MacBook Air, VGA and projector issues

Question

Level 1

14 points

MacBook Air, VGA and projector issues

I bought my 13" MacBook Air in August. I tried to connect it to a NEC projector using the Apple adapter that connects via the Thunderbolt port. I get a picture on the wall, but only of the default screen picture (space). When I tried to open any application or Safari, all I get is the gray slate when you first turn on the MBA. I can't show photos, videos, or even the Apple apps installed on the computer, much less MS Office.

Any suggestions?

MacBook Air, Mac OS X (10.7)

Posted on Mar 28, 2012 5:16 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Best reply

steve626

Level 6

9,983 points

Mar 28, 2012 5:39 PM in response to donnad369

Go to the Displays Preference pane. Select "detect displays" and then select the option to "turn on mirroring." You should see the identical desktop on both the built in screen and the picture projected from the projector.

Reply

Answer 2

donnad369 Author

Level 1

14 points

Mar 28, 2012 5:55 PM in response to steve626

I will try it out tomorrow. Thanks, Steve.

Reply

Answer 3

X423424X

Level 6

14,265 points

Mar 28, 2012 10:24 PM in response to donnad369

When I tried to open any application or Safari, all I get is the gray slate when you first turn on the MBA.

Are you running lion in full screen move? If so, turn it off and see what happens.

Reply

Answer 4

donnad369 Author

Level 1

14 points

Mar 29, 2012 10:34 AM in response to X423424X

Not sure how you would turn off Lion in full screen. But Steve's answer worked for me. Thanks for the suggestion. (And let me know if you can tell me how to turn Lion off in in full screen.)

Reply