resolution size changed since software update to 5.1.1 on imac

I'm not sure of which update you did. The latest iMac update is 10.7.4 Safari is 5.1.7 My iPhone is 5.1.1 but that should in no way affect your iMac.

Do a PRAM Reset

• Shut down the computer.
• Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
• Turn on the computer.
• Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
• Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
• Release the keys.

This problem on older iMacs came with 10.7.4 ... The PRAM reset will not restore the resolution options. I believe that changes in the video have been made pending a new release of hardware and that it has broken the resolution options on older iMacs. That part is conjecture. There are other post on the discussion board and some will tell you to repair disk permissions and then reinstall Lion 10.7.4 .... however none of these will fix this problem. Until Apple addresses the issue with a software fix we are stuck with either 1920 or 960 resolution options on older iMacs. By older I am referring to 2006 / 2007 models. At least those are the ones I have seen the problem affect. Mine is model 6,1 ..... Hopefully Apple will fix this soon. But I know the problem was raised in developer builds and no fix has come yet.

Just wondering, is this under the Displays icon in the Menubar, or in System Preferences>Displays?

I have an older 2007 iMac/24" & I have 9 in Sys Prefs...

What is the build number you have for 10.7.4 and what video card is in your machine? Under both menu bar and preferences I only have the 1920 and 960 options since installing 10.7.4 on it. According to system preferences my model is 6,1.

I am having the same problem. Now I'm stuck with only 1920x1200 and 960x600. My iMac is 24" 2.16Ghz Core 2 Duo. I have been using this iMac to watch streaming videos like Netflix and used to set the resolution 1280x800 which makes the video quality better and make it easier to read text from the distance. Now both 1920x1200 and 960x600 are not as good. I am very disappointed that there seems to be no way to get the old resolutions back. Does anyone know how to revert back to 10.7.3 without having a Time machine backup? Since this iMac was for entertainment I didn't bother to back up.

Ditto here. iMac 6,1 24" Late 2006 running Lion.

First:

I noticed that the Gamma is way off. For instance at Apple.com/mac, very noticible at the bottom of the page all the Grey letter links are almost washed into the background. I ended up needing to perform a custom calibrate with expert mode to keep my sanity.

Second:

I would be ok with the custom calibrate, but I have the advantage of owning two iMacs and can tell that this machine's fonts are a bit blurrier then before.

Third:

Only after I tried everything to fix the blur did I notice that my resolution choices were whacked. At that point at least it verified.. yes... there was definetly a problem afoot.

It took a while to find this thread, I finally just googled "1920x1200 900x600" and landed here.

A reported fix:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3952417?answerId=18572141022#18572141022

I am having the same problem. It is from the OS X Lion 10.7.4 upgrade. I called Apple and reported it. He said they would research it. I told him others are having the same problem. It is disappointing that Apple did not catch this before they put out the upgrade. It is further disappointing that there is still no fix to this problem that has been out there for a while now. I mean this problem was caused by their upgrade. Anyway, at least I called it in so they will start to see that many of us are having this problem and waiting on a fix.

Apple, I hope you are not going to ignore this issue.

Prepare to be very disappointed. This problem was opened with Apple for quite some time. I'm sure if you have opened a new one that a previous defect will now be closed as a "duplicate" ..... I know this because I've opened it a few times... My oldest one will be closed as a duplicate .... And when later on some one else opens a newer one then the second was closed for same reason. This lets developers skew bug reports to management if they are looking at how long a certain defect has not been fixed. The right solution and the honest one is to close the newly opened defect as a duplicate... But that is not what they are doing. This defect was opened up against a developer build before 10.7.4 saw the light of day.... So yes Apple was aware of this problem. At this point I do not believe they are going to fix it. Your only real recourse is to wipe it out and reinstall something that isn't 10.7.4 .... They should changed the installer so it would not install on older macs prior to releasing it. I know Mountain Lion will not install on these older iMacs.... They should not have allowed this version to be installed either since the defect was opened before they released it.

Looks like you are right. I have heard nothing on this from Apple. This is a major issue for those that it has affected. Very disappointing that Apple is not resolving this issue. I have paid a lot of money for my Apple products. If this doesn't get resolved I will have to think twice before I buy another Apple product.

I too am disappointed in how this was handled by Apple. But I don't think it will affect my long term purchases. The machines that this problem comes up are getting long in the tooth... and you cannot expect lifetime support on technology. At least not if you want the company to have the resources to develop and bring new things to the market. I think this problem came about as Apple is moving toward "retina" displays.... and I am hoping that this problem reflects some cool new hardware in the pipeline. I was disappointed that new iMacs didn't hit the shelves when the new Macbooks came at WWDC. But the fact that they didn't and also the lack of update to the Mac mini makes me wonder if they aren't thinking of some neat ideas regarding airplay and monitors and such. I'm thinking its not a stretch to envison something that combines a "TV" display, and wireless video, and the ability to stick your computer into the drawer..... or another room. Now if you take that computer module and make it really powerful then hey ... why not have a home system that is multi user... with multiple displays and users throughout the home. Including the living room....... Just some of the wacky things I think about from time to time.

In the meantime the only real solution is to backup all your files and then see if you cannot get a copy of 10.7.3 to install. The frustrating thing is the complete lack of communication from Apple on this problem. For someone with vision problems this had made for some unhappy moments.

I talked to Apple again. They have narrowed the issue to any machine using 7300 GT and 7600 GT vidio cards. At least this is encourgaging that they now know this. The guy I talked to on the phone seemed like a good guy. Apple has not told him what their solution or intentions are. He is assuming they are working on it. Would be nice if Apple would at least put out a word that they intend to fix this issue. Other than that I am still waiting for a fix. I like Apple products so I am hoping that they come thru. I realize they have to draw the line somewhere when it comes to older machines but if they know an upgrade will cause an issue then tell us not to upgrade our machines past a given point. I will post anything else I hear.

I would go to Vegas and put money on the next released update of 10.7.5 fixing these issues. I'd go all in on that one even.