|
Replies
:
13
-
Pages
:
1
-
Last Post
:
Nov 12, 2008 10:36 AM
by: Disey74
|
|
|
Posts:
15
From:
Vancouver, BC
Registered:
Oct 29, 2007
|
|
|
|
MBP External display intermittent when quicktime or itunes are active
Posted:
Oct 27, 2008 9:23 PM
|
|
|
Whenever I launch either quicktime or iTunes, my external display cuts out and then comes back intermittently. Seems like there's some issue with quicktime (come code from which I presume is included in quicktime) that's causing this effect.
I'm using a Dell 24" 2407WFP display, and up until the latest quicktime update was installed, this issue didn't seem to affect me...
Seems to resolve when quicktime is inactive, but sometimes requires a reboot to temporarily resolve.
Anyone else experiencing this?
MacBook Pro 2.4ghz, Late 2008, 4gb ram
Mac OS X (10.5.5)
|
|
Posts:
15
From:
Vancouver, BC
Registered:
Oct 29, 2007
|
|
|
|
Re: MBP External display intermittent when quicktime or itunes are active
Posted:
Oct 27, 2008 9:34 PM
in response to: timichango
|
|
|
I should add that I noticed this problem previously with quicktime, but then iTunes started exhibiting this behaviour in version 8.0.1
I just time-machined back to v 7.7.1, and it does NOT do this. This has to have something to do with some new quicktime code that's made it's way into itunes, I would imagine - how do we get them to fix this annoying issue?
MacBook Pro 2.4ghz, Late 2008, 4gb ram
Mac OS X (10.5.5)
|
|
Posts:
5
Registered:
Jul 23, 2004
|
|
|
|
Re: MBP External display intermittent when quicktime or itunes are active
Posted:
Nov 9, 2008 5:35 PM
in response to: timichango
|
|
|
I appear to be experiencing a similar issue (glad to know it's probably QT or iTunes or both and not something worse!). Definitely looking for a solution because it's difficult to use iTunes at all, sync either my iPhone or iPod or just play music. My setup is using a 20" Cinema Display with a Displayport to DVI Adapter.
2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro5,1, 4GB RAM
Mac OS X (10.5.5)
|
|
Posts:
15
From:
Vancouver, BC
Registered:
Oct 29, 2007
|
|
|
|
Re: MBP External display intermittent when quicktime or itunes are active
Posted:
Nov 9, 2008 9:29 PM
in response to: Kevin Rardin
|
|
|
Hey Kevin,
This problem was killing me - I always listen to music while I work, AND I spend time managing video content for work, so not being able to handle either was nightmarish. I actually had to roll back to itunes 7 for a while, and avoid launching quicktime while my second display was connected.
HOWEVER: I re-installed the MBP update, and fingers crossed it seems to have resolved the issues with quicktime. Note that this update had already been installed via software update.
Since the update was supposed to "improve compatibility with external displays and include a variety of software fixes", I figured that downloading it explicitly and applying the update couldn't hurt, so I did, and I haven't experienced the screen freakout behaviour since.
I'd be really interested to know if you have the same result - if you end up downloading the update and installing it, please post back here and let me know. It'd be great to confirm this as a fix.
You can grab the update at: http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macbookmacbookprosoftwareupdate12.html
MacbookPro Late 2008
Mac OS X (10.5.5)
2.4ghz, 4gb Ram
|
|
Posts:
52
Registered:
Apr 14, 2005
|
|
|
|
Re: MBP External display intermittent when quicktime or itunes are active
Posted:
Nov 10, 2008 5:19 AM
in response to: Kevin Rardin
|
|
|
I too have experienced this issue but never really noticed it too much until I had my laptop at home connected to my TV. At work the screen just goes black for a second but at home the screen turns blue so that was when it really caught my attention & I realized what was happening.
MacBook Pro 15" Core Duo2 2.4Ghz
Mac OS X (10.5.5)
4GB Memory
|
|
Posts:
5
Registered:
Jul 23, 2004
|
|
|
|
Re: MBP External display intermittent when quicktime or itunes are active
Posted:
Nov 10, 2008 9:26 AM
in response to: timichango
|
|
|
I re-applied the MBP update from the standalone installer and it seems to clear up the issue so long as the MBP doesn't go to sleep. I worked late last night and as long as iTunes was running (or Adobe Creative Suite 4 apps--they also seem to cause the problem), the external display worked fine. But when I came into my home office this morning and woke the MBP from sleep the external display was black and couldn't be resurrected without a restart.
One thing I find helpful: if you have another Mac running Leopard, you can always Screen Share into the MBP and restart it. Otherwise, it seems the only option is to power-button-crash the MBP and, from my experience, you don't want to do that with any Mac very many times. That is, if you've made the external display the main display, as I have.
If there is no definitive solution or update forthcoming this week, I'm going to revert to assuming this is a hardware problem and have AppleCare replace my MBP (it's less than a week old).
2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro, Dual 2.7 GHz PowerPC G5
Mac OS X (10.5.5)
|
|
Posts:
15
From:
Vancouver, BC
Registered:
Oct 29, 2007
|
|
|
|
Re: MBP External display intermittent when quicktime or itunes are active
Posted:
Nov 10, 2008 10:57 AM
in response to: Kevin Rardin
|
|
|
Glad to hear that the updater helped you too - gives me confidence that I won't see the problem reappear.
I reckon that the issues with sleep behavior are separate, as they're not caused by some kind of weird app incompatibility. I really don't think that the sleep problem is a hardware issue, as I have a co-worker with the same machine, and his exhibits the same problem (sometimes the external display just doesn't come back after waking up the machine).
My dell screen throws up an error stating that the signal is out of scan range, indicating to me that there's some kind of problem with the drivers or firmware supporting the external display. Unplugging the display from the MBP and plugging it back in has always immediately resolved this issue for me. It's annoying as ****, but it works, and would seem to be less of a hassle (and risk) than a hard-restart. I'd be surprised if they didn't come out with a software fix for this in the near future.
I'd be willing to bet that a replacement machine would behave the same way.
Good luck, either way, and keep us posted!
MacBook Pro 2.4ghz, Late 2008, 4gb ram
Mac OS X (10.5.5)
|
|
Posts:
6
From:
Ontario, Canada
Registered:
Nov 3, 2008
|
|
|
|
Re: MBP External display intermittent when quicktime or itunes are active
Posted:
Nov 10, 2008 11:21 AM
in response to: timichango
|
|
|
I can confirm this as well - My external monitor goes all screwy after sleep mode intermittently. I have to unplug the mini-display port and plug it back in to fix this.
I can't replicate it every time, but will watch for Quicktime as the culprit.
Macbook
Mac OS X (10.5.5)
Aluminum
|
|
Posts:
15
From:
Vancouver, BC
Registered:
Oct 29, 2007
|
|
|
|
Re: MBP External display intermittent when quicktime or itunes are active
Posted:
Nov 10, 2008 11:24 AM
in response to: __Andrew__
|
|
|
To clarify:
I DON'T think that Quicktime/iTunes/etc has anything to do with the sleep issue.
I DO know that quicktime/iTunes were responsible for my display cutting in and out. This latter issue (the original issue in this post), seems to be resolved by downloading and applying the software update for the new macbook pros
MacBook Pro 2.4ghz, Late 2008, 4gb ram
Mac OS X (10.5.5)
|
|
Posts:
6
From:
UK
Registered:
Nov 12, 2008
|
|
|
|
Re: MBP External display intermittent when quicktime or itunes are active
Posted:
Nov 12, 2008 2:41 AM
in response to: timichango
|
|
|
Ok, just spoken with a mac bod with regard to having the same issues as referenced on this thread. he suggested it was something to do with static and that I should do the following...
Turn everything off and pull out all cables including power.
Take battery out
Hold the power button down for 10 seconds
Replace battery
Hold the command, alt, r and p key down (?!) and power up while still holding down the four keys
Wait for the start-up chimes to sound twice and then release keys
Once functioning, go into the library folder and bin the 'caches' folder
Reboot and empty waste basket
And hey presto hopefully. Cant say whether this has done the job yet but thought I'd list it and see whether anyone else had received similar advice?
2.4 ghz MacBook '08
Mac OS X (10.5.5)
|
|
Posts:
6
From:
UK
Registered:
Nov 12, 2008
|
|
|
|
Re: MBP External display intermittent when quicktime or itunes are active
Posted:
Nov 12, 2008 8:22 AM
in response to: timichango
|
|
|
Am pretty sure my issues are the same as everyone here but just to clarify, I videoed a few seconds worth of my screen playing up and posted it on youtube...
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=AgbN1NlWsLA
Am waiting a call back from Apple for an email address so I can then send them the link too.
MacBook '08
Mac OS X (10.5.5)
|
|
Posts:
15
From:
Vancouver, BC
Registered:
Oct 29, 2007
|
|
|
|
Re: MBP External display intermittent when quicktime or itunes are active
Posted:
Nov 12, 2008 10:25 AM
in response to: Disey74
|
|
|
Yep - that's EXACTLY what was happening with my external display. Ever since downloading the MBP update patch (from the apple site, not via software update), and applying it, the problem seems to have gone away. It's been over a week, and no sign of that behavior any more.
I think the service technician was having you on - the static explanation sounds really fishy, given that I was able to reproduce the effect on command by launching itunes 8. Rolling back to itunes 7 via time-machine temporarily resolved the issue. Unless iTunes 8 and Quicktime 7.5 contain virtual Tesla coils, I doubt static has anything to do with it.
MacBook Pro 2.4ghz, Late 2008, 4gb ram
Mac OS X (10.5.5)
|
|
Posts:
15
From:
Vancouver, BC
Registered:
Oct 29, 2007
|
|
|
|
Re: MBP External display intermittent when quicktime or itunes are active
Posted:
Nov 12, 2008 10:28 AM
in response to: timichango
|
|
|
Further to the above, even if it doesn't have anything to do with static, that key combo he had you hold down is the combo for clearing your PRAM. It's conceivable that that would have an effect - could have been a bad setting or something.
If my problem comes back I'll definitely be trying that.
MacBook Pro 2.4ghz, Late 2008, 4gb ram
Mac OS X (10.5.5)
|
|
Posts:
6
From:
UK
Registered:
Nov 12, 2008
|
|
|
|
Re: MBP External display intermittent when quicktime or itunes are active
Posted:
Nov 12, 2008 10:36 AM
in response to: timichango
|
|
|
Hmmm... tried to upload the MBP update patch but it wouldn't accept it saying that my computer didn't need it. Have got a bod on the case a few rungs higher up the ladder in terms of knowledge who seems pretty helpful and is looking into it further. The tech from earlier who mentioned static had got the wrong end of the stick but still an operation worth knowing.
MacBook '08
Mac OS X (10.5.5)
|
|
|
