Second monitor shows static after sleep

Question

Level 1

73 points

Second monitor shows static after sleep

I have a macbook air mid 2011 running Mavericks 10.9.3

I have an apple dvi dual link thunderbolt adaptor connected to a standard apple 2.1A usb power supply and a Shiman 27" IPS monitor (@ 2560 x 1440).

About every second time the Air wakes from sleep, the monitor is overlayed with static. It's usable enough that I can see the menus and stuff through the static, and all it takes is to remove the thunderbolt plug and put it back in and the problem goes away.

The monitor itself is find and when connected by dual link to a PC it works fine.

Is there any known issues with the apple supplied dual link cables? This is my second one (the first broke at the thunderbolt plug end where the cable joins the plastic, as all apple-made cables do). Both this and the old cable had the same problem, all the way back to OSX 10.7.

Connecting to a single link DVI (which I do at home), VGA (e.g. a projector) or HDMI over thunderbolt do NOT show the same problem.

Is there a better cable I can use?

MacBook Air, OS X Mavericks (10.9)

Posted on May 25, 2014 3:41 PM

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Answer 1

chuck_3rd

Community Specialist

May 27, 2014 7:08 AM in response to Tim St.Clair

Hello Tim,

Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.

Take a look at the following support article that has troubleshooting steps for the flickering and waking from sleep issue:

Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter: Resolving flickering and wake from sleep issues

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3232

Take care,

Alex H.

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Answer 2

Tim St.Clair Author

Level 1

73 points

Jun 2, 2014 9:35 PM in response to chuck_3rd

Unfortunately, the problem is still in occurence even though I have the firmware suggested by the articles you linked. Here's the system info page on the device:

I can again confirm that no static occurs if:

I connect using an Apple single-link DVI adaptor to another monitor (Dell 24" @ 1920x1200)
A different computer connects using a Dual-Link DVI cable to the monitor that shows static
The mac does not sleep. I currently use the "Caffeine" app to prevent this, but it's not a good solution.

The obvious but expensive solution is to try another cable - these things are $100. I don't have a local (within 50km that I know of) apple dealer who keeps these in stock.

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Answer 3

chuck_3rd

Community Specialist

Jun 3, 2014 6:52 AM in response to Tim St.Clair

Hi Tim,

I'm sorry to hear that troubleshooting didn't help to resolve the issue with the static appearing on the screen.

Due to the nature of your issue or question you may find more information by using another one of Apple's support resources - https://getsupport.apple.com/GetproductgroupList.action

Take care,

Alex H.

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