Multiple Displays have problems with El Capitan

My issue was not that the second display wasn't found but that I couldn't see the tool bar but my pointer would disappear. The dock would show (from hidden) but couldn't see all of it. Discovered I needed to adjust the under scan from off until I could see the tool bar and dock.

Now I'm happy again!

I had this problem ever since El Capitan 10.11.1. I have a Mac Pro and 2 thunderbolt screens. This was driving me mad. I tried everything, disconnecting all other thunderbolt connections, connecting both screens to the Mac Pro and then daisy chaining them. Nothing worked. When installing 10.11.2 did not fix it I decided to reinstall the operating system. In preparation I disconnected all other thunderbolt connections but this time I also disconnected a firewire connection from one thunderbolt screen to a Drobo drive. Suddenly when I rebooted both screens worked again. I have repeated this several times since. If the firewire connector is plugged in only one screen works, it can be either one depending which port on the Mac pro is plugged in. Remove the firewire connector and all is well.

I hope that this helps someone else.

This fix worked perfectly! Thanks!

Hello Everybody,

I found that the problem happens when your mouse coursor is on the second display and it goes to sleep, At that point you loose the second monitor.

My workaround (i found this in another forum) is:

Define right lower corner as hot corner for "Put Display to sleep" to make it easy and handy the return back of the second monitor (System Prefereneces -> Mission Control -> Hot corners)

When the problem comes up:

1- Put the mouse in the lower right corner to get the display slept.

2- Turn off second monitor and turn it back on to have it out of sleep state

3- inmediately move the mouse or click to get first display out of sleep.

Magic! 🙂 2nd display back on!! 🙂

I think this is a simple bug related to energy management and one condition was not considered for certain type of monitors problably HDMI or HDMI thru thunderbolt adapter.

I hope it helps!

Regards!

Diego

did you ever get it fixed?

I just try to connect my Imac and when I go to displays as many have said I have no option to click on buttons to detect monitors on Imac 27,2010 running El Capitan.I try disconecting reset and nothing.

Please help!

CessfromGermany wrote:

did you ever get it fixed?

I just try to connect my Imac and when I go to displays as many have said I have no option to click on buttons to detect monitors on Imac 27,2010 running El Capitan.I try disconecting reset and nothing.

Please help!

The "Detect Displays" is hidden by default. Oddly, in the Display Preferences you need to hold down the option key for it to appear.

That said, it is unlikely to work that way if, as you say, disconnecting and reconnecting does not work.

For most people with those issues, it seems to be related to other software conflicts.

You may want to run Etrecheck and post its report.

Thank you for your help Luis,I did what you said and here is my results:

EtreCheck version: 2.6.6 (226)

Report generated 28/12/15 09:30

Runtime 3:10

Download EtreCheck from http://etrecheck.com

Click the [Click for support] links for help with non-Apple products.

Click the [Click for details] links for more information about that line.

Hardware Information: (What does this mean?)

iMac (27-inch, Mid 2010)

[Click for Technical Specifications]

[Click for User Guide]

iMac - model: iMac11,3

1 3,2 GHz Intel Core i3 CPU: 2-core

4 GB RAM Upgradeable

[Click for upgrade instructions]

BANK 0/DIMM0

2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM0

2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

BANK 0/DIMM1

Empty

BANK 1/DIMM1

Empty

Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported

Wireless: en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n

Video Information: (What does this mean?)

ATI Radeon HD 5670 - VRAM: 512 MB

iMac 2560 x 1440

System Software: (What does this mean?)

OS X El Capitan 10.11.2 (15C50) - Time since boot: less than an hour

Disk Information: (What does this mean?)

WDC WD1001FALS-40Y6A0 disk0 : (1 TB) (Rotational)

EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / : 999.35 GB (743.49 GB free)

Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB

OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5680H ()

USB Information: (What does this mean?)

Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

Apple Inc. Built-in iSight

Apple Card Reader

Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

Gatekeeper: (What does this mean?)

Mac App Store and identified developers

Kernel Extensions: (What does this mean?)

/Library/Extensions

[not loaded] com.sony.driver.dsccamDeviceInfo00 (1 - SDK 10.7) [Click for support]

/System/Library/Extensions

[not loaded] com.devguru.driver.SamsungComposite (1.4.32 - SDK 10.6) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.nike.sportwatch (1.0.0) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.serato.usb.kext (1.8.4) [Click for support]

/System/Library/Extensions/ssuddrv.kext/Contents/PlugIns

[not loaded] com.devguru.driver.SamsungACMControl (1.4.32 - SDK 10.6) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.devguru.driver.SamsungACMData (1.4.32 - SDK 10.6) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.devguru.driver.SamsungMTP (1.4.32 - SDK 10.5) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.devguru.driver.SamsungSerial (1.4.32 - SDK 10.6) [Click for support]

Startup Items: (What does this mean?)

HP Trap Monitor: Path: /Library/StartupItems/HP Trap Monitor

Startup items are obsolete in OS X Yosemite

Launch Agents: (What does this mean?)

[loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist [Click for support]

[failed] com.adobe.ARMDCHelper.cc24aef4a1b90ed56a...plist [Click for support]

[failed] com.adobe.AdobeCreativeCloud.plist [Click for support]

[running] com.canon.MFManager.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.hp.help.tocgenerator.plist [Click for support]

[failed] com.nike.nikeplusconnect.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist [Click for support]

[running] com.sony.SonyAutoLauncher.agent.plist [Click for support]

Launch Daemons: (What does this mean?)

[loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.Communicator.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.SMJobBlessHelper.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.adobe.SC.FPFeedbackService-1.0.plist [Click for support]

[running] com.adobe.adobeupdatedaemon.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist [Click for support]

User Launch Agents: (What does this mean?)

[failed] com.BlueStacks.AppPlayer.LogRotator.plist [Click for support]

[failed] com.BlueStacks.AppPlayer.Service.plist [Click for support]

[failed] com.BlueStacks.AppPlayer.UpdaterAgent.plist [Click for support]

[failed] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist [Click for support]

[failed] com.apple.CSConfigDotMacCert-[...]@me.com-SharedServices.Agent.plist - /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Frameworks/OSServices.framewo rk/Versions/A/Support/CSConfigDotMacCert: Executable not found!

[loaded] com.apple.SafariBookmarksSyncer.plist - /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/SafariSyncClient.app/Contents/MacOS/SafariSyn cClient: Executable not found!

[failed] com.facebook.videochat.[redacted].plist [Click for support]

User Login Items: (What does this mean?)

iTunesHelper UNKNOWN Hidden (missing value)

Dropbox UNKNOWN Hidden (missing value)

Desktop Folder Hidden (~/Desktop)

EOS Utility Application Hidden (/Applications/Canon Utilities/EOS Utility/EOS Utility.app)

Google Chrome Application Hidden (/Applications/Google Chrome.app)

K9-MacOptimizer UNKNOWN (missing value)

PlayMemories Home UNKNOWN (missing value)

AdobeResourceSynchronizer UNKNOWN Hidden (missing value)

TuneupMyMac UNKNOWN (missing value)

Dropbox UNKNOWN (missing value)

Mac Media Player UNKNOWN (missing value)

KiesAgent UNKNOWN Hidden (missing value)

fuspredownloader Application Hidden (~/Library/Application Support/.FUS/fuspredownloader.app)

HPEventHandler Application Hidden (/Library/Printers/hp/hpio/HPEventHandler.app)

Other Apps: (What does this mean?)

[running] com.apple.xpc.launchd.oneshot.0x10000005.EtreCheck

[running] com.canon.EOS-Utility.48032

[running] com.google.Chrome.61792

[running] com.gopro.GoPro-Studio-GoPro-Importer

[running] com.hp.HPEventHandler.88672

[loaded] com.trendmicro.ATLoginItemHelper

[running] com.trendmicro.DrCleaner.116512

[running] jp.co.canon.cijscannerregister.91872

Internet Plug-ins: (What does this mean?)

Default Browser: Version: 601 - SDK 10.11

Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: Version: 2.4.4.2 [Click for support]

AdobeAAMDetect: Version: 3.0.0.0 - SDK 10.9 [Click for support]

FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 20.0.0.235 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 15.009.20077 - SDK 10.8 [Click for support]

Silverlight: Version: 5.1.30514.0 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3

Flash Player: Version: 20.0.0.235 - SDK 10.6 Outdated! Update

iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0

SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.2.3 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

AdobePDFViewer: Version: 15.009.20077 - SDK 10.8 [Click for support]

JavaAppletPlugin: Version: Java 8 Update 66 build 17 Check version

Audio Plug-ins: (What does this mean?)

SeratoVirtualAudioPlugIn: Version: 1.0.11 [Click for support]

3rd Party Preference Panes: (What does this mean?)

Flash Player [Click for support]

Flip4Mac WMV [Click for support]

Java [Click for support]

Time Machine: (What does this mean?)

Mobile backups: OFF

Auto backup: YES

Volumes being backed up:

Macintosh HD: Disk size: 999.35 GB Disk used: 255.86 GB

Destinations:

Data [Network]

Total size: 0 B

Total number of backups: 0

Oldest backup: -

Last backup: -

Size of backup disk: Too small

Backup size 0 B < (Disk used 255.86 GB X 3)

Top Processes by CPU: (What does this mean?)

10% ScreenSaverEngine

2% WindowServer

1% fontd

1% kernel_task

0% askpermissiond

Top Processes by Memory: (What does this mean?)

465 MB kernel_task

221 MB Google Chrome Helper(2)

188 MB mdworker(11)

168 MB ocspd

160 MB Google Chrome

Virtual Memory Information: (What does this mean?)

1.04 GB Free RAM

2.96 GB Used RAM (947 MB Cached)

0 B Swap Used

Diagnostics Information: (What does this mean?)

Dec 28, 2015, 09:12:25 AM Self test - passed

Dec 25, 2015, 04:50:21 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/VTEncoderXPCService_2015-12-25-165021_[redacted ].cpu_resource.diag [Click for details]

Dec 25, 2015, 04:46:32 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/VTEncoderXPCService_2015-12-25-164632_[redacted ].cpu_resource.diag [Click for details]

Dec 25, 2015, 04:10:11 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/VTEncoderXPCService_2015-12-25-161011_[redacted ].cpu_resource.diag [Click for details]

Dec 25, 2015, 04:06:25 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/VTEncoderXPCService_2015-12-25-160625_[redacted ].cpu_resource.diag [Click for details]

Dec 25, 2015, 03:42:45 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/VTEncoderXPCService_2015-12-25-154245_[redacted ].cpu_resource.diag [Click for details]

Can anyone offer advise? Very strange in that I have two identical machines but this problems only appears on one. I've tried every solution in this thread, but my problem of the second monitor not appearing still persists.

---

EtreCheck version: 2.6.6 (226)

Report generated 1/4/16, 4:06 PM

Runtime 1:34

Download EtreCheck from http://etrecheck.com

Click the [Click for support] links for help with non-Apple products.

Click the [Click for details] links for more information about that line.

Hardware Information: (What does this mean?)

Mac Pro (Late 2013)

[Click for Technical Specifications]

[Click for User Guide]

Mac Pro - model: MacPro6,1

1 3.7 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon E5 CPU: 4-core

16 GB RAM Upgradeable

[Click for upgrade instructions]

DIMM1

4 GB DDR3 ECC 1866 MHz ok

DIMM2

4 GB DDR3 ECC 1866 MHz ok

DIMM3

4 GB DDR3 ECC 1866 MHz ok

DIMM4

4 GB DDR3 ECC 1866 MHz ok

Bluetooth: Good - Handoff/Airdrop2 supported

Wireless: en2: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac

Video Information: (What does this mean?)

AMD FirePro D500 - VRAM: 3072 MB

AMD FirePro D500 - VRAM: 3072 MB

Thunderbolt Display 2560 x 1440

System Software: (What does this mean?)

OS X El Capitan 10.11.2 (15C50) - Time since boot: less than an hour

Disk Information: (What does this mean?)

APPLE SSD SM1024F disk0 : (1 TB) (Solid State - TRIM: Yes)

EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

Station 2- OS Drive (disk0s2) / : 999.56 GB (886.78 GB free)

Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB

USB Information: (What does this mean?)

Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

VIA Labs, Inc. USB2.0 Hub

Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Display)

Apple Inc. Apple Thunderbolt Display

Apple Inc. Display Audio

Apple, Inc. Keyboard Hub

Apple, Inc Apple Keyboard

Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Display)

Apple Inc. Apple Thunderbolt Display

Apple Inc. Display Audio

Lexar USB_3_0 Reader

Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 USB

Thunderbolt Information: (What does this mean?)

Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus_2

G-Technology G-SPEED Studio R

Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus_1

Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus_0

Apple Inc. Thunderbolt Display

Apple Inc. Thunderbolt Display

Configuration files: (What does this mean?)

/etc/sysctl.conf - File exists but not expected

Gatekeeper: (What does this mean?)

Mac App Store and identified developers

Kernel Extensions: (What does this mean?)

/Library/Extensions

[loaded] com.promise.driver.stex (5.2.10 - SDK 10.9) [Click for support]

[not loaded] jp.panasonic.iokit.AJMPD1ProtocolService (1.0.1 - SDK 10.8) [Click for support]

[not loaded] jp.panasonic.iokit.p2drivefamily (3.2.1 - SDK 10.7) [Click for support]

/Library/Extensions/P2DriveFamilyDriver.kext/Contents/PlugIns

[not loaded] jp.panasonic.iokit.P2FireWireSBP2 (4.2.0 - SDK 10.7) [Click for support]

[not loaded] jp.panasonic.iokit.PCD35Device (2.0.5 - SDK 10.7) [Click for support]

/System/Library/Extensions

[not loaded] com.nvidia.CUDA (1.1.0) [Click for support]

Startup Items: (What does this mean?)

KeyAccess: Path: /Library/StartupItems/KeyAccess

Startup items are obsolete in OS X Yosemite

Launch Agents: (What does this mean?)

[loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist [Click for support]

[failed] com.adobe.ARMDCHelper.cc24aef4a1b90ed56a...plist [Click for support]

[running] com.adobe.AdobeCreativeCloud.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.nvidia.CUDASoftwareUpdate.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.panasonic.p2csvc.plist [Click for support]

[running] com.sassafras.KeyAccess.plist [Click for support]

Launch Daemons: (What does this mean?)

[loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.Communicator.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.SMJobBlessHelper.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.adobe.SC.FPFeedbackService-1.0.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist [Click for support]

[running] com.adobe.adobeupdatedaemon.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.adobe.agsservice.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist [Click for support]

[running] com.edb.launchd.postgresql-8.4.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.malwarebytes.MBAMHelperTool.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist [Click for support]

[failed] com.nvidia.cuda.launcher.plist [Click for support]

[running] com.sassafras.KeyAccess.plist [Click for support]

User Launch Agents: (What does this mean?)

[loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.digitalrebellion.PreferenceManagerAutoSave.plist [Click for support]

User Login Items: (What does this mean?)

iTunesHelper Application Hidden (/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunesHelper.app)

VideoSan UNKNOWN (missing value)

1- old video storage UNKNOWN (missing value)

2- old video storage UNKNOWN (missing value)

3- old video storage UNKNOWN (missing value)

Station 1- Video Storage Volume (/Volumes/Station 1- Video Storage)

Other Apps: (What does this mean?)

[running] com.adobe.acc.AdobeDesktopService.115872.BB483588-5CC6-43AC-B99A-AA866C631993

[running] com.adobe.accmac.58272

[running] com.apple.xpc.launchd.oneshot.0x10000005.EtreCheck

[running] com.panasonic.p2csvc.109152

[running] com.sassafras.KeyAccess.kass.115552

Internet Plug-ins: (What does this mean?)

Default Browser: Version: 601 - SDK 10.11

AdobeExManDetect: Version: AdobeExManDetect 1.1.0.0 - SDK 10.7 [Click for support]

Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: Version: 2.2.0.49 [Click for support]

SlingPlayer: Version: Unknown - SDK 10.8 [Click for support]

AdobeAAMDetect: Version: 3.0.0.0 - SDK 10.9 [Click for support]

AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 15.008.20082 - SDK 10.8 [Click for support]

FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 20.0.0.235 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

Silverlight: Version: 5.1.40416.0 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3

Flash Player: Version: 20.0.0.235 - SDK 10.6 Outdated! Update

iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0

SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.4.9 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

AdobePDFViewer: Version: 15.008.20082 - SDK 10.8 [Click for support]

User internet Plug-ins: (What does this mean?)

NPRoblox: Version: 1, 2, 8, 25 - SDK 10.10 [Click for support]

3rd Party Preference Panes: (What does this mean?)

Flash Player [Click for support]

Flip4Mac WMV [Click for support]

KeyAccess [Click for support]

Perian [Click for support]

Time Machine: (What does this mean?)

Skip System Files: NO

Auto backup: YES

Volumes being backed up:

Destinations:

Time Machine Raid 2 [Local]

Total size: 8.00 TB

Total number of backups: 32

Oldest backup: 5/11/15, 2:41 PM

Last backup: 12/22/15, 2:23 PM

Size of backup disk: Excellent

Backup size 8.00 TB > (Disk size 0 B X 3)

Top Processes by CPU: (What does this mean?)

7% coresymbolicationd

3% WindowServer

2% spindump

2% fontd

1% com.apple.WebKit.WebContent(2)

Top Processes by Memory: (What does this mean?)

1.09 GB kernel_task

524 MB mdworker(11)

410 MB com.apple.WebKit.WebContent(2)

197 MB Adobe CEF Helper(2)

164 MB Safari

Virtual Memory Information: (What does this mean?)

6.79 GB Free RAM

9.20 GB Used RAM (3.97 GB Cached)

0 B Swap Used

Diagnostics Information: (What does this mean?)

Jan 4, 2016, 04:00:08 PM Self test - passed

Jan 4, 2016, 03:07:44 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/p2csvc_2016-01-04-150744_[redacted].crash [Click for details]

Standard users cannot read /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports.

Run as an administrator account to see more information.

Similar problem here, bit more severe though: I have a rMBP (Mid 2015) with one external HP monitor, used as extended desktop.

All worked fine under Yosemite, but since El Capitan (10.11.2), whenever the monitor is pliugged in, booting up leads to black monitor. And here is the difference: in my setup, BOTH monitors stay black and the only way out is to perform a hard reset. Not nice. currently, I have to unplug every time when booting up, works, but not nice. Also annoying at every update requiring a reboot. Obviously "Detect displays" in not much help here. Any new ideas out there? Hello, Apple software developers?

Thomas :-)

One of the things I notice in your report is that you seem to have two thunderbolt displays in the same bus:

Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus_2

G-Technology G-SPEED Studio R

Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus_1

Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus_0

Apple Inc. Thunderbolt Display

Apple Inc. Thunderbolt Display

Try connecting them to different buses and see if it alleviates or solves the problems.

In case you don't know, the two bottom ports are in bus 0; the two on the left are in bus 1 and the two on the right are in bus 2.

Also, it may well be that the problem is caused by software, though I don't see an obvious suspect.

Thomasso99 wrote:

Similar problem here, bit more severe though: I have a rMBP (Mid 2015) with one external HP monitor, used as extended desktop.

All worked fine under Yosemite, but since El Capitan (10.11.2), whenever the monitor is pliugged in, booting up leads to black monitor. And here is the difference: in my setup, BOTH monitors stay black and the only way out is to perform a hard reset. Not nice. currently, I have to unplug every time when booting up, works, but not nice. Also annoying at every update requiring a reboot. Obviously "Detect displays" in not much help here. Any new ideas out there? Hello, Apple software developers?

Thomas :-)

Try booting in Safe Mode. Does the display work?

Note: booting in Safe Mode is slow, and your mac will work slowly while in Safe Mode - that is normal.

If the display works in Safe Mode (as I expect it will), this will indicate that there is some piece of software that is loaded in the normal boot process that is causing a conflict. The next step will be to run Etrecheck and post its report - often this gives a good idea of what may be the culprit.

Sorry for stepping in, in the middle of the thread... I have the same issue that my Thunderbolt display suddenly goes off.

I have an iMac (27-inch, Mid 2011) 8G i/ Mac.

My problem didn't come directly with El Capitain upgrade. It started after some time later after 10.11.2.

The only solution I have right now is to pull out the thunderbolt cable from my iMac and then plug it back in again. Then it might work for 1-2 days or sometimes just a few hours before the 2nd monitor goes blank again.

Have no idea what to do to solve this. It is extremely annoying

/Mats/

I had a problem with a brand new 15" Macbookpro, it would not see my samsung syncmaster. My wife's macbook air would see it ok. I did a safe boot and, that seemed to clear it up.

Hi,

This did the trick for me. I had on external monitory with and HDMI connection that would be lost if left the system on an came back the next day.. or at times while using it. Hitting the OPTION key as described above did the trick. Am curious as to why that was "hidden"...