mini display port to DVI not working?

Thank goodness I stumbled across your post OptimaX! I was beginning to worry either my brand new adapter or brand new cable was faulty.

I went to purchase a DVI-D Single-Link cable and can also confirm that that did the trick. I had no joy whatsoever with the Dual-Link cable and kept getting a "No Signal" error on my monitor (Samsung SyncMaster SA300). I understand the logic of backwards compatibility, but I have been interacting with computers for way too long to know that logical machines do not always operate in the logical manner. For the less tech-savvy, this simply means computers do not always do what they are supposed to - even when they should.

I have not done any extensive testing, but do be sure to know what kind of mDP to DVI adapter you have purchased (i.e. Single-Link or Dual-Link) as it does make a difference. Then you should match the cable with the adapter (i.e. Single-Link adapter with a Single-Link cable, and likewise for Dual-Links) accordingly.

Also, interesting to note that some customers have given feedback on the Apple store websites that the mDP to DVI adapter is strictly a Single-Link type connection.

For those of you who have got Dual-Link connections working, do note that it is probably because you are using much higher screen resolutions which require more "juice", if you will, to operate. A simple Google on DVI cables will turn up many articles on this.

Hope this helps and confirms anyone else encountering similar issues. By the way, I am using a MacBook Air late 2010 laptop.

Cheers!

I have had this mini displayport issue as well. The thing that did the trick for me is when I read that "the minidisplay port male has to be fully pushed into the graphics card, so there is no metal showing." I noticed that I wasnt pushing the mini display port male in all the way, because I thought I am forcing it, but then I tried it, and to my surprise, nothing broke, and the monitor started working right away. Try it.

This fixed it for me on a 2012 Macbook Air, with a Dual-Link mDP to DVI cable (not adapter), saving me to return the cable without finding the solution (apart from buying the expensive apple adaopter)

This is the single most amazing fix ever that i would never have thought of.

There may be a 'click' noise when you fully insect the cable (need to give it a big strong push) into the minidisplay port, although the exposed metal part was only about 0.5mm in lenth, it made a whole world of difference!

Thank you so much for the finding and sharing 🙂

Hi, I seem the have the same thing here. I even had the PowerBook 2012 checked out at the Apple Store. Has this happen prior to or after installing El Capitaine? Mine worked fine till I upgraded. Are you using an Apple or other brand? Myself I am or rather was using a Dymex just fine for many months before El Capitaine. Could this be software related? Oh by the way I have 2 Thunderbolt ports they told me and not a mini display port.

My problem was/is with my 2011 MacBook Pro. To answer your question.... this was happening when I was using OS 10.7 something not El Capitan. By chance I found out how to avoid ruining my DVI connector other than disconnecting it when I was not going to use it. It turns out that when I left it connected and the hard drive would power down (computer sleep) based on the energy save settings, then the DVI would never work again. The Apple repair folks could never get it to fail because they never let the computer automatically "sleep'. I consequently set my preferences so that my Mac would never go automatically into "computer sleep" and have not had the problem again. However I just upgraded to El Capitan and have not tried it again for fear of losing another DVI dongle. I suggest you might try the "no sleep" setting in preferences just to see if that works for some strange reason. BTW... so far I am not impressed with El Capitan.... it slowed EVERYTHING down and some operations take minutes to function. Hope Apple fixes it soon.

THanks for the reply, I went to the Applestore and got it checked out. It happens to be the dongle. the wire was crapping out. If I push the wire into the plug it works again until I pull it again. I will eventually buy a new one. I hope you find a solution too.

I am having a different problem with my Mini Display Port. I had no problems getting my DVI to connect to an analog TV. I used to connect successfully and watch on the screen fine with no problems. Just a few weeks ago I connected my MacBook Pro again as I usually have before and it will not work with my TV display as before. When I plug it into the TV with the mini display DVI, it Cycles through multiple screen sizes without stopping. It constantly switches between various scaled screen sizes. It flickers between the color bars and my computer screen.I suspect that my port is going bad. Does anyone out there have a similar problem or know what might be going on? Any advice would help me. Thanks.

Hi there,

May be this will help people.
I had the same trouble with my Mac Mini (late 2014). I tried to plug my "old" screen in DVI with a MiniDisplayPort adapter. The screen "said" NO SIGNAL.

I broke my mind for a couple of hours and I had an illumination. As you can see here there is many different DVI connector. My screen and the DVI Adapter have a DVI-D Dual-Link connector but my screen cable was a DVI-D Single-Link. I just bought a DVI-D Dual-Link and it works well !

Bye !
J