periodic Dual-link display problem with new adapter

Well, I happy ( NOT) to report that 10.6.2 is worthless in the dual-link DVI adapter solution category. Not even 2 hours using 10.6.2, sat down to have dinner, came back afterward, computer put display to sleep. Touched the mouse, display came back and problems. The exact screen problems I posted above in http://discussions.apple.com/mailpost.jspa?messageID=10114666

<Edited by Host>

Running a 2009 MacBook Pro connected to a Dell UltraSharp 3007WFP-HC 30-inch WideScreen Flat Panel Monitor. The external display works perfectly when I use it with my older MacBook pros and older connectors. However, once I hook up my 2009 MBP with Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter, the external display does the following:

* Flashes garbled white horizontal lines randomly every 5 to 10 minutes.
* When the computer wakes up after a long sleep, the external display shows 'double vision' with some vibration.
* While the computer is awake the external display goes black and stays black (while still powered). The MacBook Pro continues to display images on its screen as it did before the external display blacked out, and does not shift to 'single screen' mode.
* Always, there are random flickering white pixels distributed over any black backgrounds. Almost looks like a subtle snow-globe effect.

For each of the above issues, my remedy is to unplug the DVI Adapter cable from the MacBook Pro and then plug it in again. It resets the external display to 'normal'.

I've had Apple send me two new cables and the problem persists.

Full specs on my setup:
MacBook Pro 17" Unibody (released summer 2009)
Mac OS X 10.6.1 (10B504)
Adapter Type: Mini DisplayPort To Dual-Link DVI Adapter
Adapter Firmware Version: 1.02
Dell UltraSharp 3007WFP-HC 30-inch WideScreen Flat Panel Monitor

Ouch... I had hope...real belief and hope...
But it's true...the new firmware..the new system with all the fixes...the last one was said to improve 'graphic issues',,,
The problem persists..its just a little less often. I was getting the ugly every 15 minutes...now it is only once or twice a day..

It's only been a year....only one year ago I bought this MBP
and it still does not work as advertised!

Same problem here, only with a Mini-DP to DisplayPort cable going to a 24' Dell monitor. The flickering goes in waves. Sometimes it will flicker every 5 seconds. Other times it's good for hours. Graphics settings don't seem to affect the frequency (neither does slamming my fist on the table).

Hi there,

short question to those who still have issues with v1.02:

+How’s the power situation?+

I did a couple of tests yesterday, and depending on the stability of the current on the USB connector (or lack thereof), I’ll get flickering or I won’t. Here’s the tests I did:

Connected to the MBP’s USB port, second port empty: No issues.

Connected to the MBP’s USB port, second port used for low-powered USB device (mouse, flash drive): No issues.

Connected to a power outlet (there’s connectors for that, check your mobile shop): No issues.

Connected to the MBP’s USB port, low-powered device on the adaptor’s passthrough USB port: No issues.

Connected to an active USB hub, no other USB devices connected: No issues.

Connected to an active USB hub, other USB devices connected: No issues.


Connected to a passive USB hub, no other USB devices connected: *Slight issues.*

Connected to the MBP’s USB port, power-hungry device on the adaptor’s passthrough USB port (e.g. USB-powered HDD, passive hub with multiple devices): *Slight issues and / or connected device(s) won’t work.*

Connected to the MBP’s USB port, power-hungry device on second USB port: *Huge issues.*


I suggest people who still have troubles with the adaptor to get one of those wall-mount USB power connectors and give it a shot. They’re inexpensive and if it doesn’t work, well, you can still charge your iPod or something with it.

Cheers,
-Sascha

Message was edited by: nggalai

I have similar/same problems with my Apple DVI adapter running on my 17" unibody macbook pro. Two different kinds of problems show up. One, when returning from sleep a strip of weird snowy artifacts along both sides of the screen, about a 1/4" wide. Two, periodic signal drops which the monitor interprets as a signal to turn off, and then of course the adapter comes back on within about 1/3 second and then the monitor turns back on. It is super annoying. The problem is not the monitor. It is an Eizo HD2442W (Eizo's are basically the Rolls Royce of monitors). I've tried the adapter on several Eizo's of different kinds with different cables and same problem. BUT, today I did try something a bit odd and it seemed to work. I jiggled all the cords attached to the little Apple adapter - the signal cable going in, the dvi cable going out, and a USB cable I have plugged into it. And low and behold, it seems to have worked. I find this quite odd. Mind you, I have the DVI cable screwed in tight with the little thumb screws. Yet it clearly made a difference. No more dropped signals. Solid as a rock so far.

I'm wondering if there is a problem with the contacts in the DVI connector in the Apple box. I read about a post of someone saying he couldn't plug in his monitor cable because the cable pins were slightly bigger than the apple adapter's holes. This seemed strange - these things should all be manufactured to pretty much the same tolerance. I've dealt with literally hundreds of computer cables over the years and never experienced something like this. But, my recent cable jiggling experience makes me wonder if Apple specified a connector that requires a much tighter tolerance on pin sizes than the average cable has. Weird as it sounds, this might explain why there seems to be so much variation in people's experiences. Maybe the connector on fw 1.02 boxes is made by a different supplier or specified differently. For the record my box is fw 1.01. BTW, my dvi cable is the one that came with the Eizo monitor. The cable is Eizo branded, made in Japan - so I'm not using a junky cable - and being made in Japan and being sold with a $1800 monitor (also made in Japan), the cable very likely meets spec in every way. I will update if any further developments.

Can I just say that I had this exact problem with my Dell 3007 WFP display and 1.01 adapter, but after lengthy talks with an Apple engineer I managed to get my adapter replaced with one having firmware 1.02. This totally fixed the problem. A-Fu*&ing-Men to that.

Some Problem here. I tried an cheaper mini-display port/DVi adapter. But i have also the same screen errors. I think this is an software error because i tried this on two machines. first one my iMac 27" and second my macbook pro (late 2008). the imac is connected to an Acer DLP-Projector. Often the projector shows black/white pixel flickering.
Don't know how to handle this situation.

Same here it's been this way for a while. I'm connected to a 24" LED Cinema Display.

Model Name: MacBook Pro
Model Identifier: MacBookPro5,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.53 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 6 MB
Memory: 4 GB
Bus Speed: 1.07 GHz
Boot ROM Version: MBP51.007E.B05
SMC Version (system): 1.33f8

Example:


Message was edited by: nocturnmidnight

I've just picked up a new adapter in the Sydney Apple Store and it has 1.03 firmware on it which so far is noticeably better and I'm no longer getting weird lines on dark areas.

Apple also decided to block my review on the adapter on the website. Nice of them. I guess they can't take criticism very well.

Apple please fix this problem!!!

Well despite of all warnings in this thread I decided to buy the adapter. I don't have the Apple 30 inch display but the Dell U2711. Trying to connect my Dell using a Mini DisplayPort-to-DisplayPort Adapter resulted in snow and flicker, so I had no other choice but to try the Mini-DisplayPort-to-DualLinkDVI Adapter.
It works. My adapter's firmware is 1.02, I'm using Snow Leopard 10.6.3. On very rare occasions when switching resolutions (for example when I start a game) the screen is filled with snow, but quickly reconnection the adapter's USB cable does the trick. I can live with that. No other of the reported problems have ever appeared.

I am getting something similar with my MacPro. Mine comes with a Geforce 7800 GT which has one dual-link DVI port. I'm using the Dell 3008 30", which worked fine for one day, then all of a sudden started to get green fuzzy lines everywhere. It doesn't go away if I unplug and replug the DVI. Rebooting didn't work. PRAM reset didn't work either. If I plug into another 20" monitor with the same port, all is good in the world. Its just if I plug into the Dell 30" everything goes haywire, even on lower resolution settings.

Alot of people seem to be having this problem with their MBPs, and they are attributing the problem to the Mini-DisplayPort to Dual-Link adapter...but in my case this is happening off of the native video card which is supposed to work.

Does anyone know whats going on? Any help would be most appreciated...

thanks

I should clarify a little. There are two DVI ports in the Mac Pro that I have. For a 2560x1900 resolution, only Dual-Link DVI can support that resolution. Single-Link DVI caps at 1920x1600. If I use a dual-link DVI cable to connect from the Dual-Link DVI port to the display, I get the green fuzz, no matter what resolution I have it set to. It comes at random and I dont know how to make it go away, or what causes it. If, however, I connect using the Single-Link DVI port into the same display, its comes out clear, but only at the maximum resolution of 1920x1600. I'm tempted to say that perhaps the Dual-Link DVI port is broken on the video card, but when I connect it to another monitor (that only supports single-link DVI), it works fine.

Any ideas?