MBP to Dual Monitors. (I googled first).

It seems like everywhere I look the solution is either expensive or the solution is not clear. I've googled and googled.
I have a MBP and I would like to use two external (Extended) monitors.

Then I guess you've seen SideCar ?
http://www.digitaltigers.com/sidecar.asp
And the Kensington Offering ?
http://us.kensington.com/html/14499.html
And DualHead2go ?
http://shopmatrox.com/usa/products/datasheet.asp?ID=788

Similar Messages

Connecting MBP w/Retina and Work Laptop with Switch to dual monitors

I have the latest MBP w/retina display and NVidia GT750M video card. I also have my work laptop (Dell, Win 7, HDMI out). I want to connect these to a dual monitor setup with a switch. I currently only have one monitor that is 1920 x 1080 and supports hdmi and dvi. I would like to buy another cost effective monitor to take advantage of my MBP's higer resolution and have that as my main monitor.
Next I would like to connect the two laptops to the dual monitor setup via switch to go back and forth between systems.
What is the best switch to buy for my needs? Does OS matter when selecting switches? Monitor recommendations are appreciated also.

I am also seeing lots of posts about Mavericks not working well with switches. Has this issue been resolved?

How to set up dual monitors with a Mac Mini

The Mac Mini has only one video output port. I very nearly didn't buy a Mac Mini system because I need to work with two monitors. I use the second monitor to display information in Web pages, PDFs, and Word documents while I am working in the main window.
However, I discovered after quite a bit of Googling that it is possible to set up dual monitors using an inexpensive USB video adapter (about $70).
So I bought my Mini (1.83Ghz, 2GB RAM, 200GB 7200rpm Seagate Momentus), and I also bought a USB video adapter called the EVGA Plus.
I've installed this system and used it now for a week, and I am quite pleased with it. So I thought I'd pass this information along to anyone who's interested. Please note that, although this is my first post to this forum, this isn't spam -- I have no financial relationship with any of the companies mentioned here, other than as a customer.
LINKS
EVGA Plus:
http://www.evga.com/articles/409.asp
Their literature does not mention Mac OS X compatibility. However, the underlying technology is made by Display Link. You can download beta Mac OS X drivers from their site:
Go to Display Link to download the beta Mac OS support -- see
http://www.displaylink.com/macbetadrivers.html
The disk image includes a very well written PDF document that explains the driver's status and limitations.
PICS
My Mac Mini setup, with dual monitors:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/BPfaffenberger/SGV5A7lA2QI/AAAAAAAABMI/CBuR4m3uGRA/IMG_0144 .JPG?imgmax=800
The EVGA+ USB display unit - a tiny little thing - driven by Mac OS beta drivers from Display Link:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/BPfaffenberger/SGV49qpHuQI/AAAAAAAABME/b9wo9TZPJdE/IMG_0143 .JPG?imgmax=800
*MORE INFO*
A thread at 123macmini.com on the same topic, including another user's experiences and MUCH better pictures:
http://www.123macmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=19126&postdays=0&postorder=asc& start=0&sid=5a05cb75b90cab5bbc7dfd16b02632c1
NOTES
* The DisplayLink driver is beta. It doesn't support 2D or 3D accelerated graphics. You can't use it to display iPhoto slide shows, for example. However, I need to be able to display a Web page, document, or PDF in the second monitor while I am working in the first. I've found this solution to be quite acceptable for this purpose.
* Several other companies make USB video units that use the same DisplayLink support, so they should work, too. However, they are more expensive -- largely because they're set up to function as port expanders, I believe. The EVGA Plus was the only unit priced under $100 when I did my search.
* USB does not have very much bandwidth, so you might be surprised that to hear that it's possible to use USB to drive a monitor! You'll find that the display isn't as fast as DVI, but for my purposes, I've found it quite acceptable.
* The EVGA Plus comes with a terrible USB to mini USB cable that will cause all sorts of display problems. Replace it with the type of cable that is used to hook up digital cameras to a USB port.
* Once everything is installed, you can use the Displays in System Preferences (or just click the icon on the menu bar) to adjust the second monitor. You can choose display resolutions (depending on your monitor's ability, of course). Rotation works. You can also right-click the second monitor and choose a different background color or graphic.
Don't expect miracles. Don't go this route if you want to run videos or games in the second monitor. And if you get an EVGA Plus, replace that horrible cable!
I hope this information is helpful.
Bryan

There has been quite a lot of discussion here about driving twin displays with the mini, and more recently about the potential for USB video adapters to facilitate this, particularly in the light of several vendors claiming they have suitable MacOS devices and drivers 'almost ready'.
The DisplayLink solution seems to be the one most suggested as viable, though it's a pity they have not yet been able to move their drivers from beta - I suspect that puts a few people off. It's therefore good to hear of a real-world experience that should help others decide whether or not to go this route!

How do I move an entire app to a dual monitor? Not just a window?

How do I move an entire app to a dual monitor? Not just a window? I can drag single windows, but if I move a window to the second monitor and hit a button, like 'New', that opens a new window, then it opens the window in the first monitor. I want it to open in the second monitor instead.

Right. Mail remembers as well. I have the menubar set on my larger display, and the main Mail window on the MBP display. When I create a new message, it displays the composition window on whichever display I used the last time for composition. So after the first time I moved the composition window to the larger display, it always opens on that display. I can't remember if it remembers that behavior after taking the MBP on the road, where I use only its display, and then reconnect the second display back at home.
Mark

Bug - Color Management Photoshop 11 and OS X 10.6 Dual Monitors

I need to know if it's just me, or others are seeing this.
Color management doesn't seem to work properly on dual monitors (MBP + Dell 2408) with Photoshop 11/CS4 and 10.6.
Each of my monitors is independently calibrated and all other apps work fine. For reference Lightroom 2.4/Preview 5.0/FireFox 3.5.2 all render properly across both monitors. Under 10.5 Preview 4.X did not render properly across two monitors, I was so happy in 10.6 it finally did, but PS is WAY more important so I'm kinda bummed.
Anyway, this seems to only happen on the 2nd monitor. If I move the menu bar (Prefs/Displays/Arrangement) to the external monitor making it primary monitor then it works for that monitor, but no longer for the laptop display. Photoshop render images on the 2nd monitor way washed out, but normally on the primary.
Photoshop 11.0.1 worked fine for me on dual monitors under 10.5.

So if you've read the links above regarding the "default monitor" issue, people have suggested that a potential workaround is to go to System Preferences>Displays>Arrangement>drag the menu bar from the first diplay to the second
Essentially you make your secondary monitor the default display.
For me what this does to PS is that it now displays the matching colors to Lr in the secondary display (which is now the default display with the menu bar at the top), BUT! when I drag the PS window back into my MacBook display it appears OVERLY saturated...
Strangely Lr appears the same in both windows, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY with the same colors, saturation, brightness, just as it did before I made my Dell 2405FPW the default display. Basically, Lr hasn't shifted in color from display to display or even from display to display after making the secondary monitor my new default display. It has retained the same integrity of colors through all these changes.
Which begs the question, if Lr can't handle dual displays and always uses the color profile of the display it begins in (starts running in), then why does it never shift in color and still look exactly the same after I've made my Dell 2405FPW my primary display?
And actually, if you look really really carefully, Lr DOES produce a color shift between displays as you drag it from one screen to the next. It's extremely fast and happens pretty much as you get 0.5 to 1 inch of the window into the secondary display. It's subtle on my monitor too, which leads me to believe that it performs this color correction properly, quickly, and seamlessly.
What if, my Photoshop 10.0 (old version of CS3) is not registering and understanding the secondary display's color profile correctly? What if it really is PS's fault because everything else looks right? Maybe the issue I'm having is different from what others are experiencing, after all we're in 10.6 now and most of these issues were reported in 10.4 and 10.5? I should probably upgrade my PS CS3 and see what happens?
jb, what version of PS do you have?

Dual Monitors without Xorg.conf Help

I have an Acer Aspire One and Im trying to setup Dual Displays. Every guide Ive found, including the Acer One Article in the Wiki talks about editing the Xorg.conf file, yet my system seems to be running without one. Other than problems setting up the dual displays I dont have any issues with Display Settings so it seems my installation of arch linux seems to be using some other technology other than Xorg. Does any one know how the Display settings are setup without the use of the Xorg.conf file ? This is a fresh Arch Linux Base Install using only OpenBox.
Ive also tried using XRandR to setup my dual displays but I keep getting an error and google doesnt provide an answer.
I try and run the following command ( wich works fine on my other PC )
[zero@zero ~]$ xrandr --auto --output LVDS1 --mode 1024x600 --right-of VGA1
And get the following error
X Error of failed request: BadMatch (invalid parameter attributes)
Major opcode of failed request: 149 (RANDR)
Minor opcode of failed request: 7 (RRSetScreenSize)
Serial number of failed request: 24
Current serial number in output stream: 25
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
Last edited by devspyder (2010-07-18 19:08:32)

WooHoo !
awkwood - You Rock ! I feel like an idiot for not paying closer attention to your first post. I finally realized what you were saying and figured out how to do the downgrade.
If it's 2.12.0 I'd suggest trying 2.11.0 instead.
The most recent update borked my dual display with a similar error message but 2.11 works fine.
I don't use an xorg.conf.
So essentially this seems to be a bug with version 2.12 of the xf86-video-intel driver. I downgraded to ver 2.11 and everything works perfectly. I am running dual monitors at full resolution with no fuss. So again awkwood I thank you !
For other Arch Newbies who have this issue in the mean time until they fix the bug, this is how I did the downgrade.
Step 1:
download the 2.11 package from the link below
http://arm.konnichi.com/extra/os/i686/x … pkg.tar.xz
Step 2:
Open a terminal and cd to the directory where you saved the file
$ cd /home/$USERNAME/Downloads
Step 3:
Use pacman to install the package
sudo pacman -U xf86-video-intel-2.11.0-2-i686.pkg.tar.xz
Finally reboot. When you log back in everything should work fine
Again thanks to awkwood as well as karol, blind, Inxsible and everyone else for their help. Everyone here is so helpful, I am defiantly an Arch user for life. Hopefully they will fix the bug in the next version of the driver. My next step is to see about filling a bug report.

Dual monitor issues

Ok so (again) I'm trying to set up dual monitors.
My laptop has no backlight so I use a normal CRT as output
Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "X.org Configured"
Screen 0 "Screen1" 0 0
Screen 1 "Screen0" LeftOf "Screen1"
InputDevice "Keyboard0" "CoreKeyboard"
InputDevice "USB Mouse" "CorePointer"
#Option "Xinerama" "true"
#Option "Clone" "off"
EndSection
Section "ServerFlags"
Option "AllowMouseOpenFail" "true"
Option "AutoAddDevices" "False"
Option "DontZap" "False"
EndSection
Section "Files"
ModulePath "/usr/lib/xorg/modules"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/misc:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/misc"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/75dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/75dpi"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/100dpi:unscaled"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/100dpi"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/PEX"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/cyrillic"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/local"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/Type1"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/ttf/western"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/ttf/decoratives"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/truetype"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/truetype/openoffice"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/truetype/ttf-bitstream-vera"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/latex-ttf-fonts"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/defoma/CID"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/defoma/TrueType"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/artwiz-fonts"
EndSection
Section "Module"
Load "ddc"
Load "drm"
Load "dbe"
Load "dri"
Load "extmod"
Load "glx"
Load "bitmap"
Load "freetype"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Keyboard0"
Driver "keyboard"
Option "CoreKeyboard"
Option "XkbRules" "xorg"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "us"
Option "XkbVariant" ""
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "USB Mouse"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
Option "SendCoreEvents" "true"
Option "Protocol" "IMPS/2"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
Option "Buttons" "5"
EndSection
Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor0"
VendorName "Monitor Vendor"
ModelName "Monitor Model"
EndSection
Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Monitor1"
VendorName "Monitor Vendor"
ModelName "Monitor Model"
#Option "DPMS" "No"
#HorizSync 28.0 - 96.0 # Warning: This may fry old Monitors
#VertRefresh 50.0 - 75.0 # Very conservative. May flicker.
ModeLine "1024x768" 44.9 1024 1032 1208 1264 768 768 776 817 +hsync +vsync Interlace
ModeLine "1024x768" 65.0 1024 1048 1184 1344 768 771 777 806 -hsync -vsync
ModeLine "1024x768" 75.0 1024 1048 1184 1328 768 771 777 806 -hsync -vsync
ModeLine "1024x768" 78.8 1024 1040 1136 1312 768 769 772 800 +hsync +vsync
ModeLine "1024x768" 94.5 1024 1072 1168 1376 768 769 772 808 +hsync +vsync
ModeLine "1280x1024" 108.0 1280 1328 1440 1688 1024 1025 1028 1066 +hsync +vsync
ModeLine "1280x1024" 135.0 1280 1296 1440 1688 1024 1025 1028 1066 +hsync +vsync
ModeLine "1280x1024" 157.5 1280 1344 1504 1728 1024 1025 1028 1072 +hsync +vsync
ModeLine "1024x768" 113.31 1024 1096 1208 1392 768 769 772 814 -HSync +Vsync
ModeLine "1280x1024" 190.96 1280 1376 1520 1760 1024 1025 1028 1085 -HSync +Vsync
EndSection
Section "Device"
Identifier "Card0"
Driver "ati"
VendorName "ATI Technologies Inc"
BoardName "M56P [Radeon Mobility X1600]"
BusID "PCI:1:0:0"
Option "AGPMode" "4"
Option "ColorTiling" "on"
Option "AccelMethod" "EXA"
Option "AGPFastWrite" "yes"
Option "DRI" "on"
Option "DDCMode" "True"
Option "MonitorLayout" "LVDS,CRT"
EndSection
Section "Device"
Identifier "Card1"
Driver "ati"
VendorName "ATI Technologies Inc"
BoardName "M56P [Radeon Mobility X1600]"
BusID "PCI:1:0:0"
Option "AGPMode" "4"
Option "ColorTiling" "on"
Option "AccelMethod" "EXA"
Option "AGPFastWrite" "yes"
Option "DRI" "on"
Option "DDCMode" "True"
Option "MonitorLayout" "LVDS,CRT"
EndSection
Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "Card0"
Monitor "Monitor0"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1280x800" "1024x768"
EndSubSection
EndSection
Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen1"
Device "Card1"
Monitor "Monitor1"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768"
EndSubSection
EndSection
Section "DRI"
Mode 0666
EndSection
I get that ^^: looks like the VGA screen IS 1280x1024, but for some reason ratpoison thinks it's 1280x800 (all open windows have that size).
this does not happen in DWM, but should work ok with ratpoison too...so I'm guessing it's a wrong setup on my part.
Enabling Xinerama in xorg.conf doesn't even start X at all...it segfaults
What other steps should I take to makea working dual monitor environment? I would like to have 2 X screens btw (my laptop to be screen :1 and CRT screen :0 (the default))

Scratch that..it was working..but silly me forgot to use ":nextscreen" in Ratpoison..so the windows would open at 1280x800 since the damn thing though I'm still on the first monitor

How do I setup a dual monitor (ATI fglrx with KDE)?

Hi, I'm trying to setup a dual monitor.. I connected with DVI to DVI and after restarting X the second monitor becomes a mirror/clone of the first (original laptop screen). However, I don't want it to be mirrored. I only want to have windows I drag over to it on the second monitor. How do I do that? In Control Center>Display, I can only choose settings for screen 1, I don't know why it can't find my 2. screen (even though X does).
Here's xorg.conf (I would appreciate if I could stick to only configuring it in Control Center though):
# xorg.conf (xorg X Window System server configuration file)
# This file was generated by dexconf, the Debian X Configuration tool, using
# values from the debconf database.
# Edit this file with caution, and see the xorg.conf manual page.
# (Type "man xorg.conf" at the shell prompt.)
# This file is automatically updated on xserver-xorg package upgrades *only*
# if it has not been modified since the last upgrade of the xserver-xorg
# package.
# If you have edited this file but would like it to be automatically updated
# again, run the following command:
# sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg
Section "Files"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Generic Keyboard"
Driver "kbd"
Option "CoreKeyboard"
Option "XkbRules" "xorg"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "no"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Configured Mouse"
Driver "mouse"
Option "CorePointer"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
Option "Protocol" "ImPS/2"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
Option "Emulate3Buttons" "true"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Synaptics Touchpad"
Driver "synaptics"
Option "SendCoreEvents" "true"
Option "Device" "/dev/psaux"
Option "Protocol" "auto-dev"
Option "HorizEdgeScroll" "0"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Driver "wacom"
Identifier "stylus"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom"
Option "Type" "stylus"
Option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4"# Tablet PC ONLY
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Driver "wacom"
Identifier "eraser"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom"
Option "Type" "eraser"
Option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4"# Tablet PC ONLY
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Driver "wacom"
Identifier "cursor"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/wacom"
Option "Type" "cursor"
Option "ForceDevice" "ISDV4"# Tablet PC ONLY
EndSection
Section "Device"
Identifier "Generic Video Card"
Driver "fglrx"
Busid "PCI:1:0:0"
Option "XAANoOffscreenPixmaps" "on"
Option "VideoOverlay" "on"
Option "TexturedVideo" "on"
Option "Textured2D" "on"
Option "TexturedXrender" "on"
Option "UseFastTLS" "1"
Option "BackingStore" "on"
Option "MaxGARTSize" "128"
EndSection
Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Generic Monitor"
Option "DPMS"
Horizsync 30-70
Vertrefresh 50-160
EndSection
Section "Screen"
Identifier "Default Screen"
Device "Generic Video Card"
Monitor "Generic Monitor"
Defaultdepth 24
EndSection
Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "Default Layout"
screen "Default Screen"
Inputdevice "Generic Keyboard"
Inputdevice "Configured Mouse"
Option "AIGLX" "on"
# Uncomment if you have a wacom tablet
# InputDevice "stylus" "SendCoreEvents"
# InputDevice "cursor" "SendCoreEvents"
# InputDevice "eraser" "SendCoreEvents"
Inputdevice "Synaptics Touchpad"
EndSection
Section "Extensions"
Option "Composite" "Enable"
Option "RENDER" "Enable"
Option "DAMAGE" "Enable"
EndSection
Section "DRI"
Mode 0666
EndSection

Try using amdcccle (from the command-line) if you want to avoid configuring in Xorg.conf
Otherwise, you can try Option "DesktopSetup" "horizontal" in your fglrx device section

Need help with dual monitor setup for KDE 3.5.5.

Here's my hardware:
NEC MultiSync LCD 1530V: 1024x768 (analog)
Samsung SyncMaster 941BW: 1440x900 (digital)
nVidia Dual head AGP video card.
The dual monitor works under dual-boot Windows, boot up and pure Linux console. I've googled around for help, changed my xorg.conf file accordingly to some sites, but it wasn't much help.
Here's my working xorg.conf:
Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "Simple Layout"
Screen "Screen 1" 0 0
InputDevice "Mouse1" "CorePointer"
InputDevice "Keyboard1" "CoreKeyboard"
EndSection
Section "Files"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/misc"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/75dpi"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/100dpi"
FontPath "/usr/share/fonts/Type1"
EndSection
Section "Module"
Load "dbe" # Double buffer extension
SubSection "extmod"
Option "omit xfree86-dga" # don't initialise the DGA extension
EndSubSection
Load "freetype"
Load "glx"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Keyboard1"
Driver "kbd"
Option "AutoRepeat" "500 30"
Option "XkbRules" "xorg"
Option "XkbModel" "pc101"
Option "XkbLayout" "us"
EndSection
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Mouse1"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "Auto" # Auto detect
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
EndSection
Section "Monitor"
Identifier "NEC LCD1530V"
HorizSync 31.5 - 48.5
VertRefresh 50.0 - 70.0
EndSection
Section "Device"
Identifier "Standard VGA"
Driver "vga"
VendorName "Unknown"
BoardName "Unknown"
EndSection
Section "Device"
Identifier "NVIDIA GeForce"
Driver "nvidia"
Option "NoLogo" "true"
EndSection
Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen 1"
Device "NVIDIA GeForce"
Monitor "NEC LCD1530V"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 8
Modes "1024x768"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 16
Modes "1024x768"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 24
Modes "1024x768"
EndSubSection
EndSection
Using this xorg.conf file, only my NEC LCD analog monitor could display KDE while the Samsung digital can't.
Any suggestions?

Thanks for your help guys, I'm halfway there.
The second monitor shows the KDE desktop, but it isn't exactly what I expected. Right now, both monitors display at 1024x768 (each) or 2048x768 (total). The larger monitor stretches and distorts the display of 1024x768 to its natural resolution at 1440x900 and it isn't what I wanted. Other than that, the dual desktop setup behaves what I expected to.
Here's a snippet of my xorg.conf that currently works:
Section "Monitor"
Identifier "NEC LCD1530V"
HorizSync 31.5 - 48.5
VertRefresh 50.0 - 70.0
EndSection
Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Samsung SyncMaster"
HorizSync 31.5 - 60
VertRefresh 60.0 - 70.0
EndSection
Section "Device"
#VideoRam 131072
# Insert Clocks lines here if appropriate
Identifier "NVIDIA GeForce"
Driver "nvidia"
Option "NoLogo" "true"
Option "TwinView" "true"
Option "TwinViewOrientation" "LeftOf"
Option "SecondMonitorHorizSync" "30-50"
Option "SecondMonitorVertRefresh" "60"
# Option "MetaModes" "1440x900, 1440x900; 1024x768, 1024x768"
EndSection
Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen 1"
Device "NVIDIA GeForce"
Monitor "NEC LCD1530V"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 8
Modes "1024x768"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 16
Modes "1024x768"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 24
Modes "1024x768"
EndSubSection
EndSection
Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen 2"
Device "NVIDIA GeForce"
Monitor "Samsung SyncMaster"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 8
Modes "1440x900"
EndSubSection
EndSection
Anyone have an idea?
EDIT: Oh snaps. I just did a pacman -Syu and it upgraded Arch Linux to 0.8 and the 2nd monitor stopped working.

DUAL MONITOR BUG: One Picture – One Monitor – Different Colors!

There have been several threads discussing that Photoshop CS4 and OS 10.6. show wrong colors in dual monitor setups.
The first one to prove this with a screen capture was jb510-LJ0JJQ in August 2009: http://forums.adobe.com/message/2207312#2207312
Eight months and three OS updates later the problem is still there and makes professional work with more than one monitor a nuisance.
Here's another actual example: A picture and its 100% identical copy showing different colors on one screen!
Here's how to repeat it – try this at home ;-)
1) In the finder make a copy of a rgb picture.
2) Open one of the two identical pics in photoshop.
3) Drag it to the other monitor.
When releasing the mouse button you may see the bug already: the colors will "switch".
4) To verify this go to system presets - monitors - and change the primary monitor (by dragging the menu bar to the other)
5) Now open the identical copy you made in step 1) and see the difference!
Here's a synopsis of suggested workarounds:
1) disable open GL (which seem to makes no difference on my setup)
2) click "desaturate monitor colors" but set desaturation to 0 (which prevents visual switching in step 3) (only if openGL is ON) but also leads to a wrong display in step 4+5
3) make the hardware calibrated monitor your default monitor and strictly avoid changes or dragging pics to the other monitor (which seems to be the only reliable method)
4) some guys even force both monitors to use the profile of their hardware-calibrated monitor (using color sync) to make sure they see what they should see on at least that one monitor. What a stone-age workaround for the the world's leading imaging program!
Considering that reliable colors in professional (=multi monitor) settings should be the most basic function of photoshop this mayor malfunction should be solved with CS5! Otherwise we might have to live with it for some more years...
Have Adobe and Apple realized this bug and on their agenda? Will it be gone with OS 10.6.3? Can anyone explain the reasons for this bad bug? Is there a "officially" recommended workaround?
Thanks, regards,
Eric

There have been several threads dealing with this malfunction. But most faded out in silence or acceptance of the workarounds.
http://forums.adobe.com/message/2207312#2207312
http://forums.adobe.com/thread/521483
http://forums.adobe.com/message/2272192#2272192
http://forums.adobe.com/thread/311761?start=0&tstart=0
http://forums.adobe.com/thread/618927?tstart=60
http://forums.adobe.com/thread/603992?tstart=90
http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=552977
http://www.hilfdirselbst.ch/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=368889?search_string=zwei%20monitor#368 889
But man, this is no minor bug! Consistent colors are the by far most important basic function of photoshop. If you cannot rely on the colors in photoshop you can as well use "Preview" and "Word" for print production ;-)
Carson, how did Apple react to your complaint? What do you mean with "they don't get it". Do they not see it? Or can't they get it right?
Shall we open a thread at apple forums to point out that it's not the problem of a single user?

Dual monitor setup - primary monitor blank upon startup

Hello -
This has been vexing me for some time now. I've seen hints of this issue from other people but never the exact same circumstances and never do I see a definitive answer.
I have a dual monitor arrangement on my 8 core Clovertown (first generation) Mac Pro. After shutting the machine down, when I start it back up, the primary monitor almost always flickers very quickly then goes black while the machine boots, and the secondary monitor kicks on. Note - this never happens on restarts or waking up from sleep mode; just after starting up after completely shutting the machine down.
Exact specs are:
The afore mentioned first-gen 8 core Mac Pro (spring 2007), combined with an ATI 4870 graphics card, with the 24 inch Cinema Display LED serving as primary monitor (the one that's useless upon starting up), and my older 23 inch LCD as secondary display. Also worth noting - I'm aware the ATI 4870 is not officially supported in this generation of Mac Pro, however there were so many reports on the web of it working that I did the swap-out myself, and ended up getting the 24 inch LED since I then had the Mini Displayport on the back of my machine.
The only way I manage to get my machine working after starting back up is to restart it several times - literally up to over a dozen attempts sometimes, before the primary display finally does start functioning and I can begin working as normal.
Because there were many reports of the ATI 4870 working fine with this Mac Pro and word of other flickering monitor problems, I thought I'd ask despite the graphics card not being officially supported. Any ideas on how to remedy this problem so I don't have to keep restarting over and over before both my screens eventually work?
Thank you in advance.

So I have the same issue. I run dual 23" Apple Cinema Displays. For a while now the main monitor has had trouble waking up. I have also been unable to put the Display to sleep from the power button on the display. The other monitor seems to go to sleep fine. So when I get it to sleep and it won't start up, I usually restart and everything is fine. Today I can't get that monitor to come up at all. In addition, I have swapped ports on the video card switching the order of the monitors, no change. I also checked in my System Preferences>Display, and the system is still recognizing two monitors. So I am guessing my issue is related to the Display itself. What can be done at this point?

Dual monitor setup MBA 2013

Hello Everyone,
This is my first post on the Apple Support Community.
Nice to meet al of you!
System information:
Macbook Air medio 2013
Model MacBookAir6,2
Intel Core i7 1,7GHZ
8GB
512GB SSD
I am wondering if it is possible to have a dual monitor setup using the thunderbolt feature daisy-chain.
The configuration i am looking for is:
MBA --> Belkin Thunderbolt™ Express Dock (for using gigabit ethernet) --> Dell U2414H --> Dell U2414H
Specs:
Belkin Thunderbolt™ Express Dock = http://www.belkin.com/us/p/P-F4U055/
Dell U2414H = http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&cs=04&l=en&sku=860-BB CG
Do i have a chance this could work?
I'm looking forward to hearing from you all.
Thanks!
Kind regards,
Njamo187

Hello,
I had the same problem with a nVidia GT120 card (2009 Mac Pro standard). OSX wouldn't show the gray screen on the 3090, even when it was connected alone (to the DVI port). Also, the login screen would always revert to the secondary display (connected thru the mini display port to DVI adapter).
After login, all was well.
Now I've solved the problem with an nVidia GTX 285 card. The 3090 is connected to the n.1 DVI port and the secondary display (a 1600x1200 Eizo L997) to the n.2 DVI port, and the Mac Pro boots correctly on the 3090 (gray screen and everything, at full 2560x1600 resolution).
Note that the first time I booted up the Mac after replacing the GT120 with the GTX 285 I had the same problem, and solved it by disconnecting the secondary display and then rebooting with the 3090 alone. Now everything works as it should.
Dont't know if there is a bug somewhere (EFI, maybe) of if the GT120 and your ATI are simply unable to work at full resolution before OSX desktop loading.

Dual-monitor setup + screen rotation

Hello, I want to use my desktop computer with a dual-monitor setup. I have connected both monitors successfully, but problems arise after this point.
The first problem is that they both just display the same screen and that xrandr only detects one screen called "Screen 0". I can change the screen resolution with it, so at least it sees things correctly, but I don't know how to extend my screen area to a new desktop. Not sure if this is relevant, but they're both monitors of the same model.
output of xrandr wrote:[user@archbang ~]$ xrandr
xrandr: Failed to get size of gamma for output default
Screen 0: minimum 640 x 480, current 1600 x 1200, maximum 1600 x 1200
default connected 1600x1200+0+0 0mm x 0mm
1600x1200 0.0*
1280x1024 0.0
1024x768 0.0
800x600 0.0
640x480 0.0
The second problem is that I can't rotate my screen (I want this because it has pivot functionality). I'm using the xf86-video-ati driver.
output of xrandr -o left wrote:[user@archbang ~]$ xrandr -o left
X Error of failed request: BadMatch (invalid parameter attributes)
Major opcode of failed request: 149 (RANDR)
Minor opcode of failed request: 2 (RRSetScreenConfig)
Serial number of failed request: 14
Current serial number in output stream: 14
I hope I've provided enough information. Thanks in advance.
Last edited by Ffeiofewpoj (2012-01-28 08:03:04)

I meant to post this in the Kernel & Hardware section and I've no clue how it ended up here. Sorry for that. Could someone move it?
Last edited by Ffeiofewpoj (2012-01-27 13:25:01)

Dual Monitors and Lr4

I am looking at switching from using Aperture and Photoshop, to Lightroom and Photoshop for my photography workflow. However during my free Lightroom trial, I have ran into a deal breaker with dual monitor support.
I use a Macbook pro w/ an external monitor for editing. In Photoshop and A3, I keep all my pallets, sliders, and thumbnails on the laptop screen, and display the full size image on the external display. I would like to do the same in Lightroom 4, however, there is one small problem.
When trying to achieve the same set up in Lightroom, I can view the image nicely on the external monitor, but I can't actually work on the external monitor. Example: If I decide a blemish needs touched up I can't use the spot removal tool on the large external display, but instead have to use it on the small laptop screen image. The same is true of the crop overlay and adjustment brushes. Also the fantastic option commands for mask overlay and sharpening, are not visible on the external display.
Please tell me there is someway to change this?
I strongly prefer LR4's sharpening and noise reduction, and feel I could reduce my reliance on CS6 for many images.
Thanks in advance,
Troy

My first encounter with Lightroom was similar to yours: Why the heck can't I move the panels where I want them? This is ridiculous...but after a while it grew on me.
There's no reason you can't have the main action on the large external monitor (as ssprengel says). But you have to get used to the idea right away that Lightroom is a single-screen application, and the second screen is just an extension used for an alternative view (grid/loupe/1:1). Don't fight it, it's just how it is.
Troy_Fagan wrote:
feel I could reduce my reliance on CS6 for many images.
That's absolutely right, that's what happened to me.

T510 dual monitors no longer working properly

I have a T510 running Win7 64-bit. For at least 3 years, I have had the same dual monitor setup (2 DoubleSight DS-1900S) running off my minidock with the laptop closed. The rgith monitor is the primary, running off the DVI port, while the left uses the analog port. I was away for a week at Scout camp, powered on the system once while I was there, and when I came back to the office, my monitor setup started failing.
Specifically, the right screen is active but it no longer displays the signal being sent to it. When I powercycle the screen, I can see the display for about a quarter of a second, then it goes blank. When the problem first started, I could cycle it about 20 times and eventually it would stay on, until I left the unit overnight and it went to sleep, at which point the probelm started again.
Sounds like a wonky monitor? I have a backup set of monitors that I swapped in, and had the same exact problem, so that appears to rule out a mechanical defect. More fun facts: I can only use the laptop screen as a standalone display. I cannot get the multidisplay control panel to open, even though my left screen is powered up. However, one of my programs that normally launches to my right (main) screen will still launch, but not to my laptop screen. It really wants to live on my right screen, even when that screen is not powered on (I can close the program by accessing the icon bar at the bottom of my laptop screen).
As you might surmise, this is an extremely frustrating situation. I have gone on many trips with this laptop, and each time I returned, I either plugged it into the minidock with no issues, or I had to readjust my power settings briefly to get it to work as per usual. This time, I have no clue what went wrong. Suggestions?
Solved!
Go to Solution.

I have not changed any software or drivers (knowingly), and I had already checked the cables to make sure they were all tight, so off I went to ransack the house to dig out the spare cables. DVI cable? no change. Power cable? no change. Converter cable - OMG!!!! IT WORKS!!!!
Thank you SO much! I could have sworn this was a software issue, never considered a bad cable or power unit.
Both monitors are working properly, left-to-right scroll is working properly. Now all I need is to figure out how to get all my icons/shortcuts back onto the right screen...

MBP to Dual Monitors. (I googled first).

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