Using external display as main display-how?

My subject line says it all. I want to use an external LCD display as my main display while keeping my MacBook Pro closed w/o powering down to sleep. I know this can be done because I've seen posts where other users do it, but I've never learned how it's done. Please let me know what needs to be done in order to use an external display as the main display with the MacBook Pro closed and still running. Thanks so much!
Stoneman

I know you can do it, but do you really want to do it... the heat from the lack of ventilation will ruin the macbook's display... or so I'm told.

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How can I make an external monitor the main display?

I have a mid 2007 iMac running OS X 10.4. The internal monitor is broken and all it shows is a bunch of lines.
I have connected an external Samsung monitor. All I see in it is a desktop background: no icons, no menus, no dock. I believe this is because the display is in extended mode and the main display is the internal monitor. I cannot use the System Preferences Panel to change this, because the internal monitor is useless.
I have a second, newer iMac, from which I can login to the first via ssh.
Is there a way to make the external monitor the main display from the command line?
(I have though of editing the Preferences List, but I do not know what to change and how to change it. I do have Developers Tool installed and thus can access the Preferences List Editor.)
Thanks in advance!!!
Gustavo J. Mata

Hi everybody!
To solve the problem I wrote a script that creates a Systems Preferences windows which shows up in the external monitor. Once this happens the configuration can be changed manually, to make the external monitor the main display. This is what I did:
First I created a user with automatic login in the faulty machine. To do this:
1.- Restarted this malfunctioning iMac in Firewire Target mode.
2.- Rebooted the working iMac using the other machine as startup disk.
3.- Created the user.
4.- Restarted both machines normally
Next I wrote a script which opens System Preferences and shifts its window to the left:
5.- In the working machine I saved the script as a 'Run only' application:
tell application "System Preferences"
activate
set x0 to 1080
set y0 to 200
set dx to 800
set wx to 600
set wy to 600
set the bounds of the first window to {x0, y0, x0 + dx + wx, y0 + wy}
end tell
6.- Then uploaded it to the iMac with the faulty screen.
7- Shut down both machines.
Then I added the script application to the automatic login user in the faulty machine:
8.- Restarted the malfunctioning iMac in Firewire Target mode.
9.- Rebooted the working iMac using the other machine as startup disk.
10.- In System Preferences added the script to login items.
11.- Restarted both machines.
The System Preferences window now showed in the external terminal. I was able to go into the Displays pane and set the external monitor as the main display (dragging the white bar to it).
Cheers,
Gustavo J. Mata

External display as main display possible?

im trying to figure this out.. driving me nuts..
how can i make my external display my main display??
is this possible?? im connecting via VGA
thanks..

Your welcome. Thanks for the it is appreciated.
Here is more locations for help.
MacBook
Mac 101: All Work and Play
Switch 101: Migrate to Mac
PC Magazine: Switching from Windows to Mac, Part I
PC Magazine: Switching from Windows to Mac, Part II

View contents of external display on main display (PIP-style)

I occasionally connect a TV to my MacBook Pro to watch movies and TV shows. The problem is that I cannot see the TV from where the computer is located. The computer must stay in this location in order to remain connected to the external HD and A/V receiver. I'm looking for a way to monitor what's on the external display from the main display so I can more easily drag and position windows onto it. Sort of like having a small picture-in-picture style window in the corner. I don't believe this is possible natively, but are there any third-party products that could achieve this?
Thanks in advance.

None that I have ever heard of.

Is it possible to use External HD as main boot drive? (Help!)

Hi all
I am about to buy a Seagate FreeAgent Pro (link: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/478636-REG/SeagateST305004FPA1E3_RK_FreeAgent_Pro_500GB_eSATA.html) with 500Gb and FW400/USB2.0/eSATA. I have a Mac Mini, and its internal HD is too small for me (80Gb total for about 70Gb of data).
What I'd like to do is install OS X on the External HD and use it as my main boot drive, and perhaps the Mini's internal HD for data backup. Would that be possible/legal (I only have the install discs that came with it - my first Mac :D)? If it is complicated, could you guys explain me how to do it?
I'd also like to know whether the performance would be better or worse. The Mini's got a 5400 RPM drive, and the external is 7200 RPM and would be connected through FW400 (plus a lot of free space for now).
One last question: if it is indeed possible/legal to use the External HD as my main boot drive, would it be possible to install and boot Windows on the external HD using Boot Camp or Parallels?
Cheers
Daniel
Mac Mini 1.83 GHz Core Duo 1 GB Ram 80 GB HDD Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Performance will be worse because FW400 is considerably slower than the internal bus. For startup I would continue using the internal drive. You can use the external drive for data storage as well as off-loading any music, picture, and movie files to free up space on the internal drive. You can also partition a chunk of the external drive (80 GBs) to use as a backup partition for the internal hard drive. You can clone your internal drive to the external (partition) which will give you a bootable backup. Here's how:
How to Clone Using Restore Option of Disk Utility
1. Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder.
2. Select the backup or destination volume from the left side list.
3. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (journaled, if available) and click on the Erase button. This step can be skipped if the destination has already been freshly erased.
4. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
5. Select the backup or destination volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
6. Select the startup or source volume from the left side list and drag it to the Source entry field.
7. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
8. Select the destination drive on the Desktop and press COMMAND-I to open the Get Info window. At the bottom in the Ownership and Permissions section be sure the box labeled "Ignore Permissions on this Volume" is unchecked. Verify the settings for Ownership and Permissions as follows: Owner=system with read/write; Group=admin with read/write; Other with read-only. If they are not correct then reset them.

Satellite A200-1AE: How to set external monitor as main display on Win XP

Model: A200-1AE
OS: XP SP2
I wish to use the external display in Windows XP. It would be necessary that the external display was the main thing, and desktop expansions occurred on the laptop display. The driver, downloaded from your site do not allow to make it... Though in Windows Vista such possibility is.
How it is possible to solve my problem?

Hi
As far as I know this is not possible. In my case this option is grayed out!!!
But maybe its possible on your notebook. In such case you should access the graphic card properties. Then go the last tab called Settings.
There you should mark the display 2 and should enable the option called use this device as the primary monitor.
But if this option is not available you will be not able to set this!!!!
Best regards

Using second screen as main display? (I have no main screen)

Hi,
I have a 15" PowerBook 1.25 which has no screen (my mate dropped it, off it came), its out of warrenty and replacing the screen's gonna cost £800... I have a proview 15" screen which is plugged in to the 2nd screen output. How do I get the powerbook to default to this screen as its still going to the (non-existent) 1st screen? Is there a key command? All im getting is a blue screen! I need to know as I'm trying to upgrade it to 10.4. (currently 10.3)
Many thanks..
Ben Collier

This can be rather tricky without a functioning PowerBook display given you cannot actually tell Mac OS X to ignore the display. It very much assumes you have a functioning primary display.
Now, if you have another PowerBook with which to boot your PowerBook from (via FireWire Target Disk mode) then I think it is possible to get it to default to the external display. If you connect your display to the other PowerBook, connect and start your PowerBook in FW target Disk mode. Then boot the other PowerBook from your hard drive by holding down the Option key and selecting your drive.
Once started, open the Displays System Preference and set the external display as the primary display by dragging the Menu Bar to it in the Arrangement tab.
Shutdown, disconnect your PowerBook and connect the external display back to your PowerBook and see what happens. Hopefully it will default to the external display.

Using hanns-g display as main display instead of macbook

I just recently recieved a 19" Hanns-G monitor for Christmas and since it is way bigger than my 13" macbook screen I was wondering if I could make it the main monitor and the macbooks built in one secondary. Post if you know how to do this thanks

Hey,
Sorry for the misunderstanding. Give this a try:
Go to System Preferences> Display> and then follow the instuctions below:
"Choose the Primary Display
You can make the second display into your primary display if you want. Your primary display is the one on which your menu bar, Dock, Desktop icons, and any dialog boxes or messages appear. To select which display is the primary one, drag the white bar at the top of the rectangle representing the current primary display onto the other display. When you release the mouse button, the displays rearrange themselves accordingly."
-Tom

Using second display as main display

After installing mountain lion I can not figure out how to use my second display as the default, or what use to be #1 monitor. Meaning the second display would have the dock and toolbar on the top.

I haven't tried this myself on ML, but usually under older operating systems, you can in the Arrange mode in Apple menu -> System Preferences -> Displays, just drag the white bar on the top of the representative rectangle of the one display to the other, and that adjusts which display is the primary.

Using LCD Tv as main display

I am running my macbook in lid closed mode and have it connected to a 22" LCD tv via a VGA cable, I am using the maximum resolution (1680x1050) and the display is very clear and sharp but is offset to the left. There is a 1" black strip down the right hand side of the display and the far left side is not visible. I have used the horizontal positioning setting on the tv but it does not let me move the image enough. I was wondering if there is anyway to get around this so that my screen is central on the tv ?
Thanks

Inverting the polarity of horizontal sync might work, but that requires a program like SwtichResX.

Using External Monitor as Main Screen during OS Install?

I have a MacBook whose screen has gotten trashed (less than half of the left side visible), and I am resigned to using an external monitor. But I need to re-install Leopard. When I boot from the DVD, the trashed screen is the main one, and the external monitor is active, but the installer screens won't drag. Obviously I can't get to the Monitors Preferences to reset the main screen. BTW, resetting the main screen to the external monitor doesn't persist across the reboot.
SO: Is there a way to use the keyboard OR is there a Terminal command for switching the main screen to the external monitor?
Thanks in advance for any tips.

Try this trick. Get everything set for the install. You can have the disk in the drive so it is ready to rock as soon as you start. Have the external display hooked up. Turn off your MacBook. Now hit the on switch. As soon as you do close the display on the MacBook this will force the MacBook to use the external display as the main Monitor. Now do your install. You can open the MacBook and the internal display will stay off and the external will continue being the main monitor. This will allow use of the keyboard if you don't have an external one.

Using external mouse with MacBook Pro - how to right-click in Mac OS X?

using windows at work led me to become dependent on right-clicking
can i do this on my Mac? I use a mighty mouse with my laptop.
thanks.

Hi Pubikars,
To have right-click functionality enabled in Mac OS X, open “System Preferences”.
Select “Keyboard and Mouse”, then select “Mouse”.
Set the right side button to “Secondary Button”.
I hope that this helps.

ACD as main display under Windows/BootCamp while in clamshell possible?

Is there any way to run a BootCamp Windows XP Pro installation on an MBP using the ACD as main display while in clamshell mode? Currently the system refuses to wake up after I close the lid. I use a BT mouse/KB, but even with a USB mouse connected it wouldn't wake up. It seems like it would be possible, but I'm not sure how to go about it.

Correct, there was no Gather Windows button.
I do have multiple adapters, but one is an Apple adapter which is, apparently, "passive" whilst the other is active. The passive adapter never works at all under MacOS X, but I haven't tried it under Windows. The "active" adapter works under Windows, but only shows the apple bootup logo under MacOS X, and then turns the display off.
I don't think that the mini displayport is faulty, because the second display plugged into it works perfectly through BootCamp.
I'll try thoroughly testing out all adapters tonight, and then try a different brand of display. I've seen a lot of posts about ViewSonics being flakey under MacOS X, so it's possible it could be on the display driver side of things. Maybe ViewSonic does something screwy signal-wise in their displays, and Windows is willing to deal with it but MacOS X isn't.
Oddly enough, the ViewSonic display I have was shipped with a single-link DVI cable, and it's always worked without a problem, even when plugged into the dual-link DVI port on the Mac Pro. So I don't believe that the display *itself* requires a complete dual-link connection to the computer.
I have much appreciation for all the help and suggestions. Thanks again.

How can i copy files from one external hard disk to another using macbook pro with retina display

How can i copy files from one external hard drive to another using macbook pro with retina display?

That's odd - if you open Disk Utility (Applications->Utilities) and select the disk(s), how are they formatted? If you're only going to be used with your Mac, they should be formatted as "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)".
Clinton

Busted LCD display, how to use external LCD?

My wife's old Titanium powerbook fell off a half wall in our house and the display is TOTALLY shattered (looks almost like album cover artwork). Anyway, I'm trying to set it up to work on an external display. I plug it in and it reconizes the display and shows her desktop background, but its just an extension of her desktop. I tried following the mirroring directions using the F7 (or fn F7) keys listed here:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=1313413

Hi, David. have you tried this?
Another poster in this forum recently had a similar problem: his internal display didn't work at all, and the F7 key wouldn't toggle his display modes for some reason. Working blindly, he was eventually able to drag the Displays pane of System Preferences onto the external display somehow and select that as his main display, which made his PB usable again. See this thread.

Using external display as main display-how?

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