Going berserk - my Macbook Air shows irrational, whimsical behavior when it comes to detecting external screens - solutions?

Question

My Macbook Air (OSX 10.9.1 - 1.7 / i5 ) is normally connected via HDMI to a LG 22EAA53 LED IPS monitor. If the combination is working properly, the motto is: don't pull any cables, don't mess with it. If I do pull the HDMI-cable, or, even worse, if I pick up the notebook and connect it elsewhere to a TV monitor for the occasional viewing of a movie (Sony-flatscreen), everything goes wrong. First because the Air may or may not detect the tv: sometimes he does, sometimes he doesn't. In the latter case it doesn't matter what I try: cables in and out, notebook on and off, ditto tv etc etc. Nothing will help change the Air's mood. Too bad, but hey, it's only a movie, and as long as I can work. Not so. When I (****** off already) return to my office and reconnect the air via the LG monitor, this now doesn't work either. The monitor says it gets no signal, and if I then pull the HDMI cable, I get the message that the connection is lost. In the Air-menu settings/displays the option to detect a external screen is non-existent. The only thing I can do, I know this from experience, is simply wait. Because within a couple of days the Air can all by itself decide to recognize the external screen again. I can't help but wondering about this whimsical behaviour. It makes you wonder if, in this era of state of the art technology, we made really that much progress compared to the people who lived thousands of  years ago, who in case of problems had no other option than to wait for redemption by a mysterious, unknowable supreme being. And it appears I am not the only one with this kind of problem either – I found it on several fora, but alas, to no avail, the problem is common and recognized, a solution is not around, or so it appears. But maybe, maybe someone here has a bright idea?

Answer 1

The key to managing the single USB port on the machine is using as little wired hardware peripherals as possible. Here's how I have my setup (this was a similar setup prior to the Air):
1. AirPort Extreme Base Station that serves as my router
2. AirPort Express Base Station that serves as my speaker system (1)
3. AirPort Express Base Station that serves as my printer server (2)
I have a 320GB USB 2.0 HD that plugs into my Extreme, that I then backup to a secondary 500GB (monthly). The 320GB is split partitioned with 80GB serving as my machine's TM backup and the remaining serving as general file storage. On the general file storage I have my iTunes Library & iPhoto Library that are shared to three computers on my at-home network. I have a Mac Mini that serves as my "server" which runs OS X 10.5 server and facilitates any additional services.
As my entire apartment is "wireless" I can go anywhere in the place and have access to my music, files and printing without ever having to connect at any time. I use a bluetooth mouse and keyboard if I'm ever at my desk with the MBA and have a "setup" that I made with a monitor, stand, micro-DVI to VGA adapter and constant power available. I then have a USB extension cable that extends around the back of my day into a small "enclosure" I made on my desk that allows me to connect any USB peripheral such as my card reader, Super Drive, iPhone or iPod.
It's a fairly intricate setup that took patience, some design and planning but it allows me to use my machine as a true portable but with the flexibility to "dock" it when the time comes.