How do I know if my display is failing? It goes black a lot.

I was just given a Macbook Pro which I'm checking out to give my daughter. The display seems to go black on me, especially if I move it even slightly. Will the hardware test utility in the original install (gray) DVD's, find any issues? She lives in NYC 6 hours from here, so I want it all working perfectly before I give it to her.

Thanks for reply. I bought it from apple store and bought sim off them just as pay as you go, not on a pay monthly plan. Haven't used it since it ran out, only use wi fi but because I'm selling the old one somebody has asked if its locked, I just thought somebody might be able to tell me but thanks anyway.

Similar Messages

My display suddenly turns off (goes black), nothing works, have to restart using power the button.

Hi all
In both Snow Leopard and Lion, it sometimes (rather rarely) happens. Specially when the system tries to use a litle bit more of the graphics performance - such as using Mission Control, opening Adobe Photoshop, using Quick Preview (pressing the space key) - the display very suddenly goes black, or turns off. In this phase, absolutely nothing works ! No sound, no response to pressing any of the keys on the keyboard, NOTHING! Not even the keyboard backlit adjustment keys (F5 & F6) do any good.
And what I do is to press and hold the power button to turn the dead device, off and start it up again.
What I did to solve this problem which didn't work at all:
1- Since the problem occurs when using more graphics performance, I reckon this might have something to do with the graphic switching... . so I unchecked the "Automatic Graphic Switching" in both Snow Leopard & Lion, but still the same thing happened a few times.
2- I did reset the P-RAM and SMC (whatever they are) in Snow Leopard. No difference !
3- I changed from Snow Leopard to Lion, which is currently installed on the device.
None of the above could solve this annoying and devastating problem.
I'm too afraid that this is a hardware related issue. If so, then any of the two graphic chipsets, or even the mainboard might be damaged I guess ?
Does anyone have seen such thing and happened to solve it somehow? I would REALLY appreciate if you could share the solution. Any kinda guidance, helping to find out the reason of this, would be such a relief !
So thank you, in advanced

Oh ! One thing I forgot to mention...
And that is, I tested the hardware twice, using Apple Hardware Test, in both quick and extended modes.
p.s.:
The "problem" happened three times in the last 30 minutes. I've been using Photoshop. Thank god everything got recovered....
I desprately need help here guys !!

How can i get ProgressMonitor to display while task is going on.

hi can anybody tell me what i'm doing wrong.. I don't understand threads that well. I'm writing ftp client that uploads user files to our ftp.server. My problem is ProgressMonitor hangs until ftp transfer is done before displaying message of the job status... I try to give it it's own thread. but it seems like the process for ftp upload takes higher priority so ProgressMonitor does not get attention til all ftp process is done...
import java.io.*;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import sun.net.ftp.*;
import sun.net.*;
* An application that displays a ProgressMonitor
* when the 'Upload' button is pressed. A complex
* 'operation' to upload files and update the monitor
* @author
public class ProgressTestApp extends JApplet {
private JPanel actionPanel;
private String names[] = { "browse..","Upload" };
private JButton choices[];
private JLabel label;
private JTextField FolderpathText;
private JPanel reportPanel;
private String newline = "\n";
private JTextArea taskOutput;
private File pwFile;
private ProgressMonitor monitor;
private String fullpath;
private List mylist;
Thread thread = new Thread();
JFrame frame = new JFrame( "Progress-Monitor" );
private int mini=0;
public int maxi=100;
public int boo=0;
private Runnable runnable;
/** a lable for the lient info text **/
private JLabel getclientLabel()
     if ( label == null )
     label = new JLabel("Directory to upload: ") ;
     return label;
/** a text to show client info */
private JTextField getFolderpathText()
if ( FolderpathText == null)
     FolderpathText = new JTextField (100);
     FolderpathText.setText( " " );
     return FolderpathText;
/** a text to show client info */
private JTextArea gettaskOutput()
if ( taskOutput == null)
     taskOutput = new JTextArea(5, 20);
taskOutput.setMargin(new Insets(5,5,5,5));
taskOutput.setEditable(false);
     return taskOutput;
private JPanel getreportPanel()
if (reportPanel == null)
     reportPanel = new JPanel(new BorderLayout());
     reportPanel.add(getclientLabel(),BorderLayout.WEST);
     reportPanel.add(getFolderpathText(),BorderLayout.CENTER);
return reportPanel;
* Application entry point.
* Create the splash window, and display it.
* @param args Command line parameter. Not used.
public void init() {
// Create a frame with a single button in it.
// When the button is pressed, a thread is spawned
// to run out sample operation.
//JFrame frame = new JFrame( "ProgressMonitor Test" );
//create array of buttons
choices = new JButton[names.length];
//set up panel for buttons
actionPanel = new JPanel();
actionPanel.setLayout( new GridLayout(1,choices.length));
//set up buttons and register their listeners
for ( int count = 0; count < choices.length; count++ )
choices[count]=new JButton(names[count]);
     actionPanel.add(choices[count]);
Container container = getContentPane();
container.setBackground(Color.gray);
container.add( getreportPanel(), BorderLayout.NORTH);
container.add( actionPanel, BorderLayout.CENTER);
// Create a ProgressMonitor. This will be started
// when the Upload button is pressed.
int min = mini;
int max = maxi;
String[] message = new String[2];
message[0] = "Performing Operation.";
message[1] = "This may take some time...";
final ProgressMonitor monitor = new ProgressMonitor( frame,
     message,
     " of ",
     min,
     max );
// This is our sample operation.
final Runnable runnable = new Runnable() {
public void run() {
if( boo == 1 )
maxi=file_utility(pwFile);
int sleepTime = 1000;
for( int i = 1; i < maxi; i++ ) {
try {
monitor.setNote( i + " of " + maxi );
monitor.setProgress( i );                              monitor.setMinimum( i );                              monitor.setMaximum( maxi );
if( monitor.isCanceled() ) {
monitor.setProgress( maxi );
break;
Thread.sleep( sleepTime );
catch( InterruptedException dontcare ) {
monitor.close();
choices[0].addActionListener( new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed( ActionEvent event ) {
// Run the operation in its own thread.
pwFile=findfile();
     FolderpathText.setText(pwFile.getAbsolutePath());
     boo=1;
choices[1].addActionListener( new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed( ActionEvent event ) {
// Run the operation in its own thread.
          Thread thread = new Thread( runnable );
          thread.start();
          ftp_utility(pwFile);
} // main
/*** Folder locater to find local file to upload ***/
File findfile()
     JFileChooser myFC = new JFileChooser();
     myFC.setFileSelectionMode(JFileChooser.DIRECTORIES_ONLY);
     int returnVal = myFC.showOpenDialog(new JFrame());
     if(returnVal == JFileChooser.APPROVE_OPTION)
     //JOptionPane.showMessageDialog( null, myFC.getSelectedFile());
     File file = myFC.getSelectedFile();
     //String fullpath=c.getSelectedFile().getName();
     return file;
/***Fi_l_e_s to upload ***/
public int file_utility (File uploadFile)
     int files=0;
     FtpClient fcMyFtp = new FtpClient();
     try
     int ch;
     fcMyFtp.openServer("ftp.abc.com");
     fcMyFtp.login("Anonymous","[email protected]");
     fcMyFtp.binary();
     fcMyFtp.cd("incoming40");
     if( uploadFile.isDirectory())
     if( mylist == null )
          mylist= Arrays.asList(uploadFile.list());
     catch (Exception exception)
     JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,exception);
     return mylist.size();
/***FT_P _ ***/
public void ftp_utility (File uploadFile)
FtpClient fcMyFtp = new FtpClient();
     try
     int ch;
     fcMyFtp.openServer("ftp.abc.com");
     fcMyFtp.login("Anonymous","[email protected]");
     fcMyFtp.binary();
     fcMyFtp.cd("incoming40");
     if( uploadFile.isDirectory())
     if( mylist == null )
     mylist= Arrays.asList(uploadFile.list());
     for(int count=0; count < mylist.size(); count++)
     fullpath=uploadFile.getAbsolutePath()+"\\"+mylist.get(count);
     File file = new File(fullpath);
     if( file.isDirectory())
     //file.mkdir();
     //ftp_utility(file);
     else
     TelnetOutputStream out = fcMyFtp.put(file.getName());
     FileInputStream in = new FileInputStream(file);
     int c = 0;
     while ((c = in.read()) != -1 )
          out.write(c);
     in.close();
     out.close();
     fcMyFtp.closeServer();
     //JOptionPane.showMessageDialog( null, "Upload completed...");
     catch (Exception exception)
     JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,exception);
} // ProgressTest

First of all, please use the code tags when posting code, especially that much code. http://forum.java.sun.com/faq.jsp#messageformat
The problem is that you need to switch the threads, so you should spawn the ftp process in a new thread, and let the monitor run in the main thread (actually the UI thread). I don't think that's really documented anywhere. I had the same problem the first time.

How will I know, if the asynchronous message fails in XI? Acknowledgment?

Hi guys,
I have a FILE->XI->FILE scenario and sometimes the inbound message failsin XI (bad structure or whatever esle).. Is it possible to receive some message, that the original message failed?
I have read topics about acknowledgments, but I didn't find it out, where to configure it.
Could you give me some advice, how to set it up in my scenario?
Thanx, Peter

Peter,
first go to the Integration Builder: Configuration
access by, the design -> Environment -> Integration Builder(Configuration).
1. Go to Scenarios
2. Create a new Configuration Scenario by rightclick and NEW
3. choose language and save
4. on the left tree choose your created scenario
5. choose Receiverdetermination
6. Enter Service = sender System
7. Choose Interface = your Interface File(Structure) from Design
8. Choose Namespace if not filled
9. create
10. open the new Receiverdetermination
11. tab"Configured Receivers" enter Service = receiving System and maybe a condition
12. save
13. Tab"Configuration Overview for Receiver Determination" open the new Receiver Service. The should be a text like "not defined".
14. click at thew first symbol(Interface Determination) Dropdown and select new
15. go on with create
16. choose Inbound Interface and Mapping
17. save and close
18. Goto ReceiverAgreement and click at NEW from the symbol-line.
19. go on with create
20. enter sender Service and communication channel
21. save, activate and good luck
I hope it helps you to setup your communication.
Feel free to contact me if you´re having problems.
Gordon

How do I know if my Airport Extreme Card is going bad?

I have 3 computers on a home network. I have the router (Airport Extreme) in my guest house and it is working properly. The tenant is able to get her email and browse just fine. I also have a Airport Express in the front house that extends the signal via WDS. I have a 24 inch Intel iMac 2.4 that is connected to the network and runs fine. When I check in the Airport utility the iMac can see both routers. I have a Power Mac G5 2.0 that has a Airport Extreme card in my studio which is behind my garage. It shows that it is connected to the network and at full strength but I cannot browse or get mail. I tried to run diagnostics but when I do it does not find my network. I also cannot find either one of the routers from the Airport Utility even though the Mac is about one room away from the main router. I tried renewing the DHCP. I also even uninstalled and reinstalled the Airport Extreme Card with no luck. I can see my network from the Status Bar where the Airport Signal Strength is but again...cannot find the routers in Airport Utility nor find the network within the Networking Diagnostics.
Any advise?

Little antenna is still intact. Everything looks good on that part. If I take it out the bars go grey. Yes this system was working fine with very good download speeds up to 1mb/sec (usually 400 to 700 kbps) up until a few days ago.

I urgently need to know how I can connect 8 thunderbolt display, I was thinking with the new mac pro will come out, but I wonder if it is possible to connect an iMac to 4GB of graphics card, but suffers from the imac. thanks

I urgently need to know how I can connect 8 thunderbolt display, I was thinking with the new mac pro will come out, but I wonder if it is possible to connect an iMac to 4GB of graphics card, but suffers from the imac. thanks

I tightened all HD screws and it didn't help. With the machine running and side of the case off, I physically stopped both the video card fan and the front case fan with my finger for a couple seconds and the noise continued. I also took all hard drives out one by one and rebooted each time. Again, the noise continued until I took out the Mac HD in Bay 1, rebooted, and I had a very quiet, silent machine. The issue is the hard drive in bay 1 that shipped with the computer, it's without a doubt causing the hum/woosh sound. I still need to know if I can safely swap the Mac HD from bay 1 to bay 4 without any issues to the operating system. I would like to try that to see if it dampens the noise but I also want to make sure this swap won't screw up my machine at all.

How do you know the best iMac display size

how do you know the best iMac display size
Only on them fits in the screen window and that makes the font so tiny. The others are too wide or too tall. I usually view at 150 - 200% for vision issues.

You say it's better to do the Media Browser? I'm fairly new to movie, dvd and garage band. How would I go about using the Media Browser instead of straight to iDVD?
Select Your project - go up to Share - Share to Media Browser and as Large (Not HD)
In iDVD select a nice theme - click on Media button - click on Movie - Select Your movie.
NOW - Save as a DiskImage - and test this before burning DVDs - if this Plays OK then either burn the Image by using Disk Util tool (and set down burn-speed to x4) - or burn via iDVD (will take more time)
I want to keep as much quality as I can.
Then don't use iMovie'08 or 09 or 11 - as they all discard every second line resulting in less quality on the DVD. I use iMovie HD6 or FinalCut any version.
Also...I tried to split my project in iMovie...but couldn't find a way. I wound up just making a copy and then deleting out a handful of scenes from the copy...I still have the original at 4:12hrs. Is there a way in iMovie to split a project?
I would make a copy and cut away a bit from the end - calling this Part 1 and from start of the other copy Part 2.
OR - there are other programs that can squees in more to a DVD e.g. Roxio Toast™ - BUT this has two cons.
• It costs - to me it was well spent mony as it can so much more e.g. back engineer a DVD to an editable form
• Squeesing in more on a DVD - costs in QUALITY - and as You want as much as it can be - then 90 minuts portions encoded with Pro-Quality encoding and full quality interlasced material from a video-editor that delivers this is the way to get 100% of what DVDs can do.
DVD is as standard only SD-Video - HD not possibly. Then You need Blu-Ray. (also Roxio Toast™)
Yours Bengt W

How can I know if a Cinema Display 22 inch ADC is dead ?

Hi,
I bought a 22 inch ADC Cinema Display for my PowerMac G4/400 (Gigabit Ethernet). I upgraded the PowerMac with an ATI Radeon 7500 graphic card and a Sonnet 1Ghz processor. I'm running 10.4.9 and have the latest ATI driver for the card.
When I plugged the ADC cable, the computer started but the display didn't light up. All lights are off and the USB ports are not powered. If I unplug he PowerMac, plug the display and plug the PowerMac back, I can't start it using the power button (on the display neither).
I checked and rechecked my PowerMac and Cinema display specs and requirements and everything should be compatible. Is my Cinema Display dead ? How can I know for sure ? Are there any drivers I must install ?

I'm having a similar problem, only it's recurring on several Cinema Display monitors on different machines.
One thing we have been able to figure out is that the problem appears to be the power brick. By repeatedly unplugging and wiggling the power cord at the brick, the monitor will eventually come back on... until you restart it.
This is VERY frustrating for such expensive monitors (not to mention being Apple products). I suspect the problem lies with faulty power bricks, and I'll be following up with Applecare to see what they have to say about it.
- Alex Locke
PowerMac G5 Dual Processor Mac OS X (10.4.5)

How do I know if I have new Ipad with retina display the model says MC706B/A

How do I know if I have new Ipad with retina display the model says MC706B/A

You have a 3rd generation iPad. And yes it is a Retina model.
Introduced     March 2012
Discontinued     October 2012
Model Identifier     iPad3,1
Model Number     A1416
Order Number     MC705LL/A (16 GB Black) MD328LL/A (16 GB White) MC706LL/A (32 GB Black) MD329LL/A (32 GB White) MC707LL/A (64 GB Black) MD330LL/A (64 GB White)

I've just send to repair my retina display and I'm no very sure that they replace it for a LED one . How I could know which kind of display I got now??

I've just send to repair my retina display and I'm no very sure that they replace it for a LED one . How I could know which kind of display I got now??

If you head over to ifixit.com, you can check out their replacement guides for each of the items you feel needs replacing. The cost for the parts is listed there. It would be that cost + labor at an Apple store. I'm not sure if they would replace things that are cracked as that is cosmetic damage and doesn't affect how well (or poorly) the computer works. You would have to bring it to a store and ask.
~Lyssa

How do I know if my ipad fourth generation has retina display?

How do I know if my ipad fourth generation has retina display, before I open the box?
Thanks!

Check iPad model with the Serial Number
https://selfsolve.apple.com/agreementWarrantyDynamic.do

How do I know if the iPad mini has the retina display, before buying it, by the box it comes in?

I was recently trying to buy an iPad Mini with retina display but the box it was in did not say anything about whether it had the retina display. Also the price they were going to charge me was $299 and not the $399 of the Mini with retina display. So how do I know by looking at the box if the Ipad Mini in the box has the retina display?

By this;
The model number on the back cover is:
A1489 on the iPad mini with Retina display Wi-Fi
A1490 on the iPad mini with Retina display Wi-Fi + Cellular"
do you mean on the back cover of the box or the iPad itself. If it is only on the back side of the iPad itself, then I wont know if I have actually purchased the iPad Mini with retina display until I have opened the box. To me this is unacceptable as it creates a huge hassle if my intent was to buy thr iPad Mini with retina display but was actually sold the iPad Mini without retina display. When I return it for eith the right iPad mini or my money back, certain retailers have a habit of treating such people like criminals even when it was the retailers mistake. The box should be clearly maked to indicate which iPad mini in contains so the purchaser does not have to feel like they're playing roulette.
Today I was trying to buy the iPad Mini with retina display and made it very clear to those working at this retailer that was my intent. This paricular retailer has you talk to their sales people on the floor and they give you a print out of the item you are purchasing. Then the customer takes it to the cahier who takes to the stockroom and brings it back to the customer. I asked the cashier if it was indeed the iPad Mini with retina display and they said yes. So I asked how can you tell by the box? The cashier told me all the boxes look like this one. I said to them, if it is the iPad Mini with retina display whay is it priced $299 like the original iPad Mini without retina display? I walked out without buying it. Some poeple may have thought oh good I'm getting the iPad Mini with retina display for the price of the iPad mini without retina display when in fact they be only getting the original iPad mini without retina display.
Your response helped me but it does not solve the problem as far as I am concerned of being able to tell what iPad Mini is in the box simply by what is on the outside of the box. You may say, what difference does it make? My response is, not all retailers are scrupulous!

How can I get iTunes to display the tracks from a CD in their original (album) order?

To be absolutely honest, I don't really understand what this box is for, so I shall just use it to repeat and expand on my question. (I have already sent a "Feedback" comment on the same topic).
How can I get iTunes to display the tracks from a CD in their original (album) order?
It seems to me that there is something very basic wrong with the way iTunes handles CD Tracks.
Professionally produced CD tracks are seldom if ever in a randomised order. Why then does iTunes seem unable to display the tracks in the order they appear on the original CD source - whether from a personally owned CD or from a download from the iTunes Store?
Some music demands a specific, non-alphabetic sequence in order to make sense. Why does it seem that iTunes only offers Alphabetic, or reverse alphabetic order - both of which make a nonsense of the original, often intended order of tracks?
Why not replace the so-called "cover-art" in the bottom left hand corner if the iTunes window - which, while it may look attractive to some, gives the barest of information concerning the original disc, with a list of the original CD tracks in their original order, so that the user can easily reestablish the order in which they should be played.
As I would expect legibility might be a problem with doing this, why could not the original contents, (in their original order), at least, be displayed when the "cover art" is double clicked-on - the result of which at present gives me an enlarged version of the "Cover Art". While on the subject of the contents of the source disc, what about all the album notes which someone takes trouble to write in order to increase the appreciation of the music on the CD and the listener's general background knowledge of the artists involved. Such notes, it seems to me, have considerable intrinsic value in their own account. I would, I think, normally be prepared to buy such "Sleeve notes" - so long as a "taster" was supplied (as it is for the music) - for something like the cost of a single 'Tune" on iTunes.
These two aspects let Apple iTunes down enormously, in my opinion. I think that by chopping even quite protracted sequences of music up into bits does no one any favours - except perhaps Apple's already quite substantial bank balance. People have to be aware that two and a half, to three and a half minutes is a very short time to develop a piece of worthwhile music, and that there are many, many composers, not all of whom are alive today who have written music that huge masses of mankind value for the enrichment of their lives and the human condition in general.
Please make the viewing of iTunes tracks in their correct order by default possible. By all means have the alphabetical variations available as offering a different approach to the music, but not the sole approach to it - PLEASE.
Frustratedly yours
Alan Whitaker
PS I work at my old 24" iMac Intel Core 2 machine which runs OS "Tiger" - because it is more beautiful to look at, the screen is more pleasant to work on, and because, in some ways it is more capable (it will run FreeHand MX without needing a "patch"), than my more recent 21.5" which runs "Snow Leopard". (I don't find it that much slower, either).

Dear Mike
Thanks for the support. I am utterly amazed that after all the hype about how good iTunes is that it cannot play a downloaded CD in the correct order, and that what that order should be is not available directly from within one's own iTunes installation. (I know that one can go back to the iTunes Store to check what the order should be, but having downloaded the tracks surely iTunes is clever enough to retrieve this important information.
My iTunes to differ from yours in that I have also noticed that it seems unable to download copies of my "talking books" in the correct order either. But in my case it downloads them - from a CD - in order, but with the first track downloaded first - so that it appears at the bottom of the column of tracks so that it would get played last! (At least this is, while being inexplicable, a relatively "logical" bit of blundering and because of this is relatively easy to put right!).
I like many genres of music, some of which are not really programmed except perhaps by the artist performing them. I know that Frank Sinatra was very careful to programme his album songs to obtain a particular effect and in relation to the keys of the music. iTunes presumes to know better.
Film scores may be totally randomly put together, in some cases, but in others the order is vital to one's appreciation of the music as a whole and how it relates to the plot of the film.
In symphonic music most works are divided into sections and are conceived by the composer that way. Some individual sections may gain a life of their own if played separately, but they are never complete in the sense that the composer envisaged them without being placed in their proper context.
Opera and probably most choral music too, is similar except that the words may well become meaningless if the order is changed at the whim of a piece of ill-written computer code, while ballet music has to be heard totally within its sequential context or it becomes meaningless.
Finally, I would venture that iTunes, by jumbling up the order of the tracks as recorded on a CD, does an immense disservice, not only to the music on a particular CD, but to music in general, by expressing everything in terms of "Songs" - which it seems to interpret as stand-alone items of between 2 and 4 minutes whatever the genre. Even the way the iTunes publicity speaks of how many "songs" it can store instead of how many minutes or hours of recorded sound. This has to be another brick in the wall of "dumming-down" of people's expectations, and the shortening of their attention spans.
I don't know about anyone else, but I feel betrayed by Apple over this. Perhaps the look, feel and general presentation of an item are not the most desirable features of a consumer product. Maybe it should be judged more on it fitness for the purpose for which it was sold. There is one other possibility - that Apple are trying to redefine "Music" - and that everything that lasts longer than about 3.5 minutes or is in the form of what could for want of a better term be called symphonic in the broadest sense is something else - not "Music" within Apple's new definition, at all!
Well that's off my chest! now I can get down to creating some sort of order in my iTunes Libraries, knowing that I have to reconsult all the sources in order to confirm the source playing order.
Anyway thanks again. At least I know that it is not just me
alanfromthatcham

How to create a 'parallel' extended display through Apple TV Airplay

Dear all,
I'm a relatively new Mac user and have not been able to find an answer to my question by looking up key words in Google or here, so apologies if this has been answered before.
Basically, I would like to know how I can project a video file or a film/TV series I am watching (for example, a video playing in VLC or a film streaming from my subscription to Amazon Prime Instant Video website, open in a browser) onto my Toshiba TV, via Apple TV airplay - whilst still being able to work on a separate window/desktop on my MacBook Air.
As a PC user slowly converting to Mac, I know how to do this on a PC by using the Windows logo key +P shortcut, choosing 'Extend' instead of 'Duplicate' and then dragging whatever video source I want to watch into the extended desktop screen being projected on my TV. I've tried doing this on the Mac by
using the multiple desktops in Mission Control (with no success, as Airplay obviously just mirrors what I'm doing on my screen onto the TV, i.e. switching from desktop to desktop as I do on the computer), or
by clicking 'Extend Desktop' instead of the automatic 'Mirror Built-in Display' on the Airplay icon on the menu bar and then dragging the browser into the extended display on the TV and hitting the 'Full screen' button of the video itself. However, as soon as I do this and click or type anything on my computer desktop, the video automatically minimizes and all I'm left with on the TV display is the browser with the initial smaller version of the film playing within it. In the 'View' tab, I've tried switching Firefox/Safari to 'Full screen' before making the video 'Full screen' too, but again, as soon as I touch anything back on my Mac desktop it minimizes. I've noticed Chrome has an 'Enter Presentation Mode' option available in the 'View' tab, which leaves the video playing full screen, but with a grey bar at the top (which is visually annoying, but still closer to what I'm looking for). Similarly, if I try to drag a video file playing in VLC, as soon as I hit the full screen button, the desktop I'm using on the Mac goes black even though I can still move the cursor on it.
I'm clearly missing a step somewhere, so any help would be greatly appreciated as I'm a prolific multitasker!

Hi _MicMacs_,
It sounds like you've been on the right track in trying to sort out this issue. I'm a bit unclear on what you are describing when you say it works initially, but then immediately reverts when you click back on something in your primary display. You may want to try sizing the window to the display instead of using the full screen option (two opposing diagonal arrows), though this will leave the window border around the screen. For a bit more background on working with multiple displays in Mavericks, you may find the following article helpful:
OS X: Using multiple displays in Mavericks
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5891
Regards,
- Brenden

I'd like to replace my hard drive. How do I know what to buy for my 15-inch early 2008 MacBook Pro?

I am out of room on my hard drive. I'd like to get a new hard drive and restore my data to the new drive from Time Machine. How do I know what kind of hard drive to buy for my 15-inch, early 2008 MacBook Pro? Also, how hard is this to do?

I have changed HDDs several times on the old MBP. Currently it has a Hitachi 500 GB HDD that came out of my new one. My adage is that one cannot have too much storage and I think that the 1TB HDD is an excellent choice. Not only do you get generous capacity, the performance should be (theoretically) comparable to a 750 GB 7200 rpm HDD. I will be very surprised if there are compatibility problems.
If you bought the HDD from OWC, you should have received Installation instructions. If not, go to the OWC website and look at the video. I actually downloaded it so that I could hand write the instructions down step by step. Also check out iFixit website. They have step by step instructions that may prove to be useful.
Tools you need: 00 Phillips and #6 Torx Drivers (get good ones). The instructions make mention of a plastic pry bar (spudger). I use a stiff piece of plastic like a credit card.
Tips to keep in mind: Get a large open table space and place a large clean towel on it. That will protect your MBP and when you drop a screw (and you will) it will not bounce far so you will not have to spend an hour looking for it.
As you take out a set of screws, keep them together (I use wide masking tape. The little screws will stick to it.)
Keep the sets in sequence. That will make reassembly much, much easier.
The most difficult steps are removing the keyboard from the MBP body and removing the ribbon cable from the mother board. In case of the former, work from the back (the display) to the front. You will initially have to pry it up and then do a lot of jiggling to remove it. Don't be too timid about it. At the end of the ribbon cable there is a rectangular connector. Use your credit card to remove it. Just pry it off.
The #6 Torx driver is used to take off the 4 mounting pins on the HDD and if I remember correctly there is another place where it is needed, specifically in the battery compartment ( I think). If the instructions don't say so, keep that in mind and inspect the screw before you select the driver.
Good luck and make sure that you don't have parts left over.
Ciao.

How do I know if my display is failing? It goes black a lot.

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