MBP13‘3 and External Monitor Problem (screen goes pink/ laptop hangs)

Well turning the bluetooth off works fine for me but i hate the fact that i can't use the mouse (that is not cheap at all), so lately i got a brand new LG led screen and plugged it to my MBP and turned on the bluetooth (and i've enabled the display icon to be seen in the OS bar, i know it's useless but hey i think we are getting desperate with this problem), thank god no freezings yet, i also noticed that the kind of screen or monitor plugged to the MBP has a big role too. When i used to plug my mac to an old hp screen it used to freeze, with my haier lcd TV it froze too, with my samsung tv no problems and with the LG led monitor no problems what so ever. Hope this might be helpful.

My MacBook has started failing with the same black screen even w/out the external monitor plugged in. This has now happened twice in a week. Very upsetting, as I don't know what to expect, except the worst. Apple is obviously not aware or pretending to not be aware of the issue. This is extremely frustrating. I would prefer to get an email saying something like sorry we have a faulty machine, and we don't know why, but we are doing our best...

My Macbook has also been failing without the an external monitor plugged in now. I've found 3 or 4 situations that make it freeze without fail; zooming in or out using trackpad gestures when viewing photos (happens in both Photoshop CS4 and iPhoto), running any video games (Half-Life 2 in Steam), and oddly enough, clicking and dragging a cursor across a photo (like say cropping, applying a gradient, etc) in Photoshop CS4.

I've been to the genius bar twice; the first time they tried to reset my sleep image thinking that would fix it, no dice. The second I left it with them to do a logic board replacement; came back to pick it up 5 days later, and they hadn't done anything. Said they "could not replicate".

Going to make an attempt at going back to the "Genius" bar tomorrow. I'm just hoping somebody will actually listen and not just cut me short and tell me to re-install CS4...

Message was edited by: rbrogan

Mine has frozen/hung/crashed twice again today. Switching to Ethernet seemed to help, but now it's back to its old ways. Come on Apple, surely it's time to do something about this? Perhaps I'll try turning off Bluetooth next. That seems to work for some people.

Thought I'd signup and post my issues too.

Getting the same issue as everyone else on my home setup, doesn't seem to matter what I'm doing on-screen.

However, when I'm at work using a 24" LG monitor, it's been fine for a month or more. I had one slight issue where everything went pink, but it recovered shortly after.

When I take my MBP home and connect it to my 23" Dell monitor, it lasts anywhere between 10-20mins before everything goes pink.

I've also tried attaching it to an old 19" Dell monitor at work, and I still get the same issue.

Has anyone tried running their MBP in clamshell mode? I'll probably be trying it tomorrow night. Of course I shouldn't have to do this but it could be the best interim solution. I'm a graphic designer and its pretty awkward designing with 13" of screen space.

If by clamshell mode you mean having the MBP screen closed, yes, I've tried it, and it doesn't happen! I've also read previous posts on this same thread where people say it doesn't happen in clamshell mode. But again, I'm a developer, and I need that second screen as much as you do..

This is as frustrating as it can get. Leaving my comp at the MAC store is not an option given that I work from this computer. When I went to the SOHO NYC store, they didn't even admit to knowing there's a problem. COME ON!!! is this not clear enough??

So: The problem occurs when a second monitor is attached using a DVI- or VGA-to-Mini DisplayPort converter and runs in extended desktop mode.

Does it also happen when the MacBook Pro is connected to the Mini DisplayPort port (e.g., on an Apple Cinema Display 24" or 27") or to the DisplayPort port (e.g., on an HP LP2475w)? What about a 30" monitor like the Cinema Display 30"?

The problem occurs when I connect a Samsung 19" or a Dell 24" monitor to my MBP 13".

I can confirm this happens for me in "extended screen" mode only, and has happened both with a 24" Samsung monitor and with a 30" Dell, using two different adapters (Apple minidisplayport-to-DVI and an Accell dual-link DVI). It happens somewhat less frequently with the 30"/dual-link adapter, but it happens often enough to be a bad problem

have the "black screen" variant of this problem, in case that turns out to be different from the pink variant.

Latest update:
Four days without a problem. I'm using Ethernet instead of Airport and a USB mouse instead of my Magic Mouse. Airport and Bluetooth both turned off. External monitor connected with VGA. This is looking quite promising.
Does anybody have the problem when Bluetooth is off?

Well, I have my bluetooth turned off, I'm using a Logitech USB mouse, and I'm always working with airport turned off (connected through Ethernet connection).
The only thing I noticed is that it's delaying the problem, the freezing happen like once a day maximum, but it's still happening anyway!
Right now I'm working in clamshell mode everyday and it works perfectly (but I would really love to work on dual-screen mode without any freezes)

Holy crap. I can't believe I just read all 9 pages that spanned several months and there STILL isn't a fix for this:

Same issue for me. External display (23" Cinema Display - older model) running in extended desktop mode. Randomly just goes black. Reinstalled system per the genius after passing diagnostic tests a month or so ago.

Driving me crazy

Gonna try the tips here to see what resolves this but really this needs to be fixed. Me not using Bluetooth or closing the native display is not an option. but I'll try them to see what it solves.

Misery loves company!

Thank God! I thought it was me! I just got a brand new MBP/13.3". Not even a week old, and it did it. Had a 19" HP1908w with Apple VGA adapter. Froze constantly. Changed to an Apple DVI adapter and an available ViewSonic VG730m. I changed the ViewSonic to 75Hz to see if it fixed it. Worked great for a day/two without a freeze, but then it froze today; wonderful...

I'll reset the SMC/PRAM later tonight, and turn off Bluetooth and try a USB mouse to see what happens. If not, I guess I'll live with it. Stinks though. Running the latest SL, and available patches/fixes/etc though. Didn't try turning of Airport Wireless...but I need it....uhhgggg!!!!!

Just to follow up... whats posted here is absolutely correct. if the laptop is closed running on the single external display it does not crash. I have't tried with bluetooth off (I have a wireless apple keyboard) but will do that later today.

Hey tm65, You'd really just live with a major issue like this. I bought the laptop to a bit more mobile (have an older G5) but i predominantly work from my desk with my external display. I need the 2nd monitor and will definitely NOT live with it. I also can't live without the machine for a week while its getting a board replaced. I am a freelancer and a week without my laptop is going to kill me.

I have been suffering from this problem non-stop since I got my 13" 2010 MBP in late June. Standard options on everything and purchased from website (shipped from Shanghai).

I primarily use Bootcamp + win7 but also use OS X occassionally. Problem occurs with both Operating Systems.

I have never experienced the issue when not using an external monitor.

I don't use photoshop or do any gaming on my machine. It's purely a work laptop performing basic web browsing/email/office duties.

Screen has gone a variety of solid colors (Pink, Green, Grey, Black, etc.). Generally external monitor will go a different color from the main display, but I doubt this means anything. The colors seems to somewhat random.

Has crashed me while using VGA and DVI adapters, as well as with a Display Port cable and monitor. The adapter doesn't matter. Has crashed in both operating systems using all connection types.

Disabling the Bluetooth driver in Win 7 seems to help. Crash frequency has so far dropped from every 1-2 hours to 1 / day. I have not tried disabling any other drivers or bluetooth in OS X.

I frequently use both USB ports (wired mouse and phone charger).

Ethernet vs. Wireless does not seem to make any difference.

It really seems like the USB bus has SEVERE latency and at times, I can 'sense' an upcoming crash. I've learned to immediately disconnect my external monitor and reconnect which seems to resolve some of the latency.

USB latency severely affects the Volume keyboard shortcuts (F11 and F12) for some reason. I will click it and it may take 2-10 seconds to change volume / display volume graphic on screen.

This problem is extremely frustrating, but even moreso is the fact that Apple has not immediately acknowledged its existence.

Also exactly the same issue. I bought my MBP 13" at the end of May.

Seems to happen only when hooked up to my ViewSonic monitor, though that is how I use it about 95% of the time.

Have to hold down the power button to reboot.

Mine is very intermittent, and I can't detect any pattern of what apps are running, etc. My problem is a little more tolerable -- my MBP only dies about once every couple of weeks. (I usually leave mine on continuously.) I have a powered USB hub and Ethernet line (and power cable) also plugged in. 8 GB RAM. Latest and greatest software updates.

Was running a fairly large number of apps as usual: at least Firefox, Yahoo Messenger, Skype, Eclipse, Windows 7 under VMWare Fusion, Stickies, TextEdit, probably BBEdit, possibly Acrobat Pro, ...

Usually I have gotten this crash when I'm away from the computer and the screen saver is on, but today it happened while I was typing something, into TextEdit I think.

Any magic answers out there yet?