Detect Display button gone!

This is a rather infuriating mess-up in Mountain Lion. My wife is an educator and has a class room projector she has to connect and disconnect to on a daily basis with her brand new Macbook Air.
The problem is that her Macbook Air will not detect the projector when she connects it.
The only way it will detect is if she either restarts the computer with the projector already connected or puts her computer to sleep and waits for to wake up and that sometimes works.
Where as in Lion or any other previous version of OSX in the past five years you had the option of a Display Menu button (also gone) up at the top of your screen that showed connected displays as well as a Detect Diplays option that would do the trick. To make things worse even if you go digging to the System preferences under Displays Preferences they completely removed the Detect Displays button!
The funny part is the Apple help menu still tells you click the Detect Displays button that doesn't exist.
How on earth do you take such a monumental step backwards with an OS upgrade by making settings more difficult than easier? Having to restart a computer to detect a display? As a Mac user I haven't had to do that in the past 10 years! Please return us all the display options that should be available under any circumstance period.

Well folks I did find a work around for the time being. Though it doesn't restore my options in the menu button I did uncover the Detect Displays button. I was looking at my post request and behold I saw a related article next to this thread that says OS X Mountain Lion: About the Display pane of System Preferences ( http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5369?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US ) in the article it shows that they did indeed hide the option but it can be uncovered. The funny thing is this article does not show up when I search for my problem.
Hold the OPTION key in the Display Preference pane and the Gather Windows button will transform into the Detect Displays button.
Here are screenshots to demonstrate what happens when you toggle the OPTION key off and on.
Again why on earth did they hide this to begin with or not include it in the Display Menu option at the top of the screen? I don't know and I hope they fix it. This is WAY TOO complicated of a solution for a simple function. Nobody is going to intuitively find the Detect Displays option.

Similar Messages

Where did detect displays button go in Display pref under Mavericks

So both my friend and I have MacBook Air machines. Under OS 10.9 there is no button for detct displays. Also when we plugged into an HDMI TV using the lightening display port through an adapter. No hint that the preference even knows about multiple displays, much less detecting one.
Under 10.8 there was a detect displays, now nothing.

Well, it allowed us to see the detect displays (Thanks!) but it will not detect the TV. Now the adapter and cable worked with his MacBook Pro (10.8) and, the HDMI cable plugged into a PC Laptop currently works. So That tells that it is either something with the new MacBook Air or with Mavericks.
I am not sure which adapter it is, but it isn't Apple.

Internal display not detected. "Detect displays" option now gone...

Hello!
My MacBook Pro will not detect any displays. After going to sleep a couple of nights ago, and bringing the computer out of sleep, the display would not turn on; even though I could hear the computer wake up and the fans turn on.
I hard-reset the computer and the display still would not turn on after the power down. Was able to connect to my computer through my wife's MacBook through "Share Screen", and everything is working except the display. I immediately backed up my data realizing the system was working fine (not a hard drive issue, hooray!) other than the display. I tried connecting my computer to an external display and did a restart with the lid closed and the computer would not detect the external either.
Through share screen, I then went into the Display Properties and to my surprise noticed that the "Detect Displays" button has disappeared! Furthermore, when I go into
"About This Mac > More Info... > Graphics / Displays"
Nothing is listed for the screen! On my wife's MacBook it lists the LCD's resolution and other information, but not on mine. Also, under "Display Connector", hers says "Status: No Display Connected"; where as mine says nothing at all, its blank underneath the words "Display Connector".
I reset the P-RAM and that did not help either. If I could I would do a fresh install of OSX, but I can not see the screen so I can do that either.
Is there any way I can reset the computer by any other means?
I also don't have an issue with taking this computer apart, as apple care is expired, and I've done my fair share of take aparts before.
Once again, the computer is starting up and working, but the screen is not being detected or turning on. Everything else works. I called apple and they wanted me to pay $50 for an over the phone troubleshoot, or to take it in to the apple store (an hour away from here) and possibly pay $300 for it to be fixed. AHHHH!
Thanks.

OK, I am confused...can you see an image on an external display or not?
The torch/flashlight trick will tell you if the backlight is out and you are still getting an image and it is a display problem. Although dead backlights are less of a problem with the LED backlit displays.
In your last post you say "If I could at least detect an external...", this leads me to believe that you are not able to detect an external display. With this assumption, it looks like the video card, which if memory serves me correctly is on the MLB and would require replacing the MLB.
If you are able to get an image on an external display, then we are back to the display as the problem.

Mac-mini "detect displays" where is the individual model's DDC info stored?

I have a dilemna- I just bought a new 20" NEC LCD screen that has all sorts of bells and whistles. It's 1600 x 1050 native, and has DVI, analog VGA, YUV, compostie, and RF inputs. It is supposed to have a scalar that supports a multitude of resolutions including 1920 x 1080i.
I bought it for a system of which has (2) mini-macs through a DVI KVM. I had one mini-mac successfully read the DDC info from the montior, and it provides a wide range of supported resolutions (including 1600 x 1050). All resolutions listed are progressive (no interlaced options)
When I switched my KVM to the 2nd mini-mac it was stuck in 1024 x 768, and that was the highest res that the display preferences gave me (probably because that's what it read off the DDC of the KVM switch?). When I hit the "detect displays" button, it proceeded to update the list of supported resolutions, but a very bizzarre thing happened: It did the opposite of the first mini-mac, and only listed "interlaced" video resolutions (with the exception of 1280 x 720p and 640 x 480p). The list was all 'broadcast-style" resolutions.
The profile for this montior on this mini-mac is now stuck in this mode, and I cannot get the desired 1600 x 1050 resolution that is native to the monitor. I've tried everything I could think of including ditching plists, clearing the PRAM, tricking the mini-mac, etc....
It's almost as if a mini-mac stores a registry of the monitor's DDC information onto the video card 'permanently' the first time, and never allows to re-read the DDC info again???
Does anyone know how to clear this registry?
The other clue to this whole thing is that the monitor has an option where you can set the DVI IN to either "DVI-PC" or "DVI-HD". The fussy mini-mac displays nothing in "DVI-PC" mode, and the behaving mini-mac displays in both modes. It's possible that the monitor was in "DVI-HD" when I hit the "detect displays" button on the fussy mini-mac.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Wow, I wish I had your set up to play with. I could probably learn a lot from it
When DDC is read by the Mac, and when users make resolution settings based on it, the resultant settings are stored in a file called com.apple.windowserver.plist. There is one such file in /Library/Preferences but there may also be occurances of it for each user account on machines set up for multiple users AFAIK. They are plain text files so you can actually read them with TextEdit or other text editors.
The simplest thing to do might be to copy the file from the mini giving the desired behavior and use it to replace the file on the mini with the bad behavior. I don't think there is any machine specific info in the file, so I believe the file should be portable in this manner. On the other hand, this may not work because when you restart the misbehaving mini it might regenerate a "bad" windowserver.plist file again and replace the one you just copied over. Although I don't think that will be the case. Can't hurt to try. You might want to keep the older pref file around and rename it to "preferences.old". There is a procedure outlined here that is similar although it is based on doing everyting from starting into console mode:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106464
As for why one mini is reading EDID one way and the other reads altogether something else, that's a really good question and one that I hope you are able to track down the answer to and report your findings back here. It could provide a lot of insight into other types of problems people have reported on this forum. Perhaps it relates to the DVI-PC or DVI-HD setting you refered to, but I have never known any other display that actively changed its EDID. EDID is always fixed I thought. Good luck and let us know how things turn out.

Mountain Lion doesn't detect displays on startup

I use my MacBook Pro extensively in clamshell mode, and when I did this in Lion, the integrated screen would stay off whenever I turned onb the computer because the lid was closed. However, in Mountain Lion, the screen stays on despite the fact that the lid is closed. Is there anyway to force my Mac to detect displays on start up?

Go to Sys Prefs > Displays > (hold Option) and a "Detect Displays" button will appear at the bottom right. The problem for me it's that even though a display is connected and I managed to get the button to show up, it still didn't detected the display until I unplugged and oplugged back again from the thunderbolt port.

My Lion woes, panes, detect display

My complaints so far. I am sure I will come to love the new features in Lion though when I get done with my bi', okay, will stop there. Some complaints are dependent on me using screen zooming / scaling all the time due to my distance I sit from my display.
Launchpad in VERY uncontrollable with my logitech performance mx mouse when trying to scroll left and right. It stops for a second and when I go to select an app right then it seems to have inertia from the scroll and bounces back to the opposite end of the 3 panes away from my intended choice. It is non scalable which means I have to lean forward in my chair to view the type. Don't laugh, I am always using the command + zooming mouse wheel a lot as my display is my 24" HDTV 6 ft away. Yeah, I am lazy about leaning up. In a few months I am going to have a 55inch display and be sitting a few feet further away.
The grey direction arrows (active/non-active url direction) in Safari are too similar to each other at a glance. Make them CONTRAST more PLEASE.
Never seen so many color wheels before. A lot of thinking going on.
My arrow mouse icon was flickering and completely disappeared for about 10 seconds.
Screen video capture programs which worked in leopard doesn't work now. (I expect updates, maybe from developers but if not I want a refund for recent purchases).
Screen shot dashboard program does not work. (needs update obviously)
Finder windows with panes have to be constantly adjusted (almost) each time I open them. I haven't figured out why yet.
Autocomplete typing feature inputs the wrong word sometimes and does this even when I do nothing but type as normal! I have had more unintended but correctly spelled words than ever before. Maybe I am doing something wrong.
When trying to select a file to upload in Safari the selection window apparently did not give me the choice to look in all my files, desktop, documents, user. It was as if was unable to show the actual files window. After looking at this again I had to stretch the already big window to find the other pane. This is not good! Reminded my of Windows which I gave up years ago.
(receiving attention from apple as of 7/21)
My current 24" philips hdtv display with PC IN has been used with 2 minis in the past but is not discoverable with Lion and if it tries all video output stops. Great customer support though with this as 2 Tech guys talked to me at length and they sent it up the chain of command to be addressed in an update they think within 10 days at the longest. I am including this in case other ppl have this issue. They are working on it. More on topic : I have to plug in a backup tiny display and then fool the system by then keeping the lower desktop resolution and plugging into the bigger display. Sometimes when the mini sleeps I have to restart with the smaller display and go through tricking the system again. If I try to DETECT DISPLAYS with the bigger display it then stops all display output and I have to restart using the smaller display, etc.
Thanks in advance for setting me straight with anything I am clueless about and Thanks to Apple Engineers if they are looking through these discussion boards for feedback.

Well folks I did find a work around for the time being. Though it doesn't restore my options in the menu button I did uncover the Detect Displays button. I was looking at my post request and behold I saw a related article next to this thread that says OS X Mountain Lion: About the Display pane of System Preferences ( http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5369?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US ) in the article it shows that they did indeed hide the option but it can be uncovered. The funny thing is this article does not show up when I search for my problem.
Hold the OPTION key in the Display Preference pane and the Gather Windows button will transform into the Detect Displays button.
Here are screenshots to demonstrate what happens when you toggle the OPTION key off and on.
Again why on earth did they hide this to begin with or not include it in the Display Menu option at the top of the screen? I don't know and I hope they fix it. This is WAY TOO complicated of a solution for a simple function. Nobody is going to intuitively find the Detect Displays option.

Detect Displays problem with ViewSonic VX2035 - VGA and Snow Leopard 10.6.6

I just bought a KVM switch (IOGEAR GCS72U) so that my ViewSonic VX2035WM can jump between my macbook (where it is an external monitor) and a linux box that I built. The monitor worked fine with the macbook, always detected automatically or by the "Detect Displays" button - before I switched from a DVI connection to a VGA connection. I had to switch to VGA to facilitate the KVM switch. The monitor has a separate built-in VGA input and built-in detection of analog versus digital input.
Now that I have setup the KVM switch and VGA connection - using appropriate Apple mini-DVI-2-VGA adapter - Snow Leopard detects that a monitor is connected, but only generically as "Display" instead of naming the display model (ViewSonic VX2035WM). Display Preferences does not provide the optimal resolution (in this case, 1680 x 1050), with the closes being 1400 x 1050, resulting in a distorted picture.
http://www.viewsonic.com/products/desktop-monitors/lcd/x-series/k
The KVM switch is listed as being compatible with Mac OS X, and supports resolutions up to 2048x1536.
I do see a picture. It does detect that a monitor is there. It does not recognize what kind of monitor it actually is, and it does not allow me to select the resolution/frequency settings that I actually need.
When I skip the switch and connect directly from the Apple VGA adapter to the built-in VGA input, the problem is exactly the same. No amount of putting the laptop to sleep, turning monitor off, clicking Detect Displays, is getting anything to change. An option to manually specific the resolution and monitor would be fine. At this point I would even be willing to pull a "Windows" and install a driver, so long as the problem is fixed. I'm pretty sure the appropriate driver is already included in Snow Leopard, because it was working fine and recognized this model before I switched from DVI to VGA connections.

Using the printerto manage color is worse, still magenta cast, or gray/browns. We've tried all the different settings withing Photoshop Color Setting, we've tried all the different combinations within the printer window dialogue, all either have a magenta cast or red cast...we've tried different combinations with photo papers...what is interesting is with no change in any settings if we use plain copier paper with the medium selected for Plain Paper the colors are truer but because of paper quality the image is not good enough. I'm thinking it may be something within settings for paper and ink. But since I am not techically savy enough to understand all of the color management settings we've relied just on the internal settings and only had to change the medium paper quality to get good images. Once I upgradedto Snow Leopard it appears I have to be more sophisticated in color management. At a loss. What we're going to try now is change out all the inks to fresh Canon inks, and recalibrate monitor (which I did before but maybe needs again) and try and match a Pantone Color Guide to set monitor, and experiment with paper combos...if that doesn't work quess I have to bring in some tech help....we're designers and graphic artists so havng a hard copy for clients is crucial. Thank you for any help.

My display preferences does not show detect displays or the arrangement button

I have a late 2011 macbookpro (15") running OSX 10.8.2 (mt. lion). My display preferences screen does not have the arrangements button or the button to detect displays. Is this a bug in mt. lion? How do I fix this? I want to use my hdtv (samsung 32") as a second display.

Hi John,
Thanks for your reply and update and for going through that article. I'm glad to hear the issues have partially resolved. For the continued issues, particularly the performance issues with the MacBook, it sounds like a different direction may be warranted. Due to the nature of that issue you may find more information by using another one of Apple's support resources:
http://www.apple.com/support/contact/
Take care,
- Ari

Detect Displays no longer works after upgrade

Mac Mini 2009 - two weeks old, came with Leopard. Took some doing, but have it hooked up to Sony Bravia 40" LCD via Mini-Display port to VGA adaptor. Detect Display worked fine, connected at High Def resolution. Upgraded to Snow Leopard 10.6.1 today, and Detect Displays finds nothing, I can't get any more than 1280 x 768 out of the display, no high-def. Tried many of the tricks I found in forum - zapped PRAM, booted into safe mode, deleted windowsserver preference plist files. No avail. Is this a general problem with Snow Leopard?

I do have the same problem with the macbook alum. After the upgrade, i have no more resolution of 1080i, becouse it fails. Only res like 1280*1024 is the max i can get. I figured out that the profile of my LCD bravia is no longer detected by the display manager, back in 10.5 it was "Sony Lcd" (or something) now is "Vga display". EXTREMELY WEIRD is that after a lot of test's (reset ram, delete profiles, etc, etc) i try to change my vga cables, first try... no luck, back to the classical cable and "MAGIC" 1080i res came out of nowhere, and the profile was Sony LCD... but it was just one time (i reboot and it was gonne!!!) i haven't been able to recreate the same thing. So i still stuck with this subject and low res for the mini VGA display adapter!!!

Dual Display - help with Cinema Display for MacBook Pro where MB won't detect displays.

I just got a Cinema Display (a1081 20") ("CD") off eBay to use as a dual screen with my Macbook Pro OS X 10.6.8 ("MB"). However, I can't get MB to recognize CD! I've tried power cycling both the MB and the CD with and without USB cord connected. MB won't recognize CD display in any situation. However, it is recognized in some capacity although I can't use dual display because the CD power button triggers MB to ask me if I want to restart, shutdown, or cancel.
Any help is appreciated!!

Have you tried smc and pram resets?
Try Detect Displays in the Displays preference pane.
Does the Displays preference pane Arrangement show two screens? If so do click gather windows and check the resolution setting of the new screen.

Macbook pro thunderbolt 2011 won't detect display

I am working on a Macbook Pro, October, 2011 model with a thunderbolt port. I have now gone through two thunderbolt to HDMI cables and neither was able to detect my display, which is a Sony Bravia. Should I throw in the towel and buy a $50 (rip-off) cable from Apple, or could it possibly be that my port is faulty? Anyone with a similiar problem?

No, don't buy expensive cables. Do you have a url (link) to the cable you are using?
On what basis do you think that your computer doesn't detect your TV?
If you opened Displays system preferences, click Detect Displays. Is there an Arrangement tab and an does it show two monitors? If not, then there is indeed a physical problem Make sure the cable is fully seated in the HDMI on the TV and the TB socket on the computer and also make sure your TV is set to take input from the HDMI input port you connected the cable to.
If the Arrangement tab is there and shows two screens click Gather Windows. This should bring the Displays preference window for the TV on to your main screen. Then set the resolution (probably 720p, 1080i, or 1080p) and refresh rate (probably 60Hz). At this point you should see a picture on your TV.
You may have to play the underscan/overscan settings on your TV and the displays prefs for the TV if the picture is too small or larger for the TV screen. If Sony's haven't changed they may call it "full pixel".

Where has the visualizer button gone?

where has the visualizer button gone in the bottom right corner?
bit of a pain as i used it quite often

iTunes 7 is pretty smart overall, nevertheless I have a few serious gripes with the interface. Firstly the little 'snowflake' icon on the bottom right that switches on the visuals has been replaced by the browse and burn icons. Was there a problem with the previous layout? My wife and I use that button everytime we turn on the visuals on our Mac Mini sound system in the living room. It was super convenient because you could move in a single mouse sweep from selecting a playlist to switching on visuals. With iTunes 7 you have to either select from the pop-down menu or switch to the keyboard and press cmd+T. It might not seem such a big deal to some but it's definitely a backwards step, no matter how small.
The album art selector/display is very cool and niftily programmed however I'll never use it. The reason? Because if you fill it with album artwork, all those images are displayed over the visualiser at the start of each tune, which I HATE. I don't want sleeve designs ruining the beauty of G-Force which I paid good money to see. It's bad enough having the track info show when I already know what's playing! iTunes 7 is simply not configurable enough if you ask me, and hey, you shouldn't have to start configuring Fkeys to make up for the fundemental lack of choice in the program preferences.
I have a pal who loves the gapless playback in the new iTunes 7 because it's great for mix cds. Well maybe that's the best playback feature of iTunes 7 but I'm afraid it doesn't make up for the loss of the visualiser button, so there!
G4 Twin 1.25 Mirror Door Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Shutdown dialog when detecting displays?

I have the strangest behavior. When I do a Detect Display on my Aluminum Powerbook G4 1.25GHz the "Shutdown/Restart dialog box comes up as if I had pressed the power key. Today I had a problem where my laptop wouldn't turn on. It would chime, then sound like it would shut down a few seconds later. I reset the power manager (battery out, hold power button 5 seconds) and tried to reset the PRAM but didn't get a second chime (it would shut off before 5 seconds). In desparation, I gave the case a rap on the right side a couple of times and it came on! Am rsyncing to my desktop, now, but not sure what next to try. Is it possible that the power button is shorting to the DVI connector?

Brian,
I am having the same problem on both a 17" and 15" powerbook. The only common thing is that both systems have the 2005-007 (August 15th) security patch installed. The 17" model is running 10.3.9, and the 15" is 1.4.2. When I plug each machine into my 23" flat panel the Shutdown/Restart dialog comes up and in about 3 seconds the machine is shutdown. To try to further isolate this I will boot from my external hard drive when I get a chance and see if it is truly this software install. The week prior to this update the 17" system worked fine with the display and nothing has changed about the display. Very strange indeed.

Ti book detecting displays/projector

I want to project a Power Point display from my Ti book(a 550 upgraded to 1.2). I was told by the projector owner that I needed to plug the computer in to the projector before I turned it on which is fine, but the Mac detects no displays until they are connected, so it appears that the projector detects no source(it hunts for imput. I have tried 9 pin and s video connectors w/ no results. Help.
Mark

Hi, mwizard. I routinely connect my Tibook to my projector with the PB asleep (it's almost never turned off) and the projector off. Then I turn on the projector, let it warm up, and wake the PB. On waking, the PB detects the projector and, if it's in mirrored mode (as I usually use it), self-adjusts its built-in display resolution (normally 1280 x 854) to match that of the projector (1024 x 768). On the rare occasions when the projector displays only a blue screen and "no signal", going to the Displays preference pane and choosing "detect displays" corrects the problem.
Hitting the F7 key toggles between mirrored and extended-desktop modes.
After using and turning off the projector, I put the PB to sleep, disconnect the projector from it, and wake the PB. It resets its built-in display resolution to whatever it was before the projector was connected, and I go on about my business.
Give this procedure a try, and if it doesn't work out for you, post back to report exactly where it's gone wrong.
I doubt that the processor upgrade in your Tibook has anything to do with a video problem, but I guess the possibility shouldn't be dismissed out of hand.
Post back with further news.

Where on earth has the wish list purchase button gone?

Where on earth has the iTunes wish-list purchase button gone?

K^2 wrote:
There is no "buy" button. It only lists sharing with a friend or posting it on social media. I have no idea how to buy songs in my wish list.
It does not actually say "Buy." You just click on the price.

Detect Display button gone!

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