MacBook Pro Freezes when HDMI is Plugged In

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Level 1

11 points

MacBook Pro Freezes when HDMI is Plugged In

Alright, this is a bizarre one. I initially was experimenting at ways to play HD content with Dolby Digital encoding in various ways, such as with AirPlay, or with HDMI through my Vizio M422i-B1 42" HDTV. (AirPlay won't encode its audio with AC3 by the way, it's irrelevant but interesting.) At first, plugging in the HDMI worked as it should: The screen turned black for a second, and came back on mirroring the contents of the display to my beautiful outdated television. I got distracted, and had to put my Mac away, so I unplugged the HDMI, and shut the screen, effectively sleeping the device. EVERY attempt thereafter to plug my MacBook Pro into the HDMI of my Vizio HDTV results in my laptop freezing, and becoming unresponsive. This freeze persists even after the HDMI has been unplugged, and does not recover; until it's rebooted.

Here are some steps I've taken to alleviate the problem (tested by plugging in HDMI cable under certain conditions):

Swapped HDMI cables - didn't work
Plugged it into my 4k monitor via Thunderbolt (Mini-DisplayPort) - worked flawlessly.
Reset the PRAM Battery (? I think) by holding down CMD + SHIFT + P + R (Can't remember the exact keys, but at the time held them correctly) - didn't work
Booted into safe mode by holding SHIFT - didn't work.
Removed "com.apple.windowserver. ... .plist" from my ~/Library/Preferences/ByHost/ (Note: Made a backup) - didn't work.
Rebooted (listed just in case it wasn't apparent) - didn't work.
Unchecked the "Automatic Graphics Switching" option in the "Energy Saver" pane in system preferences - didn't work.

Note:

The other HDMI's are working with the Vizio HDTV, even after the freeze initially began.

Here are my specs:

Mid 2014 15" MacBook Pro with Retina Display

OS X Yosemite 10.10.4 (Latest Version)

2.5GHz, "Haswell" Intel Core i7-4870HQ

512GB PCIe SSD

16GB DDR3L @1600MHz

Intel Iris Pro 5200

Nvidia Geforce GT 750M w/ 2GB GDDR5

Monitors/TV's Tested:

Vizio M422i-B1 (1920x1080 @120Hz) (HDMI)

Acer H277HK (3840x2160 @60Hz) (Mini DisplayPort)

If anyone can help me out, I'd greatly appreciate it; as would my hair, while I'm still pulling it out.

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Yosemite (10.10)

Posted on Sep 1, 2015 10:33 PM

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Answer 1

Jacob Alford Author

Level 1

11 points

Sep 2, 2015 8:08 PM in response to Jacob Alford

Okay, interesting update:

Here's what I tried differently:

Swapped the HDMI cable to a different one - didn't work.
Used the initial HDMI with a different HDMI port - didn't work.
Plugged the MacBook Pro into an old Samsung HDTV / Monitor combo via HDMI - worked flawlessly.
Plugged the MacBook Pro into my secondary monitor (HP Pavilion 27xw) via HDMI - worked flawlessly.
Plugged the MacBook Pro into my other Vizio HDTV (older, non-smart) - worked flawlessly.

In my opinion, it's apparent that the settings, or configuration file, or whatever the equivalent may be is corrupted for that specific output. The only thing I can imagine left to test this theory would be to plug a different Apple Laptop with discrete graphics, and native HDMI output. I have two other Mac's in the house, and they are an older Mac Mini, which does have HDMI out, but relies primarily on an external display which would lack reproduction. We also have a MacBook Air, which we could use an adapter with, the problem with this is I'm currently missing my adapter... If I find it, I'll let you know. However, given these results I doubt that it will make a difference. It's likely a software related issue, and pertaining to the configuration of the Vizio HDTV specifically.

Again, if anyone has anything to add that might make a difference, I'd greatly appreciate it :-)

</Update>

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Answer 2

Jacob Alford Author

Level 1

11 points

Sep 2, 2015 8:28 PM in response to Jacob Alford

Oh, also just tried a fresh boot WHILE the HDMI was plugged in. Froze at 1/8 of the initial loading bar. Just FYI

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Answer 3

Jacob Alford Author

Level 1

11 points

Sep 3, 2015 3:02 PM in response to Jacob Alford

Okay, here's another update:

I got a hold of an Min DisplayPort to HDMI adapter. When I plug my Mac into my Vizio TV using the adapter IT WORKS FLAWLESSLY. But, after it's plugged in through the adapter, it still doesn't work with the HDMI port. At this point I can accomplish what I wanted to previously, but I've lost some convenience - which is the reason I've purchased Macs in the first place. If anyone has anything to add that could make a difference, again, I'd appreciate it.

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Answer 4

Jacob Alford Author

Level 1

11 points

Oct 5, 2015 10:59 AM in response to Jacob Alford

Final update: When I was using Yosemite I found that the computer crashed when the laptop was plugged in whilst the TV was changing inputs. It started crashing even with the mini-displayport to HDMI adapter was used, instead of just the HDMI. Updating to El Capitan appears to have fixed the issue. I will monitor the condition for the next few days to see if anything has changed. Will mark as "solved" if no problems arise.

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Answer 5

Jacob Alford Author

Level 1

11 points

Oct 22, 2015 9:15 AM in response to Jacob Alford

I believe I've solved the problem! Another issue starting happening on my Mac; after updating to El Capitan, it would get the "Black Screen of Death," commonly found on older Mac machines, when a part has likely aged farther than its ability to run adequately. It happened randomly when awaking from sleep - when I would raise the screen of my MacBook Pro. Doing research into this problem, I believe I've figured out a mutual solution. Reset the SMC. That's it! When it was plugged in, I pressed the (left) Shift, Control, Option and Power keys at the same time, and then started it up. A weird visual menu glitch, happening at startup stops occurring, and so far it hasn't crashed again. If a problem arises I'll update this post again, but hopefully this thread has helped.

In order to reset the SMC on your Mac, check here: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac - Apple Support.

-Jacob

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