Switching displays with broken iMac display

I have no display on the iMac. I want to back up the hard drive before it is sent for repair. So I need to use external display to do so.
Using mini DVI to VGA adapter to connect iMac to Sony Bravia 40", but the TV will not pick up the signal (Probably due to incompatible resolution settings??).
Is there a way to switch the display settings without using monitor display to see what I'm doing?
Maybe I could do it with speakable commands which luckily is enabled on the computer!?
I was able to open system preferences and then display preferences (I think).
I've searched high and low now for an answer, but have come up with nothing.

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Connect 2 external Displays with a iMac 27''

Hi,
is there a way to connect two external Displays with a iMac 27inch. Eyefinity? Its a Radeon 5750 inside the iMac isnt it?

Hi,
For the first screen is no brainer you use the Apple adapter to have video out to HDMI or DVI, but the second screen is where it gets tricky...
There are USB to DVI out external video cards that should work with the iMac and OS X 10.6 but I have changed. Honestly I have tested 6 so far and none of them works as advertised, you can not even set minimal resolution on there and some wont even work ( all of them come with OS X 10.6 drivers )
So I will recommend to stay away from the small $70 or $90 external USB to VGA/DVI cards...
(maybe someone has luck with them but i have tried like I said 6 so far different brand and no luck..)
Now recently online I tripped over a nice external video card that takes the MiniVideo Port out from the Mac and then takes it to another 2 monitors price was $249 i think, and you could hook up 2x30" monitors with hight res... I will try to find this link and post here later on.
Regards,
Goran

Compared with the iMac display...

Why does it seem to me that when compared with the iMac display, the 30-incher looks somewhat grainy and plays videos not so well? Is the 24" iMac display actually a better display?

The Cinema Display has a anti glare coating on it. I have heard allot of people who have the 30" display complain that it is very noticeable. I have the 23" and it is noticeable but it's not bad at all.
I too have my display connected to an iMac but I think the Cinema Display looks much better.

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https://discussions.apple.com/message/8315498#8315498

Broken iMac display - nothing visible - How to set up external display?

I have a 17" Core Duo 1.83 with a cracked screen. It boots but I can't see anything thru the cracks. I can access the system in Firewire Target Disk mode, which I used to wipe the HD and reinstall Leopard.
Is there any way to boot the iMac in Display Mirroring mode, so that I can set it up to use an external display? I have a 22" Dell connected via DVI and would like to use that.
I guess the ideal would be a keyboard shortcut to use at startup. I've seen on other boards that there is such a shortcut for the Macbook: Command + F4. But it doesn't work with the iMac.
I also have the Remote Control if that could be any help.
Would voice commands be an option? If so, how would I activate and use them, given that I can't see anything on the screen? I don't remember ever activating them, so I don't know if they'd be on at the moment.
My idea is to turn the iMac around with the broken screen facing the wall, then use it with the Dell monitor. Still lots of life left in the iMac with 2GB RAM, works very well with Leopard, still quite fast.
Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks.

Okay, looking good for now!
I found a thread on Mac Forums. Link: http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/apple-desktops/184101-help-broken-imac-external -screen.html
Guy explains how he solved problem of iMac with broken screen, connected to external monitor; you need a second Mac to do this.
I quote:
-- What u need to do is drag the menu bar from the iMac with broken screen in Sys Prefs/Displays to the Ext Display - which of course is not possible. So if you were to connect the damaged iMac by firewire to another Mac with an External display - start the damaged iMac in Target mode by holding T key after powering on. Then start the Mac with Ext Display and hold Option Key and select the damaged Mac to boot off - once that is going go into Sys Prefs/Displays and drag the menu Bar onto the External Display to make it the Primary one. Then shut it all down and connect the Ext Display to the damaged iMac and with luck you will be GO. --
I cloned my Macbook 10.5.8 system to the iMac HD and made it bootable. Seemed to be working fine. I then shut down both Macs. I connected an external display to Macbook. The Macbook and iMac were still connected via Firewire. I booted the iMac and pressed T, so it booted in TDM. After about 30 seconds I booted the Macbook and pressed Alt: the Macbook's and iMac's disks were available as boot disks. I chose the iMac's disk and waited.... Seemed a long time. But finally the external monitor came to life and I had the whole thing working, more or less.
The setup was in Extended Desktop mode, with the extended desktop on my external monitor. Luckily, a bit of the top of the iMac's screen was semi-visible, and I was able to open Display Prefs. I selected Mirrored Displays at first and then was able to work on the external display (and not thru the cracks). From here, I unchecked Mirroring and selected the external display as the main one. This worked just fine. I have a 23" full HD monitor and it looked great.
I then shut down both computers, disconnected Firewire, disconnected the monitor from the Macbook and connected it to the iMac. Then I rebooted the iMac. It booted up a lot quicker, but on startup it went back to Extended Desktop, with the iMac's display as the Main one. Again, I was able to open Monitor prefs, then clicked on Gather Windows, which put the pref window on the external monitor desktop too. Again, from there, I could make the external monitor the Main one.
Question: is there any way to make the iMac boot to where the external monitor is the Main desktop all the time and by default?
If not, maybe the worst case scenario is that I have to set display prefs to Mirrored before shutting down. Then after startup I could just make the external one the main display again.
Many thanks David.
P.S. forgot to say that when I set the external monitor as the Main one in display prefs, it all worked okay, except that when I opened System Preferences, the window opened on the iMac's screen, not the external one.
Is there a setting to make all windows, in all apps, open on the Main display?
Message was edited by: moonshot61

A few questions about using PS3 with 27" iMac display...

Hey people, I had a few questions about how I could possibly get my ps3 connected to the iMac's 27" screen. First of all, could you guys list some adapters that would be able to convert the HDMI to Mini displayport? That would be great. The only one I know of is that Dr. Bott Digital Video link.
Okay secondly, I was wondering if I do get the the ps3 connected with the iMac's display with an adapter to convert HDMI to mini DisplayPort, would it be in HD? Would I be able to play ps3 games or watch blu-ray movies in 1080p HD format?
Thanks!

Welcome to the Apple Discussions!
This has been asked a number of times here since the intro of the 27" iMac. The answer is very expensive US$149 or more converters and sometimes even more expensive to maintain the resolutions that you seek.
http://lowendmac.com/ed/bashur/09db/dvi-to-mini-displayport.html
Dah•veed

Multiple Displays With Single Mini Display Port

I have a 2010 MacBook Pro running Mavericks. I already have a display running from a miniport-to-hdmi adaptor which works great but I'm thinking of adding an additional monitor to the setup.
Is it just as simple as using an hdmi splitter and plugging in the second display or is there something else I need to do?
Thanks, Dan

Dan,
for a Mid 2010 model, you’ll need to use something like the Matrox DualHead2Go Digital Mac Edition multi-display adapter with a DVI-to-HDMI adapter to connect your current display. If your current display or your second display has a DVI input port, then no additional adapter would be needed.

HT4951 Can i use a Thunder bolt display with an iMac from the mid 2009 ? Would it work if connected to a mini dvi port in a scaled down mode or is it compulsory to have a thunder bolt port ?

I have a mid 2009 iMac that doesn't have Thunderbolt display, but has a mini-dvi port.
Will the Thunderbolt cinema display 27" still work when connected to this mini-dvi port ?
I thought it would be better going for a thunderbolt display monitor rather than the older version, so when i upgrade my machine in the future it stays compatible.

I have a mid 2009 iMac that doesn't have Thunderbolt display, but has a mini-dvi port.
Will the Thunderbolt cinema display 27" still work when connected to this mini-dvi port ?
No. A TB display can only be connected to a TB source.
Confusing Mini DisplayPort with Thunderbolt
As indicated in that artical a displayport device can be connected to a TB source. But that is not your situation.

23" display with 24" imac

hi all - i am considering treating myself to a 23" display - but, as usual, i have a couple of questions... hopefully someone will have a similar set up...
how does it size up next to the new 24" imac - will they look (aesthetically) quite similar - is the height roughly the same or will i have to prop it up with books?
also - it's been quite sometime since they were updated - any rumours up an update anytime soon
cheers all - always good to share thoughts
dc/lockerbie/uk

Hi-
The 23' ACD and the 24" iMac have roughly the same size panels. The 23" stands 445mm (+/-) tall, so is shorter than the iMac. You could set it on books, though this isn't the safest or best looking way to raise the display's height. Using a mounting arm would be better.
The cases of both, being aluminum, provide for a "matched set" type of appearance. The biggest difference in the displays of the two, though, is the 23" is not a glossy display, it is matt. The light reflection characteristics between the two will create some difference in view, IMHO, the 23" is better (no extraneous reflection). For me, the difference between the matt and the glossy display is hard to get beyond.....Comparison of the two at the Apple Store would be a good idea.

Driving 24" external display with 20" imac

I'm looking at imacs now to use with Logic Pro and I'm going to buy a second display to expand my screen. I'm thinking of the ACD 23" or the BenQ 24" but I'm wondering if I'll run into problems trying to drive a monitor bigger than the built-in 20" display.

Hello,
You'll be fine using it with a 24-inch screen. The built-in monitor does not determine the maximum size that the video card can drive. It's just the monitor chosen for that computer.
I hope this helps.
Let us know if you have other questions.
P.S., if you'd like, go ahead and click the "Helpful" or "Solved" buttons on any of the posts / replies above if you feel they were helpful or adequately answered your question.

Problems with my iMac display

Hi everyone! I noticed that the corner of the screen appear black and white stripes (image attached). Who knows what the problem is? How to fix it?
Many thanks in advance!
iMac 21,5. 2011

Most likely you will need to replace the LCD panel. It is a well-known problem of an iMac. Search "iMac dirty display" on google and you'll see how common it is. Sorry, it's not "simply open up the glass cover and do the cleaning" kind of job. I hope your AppleCare isn't expired yet. Bring it to nearest Apple Store and asks for LCD replacement.

Can I use a second 24in iMac as a second display with another iMac?

Hi Guys,
I have two identical 24in iMacs. One used to be in my office but as I am now based at home I want to use the second screen in dual monitor-mode with my home-based iMac. Is this possible and if so how?
Thanks for any advice!
cheers
rich

Hi,
It looks like it would but that seems like it connects via ethernet and some people report colour issues. Is there no way of using the videoports or anything? I also use the ethernet port to connect to my Time Capsule.
cheers
rich
Message was edited by: rustyintegrale

2013 MacBook Pro 15 retina display with broken screen

My girlfriend broke my screen on my 15 inch Macbook pro 2013. will the warranty cover the replacement of the screeN. How much will it cost to replace screen

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Three external displays with 13" Retina Display

Hello,
I have a 13" Macbook Pro Retina Display...I have two 22" displays that I connect up using a thunderbold/minidisplay port to VGA and I have a third 22" display which I want to connect up using the remaining HDMI port.
I am only able to connect two monitors at any one time, whether it's both VGA displays or one HDMI and VGA. I have tried shutting the laptop screen (clamshell, without changing any settings or installing anything) and even still my mac can only see two displays.
Is there something you can do to get all three screens to work for you or is there something anyone can recommend for me?
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Did you ever get this figured out?

APEX Web page display suddenly broken -- Cannot display page.

I came in this AM and a file system had filled up. After fixing it I tried to bring up the main APEX web page to log into the application as the Admin development user for my application workspace.
I received an error - Unable to display web page from the client.
I checked the network, database and everything else and it all looks good.
Did something get locked up that I may not be aware of that needs to be reset ?
Any ideas ?
Thanks in advance,
Anon

Hi Anon,
Maybe a session is hanging?
A quick fix would probably be to restart your database and webserver (if you use that).
Regards,
Dimitri
http://dgielis.blogspot.com/
http://www.apex-evangelists.com/
REWARDS: Please remember to mark helpful or correct posts on the forum

Switching displays with broken iMac display

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