External monitor calibration problem

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External monitor calibration problem

Hello everyone. This is my first post on a Mac forum. I have been using my PB for 2 1/2 years problem free, until I installed Tiger...Now I need your help.

I have an ACER 1716 LCD monitor. When I connected it to my PB with OSX 10.2.8 installed, I could select "Calibrated Profile" from the "Display Profile" list in the Color tab of the monitor settings, click the "calibrate" button, and Colorsync took me through a step-by-step monitor calibration/color setting. It was very convenient!

Now that I have installed Tiger, the only thing that happens when I select any of the choices from the "Display Profile" list and try and calibrate it, is that I get a message saying the profile cannot be calibrated!

I do not get this message when I try the same on my PB monitor calibration screen.

Why can I calibrate my PB monitor, but not my external LCD monitor any more?

Your help is appreciated.

Thanks.

G4 PB 12" Mac OS X (10.4.5)

Posted on Mar 15, 2006 1:35 PM

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Answer 1

R C-R

Level 6

17,810 points

Mar 15, 2006 2:35 PM in response to Oyajipunk

Now that I have installed Tiger, the only thing that
happens when I select any of the choices from the
"Display Profile" list and try and calibrate it, is
that I get a message saying the profile cannot be
calibrated!

The "Calibrate..." button on the Color tab of Display preferences should launch the Display Calibrator assistant application, which walks you through the steps of creating a new profile. This has nothing to do with editing existing profiles.

This leads to a question: how exactly are you trying to edit/calibrate an existing profile on the list?

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Answer 2

Oyajipunk Author

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Mar 16, 2006 1:52 PM in response to R C-R

RC-R, thanks for your response.
When I have my external monitor attached to my PB, I leave the PB open so that both the PB display and the external monitor are operating.

To calibrate the monitor/s, I open the settings/display/color menu, click on any of the displayed profiles, and then try clicking the 'calibrate' button. The response for all is the same - Colorsync opens (not the wizard, just the application), but at the same time I get an error message saying the original profile for the monitor cannot be found.

I can carry out the same procedure with the display setting panel on my PB display, and the Colorsync wizard kicks in and away we go! I can even delete profiles on the PB display setting panel, but the delete box is greyed out on the external monitor display setting panel.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

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Answer 3

R C-R

Level 6

17,810 points

Mar 17, 2006 7:13 AM in response to Oyajipunk

Do you see three buttons in the Colors pane of the Display system preference, two for opening or deleting the profile & one for calibrating the display? For me, the 'open profile' button launches ColorSync Utility, which is what I assume you mean by just the application. The calibrate button launches the Display Calibrator application, which is what I assume you mean by the wizard.

If you see something else, I don't know why that would be, but it may help to try the 'profile first aid' pane of ColorSync Utility to see what it says about the profiles that are giving you problems.

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Answer 4

Oyajipunk Author

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Mar 18, 2006 1:41 PM in response to R C-R

Mmmnn, this is getting complicated, I appreciated you sticking with me.

As I said above, I am using my PB LCD screen, and an external LCD monitor, but NOT in mirror mode.

If I open 'System Preferences' -> 'Displays', two display preference panels open, one in the PB display and one in the external monitor.

The 'display' preference panel displayed in the PB has two tabs, 'Display' and 'Color'. The preference panel displayed on the external monitor has three, 'Display', 'Arrangement' and 'Color'. In the 'arrangement' tab, I have the dock set so that it is displayed in the external monitor.

On the PB display preference panel, I can click the 'Calibrate' button on the 'Color' tab, and Colorsynch opens and the preferences for the PB monitor can be adjusted.

However, if I click the 'calibrate' button on the 'display' preference panel shown on the external monitor ( the one with the dock displayed), all I get is a colorsync message saying the display cannot be calibrated, because the factory profile for it could not be found. The 'Open Profile' button works fine on both display preference panels, but the 'Delete Profile button is greyed out on the external monitor.

What I want to do is build a new profile for the external monitor, but something is nto working properly. Any ideas?

Thanks.

G4 PB 12" Mac OS X (10.4.5)

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Answer 5

R C-R

Level 6

17,810 points

Mar 19, 2006 7:14 AM in response to Oyajipunk

Have you tried profile first aid? You should be launching ColorSync Utility with the 'Open Profile' button. Go to its File menu & open a New Utility Window. The first aid tab should be available from that window.

You can also try searching your drive for a profile with the name that matches the external monitor, possibly "Calibrated Profile" if you never named it otherwise, & make sure it is in /Library/ColorSync/Profiles/Displays/.

Aside from that, all I can think of is to see if a 'factory' profile is available from the monitor's maker.

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Answer 6

Oyajipunk Author

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Mar 19, 2006 12:35 PM in response to R C-R

Thanks for staying with me on this, really...

I tried the First Aid, it came up with no problems.

The 'calibrated profile' I made when still on OSX 10.2.8 is gone, I deleted it hoping I could start from scratch again. I was too optimistic...

There are no profiles for my monitor (AL1716) on Acer's HP.

If you can think of any way I can make my PB forget there ever was an external monitor attached (delete ALL profiles?) then maybe I have a chance of starting from scratch again?

Thanks Steve Jobs, you have learned a lot from Mr. Gates...Install one update and make 5 new problems on your computer. Great (yes, I do have other problems...)

I would re-install Tiger with a disc format, but I doubt it would solve my problems.

This is getting depressing...

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Answer 7

Oyajipunk Author

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Mar 21, 2006 10:22 AM in response to Oyajipunk

Hello, anybody out there?
I have been reading about other people with the same calibration profile trouble as me on this forum. So I am not alone.

I made a new user profile and logged in using it, same situation. I always get the same error message when Colorsync opens up.

Is there no way I can force my PB to recognize my new monitor and allow Coloysync to build a new profile for it?

Thanks.

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Answer 8

R C-R

Level 6

17,810 points

Mar 21, 2006 11:04 AM in response to Oyajipunk

All I can suggest at this point is to try opening the Display Calibrator application directly, in hopes that that bypasses the 'not found' error message. You can find the app in /System/Library/ColorSync/Calibrators/.

I'm not sure if this will let you create a display profile for the external monitor, but you should know soon enough as you go through the steps & see which monitor is affected.

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Answer 9

Oyajipunk Author

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Mar 21, 2006 12:00 PM in response to Oyajipunk

OK, I just had a brainstorm.

When ever I try to calibrate my external monitor using the display settings/color/calibrate button, I get the message "The factory profile for the display could not be found" and calibration does not take place.

However, if I select one of the three display profiles (ADOBE RGB (1998), Standard RGB profile, sRGB profile) and then click "Open profile", the profile opens.

So, by my reckoning, this means these three profiles are available, but not able to be "Calibrated" and saved as a new profile unless this mysterious "factory profile" is available.

Before I installed OSX 10.4, I was never asked for this "factory profile", so either Colorsync was substituting one of my existing profiles for it, or didn't require it in the first place.

So my questions are these:
Q1)
Do you think Colorsync is looking for this "factory profile" in the right place? Perhaps its location was moved when I installed 10.4 (I didn't carry out the full install with disc formatting, so all of my settings from 10.2 have been saved).
Q2)
Do you think it is possible to make a profile that will fool Colorsync into thinking it is the "factory profile", and if so, where should I save it?

Any tips would be appreciated.

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Answer 10

Oyajipunk Author

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Mar 21, 2006 12:11 PM in response to Oyajipunk

I didn't see your last message before I wrote the above.

I just tried what you suggested, a text box saying "Click this window to calibrate the display 'Color LCD'" opened (ColorLCD is the profile name for my PB monitor, probably the mysterious "factory profile").

After I have moved the mouse pointer off the external LCD and back on to the PB monitor, and clicked, Colorsync takes me through the calibration process, for my PB monitor.

Oh dear...

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Answer 11

Oyajipunk Author

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Mar 21, 2006 12:42 PM in response to Oyajipunk

Another brainstorm...

I just found that in System/Library/Displays/Overrides/DisplayVendorID-610 there are 64 files stored, but in Previous Systems/Previous System1/System/Library/Displays/Overrides/DisplayVendorID-610 (ie the old files from when I had OSX 10.2 installed) there are 88 files.

Should I copy the old Override files into the new system folder?

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Answer 12

R C-R

Level 6

17,810 points

Mar 21, 2006 3:55 PM in response to Oyajipunk

I really don't know what's going on with your system. When I open the Display Calibrator application, I don't get a text box mentioning any display, I get an application window similar to installer.app in that the left side lists a series of steps & text info & control widgets appear on the right. The first step is "Introduction" & the text explains what the utility does, with an option checkbox for expert mode. The only live button at this step is "Continue."

Do you see anything similar?

It would help a lot in this discussion if you could specify the application(s) you see open by name, since "Colorsync" is the name of the technology & there are several apps associated with it. I realize you may be translating the names from German to English, but I assume in any localization, OS X will have unique names for the apps, such as "Display Calibrator" or "ColorSync Utility."

The app I expected to open is Display Calibrator, version 4.4. If you do not get that to open, there may be something left over from a previous OS version that is opening for you instead.

Regarding the other profiles (ADOBE RGB etc.), these are not display profiles but system profiles. In the Display system pref -> Color tab, you should see a checkbox to 'display profiles for this monitor only' that, when checked, removes them from the list. In ColorSync Utility -> Profiles tab, you should see them listed in the "System" section of the profiles list, & display profiles listed in the "Computer" -> "Displays" section.

Again, it would be helpful to know if you see something similar in each app.

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Answer 13

R C-R

Level 6

17,810 points

Mar 21, 2006 4:59 PM in response to Oyajipunk

I have no idea exactly how the OS uses these "overrides," but FYI I have 88 of them for vendor ID 610, & my iMac has never had any OS installed other than Tiger. Opening a few with Property List Editor reveals each has a "DisplayProductName" property it appears is associated with the name of a display product, most of which are Apple displays, like Apple Studio Display or iMac.

From this I assume vendor 610 is Apple, & these are settings it supplies for various display products with the OS, mostly for its own display products but perhaps also for generic display types like "LCD." How this relates to factory profiles is unclear: perhaps these are default settings used to generate a profile when a matching display is detected.

FWIW, all of the overrides have creation/modification dates of Jan 22, 2006. If memory serves, this is indicative of one of the OS version updates I think mentioned something about improvements to ColorSync, maybe 10.4.2 (?).

Anyway, I'm guessing that unless one of these files relates to Acer product ID info somehow, it won't help to move them into the new system folder, but I have no way to know if one does. I do know that by around 1997 or so, most displays had built-in 'smart' capabilities to communicate info about their vendor, resolution, & similar parameters to PC's & that OS X supports this standard. It might help to know what System Profiler says about your connected displays, which would indicate if it is being detected properly.

I'm sorry I can't give you a better answer but hopefully this info will help you gain some insight & lead to a good one.

Good luck!

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Answer 14

Oyajipunk Author

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Mar 22, 2006 12:21 PM in response to R C-R

Display Calibrator and Colorsync are the correct application versions. When I try to open the Display Calibrator with my PB closed, I get the same "Cannot find factory profile" error message. The Colorsync Utility works fine for my PB monitor profile, but when I try to calibrate the profile, no go.

I can't move the override files, the system won't let me alter the system files.

So it looks like this remains unsolved. It is a shame, my external monitor had brilliant resolution and color, until now.

How do I make an 'official' request to Apple for support? (I don't have a service contract with them).

Thanks.

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Answer 15

Oyajipunk Author

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Mar 22, 2006 12:24 PM in response to Oyajipunk

Sorry, I meant to say "when I try to calibrate the external monitor profile, no go".

Both of these applications are exactly as you described.

Oh, by the way, I am translating from Japanese, not German. My wife is Japanese.

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