haul in in to the Apple Store. I decided to be sure it was the dosplay...
I borrowed a MacbookPro i7 and ran it from a clone of my Mini. No problems aster hours of use. (But with only ONE monitor.) That suggested that there was no problem with the Thunderbolt Display.
I decided to run the Mini with only one display. Again no problems. I plugged in the Second monitor to the HDMI port and within 2 minutes I had my first "Blink-Out".
I ran the rest of the day without the second monitor with no problems.
I conclude the mini will not work reliably with two monitors if one is a Thunderbolt.
I was using two Dell Monitors before I got the Thunderbolt Diskplay (for 3 months) without incident.

A 2nd monitor.

I have an iMac(24") and wish to connect a 2nd monitor.... have had this kind of setup at jobs and find it very useful. Is this possible, and I'm considering a 24" Apple monitor. Appears to have 3 cables to hook up and I'm running out of USB connections.

The 24-inch Apple "LED" Cinema Display uses a Mini DisplayPort connector, so you need to have one of the recent Macs that have a Mini DisplayPort. For iMacs, the models introduced March 2009 and the current iMacs have that Mini DisplayPort. The 2008 model and earlier Intel iMacs have a Mini-DVI port; those iMacs will not be able to use the new Apple 24-inch display.
If your iMac has a mini-DVI port, you can use any DVI display, up to 1920x1200 resolution (which is the resolution of your iMac's built-in display). You need this adapter
http://store.apple.com/us/product/M9321G/B
or a third-party equivalent. There are also adapters that go to VGA and HDMI.
If your iMac has a Mini DisplayPort (not Mini-DVI) and you want to use a non-Apple DVI display, this is the adapter
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB570Z/A
and to use Apple's 24-inch display, you do not need any adapter.
Note: That USB connection is for the built-in USB hub on the Apple display.

Thinkpad T440s freezes with 2nd monitor via dock

Hi there - I have a strange problem with my Thinkpad T440s:
Connecting a 2nd monitor directly (VGA) works like a charm, however putting the Thinkpad into the docking station (with the 2nd monitor connected to the dock) freezes the system. Without the 2nd monitor the dock is working fine. When booting with the 2nd monitor connected to the dock, both screens stay black as soon as the kernel loads.
Is this a known problem / any ideas? Can I somehow help fixing this problem?
I know that I'm not the only one since I have found other people reporting this here: http://thinkpad-forum.de/threads/165520 … -und-Linux
They also provided an xorg.log (http://pastebin.com/Qk7nHVwt) which shows nothing suspicious, I guess...
Last edited by madevr (2013-11-18 16:32:21)

Same issue with my T440p. Happens with VGA, DP & HDMI (haven't tested DVI) on the dock. Undocking unfreezes it. If X is running the X server freezes and consumes 20% CPU, if none is running a kworker process does that. Even with no monitor attached it will freeze when the builtin monitor wakes up from sleep (again, undocking helps).
Here's a stack trace from the frozen X (^C'd while it was frozen from waking up the display, gdb only reacted again after undocking):
#0 0x00007fe972febf87 in ioctl () from /usr/lib/libc.so.6
#1 0x00007fe973eb19d4 in drmIoctl () from /usr/lib/libdrm.so.2
#2 0x00007fe971aadc26 in ?? () from /usr/lib/xorg/modules/drivers/intel_drv.so
#3 0x00007fe971aae8dd in ?? () from /usr/lib/xorg/modules/drivers/intel_drv.so
#4 0x00000000004aa031 in xf86DPMSSet ()
#5 0x00000000004aa10a in xf86SaveScreen ()
#6 0x000000000046568d in dixSaveScreens ()
#7 0x0000000000561ee6 in mieqProcessInputEvents ()
#8 0x0000000000474119 in ProcessInputEvents ()
#9 0x00000000004371b2 in ?? ()
#10 0x00000000004269ea in ?? ()
#11 0x00007fe972f2fbc5 in __libc_start_main () from /usr/lib/libc.so.6
#12 0x0000000000426d31 in _start ()
Edit: "Solved" by returning the laptop. This issue plus the loud (and not well-controllable) fan and the lack of support for the fingerprint sensor (different from previous ThinkPad models, it's from Validity Sensors) just aren't worth the trouble.
Last edited by minus7 (2013-11-26 21:31:22)

Dual monitors screen management after disconnecting 2nd monitor

I have a 2nd monitor attached to my iMac and if open an app Window on the 2nd monitor the next time I start the app the Window always defaults to the 2nd monitor (even if the 2nd monitor is turned off). Since I don't always remember that the app was opened on the 2nd monitor I would like a way to force the app to default to the primary monitor so I don't always need to turn on the 2nd monitor to move the Window to the primary monitor.
I have tried using spaces for this but it does not seem to work.

Oups.. I got it Just switched the menu bar, when I shoud have switched displays... Mouse was moving to second monitor from left instead of right... Fixed.

Connecting a 2nd Palette monitor to iMac

I have an iMac 24" 28Ghz (1Mac,8.1) and want to connect a second palette monitor to the mini DVI port, using a mini DVI to VGA connector.
A search of the forum shows issues with cursor jumping and wrong resolutions.
I really want to run my Adobe CS4 suite with the tabbed palettes on the second monitor to my right.
Is anyone doing this without issues?
Peter

Well given the huge response, I figured I'd just go ahead and warn all the vendors that they could have their stuff back promptly if it didn't work as advertised.
I bought a dead cheap 2-for at OfficeWorks. 2 Philips 160EI TFT 40cm monitors, only A$186 for both. I also got an Apple mini-DVI to VGA adaptor which has dropped in price from Apple's previous rip-off rate to A$25.
Installation was quite straight forward although the monitor looks like a dwarf next to the 24" iMac.
I installed under OSX 10.5.8 and then switched to OSX 10.6.3. Under both it was recognised immediately but defaulted for some reason to a non-native resolution, easily fixed.
I didn't need to *color manage,* that's not what it's for, but both Apple's color calibration and the on monitor controls only screwed it up so I went back to the default settings just playing a little bit with the on monitor contrast and color to try and crisp up the Finder text which still seems too soft. Apple's color calibration lead it to be way too dark. The monitor controls way too light, so factory settings is where it stays.
Visually the monitor is a tad unsharp with a visible vertical banding a little like thin corrugation. Colors are pale, about max 70-80% tint to my eye.
I was able to set separate screen backgrounds, so that I could have a pleasing black & white background to my palettes.
I tested several applications running simultaneously along with movies on both monitors. All work flawlessly so far.
I can now run tutorial DVDs on the 2nd monitor whilst keeping the application to which it refers open on the main monitor. Nice!!
*Testing palettes with Adobe CS4:* They cleverly snap to whichever of the 2nd monitors edges they are dragged to and work perfectly even sensing the real estate available on the monitor. I have set them to snap to the inside (left edge of the 2nd monitor, which is to my right). This means that for the first time the optional sub-palettes pop out to the right in reading order.
All remember their position between re-startups. No sign of flickering or any of the problems reported in the forums. That is in both Leopard and Snow Leopard.
Flicking between fullscreen view using the tab keyboard shortcut and the toolbar options has different results. Sometimes the palettes stay with the main screen in full screen view, sometimes they disappear, I'm trying to work out what combination of actions sets off what.
*Testing palettes with iWork:* They have none of Adobe's smarts but can be stacked a little awkwardly to fit. Awkward because Apple hasn't worked out how to sensibly do this and made them different sizes. However they do remember their sizes (sort of) and positions between restarts.
Pages' Outline/Fullscreen view unfortunately blacks out both monitors. I was hoping I could keep my palettes visible on the 2nd.
Overall I am very happy. I worked with 2 monitors for almost 2 decades until Apple made it both expensive and extremely awkward on several occasions. It feels very liberating to have my full workspace clear again.
OSX is one clumsy design for handling windows, despite/because of all Apple's efforts.
There is no substitute for more/separate screen real estate. So far I am one happy camper.

IMac does not detect correct resolution of 2nd monitor

I am attempting to use my 42" LG HDTV as a 2nd monitor for my iMac. The native resolution for the LG is 1920x1080 but the iMac only allows me to select up to 1600x1200. It seems to think that the LG is a smaller screen than the iMac as well and my images are stretched. The monitors are also disproportionate, for example, if I expand a window so that there is an inch of space on all 4 sides on my iMac it will overwhelm the screen of the larger monitor so that only about 2/3 of the window is visible. It's as if the iMac thinks that the LG is in 4:3 display mode.
I am using a mini-DVI to VGA adapter. How can I get full resolution from my 2nd monitor?

The (analog) VGA connection is limiting your resolution. Idealy a (digital) Mini-DVI to DVI adapter and a DVI cable should allow the full resolution in Extended Desktop Mode.

Connecting a 2nd monitor to my 27" iMac

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