Triple Monitor Help

I'm on a 2.8Ghz i5 iMac. I went out and bought a Sewell 2x1 HDMI splitter today. The input is coming out of the MiniDisplay port to HDMI apapter, then I have an Insignia TV and Samsung monitor plugged into the two outputs, but the tv and samsung monitor wont stop mirroring eachother. So essentially I have my iMac display, then the same display on the 2nd and 3rd monitor. Help.

This guy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0GbrZVDXLk has 3 monitors but uses a $70 USB adapter to extend across all 3.

Similar Messages

Need Xorg config file for dual graphics cards, triple monitors

Hey guys, I'm having a bit of trouble getting triple monitors working on my system. The two plugged into the graphics card (radeon x300) work fine, but the one plugged into onboard graphics (geforce 6150SE) refuses to appear in xrandr. I figure I need to make a /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/10-monitor.conf file but I'm confused about how to do it with separate cards. I find the wiki instructions that I can find confusing, as I've never had to deal with xorg files before (has always autoconfigured for me no problems).
Relevant code:
[greg@spacebar ~]$ lspci | grep VGA
00:0d.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation C61 [GeForce 6150SE nForce 430] (rev a2)
02:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc RV370 5B60 [Radeon X300 (PCIE)]
[greg@spacebar ~]$ xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 320 x 200, current 2960 x 1050, maximum 4096 x 4096
VGA-0 connected 1280x1024+1680+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 338mm x 270mm
1280x1024 60.0*+ 75.0
1152x864 75.0
1024x768 75.1 60.0
800x600 75.0 60.3
640x480 75.0 60.0
720x400 70.1
DVI-0 connected 1680x1050+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 430mm x 270mm
1680x1050 59.9*+
1280x1024 75.0 60.0
1152x864 75.0
1024x768 75.1 60.0
800x600 75.0 60.3
640x480 75.0 60.0
720x400 70.1
S-video disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
[greg@spacebar ~]$ pacman -Q | grep xf86-video
xf86-video-ati 6.14.3-1
xf86-video-nouveau 0.0.16_git20120106-1
xf86-video-vesa 2.3.0-7
[greg@spacebar ~]$ cat /etc/mkinitcpio.conf | grep MODULES=
MODULES="radeon nouveau"
I just can't seem to understand how to write the 10-monitor.conf file. I was wondering if anyone could give me a hand?
Also, the third monitor to be connected via onboard VGA is also 1280x1024 and will be left of the other two.

Depends on the motherboard. This one allows you to enable the onboard graphics only when no external card is found, or always enable. The PCI-E card initialises first, if that helps.
EDIT: Also I can confirm that it can run both cards (all three monitors) at the same time by switching to initialise the onboard card first, however that makes some weird stuff happen so I switched it back. And also the nouveau driver is shown in lsmod, and gets detected in the boot message logs.
Last edited by MisterAnderson (2012-01-26 16:56:58)

MacPro3,1 triple monitor setup

Hi there!
I'm looking to expand my Apple 30" monitor setup with two (very cheap but highly acclaimed) Dell UltraSharp™ U2311H monitors. However, I'm unsure if I do or do not need an additional video card and if so, which one. I have an NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT with (I think) two DVI-I Dual Link ports. I've read that there are DVI-splitters, but I have been unable to find any conclusive information.
Does anyone know how I can do this?
Friendly greetings, D, Amsterdam.

Hi Grant!
Thanks for your help earlier ;-)
I hope you might be able to shed some light on a little problem I have with my triple monitor setup. I bought the following items:
Two Dell Professional P2411H 61cm (24") LED monitors.
Two MiniDisplayPort to DVI adapters.
I've took your advice on the card and also got one ATI RADEON HD 5770 1GB-ZML card.
The monitors, in combination with the adapters and the card ... it all works, but there's one limitation I believe shouldn't be there.
The problem is this: either the hardware or software is only allowing me to connect two displays in total. If I connect all three displays, only the Dell monitors are able to connect. If I disconnect one Dell monitor, the Apple 30" display goes live. So, whatever in whatever combination or order I try to connect the displays, only two screens are connecting simultaneously.
Do you, or does someone else know how to fix this? Would be great to fix this soon and become the pixonaut of my own digitale cockpit!

Triple Monitor Display for Laptops

Im looking for a triple monitor bracket like the one MSI uses in their advertisement for the 4 monitor Matrix display.. Laptop in Middle, monitor on left and right, and one up high. Any help, links, advice would be great.
Thanks,
Brett
MSI GT70-20D Stock the one with the 24gb of ram.. Etc etc

that will be more then likely referring to a Falcon Tango Monitor Matrix (The 1 over 3 Monitor Matrix) (Quad monitor stand) without the central monitor attached!
you can only get them from the manufacturer as they are custom made stands and run around $440US http://www.tradingcomputers.com/TCarrays.html
MSI do not make stands like that they will just have been illustrating it like that for Marketing just to show how it could be used

I recently had a kernel panic in which I think my hard drive only had so much space left after I ran a bunch of drivers I thought I needed. I uninstalled all and moved files. For some odd reason I'm not getting sound of of my hdtv/monitor.HELP?

I recently had a kernel panic in which I think my hard drive only had so much space left after I ran a bunch of drivers I thought I needed. I uninstalled all and moved files. For some odd reason I'm not getting sound of of my hdtv/monitor.HELP? I uninstalled all the drives and apps I download. I moived files either to trash if not needed, and others to other external drives. I went into disk utility and did a repair disk permission and verify disk. Clean out junk files. Now my hdtv/monitor does not give me any sound, nor does my mac mini. Can someone please tell me what to do?

What drivers?

T420 - Triple Monitors/Enable Optimus?

I have a T420, and am trying to run 3 monitors (2 external + the laptop display). I am have hooked up one monitor to the VGA and another to the display port on my docking station, and am able to run 2 monitors in any combination. However it won't let me do 3.
According to what I read here http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/Options-Accessories/Mini-Dock-Plus-Series-3-with-Triple-Monitors/td-p/57..., I should make sure Optimus is enabled. How exactly do I do this? I saw one note regarding the bios, but I didn't see the setting there that referenced Optimus.
Thanks!

exlim wrote:
I have a T420, and am trying to run 3 monitors (2 external + the laptop display). I am have hooked up one monitor to the VGA and another to the display port on my docking station, and am able to run 2 monitors in any combination. However it won't let me do 3.
According to what I read here http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/Options-Accessories/Mini-Dock-Plus-Series-3-with-Triple-Monitors/td-p/57..., I should make sure Optimus is enabled. How exactly do I do this? I saw one note regarding the bios, but I didn't see the setting there that referenced Optimus.
Thanks!
Which model T420 do you have?

Triple monitor: Sapphire HD5670 512MB (*non* eyefinity version)

Those reading will know that, in order to have up to 3 displays showing content in a single graphics card, if it's an AMD card then you need a certain feature known as EyeFinity.
In particular, I am talking about tihs card:
http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalo … CDAQ8wIwAQ
You will notice in the picture that this one has DP, but there is another version that has VGA port in its place. I courd not for the life of me find it again, but at the time of buying the concern was CRT usage, so a VGA port was important. I did not know about EyeFinity at the time.
This guide is for people whe made mistakes like this.
This is typically the case. With my card in particular, you cannot get triple monitor in Windows, because the drivers prevent it (it is possible in Linux).
I said prevent.
If a card has 3 video outputs, each with their own RAMDAC (or none, if its digital-only), then why can you not use all 3 at the same time?
Typically in such a setup, if it does not have EyeFinity, then the connectors are usually:
VGA, DVI, HDMI (my card)
or
DVI, DVI, VGA (other cards)
or
DVI DVI, HDMI
or
HDMI, HDMI, DVI
In other words, all ef these types of card without support for EyeFinity, do not have:
DisplayPort connector
This is a rather crude way of getting it to work, but any solution is a selution still.
Well, here is a simple way I get triple monitor on my card that does not support EyeFinity:
VGA lcd in the VGA
DVI lcd in the DVI
DVI lcd in the HDMI (using HDMI-DVI adapter)
The HDMI is disconnected via a coupler, before I boot into Linux. I have a script with these commands:
xrandr --auto --output VGA-0 --mode 1280x1024
xrandr --auto --output DVI-0 --mode 1280x1024 --right-of VGA-0
xrandr --auto --output HDMI-0 --mode 1280x1024 --right-of DVI-0
(run it as a bash script)
With the HDMI (via HDMI-DVI, then a DVI coupler, then DVI to DVI going to the monitor) disconnected at the coupler, I run this script.
Of course, this script sets triple monitor, but right now only the DVI and VGA are hooked up.
Once it has done, I have dual monitor.
Then, connect at the coupler (or "gender changer") on the HDMI output. Now all 3 displays are connected, but you still have dual monitor.
Run the above commands again, and you will see triple monitor.
Now that you have solved the problem of getting tri-monitor in X, if you look at your TTYs you will notice that only one of the screens is showing. In X (usually terminal 7 or 8), simply disconnect the HDMI at the coupler for a few seconds, then reconnect it.
Now you to your TTY (Ctrl-Alt-F{1-6}), and it will show text on all 3 screens (albeit duplicated).
Thoughts,
I am not sure as to why this is possible to do. I see it as "tricking" the other incapable hardware into outputting on 3 displays, but it seems penfectly functional.
My guess is that this actually is an EyeFinity card, in the sense that it is the same base an which other cards (with DP, and thus, EyeFinity) are built, but that this particular card can be used in the same way, to get triple monitor.
Either that, or this is a "bug" in X11/XrandR (if it is a bug, please do not fix it, I like my triple monitors, I call it a feature).
I know that this certainly works in Xubuntu too, I tried it on a Live CD.
I tried removing the graphics card and trying this on the intergrated graphics (HD 4290/4250 I think), which also has the same 3 outputs, but the hardwas itself actually enforces a maximum of 2 monitors. If you have DVI and HDMI hooked up, it defaults to HDMI, but masquerades as DVI (where the drivers are concerned). You could use this hack, but then it would still not work because the hardware itself, not the driver softawre, is enforcing it.
The board is: ASUS M4a89GTD PRO
Last edited by NightCrawler03X (2012-01-17 17:45:59)

Hello,
i get the same messages without any problems for my intel card.
You can read more about it in this thread:
http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-85 … ec66f93bf2
There are a fair amount of people who have posted their /proc/mtrr there, you can compare yours to them.
In the end they come to the conclusion, that uncachable entries are not a problem, for the most systems.
However uncachable regions of 1024MB seem to be too large.
On my mtrr the biggest uncachable entry is 64MB.
So you might get improvement from solving this.

T410 triple monitor capability??

Hi all,
I currently use my T410 (w/ NVS3100MS optimus tech) with a LCD via DisplayPort.
I have another monitor at home with RGB connector.
I've tried connecting 2 external monitors to have a triple monitor but it did not work.
I went through the web and looks like for any T410 model, to make a triple monitor i have to have a mini dock.
Is that the only option??
Hope anyone knows about this issue. Thanks a lot

If you had the Tx20 series you would be able to do it without a dock.

Triple Monitor on T500 with RC and beta drivers...

Hello all I was running a beta driver from the beta Lenovo website and was able to run triple monitors.
Now with the RTM I cannot...
I was hoping that someone might have the old version of the beta drivers that Lenovo had on the beta site last year aroung May/June...
This was running without any extra hardware, it allowed windows to "see" both display drivers and allow them to be used.
If someone want I can send you a pic as proof, but could you please send me the old drivers for the "switchable graphics" ( I think that was the thing.)
This is a laptop T500 w the ATI 3650 HD and the intel express graphics card built in.
Thanks in advance.

What display are you using? Are you using a direct HDMI connection or are you using an adapter?

How to setup triple monitor in Dell E5430

I'm trying to set two monitors plus the onboard display to work as triple monitor, but I'm getting "xrandr: Configure crtc 2 failed". I can get both monitors working together. Does someone know what is wrong? Thanks in advance!
What xrandr says about my hardware:
$ xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 8 x 8, current 3200 x 900, maximum 32767 x 32767
LVDS1 connected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
1366x768 59.99 + 40.00
1024x768 85.00 75.03 70.07 60.00
1024x768i 86.96
832x624 74.55
800x600 85.14 72.19 75.00 60.32 56.25
640x480 85.01 72.81 75.00 59.94
720x400 85.04
640x400 85.08
632x395 108.01
640x350 85.08
504x378 80.97
248x155 113.26 82.19
VGA1 connected 1600x900+1600+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 443mm x 249mm
1600x900 60.00*+
1152x864 75.00
1024x768 75.08 60.00
832x624 74.55
800x600 75.00 60.32 56.25
640x480 75.00 60.00
720x400 70.08
HDMI1 connected primary 1600x900+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 443mm x 249mm
1600x900 60.00*+
1152x864 75.00
1024x768 75.08 60.00
832x624 74.55
800x600 75.00 60.32 56.25
640x480 75.00 60.00
720x400 70.08
DP1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
HDMI2 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
HDMI3 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DP2 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
DP3 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
VIRTUAL1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
My onboard graphics card:
$ lspci -vvv -s 00:02.0
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 3rd Gen Core processor Graphics Controller (rev 09) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
Subsystem: Dell Device 053c
Control: I/O+ Mem+ BusMaster+ SpecCycle- MemWINV- VGASnoop- ParErr- Stepping- SERR- FastB2B- DisINTx+
Status: Cap+ 66MHz- UDF- FastB2B+ ParErr- DEVSEL=fast >TAbort- <TAbort- <MAbort- >SERR- <PERR- INTx-
Latency: 0
Interrupt: pin A routed to IRQ 46
Region 0: Memory at f6400000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4M]
Region 2: Memory at e0000000 (64-bit, prefetchable) [size=256M]
Region 4: I/O ports at f000 [size=64]
Expansion ROM at <unassigned> [disabled]
Capabilities: <access denied>
Kernel driver in use: i915
Kernel modules: i915
output:
$ xrandr --output LVDS1 --auto --rate 60.32 --output VGA1 --auto --right-of LVDS1 --output HDMI1 --auto --left-of LVDS1 --verbose
screen 0: 4566x900 1207x237 mm 96.05dpi
crtc 0: 1600x900 60.00 +0+0 "HDMI1"
crtc 1: 1600x900 60.00 +2966+0 "VGA1"
crtc 2: 1366x768 59.99 +1600+0 "LVDS1"
xrandr: Configure crtc 2 failed
crtc 0: disable
crtc 1: disable
crtc 2: disable
crtc 3: disable
screen 0: revert
crtc 0: revert
crtc 1: revert
crtc 2: revert
crtc 3: revert

Any luck?
I have a similar issue. I currently have a triple monitor setup, a 1920x1080 + the laptop at 1920x1080 + another on 1600 x 900. this works fine. When I swap out the 1600x900 for another monitor at 1920x1080, i get the same error. I can get any combination of 2 monitors working, and I can get all 3 working if the 3rd is at a reduced resolution (1400x900), but at full resolution i just get the error. The same setup works fine in windows at 1920x1080.

[Solved] gs60 ghost pro triple monitor setup??

any one try to put a display port hub on the gs60 ghost pro something like the 3d-club MST
link: http://www.club-3d.com/index.php/products/reader.en/product/mst-hub-1-3.html
i have a triple monitor setup for my desktop machine and i was wondering if it is possible to just plug my gs60 into a USB hub for sound, keyboard, and mouse. then a MST display port hub just dock and game. from what i read online the GTX 870M will work in this configuration i just want to know if anyone here has tried it?

Quote from: Yippyyay;104043
any one try to put a display port hub on the gs60 ghost pro something like the 3d-club MST
link: http://www.club-3d.com/index.php/products/reader.en/product/mst-hub-1-3.html
i have a triple monitor setup for my desktop machine and i was wondering if it is possible to just plug my gs60 into a USB hub for sound, keyboard, and mouse. then a MST display port hub just dock and game. from what i read online the GTX 870M will work in this configuration i just want to know if anyone here has tried it?
Yes, it works.

Can sum one help me setup a triple monitor with 2 moitors mirrord and have the thertd on as a seprat monitr

i have 2 monitors and a imac im trying to set up one of my monitors as a separat monitor and have the uver one mirroring my imac but i can only get it to mirror my mac on all my screens and i dont wont this and if it help but i dont no if it make a difference one of my monitors on useing hdmi and the uver is useing
vga if eny one can help me i will be very gratfull

This is a bad hardware error, Baseband Error. Some have reported getting through this error by Restoring iPhone with the SIM Card removed. Try that. Try restoring with different computer. Search Web some more for other thoughts.

Linux 3.11 breaks triple monitor support on intel graphics

I just ran pacman -Syu, observed linux (3.10.10-1 -> 3.11.1-1), and found that I can no longer use more than 2 monitors simultaneously. When I try to configure 3 or 4 monitors with xrandr or arandr, I get an error message like "xrandr: configure crtc 2 failed".
When I boot with linux-lts 3.10.12, it works reliably again.
I have Intel HD Graphics 4000 on a i5-3320M CPU for a Thinkpad T530 with a ThinkPad Mini Dock Series 3.
I have 4 monitors: internal laptop screen, DVI, DisplayPort, and a USB DisplayLink. With linux 3.10, all 4 can work simultaneously. With linux 3.11, any 2 of them can work simultaneously.
In my journalctl at boot time, I see
kernel: fbcon: inteldrmfb (fb1) is primary device
kernel: fbcon: Remapping primary device, fb1, to tty 1-63
kernel: e1000e 0000:00:19.0: irq 45 for MSI/MSI-X
kernel: IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): ethernet0: link is not ready
kernel: iwlwifi 0000:03:00.0: L1 Enabled; Disabling L0S
kernel: iwlwifi 0000:03:00.0: Radio type=0x2-0x0-0x0
kernel: psmouse serio1: synaptics: Touchpad model: 1, fw: 7.2, id: 0x1c0b1, caps: 0xd047b3/0xb40000/0xa0000, board id: 71, fw id: 920262
kernel: psmouse serio1: synaptics: serio: Synaptics pass-through port at isa0060/serio1/input0
kernel: input: SynPS/2 Synaptics TouchPad as /devices/platform/i8042/serio1/input/input18
kernel: iwlwifi 0000:03:00.0: L1 Enabled; Disabling L0S
kernel: iwlwifi 0000:03:00.0: Radio type=0x2-0x0-0x0
kernel: IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wifi0: link is not ready
kernel: con2fb_init_display: detected unhandled fb_set_par error, error code -22
kernel: [drm] Enabling RC6 states: RC6 on, RC6p on, RC6pp on
kernel: wifi0: authenticate with .........
kernel: .ready
kernel: sd 7:0:0:0: [sdd] .........
kernel: released /dev/fb0 user=0 count=0
kernel: con2fb_release_oldinfo: detected unhandled fb_set_par error, error code -22
kernel: i915 0000:00:02.0: fb1: inteldrmfb frame buffer device
Yesterday when I was running linux 3.10, I saw this in my journalctl at boot time with no errors:
kernel: fbcon: inteldrmfb (fb1) is primary device
kernel: fbcon: Remapping primary device, fb1, to tty 1-63
kernel: e1000e 0000:00:19.0: irq 45 for MSI/MSI-X
kernel: e1000e 0000:00:19.0: irq 45 for MSI/MSI-X
kernel: IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): ethernet0: link is not ready
kernel: iwlwifi 0000:03:00.0: L1 Enabled; Disabling L0S
kernel: iwlwifi 0000:03:00.0: Radio type=0x2-0x0-0x0
kernel: psmouse serio1: synaptics: Touchpad model: 1, fw: 7.2, id: 0x1c0b1, caps: 0xd047b3/0xb40000/0xa0000, board id: 71, fw id: 920262
kernel: psmouse serio1: synaptics: serio: Synaptics pass-through port at isa0060/serio1/input0
kernel: input: SynPS/2 Synaptics TouchPad as /devices/platform/i8042/serio1/input/input18
kernel: iwlwifi 0000:03:00.0: L1 Enabled; Disabling L0S
kernel: iwlwifi 0000:03:00.0: Radio type=0x2-0x0-0x0
kernel: IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wifi0: link is not ready
kernel: wifi0: authenticate with .............
kernel: released /dev/fb0 user=0 count=0
kernel: i915 0000:00:02.0: fb1: inteldrmfb frame buffer device
My symptoms seem similar to Unable to configure 3 display multihead / X fails to start with 3 displays connected, although that was reported on linux 3.4.

Googling around, I found a few more people with what looks like the same problem commenting at the bottom of wrpll sharing not implemented (3x HDMI/DVI screens).
I have Intel graphics card and it supports triple head setup very well. ... I updated kernel to 3.11.1 after it appeared in Archlinux's repo and one of screens stopped working. I tried to fix it with xrandr but I got only "xrandr: Configure crtc failed" errors and these in Xorg.0.log:
I have a similar setup and am experiencing the same thing. Downgrading to 3.10 fixed the issue. I'm also happy to help fix this.
But apparently it's not the correct bug since someone said "if triple display worked and regressed in recent kernels then you have a different bug."
I think I should report this somewhere, but I'm not sure I understand exactly where (linux or xorg or arch?)

Mac Pro 3.1 (early 2008) lags since I connected a 2nd monitor - HELP!!

Hey guys,
I just bought a 2nd monitor and i have lags every 5 seconds which
last about half a second (feels like 10 or less fps during the lag).
It happens with all kinds of applications. It gets worse with multiple
applications openend at a time. The crazy thing is that it only occurs
when i start to use both monitors at the same time. When i e.g. use
Logic 9.1 and use one monitor everything runs nice and smoothely
but as soon as i move the window slowly to the 2nd monitor i can
see the window lagging while I'm moving it. This is really annoying
because it seems not every input from the mouse/keyboard gets
into the system and its not a smooth workflow at all.
I switched the monitors connections but it didn't help.
Mac Pro (Early 2008) 2.8Ghz 8-core
Snow Leopoard ( 10.6.2 )
6GB RAM (2x2gb kingston, and the usual 2x1gb)
ATI 2600XT and 3 HDD.
1 Monitor 24" LG W2452T running at 1920 x 1200
1 Monitor 22" Samsung Syncmaster 2243BW running at 1680 x 1050
I really hope that you guys can help me out with this one.
What could be the problem? The ATI 2600XT should definately
be able to handle two screens at once with such little graphics
in logic 9 ?!
I want to run Logic 9 and an analyzer software (Spectre from AudiofileEngineering)
at the same time but its not possible with the LAG.
The problem/lags also occur when i sync the monitors.
Would a 2nd graphics card be a solution? But as I said
before its not a graphics demanding application.
Is it a hardware or software problem?
Summary:
- The whole System lags (not just one monitor) when
I start to use both monitors (having application windows on both).
I've got minor lags when using only one display and leave the
2nd one with the desktop wallpaper clean.
I tried:
-using only the 2x1 GB RAM which came with the mac pro
-using only the 2x2 GB Kingston RAM
Thank you in advance for your help guys!
Rick

Hey all,
I wasn't able to fix this yet.
I did everything I can think of. I even tried to wire
one monitor with a VGA cable but it didn't help.
I even have small lags when I am moving the Safari window
between the 2 monitors. Really little lags then but they
definitely are noticeable. I can make a video of that
if that would help someone understanding.
Hope there is someone out there who can help me with this.
Thanks already for any advice!
Cheers,
Rick
Edit: Do you think a new graphics card like the ATI 4870 would
help it? But I really don't want to spend more money just to
have 2 monitors while i have already 2 dvi connections on the
ati 2600XT.
Message was edited by: RickUnique

Mac noob needs monitor help! how do I...

I was given a 2003 imac as a gift. I've always had PCs but was thrilled to have my first mac to play around with. The bad news is that about half the time the monitor doesn't work!!! I turn the computer on and the screen comes on for a split second and then just turns black. The computer is working just fine, in fact if I hold a bright light up to the monitor at just the right angle I can see the screen and see that everything is working...except the monitor. If I put the computer on sleep mode and then touch the keyboard of move the mouse the monitor will work again, but just for one second before going black. The other half of the time the computer works just fine.
SO....seeing as how I am not a rich man I was hoping that there was a way to use my TV as a monitor. I know how to do it was my PC but I am totally clueless with macs. Can it be done? What kind of cable would I have to buy?
Any and all help is appreciated.

A 2003 iMac would be the type that has the display on a chrome-plated arm that swivels and moves up and down, like this one?
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/stats/imac700fp.html
If so, you should try this procedure to reset the PMU (power management).
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1712
See if that makes the video issue, which sounds like a back-light problem, go away.
It has a mini-VGA port for video output. It mirror the built in display at up to 1024x768.
You need an adapter like this
[Apple Mini-VGA to TV Analog Output|http://cgi.ebay.com/Apple-Mini-VGA-to-TV-Analog-Output-Cable-Mac-AdapterW0QQitemZ310140585854QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item4835d1c77e&_ trksid=p3286.c0.m14&trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1% 7C294%3A50]
to connect it to a TV. If you have an old VGA CRT display, it would produce better results for use as a computer. Then you need a mini-VGA adapter that goes to VGA, which I believe is this one
[Apple mini-VGA to VGA adapter|http://cgi.ebay.com/Apple-Mac-Powerbook-mini-VGA-to-VGA-converter-adapt orW0QQitemZ120427739120QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item1c0a0d77f0&_ trksid=p3286.c0.m14&trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1% 7C294%3A50]
(I don't know anything about these eBay sellers.)

Triple Monitor Help

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for