Original ADC 22" Cinema Display Works w/new MBP, doesn't with older one

Question

I have two MacBook Pros. One is from late 2007. Core 2 Duo, max 3 gigs of RAM, non-unibody. The second is from late 2009. Unibody, max 8 gigs RAM, etc.
I also have two Apple Cinema Displays. One is 22", ADC. The other is 23", also ADC. I have ADC->DVI adaptors for both.
When I plug either of the two MBPs into my 23" display, it works perfectly. Auto-detects, screen flashes and resizes and wiggles a bit and everything just works exactly as expected.
When I plug the newer (2009) MacBook Pro into the 22" display, it also works perfectly.
When I plug the older (2007) MacBook Pro into the 22" display, nothing happens. No flicker, no screen shift, no work. No lines written to the system.log file, no indication that the laptop even notices that it's plugged in.
Here is a list of troubleshooting steps I have tried. (Please don't ask me to try any of these.)
* As noted above, I tried the 22" display with the newer laptop. Works fine.
* As noted above, I tried the 23" display with the older laptop. Works fine.
* Tried plugging the display into the laptop while the laptop was off, then turning it on.
* Tried plugging the display into the laptop while laptop was asleep, then waking it.
* Tried plugging the display into the laptop while laptop was awake.
* Tried pushing the display power button while it was plugged into the laptop.
* Tried the 'detect displays' button in the System Preferences.
* Tried zapping the PRAM
* Tried resetting the power management unit.
* Tried unplugging/replugging display power while connected to the laptop.
* Tried swapping the two power (ADC->DVI) adaptors.
(The problem follows the LCD, not the adaptor.) Also, just to add to the mix, I have tried plugging ANOTHER vintage 2007 MacBook Pro into this 22" display, and it also displayed the same symptoms: absolutely did not recognize the display, no matter what I did.
I find this really baffling. Why (HOW?) would the original Apple Cinema Display be incompatible with the 2007 MacBook Pro? Or what defect would make the Cinema Display not work with the 2007 MacBook Pro, but work fine with the 2009 MacBook Pro? The only difference I know of aside from a different video chip is the fact that the newer MBP requires an extra adaptor to get from DVI to the mini display port thingie.

Answer 1

I wonder whether you've solved this problem. I have the same issue with my MBP. The 20" Apple Cinema Display is connected through an ADC/DVI converter to a DVI KVM switchbox. It works fine with my G5 tower, but ever since I installed Leopard, it doesn't work on the MBP (in fact, if I plug it in the computer crashes). It worked fine before. I brought the MBP to the Genius Bar, and it worked fine there connected to a regular DVI monitor.