ThunderBolt + External Monitor = Mounds of Woe
I use an external monitor, connected using either HDMI or DVI. This monitor (an Ausus) works fine & has been working correctly attached to my old macbook.
With the new 2011 MBP, I can get the external monitor to work, but it exhibits strange behavior. It's difficult to make it the primary monitor using the normal macbook methods, and so I have resorted to just dimming my MBP display to zero (which I don't like having to do).
Once the external is running (either mirrored or as extended) it functions normally. However if the MBP display goes to sleep (or the MBP itself goes to sleep), the external will go black but remain on. When this happens I can no longer turn the external on/off or use any of the buttons on the display. It's frozen in this black "on" state. I have to remove the mini display adapter from the Thunderbolt port which makes the MBP screen primary again & I can then enter pass and wake the MBP up.
At first I thought I could turn the external off and access the controls once the mini display adapter was removed but this is no longer the case. Once it's in this "frozen" state the external won't do ANYTHING until I actually unplug the power cord.
This renders an external monitor on the new MBP's unusable. I reported this to Apple directly along with this post. I may call apple tech support when i have the time. Hopefully I won't have to return this lappie because overall I really like it, but no external monitor is not cool.
I would love to hear if anyone else is having this issue or has any ideas for a fix.
13" macbook pro (early 2011), Mac OS X (10.6.6)