Sticking mousecursor with external display is still a problem...

Hi,
10.5.7 fixed the "sticking mousecursor" problem with an attached external display (samsung syncmaster 226bw via MDP-DVI adapter) on my iMac and the ATI Radeon HD 4850. Big thanks for that!
But if i plug in a second source (notebook) to the external display (via VGA) and manually switch the active source for that panel from its DVI (iMac) to the VGA input (notebook), the mousecursor on the iMac is sticking again :-/ Switching back to DVI source and everything is fine.
That "sticking mousecursor" - for those not knowing - is a moucecursor which stops movement for half a second all 3 seconds. That bug is mentioned to occur with external Samsung and Philips displays only, as far as i know. Dell's and BenQ's don't have this problem.

update: it has nothing to do with a second computer connected to the external display while it is plugged into the iMac via DVI/MDP. The problem occurs if the external display is connected to the iMac but is not active! That means, the mouse-cursor is freezing regularly when the external display is switched off, or switched to another source (second computer). If the external display in ON an used with the iMac, then everything is fine.

Similar Messages

No Wireless Internet with External Display, Other Issues

Hello,
When I connect an external monitor to my MBA, I lose my connection to the Internet. The wi-fi signal remains strong, but pages will not load (I tried many) and I cannot retrieve email. The connection times out when I try to ping as well. This occurs whether I have the MBA open or closed. The loss of Internet happens immediately when I connect an external display using the supplied dongle, and returns the moment I disconnect it. It is clearly an issue with external displays.
On the advice of an Apple Genius, I also tried disabling bluetooth. I did so, and turned off all my bluetooth devices (Apple keyboard and mouse, iPhone), but the problems persist.
The other trouble I am having is difficulty connecting to a network for the first time in a session. In other words, I was connected all day yesterday, take the MBA home, and return to the office the next day. MBA takes a long time to see the network, then fails to accept the password. If I carry the MBA closer to the wireless router, it finds and connects automatically as I'd saved my password. When I return to my desk, I remain connected with full signal strength. This has happened in two locations, one with an Airport Extreme, the other with a Netopia 802.11g router. When my Macbook Pro is sitting right next to the MBA, it recognizes and connects to the same networks almost instantaneously.
Anyone have any suggestions? Much appreciated.

Just a quick update... I was on the phone with Apple Support on Saturday morning and I thought we were making progress. The basic idea behind the proposed solution was that there was some "Preferences" that were causing the problem. We started over with a clean Preferences folder and tried connecting up the external monitor. At first, this approach was showing progress. The suggestion was to copy over my original Preferences (I had made a backup copy) just a few at a time until we figured out which ones caused the problem. The problem with this approach is that immediately after I got off the phone, the internet started not to work again. So, even with a clean Preferences folder, the internet would quit working after connecting up the external monitor.
So, I'm back to the drawing board. I have since restored my Preferences folder and I don't have my external monitor and internet working at the same time. BTW, I also upgraded to 10.5.3 and it didn't help.
Still bummed,
Kevin

MBP randomly crashes when in clamshell with external display

Hi Mac people.
As described in the "subject field" i have been encountering some random crashes after i startet using my MBP in clamshell with my newly pruchased 24" 16:10 NEC display .
typically it occurs after about 10-20 minutes of playing world of warcraft.
-the screen goes black, saying no signal, and the MBP doesn't react to anything else but holding down the on/off button.
i have tried using the key combination alt-cmd-eject to see if i could make the computer sleep and then turn it on by opening the lid.-getting it out of clamshell to get the built-in display active again.
but none of that worked.
i also checked the dvi<->mini-displayport adapter for lose connections but i didn't find any
i have had my NEC display for about a month, and the problem has occured about 8 times now.
befor i started using my MBP in clamshell with an external display, i had no problems.
Interval Since Last Panic Report: 73505 sec
Panics Since Last Report: 3
Anonymous UUID: C8DD4168-ECC7-4842-9EF5-233F8D9763C9
Fri Jan 7 11:41:39 2011
panic(cpu 0 caller 0x00C566A4): NVRM[0]: Read Error 0x00009410: BAR0 0xa4000000 0x3f92e000 0x096380c1 D0 P3/4
Backtrace (CPU 0), Frame : Return Address (4 potential args on stack)
0x304fad98 : 0x12b4c6 (0x45f91c 0x304fadcc 0x13355c 0x0)
0x304fade8 : 0xc566a4 (0xe86e80 0xe86e80 0xe4b6d4 0x0)
0x304fae48 : 0xf0fdf0 (0x539a004 0x533c804 0x9410 0xc92d06)
0x304fae88 : 0xf3a57d (0x533c804 0x9410 0x5c00 0x9)
0x304faec8 : 0xd5814f (0x533c804 0x46eb004 0x0 0x0)
0x304faee8 : 0xc983f1 (0x46eb004 0x304faf74 0x0 0x0)
0x304faf28 : 0xeabdb8 (0x533c804 0x3d0900 0x304faf74 0x0)
0x304fafa8 : 0xee10e4 (0x533c804 0x54a1804 0x1 0x1)
0x304fb138 : 0xee5479 (0x533c804 0x54a2004 0x4bc6a44 0x0)
0x304fb298 : 0xca227b (0x533c804 0x54a2004 0x0 0x8b46184)
0x304fb348 : 0xc63a19 (0xc1d00041 0xbeef0003 0xcafe1691 0x8b46300)
0x304fb3b8 : 0xc547ed (0x304fb548 0x6 0x0 0x0)
0x304fb518 : 0xc462d4 (0x0 0x600d600d 0x7057 0x304fb548)
0x304fb5d8 : 0x114c77b (0xc1d00041 0xbeef0003 0xcafe1691 0x8b46300)
0x304fb658 : 0x114ca53 (0x20552000 0x8b46300 0x8b48404 0x0)
0x304fb698 : 0x11136e7 (0x20552000 0x8b48400 0x304fb6a8 0x20555068)
Backtrace continues...
Kernel loadable modules in backtrace (with dependencies):
com.apple.GeForce(5.4.8)@0x10f9000->0x1190fff
dependency: com.apple.NVDAResman(5.4.8)@0xc3d000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IONDRVSupport(1.7.3)@0xc2f000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily(2.6)@0x63e000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOGraphicsFamily(1.7.3)@0x791000
com.apple.nvidia.nv50hal(5.4.8)@0xe9c000->0x10effff
dependency: com.apple.NVDAResman(5.4.8)@0xc3d000
com.apple.NVDAResman(5.4.8)@0xc3d000->0xe9bfff
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IONDRVSupport(1.7.3)@0xc2f000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily(2.6)@0x63e000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOGraphicsFamily(1.7.3)@0x791000
BSD process name corresponding to current thread: World of Warcraf
Mac OS version:
9L30
Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 9.8.0: Wed Jul 15 16:55:01 PDT 2009; root:xnu-1228.15.4~1/RELEASE_I386
System model name: MacBookPro5,1 (Mac-F42D86C8)
System uptime in nanoseconds: 565038856165
unloaded kexts:
com.apple.driver.InternalModemSupport 2.4.0 - last unloaded 149627740291
loaded kexts:
com.apple.filesystems.cddafs 2.3.0 - last loaded 171968100440
com.apple.driver.AppleHWSensor 1.9d0
com.apple.filesystems.ntfs 2.1
com.apple.filesystems.autofs 2.0.2
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBTCButtons 1.7.4f1
com.apple.driver.AppleMikeyHIDDriver 1.0.6
com.apple.driver.AppleUpstreamUserClient 2.7.5
com.apple.driver.AppleMikeyDriver 1.7.1a2
com.apple.driver.AppleHDA 1.7.1a2
com.apple.driver.AGPM 100.8.7
com.apple.driver.AppleHDAController 1.7.1a2
com.apple.iokit.IOBluetoothSerialManager 2.1.9f10
com.apple.driver.SMCMotionSensor 2.1.1d2
com.apple.DontSteal_Mac_OSX 6.0.3
com.apple.iokit.IOFireWireIP 1.7.7
com.apple.driver.AppleIRController 113
com.apple.driver.AudioIPCDriver 1.0.6
com.apple.kext.AppleSMCLMU 1.4.5d1
com.apple.driver.AppleGraphicsControl 2.8.15
com.apple.driver.ACPISMCPlatformPlugin 3.4.0a17
com.apple.driver.NVSMU 1.1.7
com.apple.driver.AppleSMBusPCI 1.0.1d1
com.apple.driver.AppleLPC 1.3.1
com.apple.GeForce 5.4.8
com.apple.nvidia.nv50hal 5.4.8
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBMultitouch 189.35
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBTCKeyboard 1.7.4f1
com.apple.driver.AppleHIDKeyboard 1.0.9b4
com.apple.driver.BroadcomUSBBluetoothHCIController 2.1.9f10
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBMergeNub 3.5.2
com.apple.iokit.IOSCSIMultimediaCommandsDevice 2.1.1
com.apple.iokit.SCSITaskUserClient 2.1.1
com.apple.driver.XsanFilter 2.7.91
com.apple.iokit.IOAHCISerialATAPI 1.1.2
com.apple.iokit.IOAHCIBlockStorage 1.2.3
com.apple.driver.AppleAHCIPort 1.7.0
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBHub 3.4.9
com.apple.iokit.IOUSBUserClient 3.5.2
com.apple.driver.AirPortBrcm43xx 365.91.19
com.apple.driver.AppleFWOHCI 3.9.7
com.apple.nvenet 1.0.54
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBEHCI 3.4.6
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBOHCI 3.4.6
com.apple.driver.AppleEFINVRAM 1.2.0
com.apple.driver.AppleSmartBatteryManager 158.10.5
com.apple.driver.AppleRTC 1.2.3
com.apple.driver.AppleHPET 1.4
com.apple.driver.AppleACPIPCI 1.2.5
com.apple.driver.AppleACPIButtons 1.2.5
com.apple.driver.AppleSMBIOS 1.4
com.apple.driver.AppleACPIEC 1.2.5
com.apple.driver.AppleAPIC 1.4
com.apple.security.seatbelt 107.12
com.apple.nke.applicationfirewall 1.8.77
com.apple.security.TMSafetyNet 3
com.apple.driver.AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement 76.2.0
com.apple.driver.DiskImages 199
com.apple.BootCache 30.4
com.apple.driver.DspFuncLib 1.7.1a2
com.apple.driver.AppleSMBusController 1.0.1d1
com.apple.iokit.IOHDAFamily 1.7.1a2
com.apple.iokit.IOSerialFamily 9.4
com.apple.iokit.IOAudioFamily 1.6.9fc5
com.apple.kext.OSvKernDSPLib 1.1
com.apple.driver.IOPlatformPluginFamily 3.4.0a17
com.apple.NVDAResman 5.4.8
com.apple.iokit.IONDRVSupport 1.7.3
com.apple.iokit.IOGraphicsFamily 1.7.3
com.apple.driver.AppleSMC 2.3.1d1
com.apple.iokit.IOUSBHIDDriver 3.4.6
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBBluetoothHCIController 2.1.9f10
com.apple.iokit.IOBluetoothFamily 2.1.9f10
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBComposite 3.2.0
com.apple.iokit.IOSCSIBlockCommandsDevice 2.1.1
com.apple.iokit.IOBDStorageFamily 1.5
com.apple.iokit.IODVDStorageFamily 1.5
com.apple.iokit.IOCDStorageFamily 1.5
com.apple.iokit.IOSCSIArchitectureModelFamily 2.1.1
com.apple.iokit.IOAHCIFamily 1.5.0
com.apple.iokit.IO80211Family 216.1
com.apple.iokit.IOFireWireFamily 3.4.9
com.apple.iokit.IONetworkingFamily 1.6.1
com.apple.iokit.IOUSBFamily 3.5.2
com.apple.driver.AppleEFIRuntime 1.2.0
com.apple.iokit.IOSMBusFamily 1.1
com.apple.iokit.IOStorageFamily 1.5.6
com.apple.iokit.IOHIDFamily 1.5.5
com.apple.driver.AppleACPIPlatform 1.2.5
com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily 2.6
com.apple.iokit.IOACPIFamily 1.2.0
Any help would be much appreciated

Lets give it a try. 1st of all post your s/n (so I can run a check on your specific model) or check with system profiler if your machine has the NVidia Geforce 8600 M GT. Or see for yourself: http://www.chipmunk.nl/cgi-fast/applemodel.cgi
IF SO:
Surely, you've heard about the generic problems with this specific video chip: sooner or later most of them will fail due to chip packaging/bonding issues. If yours has not failed before, it may be doing so now because you're driving it harder with a larger external monitor attached, thus probably running the affected videochip hotter. Very useful link: http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/feedback/MacBookProvideofailure.html#novideotip , loads of other useful links on the subject therein.
To solve this, Apple has instigated an extended warranty, so do not tread on the tail of your machine's capabilities any more. Once it will not boot (which may eventually happen), it gets really hard to run diagnostics. Have it checked by at least 1, preferably more ASPs (see link), and kindly ask them to reiterate the test 2 or 3 times. Often, the problem will not show up on the 1st try.
I am reading increasing numbers of questions and complaints about this on the Flemish/Belgian Apple forum "Intermactivity", most users seem to be unaware of the problem (though this has been common knowledge for years), and moreover, most ASPs are reluctant to acknowledge it.
So if your machine is one of the affected, you will really have to stand your case. Especially in Europe!

Help with external displays

Just installed Lion and afterward I noticed that things work differently with external displays. In the past I could have my laptop open to mirror but now it must be shut and the mirrior button or selection isn't available within the display preferences. So my question is, 1. does any one know how to better manage displays? and 2. does anyone know how to mirror while having the laptop screen open?
I know trhis sounds petty but where I work it is very hot and it seems like with the screen shut the computer syncs heat away a lot less efficiently.
Thanks

Thanks,
I now know how to turn on and off mirrioring with command/F1 (didn't know that yet), but would you know how I can use my external display in mirror mode with the laptop display completely turned off, not dimmed till black, but off?
Before lion I was able to do this by shutting the laptop screen which would put the machine into sleep mode and then by clicking the mouse or hitting a key on the keyboard it would wake it. Once the external display came on then I would open the laptop and the laptop display would remain off while using the external display. Hope that makes sense. Any suggestions?

MBP Retina low performance with external displays

Hi everyone!
I have a very bad performance with my MBP 15´´ retina display when it comes to ad an external display. I have a FUL HD LG monitor that looks very bad when i connect the HDMI or the thunderbot port with the proper adapter (as bad as you can´t even read). I want to know if this may ba a hardware problem just with my computer or if it is a software problem, any ideas? does anyone have the same issue?
How can i update my NVIDIA card???
Thanks a lot!

Topic seems to come up here often. Apple has a tendency to dismiss the issue.
Its a pretty well known problem that Mac font smoothing doesn't seem to work well on high resolution third party external displays, making text hard to read. In addition, I think the Mac HDMI resolution support is limited to 1080p, so you must use DP or DVI video interfaces to see full monitor resolution.
The OS default is no font smoothing on external displays (except perhaps the apple display). There is a terminal command that will enable font smoothing for any external monitor, but it often doesn't work well enough. I found that using the OS zoom feature magnifies text to the point to be easily readable. You can set zoom parameters in the accessibility systems preference panel.
For some reason, sometimes the Mac OS thinks some monitors are TVs and use YCbCr instead of RGB. You can open the color sync utility and brouse the settings to see what is being used. There are scripts available that can fix that but are more complicated to install than an app.
It seems that PCs are way ahead of Macs with external display implementation. Most folks having monitor problems with a Mac do not see the same issue with PCs or Unix/Linux OSs.
Oh as far as updating the video card, can't. The monitor "drivers" are built into the OS. When a new display is connected, the OS finds the profile for it.

Won't boot with external display connected

My MacBook Pro (circa 1997) won't boot with the external display connected. I can connect the external display (20in flat planel) after it has started, and it works just fine.
I have tried two different DVI cables (one of which I think is a DVI-A cable) and the DVI-to-VGA cable. The result is the same.
During the boot phase I get the tone, the apple logo and the progress wheel. After 30 seconds to one minute those disappear to be replaced by an empty blue screen.

In case anyone wonders, my "solution" was to change to a WB Elements Desktop 3TB (only USB 2.0 is currently available for this model). I miss the speed of USB 3.0, but it's much nicer to not have to remember to unplug and plug in the hard drive each time I boot.
Still hoping to see a proper solution to this (since I don't have the WB My Book anymore, I can't test adaher's suggestion).

How to stop sleep/hibernation with external display & lid down

What is the proper way to get my MBA to not sleep, hibernate, etc. when I have an external display attached and lid closed while watching a movie or webcast. In such a case I am not touching the mouse, trackpad, or keyboard.
I have bluetooth keyboard and usb wireless mouse attached.
I also disabled the sleep/poweroff options in the energy settings while watching.
The MBA still would go to sleep or something after 10 or 15 minutes of no agitation.
Also, the Monitor goes blank since their is not signal coming through to it.
Was this just not a use case that was thought through: Watch video stream with external monitor and lid closed? Make sure the MBA knows this scenario invalidates the powersave options????? And yes, the power was plugged.
Thanks

Caffeine puts a little coffee cup icon at the top bar. Click to turn it off and on - it is on when the cup is dark, ie has coffee in it. However, this won't solve your problem - the MBA will still sleep with the lid closed. There are settings to allow use of an external monitor but what I did was download InsomniaX. This little free app keeps your computer from going to sleep when you close the lid. That way you can close the lid, walk down a hall or do something, then open the lid and keep working. Just don't forget it is on and leave the Mac too long or it will run out of battery.
Insomnia isn't in the App store, had to download it at http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/22211/insomniax

Powerbook heats up with external display?

I just recently got a 19 inch LCD Viewsonic VX924. I'm running the the mini dvi to dvi out to the external monitor with my powerbook display closed. I've noticed that the powerbook runs at a higher temperature with this setup and the fans are on about 100% of the time. Is this normal? It's also causing my harddrive to heat up as well and my PB's harddrive starts making this slight buzzing sound around 117 degrees F. Is this something I should be worried about?
Powerbook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.3)

I run on an external monitor, and I don't know if it's related, but my PB LCD died after months of being used as a desktop unit. I have it on a cooling pad. Still, the 12" LCD wasn't being used, and just stopped working after months of the computer being on an external display.
I'd suggest a cooling mat, just in case.

Extended desktop mode with external display

I use my Macbook with an external display. Sometimes I need to use extended desktop mode and sometimes I don't need the extra desktop space and prefer to work only with my external display. My needs change as I work throughout the day and I'm getting tired of having to close the Macbook to put it to sleep and then wake it up without opening the lid to just have one display (the external one).
I'm wondering if anyone knows if there's a way to put the Macbook built-in display to sleep while continuing to work with the external display, without having to put the Macbook to sleep first. I'm thinking that there's got to be a way to do this (maybe there's a piece of software out there or some other work around?).

Thanks for your suggestion. That's actually a workaround I've used. The only problem is, the display isn't really put to sleep. The result: I still get an extended desktop and occasionally I "lose" my pointer. A bit annoying, but thus far the only solution I've come up with.

Aluminum's with External display oddities

I have two different clients that have Aluminum PB's and 23" Apple Cinema displays (aluminum as well). One client when he drags his Entourage window to the Cinema display it stops checking mail. If he drags it back to his PB display it does it's mail checking schedule without a problem.
The other client when he puts an Illustrator document on the Cinema display it will resize the Illustrator document to about a 1/3 of it's size. If you stretch the corner back out it will then snap back to an even smaller sliver of the document screen. You can keep doing this until the document eventually vanishes but is still considered open by Illustrator.
Any ideas? Any one else with weird external display behavior?

I have exactly the same problem with my MacBook Air connected to CinemaView 24 display. Mail printing is fine with the display disconnected. Could the CinemaView be the problem?

3D acceleration with external display

I was wondering how the 3D acceleration works with an external display (20" or 24" dell LCDs)? Does the GMA 950 still use only 64MB RAM, and if so, is it enough for supporting the higher resolution?

Hello!
1. 64MB ram is locked by firmware and there are no known workarounds or even attempts at workarounds.
2. 64MB ram is fine for display spanning, but not enough for 3D games. But honestly, how many cards can do 1680X1050 3D without costing a fortune?
3. Probably of most interest to you, the GMA 950 is too slow to power 3D at that resolution. But I have a Dell 20" 2005WFP and I don't have any problems running games at lower resolution. So you can definitely play your games, just without the eye candy.
For example, I can run Medal of Honor (yeah I know it's old) in BootCamp with ALL settings maxed out at 1024x640 and it looks fantastic on the external monitor. This is significantly better than my Inspiron 6000's ATI mobility X300 with 64MB of ram.

Solution for sleep issues with external display?

I had an Early 2011 Macbook Pro that worked quite well with an external display. I now have a Mid 2012 Macbook Pro (bought 5 days ago, and running 10.10.3) that will not consistently work with the same external monitor.
I had it working yesterday for a few hours only if I left the MBP with the top open (both the MBP screen and external monitor stayed lit). But, today it is back to freezing each time the monitor is connected to it.
I have tried:
1. Connecting the external monitor to the MBP with the top open. Results in the MBP screen now going dark and no signal being passed to the external monitor. If the external monitor is disconnected, the MBP screens stays dark and the computer is unresponsive requiring a hard restart.
2. Connecting the external monitor to the MBP with the top closed. Results in no signal being sent to the external monitor. Disconnecting the external monitor and reopening the MBP yields, again, and unresponsive computer which requires a hard restart.
I have tried three different external monitors, all giving the same result. The MBP is connect to external power, and I am running the latest OS (10.10.3).
Any suggestions before I return this to the Apple store in a rage? :-)

Hello there, Gaflin.
I'm sorry to hear you're having so much trouble getting your external display to work the way you are expecting with your new MacBook Pro. The following Knowledge Base article provides a great checklist of steps for troubleshooting the issue you seem to be describing:
Apple computers: Troubleshooting issues with video on internal or external displays - Apple Support
No video or no signal, image distortion, "snow," or flickering
Check connections
When using an external display be sure to check the following:
If you're using an Apple notebook, confirm the AC power cable or adapter is securely connected to the computer and the cable providing power to the display is also secure. It is always good to have your notebook connected to AC power when an external display is in use.
Confirm display adapters are fully seated in their respective connections and that they are supported models and for the computer and display. Refer to these articles to assist you with adapter compatibility and further configuration information:
Monitor and Display Adapter Table
About Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapters
Apple Mini DisplayPort adapters: Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Thunderbolt ports and displays: Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Remove all display cable extenders, KVM switches, or other like devices and retest to determine if the issue is resolved.
Try unplugging the video adapter or cable and then plug it back in.
If more than one video adapter is in use (or "daisy-chained"), troubleshoot by using only one adapter.
Example: A mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter connected to a DVI to HDMI adapter is an unsupported configuration because there is a series of adapters in use.
If available, try using a different display and or adapter (or use a different connector by using DVI instead of VGA, for instance).
Reset the system
You can reset the Mac's parameter RAM and SMC.Reset the resolution
Start by resetting the Mac's parameter RAM. If the display does not come up, was previously set to an unsupported resolution, and still results in no video:
Start up in Safe Mode.
From the Apple () menu, choose System Preferences.
Choose Displays from the View menu to open the preferences pane.
Select any resolution and refresh rate that your display supports.
Restart your computer.
Using Closed lid, Extended Desktop, or Mirroring display modes
When using multiple displays, information can be presented in a number of ways. For more information and what modes are supported by your Apple product refer to:
Apple Portables: How to use your computer in closed lid (display closed) mode with an external display
How to use multiple displays with your Mac
Thanks for reaching out to Apple Support Communities.
Cheers,
Pedro.

Macbook pro retina quit working with external displays

Just got a new external display, and can't get it to work with my MBP. I tried it via the mini display port and also via the HDMI connection. Then I tried to use my flatscreen tv just to test things out via HDMI and now that doesn't work either, I've done that quite a bit in the past. The only thing thats changed is I updated to Yosemite. I even tried different cables.
Thoughts?
Txs,
Jeff

When I unplug the cable from the mac, the monitor does display this message:
"No Display Port Cable"
So it does seem like the display knows that its connected to a mac, just nothing shows up. Don't get anything in System Prefs > Displays either.

MacBook Pro with external display sometimes

I want to use my MacBook Pro with my external display (Apple 23 inch Cinema) when I'm at my office, and to have Spaces set up and optimized for that. When I'm at home or on the road, I want Spaces set up differently, optimized for the MacBook Pro display only (no external display). Can I do this? Do I need to set up separate accounts on the MBP to do this, or can I do it some other way? Can you have sets, or multiple instances of Spaces? Otherwise, I want both options -- at work with MBP display plus Apple 23 inch Cinema or MBP display only -- to be able to access all of my files and software. The only real difference in the two setups would be the amount of screen real estate and where/how Spaces works within these different screen "landscapes."

You will always have to use the power button to turn it on, and you'll have to open the display for that.
Apple supports using the machine with its display closed, provided you follow the instructions in this article. As long as you do that, it shouldn't cause any harm. But I wouldn't recommend seeing how hot you can get the MBP with the display closed.

Update to 10.6.8 colour problems with external display

I have a mid-2010 13" macbook pro. I use a mini DVI to HDMI adaptor to connect to my Philips LCD TV. It has always worked perfectly including audio. Since update to 10.6.8 (yesterday) there is a colour-cast on the external display that makes it unusable. I have tried a hard reset of the mac with no effect except that the colour cast changed from green to red (strange!).
Anyone had a similar problem or have any ideas how I could solve it? (no time machine so I can't downgrade unfortunately)

Though I am using and iMac 27 and not a macbook, I have the similar issues since the 10.6.8 update.
I too am using the adapter to connect to a Philips 42' LCD.
You can see my post here: (has a pic of what my TV image now looks like since update.)
https://discussions.apple.com/message/15488605#15488605
I ended up going back to 10.6.7, not a fix, but no other alternative..
I used to have this problem a year ago on a PC that happened to have the same ATi Graphics card. I just used the ATI control center and changed a setting to YBR component or something like that in some color settings. But unfortunately we don't have the ATI control panel for mac, least I don't think we have any kind of alternative, but would prolly fix it..

Sticking mousecursor with external display is still a problem...

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