Screen stuck at 640 x 480 resolution in Bootcamp with Windows 7

Looks like a new NVidia driver has been released today which solves this problem. Download it from here:

GeForce 306.23 Driver - Sept 13, 2012

http://www.geforce.com/drivers/results/48693/nvidiaupdate

I have a non retina new MBP running Win7 64 bit and the 640x480 projector issue was an issue in my customer presentations. It seems that today's update has resolved this issue. GIve it a try.

I think you are right and I spoke too soon. I tested the new driver with two projectors that previously didn't work, and today I got a high res mirroring image. Then I connected the Mac to a Samsung SmartTV and got again 640x480, which is disappointing. Not sure where the issue is. I had also two IT people helping me out and they are telling me that somewhere in the communications between the projector / TV and the Mac the resolution information is lost (called EDID).

That said, they were able to try a hack which worked for me.

1) Connect to an external projector

2) Select to project as Extend and not Duplicate

3) Go to the Nvidia Control Panel (right click on the desktop and the menu should show up)

4) Display > Select the Nvidia display

5) Click customize and create a new setting that is higher than the default 640x480

6) Save it and then try it out.

This trick doesn't resolve the issue if you speak from a podium, because you can't do a demo and look at the audience at the same time, but it enables you to at least project something high res from your new Mac.

threedanim8tor wrote:

I finally solved this problem. As I expected because Thunderbolt is an Apple proprietary

Unfortunately Thunderbolt is not an Apple proprietary development, it is an Intel development and is available to any who want to fit it.

I found an easy workaround to fix it. If you connect once to beamer using the DVI way, the VGA way is using then the range of possible resolution like the DVI ones.

With DVI I could run a resolution of 1450 x 1050 on ACER beamer with a standard resolution of 1024 x 768.

Switching back to VGA I was able to use resolutions up to 1450 x 1050 like DVI.

I have not testet it yet with other beamers.

I had this 640x480 problem just recently on my MB Pro Retina 15 running Boot Camp under Windows 8. <snarky>To be honest, I was stunned that I was able to connect to a projector *at all* using the Thunderbolt-to-VGA dongle. With my MB Air 13, I could literally *NEVER* connect to any projectors with the Thunderbolt-to-VGA dongle. A 640x480 connection was like a gift!</snarky>

I do lots of training and conference speaking so I frequently connect to lots of different VGA projectors and I can never get any of them to connect to Boot Camp under Windows 7 or Windows 8. It's infuriating and I wish Apple would actually fix this problem instead of giving us the finger and saying "that's what you get for using Boot Camp." <eyeroll />

Just like threedanim8tor, my solution was to buy a $50 USB VGA adapter from Amazon. It's silly that I bought a computer from Apple that costs roughly $4,000.00 and the only way I can make a VGA connection work is to buy non-Apple hardware.

Man! I love my MacBooks but this stuff is so frustrating. Apple, please *PLEASE* fix this.

Did it end up being a feasible solution for all the projectors?

I have 14 MBPs I need to fix for this issue and 14 of those adapter do not look good on my spending budget so I am looking for any alternative or cheaper solutions.

I have tried loading the latest NVIDIA drivers and the problem remains.

The connector works fine when connected to a terminal under windows 7. It is only with projectors that it can only handle the 640x480 resolution which is greyed out. The same projector, with the same connector with the same macbook works perfectly at high resolution with OS/X. So it is a problem with the windows driver.

I can't see how to report this as a bug to Apple.

I've hunted through microsoft and apple and NVIDIA for a fix and, though this seems a well-known problem, I can't find one that works anywhere.

has ANYONE managed to solve this issue? im having the same problem on my retina display with geforce 650M

akshaisarin,

I "fixed" this problem by getting a USB3 VGA card from another vendor. Ditched the Apple VGA dongle entirely. Problem solved. The device I've been using is from Startech.com and it works great. http://www.startech.com/AV/USB-Video-Adapters/USB-to-VGA-Multi-Monitor-Adapter~U SB2VGAE3

-Ben

http://www.benday.com/blog

cool. i saw an option to download windows support and install new drivers from the nvidia directory. did you try that already?

Everything's fully patched NVIDIA-wise. Pretty much the same unreliable behavior. I do a lot of public speaking where I connect to a zillion random VGA projectors and I simply gave up on fighting the Apple hardware. Went to the USB VGA solution and it just works.

Oh...and no more rebooting to make Windows talk to the Thunderbolt-based hardware, either. Although now I frequently wish I had 2 or 3 more USB3 ports. 🙂

-Ben

yeah man. i'm severly short on usb ports 😟

YES YES YES,

Today, I installed a regular update on MAC side and they released a new Thunderbold Firmware!!!!

I tested the behavior with two data projectors ... AND YES - IT WORKS.

Honestly I will switch to a Fujitsu laptop this week, because I really need a solid and reliable system for day-to-day work. Month of waiting for a fix really were extremely frustrating! However, I now can sell it with a good feeling. By By MAC, I tried but it did not work out