External Monitor not seen by MacBook

When I switched on my MacBook Pro this morning I forgot to use the power cable and my battery was flat.
My external monitor flashed up briefly and then disappeared.
Now my MacBook cannot see my external monitor at all.
Can anybody please help?

Bit embarrassing...
The MDP to VGA Adapter had died...
I'm back on two screens now.

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External Monitor Not Working With Macbook Pro

My computer was working fine with an external monitor, then my computer froze, and I had to hold down the power button. When I turned it back on, my computer would not work with an external monitor. I've tried different cables, so it's not the cable. The monitor is being detected by the computer, but nothing is showen on the external monitor. When connecting the monitor to the computer, the computer's screen goes blue, then turns back to normal. I
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I also tried updating my OS from 10.7.4 (Might've been 10.7.3) to 10.7.5.
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I forgot to mention, I'm connecting the monitor via MiniDisplay -> HDMI. I've also tried USB -> HDMI and USB -> DVI -> HDMI but none of them seem to work.

External Monitor for 13 inch Macbook

Hi, I am thinking to buy an external monitor for my Macbook. Can anybody suggest me what should be the right size monitor for my laptop? What other properties should I consider? I want a smooth display like my Macbook.
Thanks in advance....

I use the Hanns-G 22" widescreen monitor with the mini-dvi -> VGA. It looks pretty good as an external monitor, not great, but pretty good.
The upside to this monitor, besides being totally huge and satisfying, is that it comes with HDMI input. So we got a DVD player with HDMI and now we have upconverted 1080p movies for $400 total investment, plus a nice external monitor that works perfectly with both macbook and macbook pro.
The Samsung will be a nicer monitor, but $200 for a 22" with HDMI was too good to pass up.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824254024
Brian

Is it possible to use the old iMac 2010 21inch as an external monitor for my 15inch Macbook retina?

Is it possible to use the old iMac 2010 21inch as an external monitor for my 15inch Macbook retina? E.g. Using a mini-display cable to connect from the imac mini display port to thunderbolt port on my macbook.

Apple shows only the 27" version supporting Target Display Mode.
<http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3924>

My external monitor worked with my MacBook Pro before I took it on a little trip, now it won't work. Any suggestions?

My external monitor worked with my MacBook Pro before I took it on a little trip, now it won't work. Any suggestions?

Never mind. Sorry. It fixed itself.

New External Monitor for Logic on MacBook Pro - Suggestions

I'm in the painful process of updating my studio and now my large screen external monitor has started failing.
I know if this a pretty general question more suited to the MacBook Pro forum but I'd like some input from folks used to working with an application like Logic in a home studio environment.
I guess the issue for me is that I'm not getting any younger and my eyesight isn't what it used to be. One of the things specific to Logic and music software in general is that there are LOTS of very detailed dialog boxes with text that is not always height adjustable (yes I know about zooming and indeed I do lots of that but it gets quite distracting). The other factor is that I'm often recording and engineering myself which means I'll be sitting with a guitar in my lap or at a keyboard and can't always lean in too close to the monitor.
I solved this by buying a large 26" Acer which sits on my desk behind the Mackie MCU. To my left I've got the MacBook 15.4" Pro on a keyboard stand above my MIDI controller at a 45 degree angle to the desk.
It's worked quite well until the Acer seems to have become haunted. It will mysteriously reboot itself intermittently, going blank for a second, then showing the Acer logo and going back to picture. It will also turn itself on spontaneously when the computer is off (the status light is off and then turns itself on). It seems to detect when I'm in the middle of a really good session and starts resetting itself every 30 seconds or so. Then it will work fine sometimes for days or weeks at a time. I've checked it on 4 different computers, it malfunctions on all. I believe in may be a problem with one of the capacitors or the inverter, I'm not sure, but it's driving CRAZY at this point.
And of course now it's 3 months out of warranty and may be more expensive to fix than buying a new one.
So my issue is what monitor to replace it with. I've considered buying an Apple monitor, since the display is lovely to look at but there are a couple things that are deal breakers.
It's expensive. Very expensive.
Oddly you have to choose between a 24" and a 30", with nothing in between. Don't want to sound like Goldilocks here, but the 24 is tooooo small and the 30 is tooooo big.
Yeah I know bigger is usually better but since they bumped the native resolution of the 30" up to 2560x1600 it's really sharp but things like the menu text get really quite small. Yes you can reset to a lower non native resolution, but then you loose the sharpness. I tested Logic in the store on the 30" and it did look great but I found I actually had to move my whole body around to see things at the top and bottom of the screen.
Oh and did I mention that it's expensive? Jeez.
The 24" now seems to look a bit small to me after using the same resolution (1920x1200) on the Acer's 26" screen. (Ok, I think it's actually 25.5 but hey that half an inch can make a big difference and I will avoid making any bad jokes here).
And did I mention the Apple monitors are expensive? The 24" is almost 3 times as expensive as a cheaper alternative.
I also still have a PC here that I use (sorry) and the Apple monitors have very limited connectivity. So I think unfortunately the Apple monitors are out for me.
So I;m down to a couple other non Apple options. I will not buy an Acer again since I believe now that their quality control is not good and their support is absolutely atrocious. Shame I used to be a big fan of Acer PC's, but after owning a couple I'm steering clear.
My biggest issue right now is that most of the new budget monitors are geared toward 1080p HD uses so they are they are maxing out at 1920x1080 (16:9 aspect ratio instead of 1920x1200's 16:10). So the tradeoff here is that HD movies will look better in 16:9, but 16:10 gives you "squarer" pixels and more vertical resolution for screen hungry apps like Logic.
Any opinions on this? I'm a bit new to the Mac so I don't know if I'm really better off going with a 1920x1200 screen like the Apple monitors.
Also, I know this may just be a bug in the Acer's scaling, but if I switch to 1920x1080, I lose the menus off the top of the screen or if I adjust the vpos I lose the dock at the bottom. Downscaling to 1600x1050 or even 1024x768 works fine. If I get a 1080 screen and set the resolution appropriately will it work correctly and without too much distortion?
I'm also curious what is the best way to hook up the monitor? I'm currently using the DVI to VGA adapter that came with the MacBook. My Pro is the slighter older silver keyboard model so it has the standard DVI out. Will I see any real improvement by going over to using DVI directly?
Also I'm wondering how people feel about glossy vs matte for music. My current displays are the non-glossy and I do think I prefer them for detail work.
The candidates right now are
Hanns-G HH-281HPB 28" @300$. It's one of the only budget monitors that uses 1920x1200. All the right inputs (DVI, VGA). I'm just afraid this might be a bit too good to be true. It's really cheap and after having problems with a "cheap" Acer (although it wasn't so cheap 3 years ago!) I don't want similar problems. Stand has no swivel or tilt (a big problem for my use). Also that resolution on such a big screen might be good for me or it might look grainy I don't know I haven't seen it. Anybody have any experience with these?
Samsung P2770H 27" @339 Looks nice, good color. Sadly only 1080 native resolution. Stand doesn't swivel, but does tilt. No VGA input, so won't work with my old PC (although strangely it says it comes with a VGA cable). They get generally good reviews and I know Samsung makes very good flat panel TV's.
ViewSonic X Series VX2739WM 27" @350. Once again maxes out at 1080. It's fast (1ms), has VGA input. I've never been a big fan of ViewSonic but they do seem to have gotten better color-wise. Tilt no swivel and it's anti-glare (not sure this is a plus).
There are also similar options from HP, Asus, LG and Sceptre but they are all 1080. In fact outside of the Apples, the Hanns-G and a few expensive monitors from NEC they all seem to be 1080. So if I really want the 1200 the Hanns-G seems like the only way to go.
Any input here would be greatly appreciated.

No doubt, the Apple displays are gorgeous. The first time I saw the 30" display wow, I wanted one BAD and it's actually what prompted me to buy a "big" monitor. The colors are great with a rich wonderful saturation level and as usual for Apple the form factor design is stunning. You know for that picture quality I could even get over the sticker shock and save up for one.
Which is why I was so disappointed when I actually sat down in the store and started to use Logic on one. I imagine for doing video work, graphic design or darn near anything else, it would be great. But for Logic I just found myself bending and twisting trying to look at toolbar at the bottom and then up to look at the menus. And instrument or plugin displays that were hard coded to look OK at lower resolutions looked really, really tiny to me. For me and particularly using Logic having 2 slightly smaller displays at a 45 degree angle makes more sense.
And once again the 24 seems just a bit small. I don't understand why they have a 27" iMac but you can't buy a 27" display. So iMac 27" starting at 1699, subtract out the cost of the CPU and drive ie the Mini and I'd really buy one. Strangely you can buy a 21.5" or a 27" iMac. Or you can buy a 24" or 30" display. Hmmmm.
So don't get me wrong I'm not bashing Apple for being expensive. They put a lot of money into R&D and into really thinking about the form and the function of their products. As a recent convert from being a PC developer for 25+ years, hey I've more than sipped the Kool-Aid here, I've guzzled it. They make great products and yeah they're more expensive, because they ARE better! I've now got 2 MBP's, 2 iPods, I'm about to get an iPhone (silly "death grip" or not) and I really want an iPad. Heck I'd really love an 8 core MacPro if I could afford one (alas I can't).
I guess my only gripe here is that there always seems to be a little less choice in the Apple world. Yeah, I know they do a lot less volume than the PC clone world I just think that they always seem to have a big gap between the high end and low end with not enough in between. So you can choose between the lower end and one piece units with no expansion boards (the mini or the iMac) or go straight to monster tower MacPro (way over 3K with display). You can get a MacBook but then you have to put up with a small screen or go with MacBook Pro, which let's face it is a lot of computing power for someone who just wants to web surf and write some email without squinting.
So here I am stuck in the middle. I don't want to buy a HannspreeQG or another piece of junk that's going to last 3 years and 3 months because of a crappy $2 capacitor that no seems to able to fix or care about fixing. I'd like to buy a really nice Apple monitor, I just want a big monitor, not a huge one and not a "medium" one (I know I'm spoiled but 24" seems "medium" these days).
Sorry about the rant here but my monitor is shutting down every 30 seconds and I'm about to go completely insane and toss it out the window!!!
Really glad to hear about that 84' VGA cable. I never imagined such a thing existed or would work without some sort of signal boost on the way. Very cool for me. My electronic drum kit is in another room and I would love to have a small cheap monitor next to it for sequencing. I had my laptop on a stand next to it for a while but I began to get terrified that I'd let a drumstick slip and destroy my laptop screen. That would be a very bad thing. Thanks for the tip.

External monitor damage due to Macbook Pro voltage spike?

I had my Macbook Pro connected to a Panasonic 62" Panasonic LCD TV and the Panasonic suddenly went black and has not come back. I've driven the Panasonic many times with the same Macbook Pro before and there were no problems. My friend says my Macbook Pro must have had a voltage spike that blew out the Panasonic. Is this possible? And if so how do I get it checked out?
Also, there is a smaller external LCD monitor that I've driven with my Macbook Pro that projected fine. But when connected the trackpad on my Macbook Pro became erratic/unresponsive. The same friend who's TV I may have nuked says this problem is also due to my Macbook Pro having voltage spikes...
Anybody know what may be going on here?

I think your friend is trying to get you to buy him a new TV. The TV going out and the computer being connected to it were likely coincidental. If Macbook Pros were destroying external monitors as your friend suggests then there would be more reports and outraged customers. Yours is the first post I've seen suggesting that a TV was destroyed because of a Macbook Pro.

VGA adapter splitter? 1 external monitor for desktop and macbook

I recently bought the Apple VGA adapter and it works great with my macbook and external monitor. However I use that same external monitor with my desktop PC. It's becoming a pain to constantly unscrew and plug out the VGA cable. So I'm trying to find a VGA splitter that has 2 male ends and 1 female end, but I'm not sure if something like that even exists. Basically I want to be able to use my external monitor with my macbook and pc without having to unplug the monitor's vga cable from my desktop. If anyone can give any suggestions that'd be great. Thanks!

You shouldn't try a splitter cable as you would have interference from the two signals. You need a VGA switch box like one of these.
http://www.cablestogo.com/productlist.asp?cat%5Fid=517&cm_mmc=AdWords-_-07-ALWAYSON-_-vga+switch2_890304021-_-vga+switchbox_Exact%7C-%7C100000000000000134556&gclid=COaNhtKdoZECFReQGgod6HWsNw

External Monitor with 13" i7 Macbook Pro

Hi, i recently purchased a lg 23 inch monitor. I used a mini display port to hdmi adapter to connect the display to the macbook. The display settings would not let me choose the native 1920 . 1080 resolution of the lg monitor. Only when using second display instead of mirror function it would work. But i only want to have the monitor display whats on the macbook screen. When in mirrored mode, it would show the resolution of the macbook, and i tried 3rd party applications like SwitchResX and that didnt work. Is it because i was using hdmi, as the macbook only recognised the monitor as a hd tv and not a external display? would it work with DVI cables instead of hdmi?
Thanks.

I think I know what you want, because I have a similar setup.
Do this: Get a mini-display port to DVI adapter and a DVI cable.
Make sure mirroring mode is off and set the monitors to their native resolution. Under system preferences -> displays preference, select the arrangement tab. Grab and drag the white bar from the top of the smaller blue screen to the larger screen. This will designate the other screen as your main desktop. Now all your desktop icons will be on your LG monitor and your MBP will be an extended desktop.
In my setup, I use the wireless keyboard and trackpad and close my MBP. This only leaves my external monitor as my only desktop.

External monitor slowing down my MacBook pro

I recently hooked up a brand new external Acer G205HV monitor to my 15" MacBook Pro (4gb RAM) using the mini display port to DVI adapter from Apple. I have an GeForce 9400M graphics card with 256mb ram. Whenever I have the monitor plugged in it slows down my computer tremendously. When I do not use the monitor, my laptop is back to being lightening fast.
Expose` and the dashboard lag a ton, and basically the internet craps out. I can barely load websites and streaming video has become virtually impossible. I have tried running with the laptop open and in clam mode. Same result. At first I thought I had a virus, which would be very very rare, but after using the laptop without the monitor I realized that the monitor was slowing me down.
The max resolution that I am running the monitor at is 1600x900 @60Hz. The DVI adapter is supposed to support a much higher resolution than this. Is my graphics card the issue? Any help is appreciated. thanks!

I have the same problem with a spring 2008 MacBook (4,1) with 4 GB RAM running 10.5.8. Using a DVI external monitor, the wireless speed drops by at least half and usually more. This is the case whether using a Samsung 2443 BW at home or a Dell at work. I've tried different DVI cables, changing channels from 11 to 1, no difference.
Took it to the local Apple store where they had only a VGA monitor to test with and, strangely, the wireless was unaffected. It was a small ACER monitor, a 15-inch or so, not wide-screen. Have had no other opportunities to try a VGA monitor, as I don't have a mini-DVI to VGA adapter.
But I wonder if there's something there?
Don

External Monitor changing resolutions on Macbook

I have seen several people ask this question, but I haven't found a suitable answer. I have a MacBook running 10.6.8 at school. I teach and move from room to room hooking up to different projectors and monitors. The set up is just very unstable. Despite its supposed ability to remember settings, it rarely does and the resolutions are messed up as well as the display callibrations. I have an external monitor on my desk. Yesterday, I set the resolution to the native 1280x1024, when I plugged back in, it was back to 1024x768. For some reason, the higher resolution wasn't even appearing on the list until I fiddled with it.
Why is this so buggy on this MacBook running this OS? Is there a way to force it to remember display settings better? Any tips?
I know that other teachers have more problems than I do because they don't even know how to change resolutions or anything like that.
Thanks for any tips, tricks or helpful comments.

Try doing a Parameter RAM reset - hold down command/option/p/r keys at start up and wait for three chimes before releasing the keys.

How can I split an external monitor's screen on MacBook Pro

I have a MacBook Pro with TWO external monitors. When maximizing a program on one of the external monitors it expands across BOTH screens. When I do the same thing on my Windows 7 system the program is contained to the monitor it is being displayed on. (Pretty smart of that PC to know which monitor I'm working on!) So HOW can I get the Mac to do the same thing? Is there a 3rd party utility that can identify multiple monitors? I'm using a Matrix DualHead2Go to connect the two external montors to the Mini-DVI port on the Mac.
Thanks!!

I'm using a Matrix DualHead2Go to connect the two external montors to the Mini-DVI port on the Mac
The behavior you describe in Windows is exactly how much multiple display system works but I have two graphics cards capable of driving two displays each. I believe you have identified the problem in the above sentence. I believe that the Mac sees the Matrix device as a single display and not the two displays themselves. With the two external monitors attached, open System Preferences and select the Displays tab. If the Mac OS sees the displays as two separate displays you should see a dialog in each of the monitors and on your MacBook Pro. If I am correct you won't see three display dialogs, you'll only see two, one on the Mac and one on one of the two external displays.

External monitor resolution problem on MacBook PRO

MacBook Pro mid 2012. Samsung 204Ts Monitor is not working in full res. However it works in full resolution on Mac Mini (Core 2 Duo)

In order to get the external monitor's native resolution uncheck use mirrored mode in your display preferences. If you are using mirrored mode then your computer's display, including its resolution is used on the external monitor,

Is there any way to attach a third external monitor to my 13" Macbook Retina?

I was really disappointed to learn on Friday that my 13" retina isn't capible of powering three external screens. I had two DP to VGA adapters plugged in, and the HDMI. Immediately two screens lit up. However, one remained black. I thought closing the laptop lid would free enough resources to allow the third screen to display, but no go
I would so very very much like three external screens that I've been investigating my options:
1) Return it and get the 15". I actually tried to do this, but I stupidly threw out my box even though I only got the Macbook ~8 days ago. Apple wants all packaging and manuals, so this isn't quite possible. My next option is to sell it on Craigslist or something at a loss. Not exactly ideal.
2) Split the signal of one of the connections by using something like Matrox's DualHead2Go. Not ideal though because it's likely one screen spanned across two monitors.
3) Get a USB to VGA adapter. I'm not even sure if this would work, but it seems like my best bet.
Also if it helps my monitors look like this:
Left: Small VGA 5x4 screen.
Center: Large DVI 16x9 screen.
Right: Another small VGA 5x4 screen.
Does anyone have any suggestions for this poor ******* who didn't do enough research before buying his Macbook Retina?
Thanks!
John
Also, I would rather not use the retina screen when using the external monitors. I prefer either just the retina or just externals. It just feels weird mixing externals + the laptop screen.

External iPad storage.
Here are some interesting products:
"SEAGATE DEBUTS FIRST MOBILE WIRELESS STORAGE FOR iOS
AND OTHER MOBILE DEVICES"
http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/16/seagates-goflex-satellite-portable-hard-drive -streams-content-o/
Airstash
Compatibility
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Can I run two big external monitors on my 2012 MacBook Pro?

I understand that my NON-retina 2012 MBP can be set up to drive two Apple Thunderbolt Displays, but am I out of luck on driving two generic 27" DVI or HDMI external monitors?
Boring details: I've just bought a mid-2012 MBP, with a quad-core i7 and 16 Gb of RAM plus the high-end GPU w/ 1GB of video RAM, but non-retina. I'd like to run two external 1080p or DVI HD-equivalent monitors (I have several new Samsung 27-inchers). I can live without the laptop 15-inch screen while I'm doing it!
I know that the retina MBP has two Thunderbolt ports, plus a DVI port, which would have easily given me what I need. However, I didn't get the retina MBP because it's totally non-upgradable by a user. There were a couple of other potential additional issues, including some reported problems installing Windows into Parallels via external DVD player. There's also the $mid-3000's price for retina, tricked out the way I'd like... Tradeoffs! At least I still have Firewire.
The two big externals help a lot with video editing. Even with my old G5 PowerMac, you could immediately drive two 1080p-equivalent displays. I expect that someone will release a much-more powerful solution than the Matrox USB 2 screen driver dongle, etc., sometime soon, using "superfast" USB 3, but I'll lose one of my two USB 3 ports; I'll want to have 'em both free for other externals, I'm sure.
Thoughts and/or solutions?

For those following this thread...
There is a posting elsewhere here in Discussions that describes how to get two large external monitors running on a recent Macbook Pro by using only ONE Apple Thunderbolt Display, then daisychaining a LaCie Thunderbolt drive after the T-Bolt display, and this allows adding another large DVI display in the chain after the LaCie.
Still pricey, since it does involve buying one Apple Thunderbolt Display, plus a LaCie drive, and cables, plus the DVI display, but it's around half a thousand dollars cheaper than two Apple T-Bolt displays, plus you have a very fast LaCie external drive.
Still not what I'm looking for, but if you're interested, here's a link...
https://discussions.apple.com/message/18391941#18391941

External Monitor not seen by MacBook

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