MBP CD2 DVI to VGA not working with projector

Question

Level 1

8 points

MBP CD2 DVI to VGA not working with projector

I am having issues getting the MBP to recognize a DELL 2300 projector through a DVI to VGA apple cable.

A few months ago there were posts about this, but no solutions. The problem seems to be with the 'INTEL' side of things, as the same projector with the same DVI to VGA apple cable works on an older G4 tower running 10.4.9. The projector also works on an old G4 iBook with it's version of a VGA adapter. To make things more confusing, a DVI to Video apple cable works with the DELL 2300 on my new MBP C2D-but produces a terrible quality picture. Mysteriously, my previous 1st generation MBP CD worked with the DELL 2300 via a DVI to VGA apple cable (but I'm not sure which OS was out at the time 10.4.8?)

My new MBP CD2 definately recognizes the projector through the DVI to VGA adapter, but the projector doesn't recognize the video signal from the computer. It is DEFINATELY the MBP (or universal drivers), as I have checked the DVI to VGA dongle (works), have checked the projector (works with an ibook running 10.4.8 OSX with VGA dongle), have changed resolution settings before and after connecting, have restarted computer, have tested various orders of connecting the projector and cables. STINK! (I also have TWO DVI to VGA adapters, so it is not a bad adapter). I have also played with exchanging various plist files from older universal versions of 10.4.8 that worked with the projector-no help.

As I stated, the projector will work (in horrible quality) with a DVI to Video dongle. Why it will not work with the DVI to VGA dongle is a mystery and annoying 🙂 I would hope that a newer MBP CD2 would be plug and play (like my previous MBP CD and an old G4 tower and an old iBook G4...but no).

Any ideas, any help, any answers?

MBPC2D 2.16, 2GB, Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Posted on May 6, 2007 12:58 PM

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Answer 1

BSteely

Level 5

7,643 points

May 6, 2007 7:33 PM in response to magyarmerce

When you say the MBP C2D recognizes the projector, does the projector's name actually show up in Display Preferences or is it described generically like "VGA Display" or somethng like that? Also, is the list of resolutions presented within Display Preferences the expected list? In other words, do you get the same selection of resolutions that appear when the G4 tower is hooked up to the projector? I assume you have tried all the resolutions, or at least the ones known to work.

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Answer 2

magyarmerce Author

Level 1

8 points

May 8, 2007 3:32 AM in response to BSteely

Here are the actors in our play today
1. MacBookPro A. (my system a CD2 2.16 with OSX 10.4.9)
2. MacBookPro B. (my friends system a CD2 2.16 with OSX 10.4.9)
3. an iBook (my friends 1.07 GHz G4 with 10.4.8 and a VGA adapter)
4. DELL 2300 MP projector

Plugged in DVI to VGA adapter to the virgin MacBookPro B (never had the projector plugged into it before) Dell projector shows that it recognizes an analog RGB 800X600 signal from MBP B. It projects a beautiful desktop. All is well for a moment.

In Display preferences we see for the MBP B
Color LCD, Display: 800X600 stretched, Colors: Millions, Refresh Rate: N/A
VGA Display

Now, I unplug the DVI to VGA adapter and naturally MBP B readjusts to it's native resolution. Great.

Now I immediately plug back in the DVI to VGA adapter. The computer and the projector searches for signal with none found, while the computer shows no attempt at an automatic readjustment as above (800X600 stretched).

I try the 'detect display' option. It causes computer to stall for a second (as it searches) but it does not detect projector and does not readjust it's own resolution to 800X600 stretched as it did initially. F7 key does nothing.

This is a problem!

So, I shut down the projector. I unplug the projector's power source and waited 20 seconds. plugged it back in, started projector back up.

I shut down/restarted the MBP B.

I plug back in the DVI to VGA adapter into the MBP B. The MBP B screen flashes to all blue, but does not automatically change to 800X600 stretched (remains at native resolution and does not recognize an external monitor/projector)

Enter the iBook!
I plug the iBook's VGA adapter into the projector. The projector shows that it recognizes an analog RGB 1024X768 60Hz signal and projects desktop screen immediately. Plug and play!
iBook display prefs reveal:
Color LCD, 1024X768, colors: Millions, Refresh rate: N/A
Color tab: Generic RGB Profile

VGA display, 1024X768, colors: Millions,

Now. I unplug adapter from iBook, iBook readjusts to native display
plugged back in adapter to iBook, immediately recognizes and displays projected desktop.

Scene 2: The FREAKY thing!

Now, I immediately (after unplugging the adapter from the iBook) change adapters to the DVI to VGA adapter and plug the projector into the MacBookPro B, whallla! Back in business. (computer screen adjusted to 800X600, and projector recognized signal).

Now, what about my computer? I unplug from MBP B and plug into MacBookPro A, and NOTHING...the computer doesn't automatically adjust to a new resolution, and the projector doesn't recognize any signal from the computer.

Ahhhh Freak out! Now, I plugged adapter back into MacBookPro B, and now back to NOTHING. MBP B no longer recognizes projector or readjusts it's resolution. Was something somehow corrupted?

Now, I plugged iBook VGA adapter back in, and iBook once again with it's awesome G4 technology (or dated video drivers or something) recognizes the projector in an instant and projects the screen.

Now, logically I try again to immediately unplug the adapter from the iBook and switch adapters and plug back into MacBookPro B-it worked once right? But, sorry, NOT twice. The mystery deepens.

Well, I think, maybe it is because I didn't restart MacBookPro B before attempting the switcharoo from iBook to MacBookPro.

So, I plug back into iBook-projector. And the iBook works immediately again.
I restart MacBookPro B and plug in to the freshly restarted MBP B...HOUSTON WE HAVE LIFT OFF! The MacBookPro B recognizes the projector and the projector kindly displays the desktop.

Now what about MacBookPro A...Last time, when I did the switcharoo, it corrupted something to cause the MBP B not to work. Let's try it again. Will this plug-unplug-restart-switch adapters-immediatly plug in technique work...let's see. I restart MBP A, and plug DVI to VGA adapter in. Sorry. Same ol' no signals recognized. MacBookPro A not auto readjusting resolution, and does not list any projector in display prefs.

Let's get crazy and immediately plug the adapter into the MacBookPro B...it works-oh so logical...NOT! Why wasn't it corrupted this time by MBP A? MacBookPro B readjusts its screen to 800X600 stretched and projector immediately recognizes and projects desktop.

Now lets see if I can break it again as before. I unplug it from MacBookPro B and back into MacBook Pro B, knowing that this caused it to stop working previously. And...it still works-WHAT? I do it a third time. It still works on MacBookPro B.

So,

I plug it back into MacBookPro A...still nothing. Back to MacbookPro B works like a charm. This time it struggles a bit showing that initially it sees a signal from MacBookPro B of 1192X900 (i Think), then the MacBookPro B switches automatically to 800X600 and the projector works.

Wait..I see something amiss! I see in my MBP A menu bar an icon for Labtick which MBP B does not have. I shut down Labtick, plug back in the DVI to VGA adapter and 'Boom' the projector is recognized.

I unplug DVI to VGA adapter and plug back in to MBP A and 'Boom' the projector is recognized again...no it couldn't be!

Well, it is possible it couldn't be because, I shut down the projector, unplug it's power source, plug it back in. I plug it back into the recently working MBP A with Labtick not running, and sorry folks, now the projector doesn't work again. The MBP A does not readjust it's resolution, nor recognize a projector and the projector doesn't recognize the MBP A.

Let's try the projector in MBP B....same deal. Now it doesn't work. Same symptoms of MBP A.

Back to the good ol' iBook. Of course it works.
Now switching over directly to a restarted MBP B. -DOESN'T WORK (as it did using this technique previously)

Now switching over to MBP A- DOESN'T WORK.

As you can see, it is hard even with multiple computers to find a series of doing things that consistently makes the projector work.

Any thoughts, ideas, ways to diagnose? Thanks!

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Answer 3

BSteely

Level 5

7,643 points

May 8, 2007 9:06 PM in response to magyarmerce

One thing you can try is to boot into Safe Mode and see if things work better. Or alternately create another account on the MBP called "Guest" or something like that and try running from that account. Either approach should tell you if it is related to the config of your home account.

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Answer 4

magyarmerce Author

Level 1

8 points

May 9, 2007 12:32 AM in response to BSteely

Safe Boot didn't do the trick. Sorry.

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Answer 5

BSteely

Level 5

7,643 points

May 9, 2007 9:30 PM in response to magyarmerce

It's hard to say what's up. Maybe the EDID data inside the projector is not well formed or somehow incomplete. Though it's hard to explain why the iBook has no trouble with it. Sorry. No more ideas from me.

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Answer 6

magyarmerce Author

Level 1

8 points

May 11, 2007 3:26 PM in response to BSteely

Thanks for trying...looks like the solution is to borrow and lug around an old iBook (definately not doing that).

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Answer 7

BSteely

Level 5

7,643 points

May 12, 2007 7:30 PM in response to magyarmerce

On another thread someone just fixed a flaky display recognition issue by downloading and reinstalling the 10.4.9 Combo update. Worth a try.

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Answer 8

magyarmerce Author

Level 1

8 points

May 14, 2007 12:46 AM in response to BSteely

Thanks-I, just tried the Combo update. Interestingly enough, when I plug the projector in, the MBP-A now automatically switches it's screen resolution and recognizes the projector, but the projector shows no signs of recognizing the signal from the MBP. So the Combo update seemed to help, but didn't solve the problem yet. (I ended up using the iBook to use the projector last night-arggg)

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Answer 9

ibeatty

Level 1

0 points

Jun 27, 2007 11:21 AM in response to magyarmerce

Greetings.

I'm seeing exactly the same kind of mind-bending difficult-to-isolate behavior with my MacBook Pro CD2, and I've had it with many different projectors; the only one that's worked reliably is an old 800x600 Epson. (Hypothesis: higher-resoluton projectors don't play with Intel MacBooks.)

Two other people on my hall also have such projector issues; one has a MacBook Pro, the other a MacBook. My old PowerBook G4 works just fine, of course.

This is an absolute nightmare for those of us who travel a lot to give presentations, workshops, and conference talks. Most big academic conferences provide the projector, and give very, very little time between presentations to set up. Using one's own projector is often not an option. I've had two conference talks semi-ruined by projector difficulties.

Apple, please weigh in here!! Academe is your stronghold, and this is a real problem. I've been a pro-Apple zealot at UMass since 1990, but now I'm counseling people to avoid your Intel laptops if reliable projector behavior is important to them. (And if they want a laptop, it usually is.)

Thanks for listening.

Ian Beatty
Research Assistant Professor
Scientific Reasoning Research Institute
University of Massachusetts Amherst

MacBook Pro Core Duo 2 15" Mac OS X (10.4.10)

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Answer 10

ibeatty

Level 1

0 points

Jun 28, 2007 12:40 PM in response to ibeatty

Update: I've figured something out.

Messing around with a projector that stubbornly refused to work with my MBP, I discovered something. I can get it to work just fine, in mirroring or extended desktop mode, *if* I go into Display Preferences and set the "VGA Display" to 1024 x 768 pixels (the projector's native resolution) at 96 Hz (the projector claims a maximum of 120 Hz). It's very easy to miss that this works, though, because (a) it takes a few seconds for the settings to "take" and an image to appear on the projector, and (b) if you don't click "OK" on a "If you can see this, click OK or settings will revert" dialog within something like 10 seconds, settings revert. So if you don't happen to look at the projection screen in just the right few-second interval, you'll never know you stumbled on settings that actually work.

The MBP's Display Preferences (and associated menubar menu) still labels the projector as "VGA Display", a.k.a. "mystery device", rather than identifying the kind of device as it should (and does on a PowerBook G4).

Another piece of information is that I replicated this exact same behavior on two different MBPs (with the same projector), one 8 months older than mine and the other brand-spanking new.

So, my current model is that whatever aspect of the system "interrogates" a video device is just flawed on MBPs, in a way that prevents it from learning the device's name, allowed resolutions and frequencies, etc. -- *if* it's a projector. Works fine for stuff like flat-panel displays. (Perhaps it's for all rastered devices, or all that rely on the HDMI-VGA adapter? Can't test that right now.) So the MBP defaults to something that happens to work for some projectors, and not for others. For the others, guess the right settings and it works.

What I don't know is whether some available combination of resolution and frequency will work for any projector. On my list of frequency choices, most were grayed out (why??); what if the projector demanded one of those, and didn't like any of the "available" ones? I'm not in a position to test other projectors at the moment.

I hope this helps someone. I'm still nervous about traveling to a conference and trusting that in the 60 seconds or so I have to set up between speakers, I can find a setting combination that will work on whatever projector is there. But at least I know where to look now. (And I can use my nice little HP xb13.)

Can anyone shed any more light on this? I'd love to hear whether you can find settings for your own troublesome projectors.

And I still can't explain why some projector/MBP combinations seem to work at first, but stop working the instant one changes any settings at all. Maybe something to do with the way that device "interrogation" algorithm works.

HTH,
:ian

MacBook Pro Core Duo 2 15" Mac OS X (10.4.10)

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Answer 11

cpaulPHL

Level 1

19 points

Jul 17, 2007 12:14 PM in response to magyarmerce

Interestingly, I was having the same problem with my MacBook Pro Core2 Duo (Oct '06) and the DVI to VGA adapter. In my case, the problem was two fold:

1) The resolution, as you noted, must be set down to 1024x768 on the primary display. Without doing this, the VGA projector (in this case an IBM/Lenovo brand) never saw the RGB signal input.

2) The VGA cable that was attached to my projector had a bent pin that apparently carries some sort of detector(?) signal. What is interesting is that the Windows (Lenovo ThinkPad) laptops could connect to the projector without this pin (as long as you toggle the display output).

The MacBook Pro, on the otherhand, seems to rely on this signal to detect that an external display is even connected. Even F7 on the MBP wouldn't force it to send the signal to the external display. In the end, with a new VGA cable with all pins, I could get the MBP to see the display once I set the resolution down to 1024x768.

- Paul

I am having issues getting the MBP to recognize a
DELL 2300 projector through a DVI to VGA apple
cable.

A few months ago there were posts about this, but no
solutions. The problem seems to be with the 'INTEL'
side of things, as the same projector with the same
DVI to VGA apple cable works on an older G4 tower
running 10.4.9. The projector also works on an old
G4 iBook with it's version of a VGA adapter. To make
things more confusing, a DVI to Video apple cable
works with the DELL 2300 on my new MBP C2D-but
produces a terrible quality picture. Mysteriously, my
previous 1st generation MBP CD worked with the DELL
2300 via a DVI to VGA apple cable (but I'm not sure
which OS was out at the time 10.4.8?)

My new MBP CD2 definately recognizes the projector
through the DVI to VGA adapter, but the projector
doesn't recognize the video signal from the computer.
It is DEFINATELY the MBP (or universal drivers), as I
have checked the DVI to VGA dongle (works), have
checked the projector (works with an ibook running
10.4.8 OSX with VGA dongle), have changed resolution
settings before and after connecting, have restarted
computer, have tested various orders of connecting
the projector and cables. STINK! (I also have TWO
DVI to VGA adapters, so it is not a bad adapter). I
have also played with exchanging various plist files
from older universal versions of 10.4.8 that worked
with the projector-no help.

As I stated, the projector will work (in horrible
quality) with a DVI to Video dongle. Why it will not
work with the DVI to VGA dongle is a mystery and
annoying 🙂 I would hope that a newer MBP CD2 would
be plug and play (like my previous MBP CD and an old
G4 tower and an old iBook G4...but no).

Any ideas, any help, any answers?

Reply

Answer 12

Jul 17, 2007 12:55 PM in response to magyarmerce

I find this relates to this world of passing along settings which is not standardized.

I also find that the video card drivers provided to Wind XP by apple do not keep up with this worlds many standards.

Apple methodology is auto-detect external displays and make the settings for the user. So simple, the user plugs in the cable, the projector is working. However the default condition when the laptop can not ascertain the settings is to shut down the port rather than go live with whatever the user has tried to force out of the port. So the experience currently is plug in the cable, maybe the projector works, maybe it doesn't. If it doesn't your screwed, there is no way to force it to work.

The Microsoft manner of dealing with this is to not auto-detect but to force human detectors to manually set their display properties. Most Microsoft centric laptop drivers reflect this, we are all familiar with the Function + [F4] dance or right click --> properties --> settings routine.

I have found there are certain types of projectors that share the same type of smartchip techology and fail to pass along the acceptable settings to a video card, or fail to pass them along in a timely manner. If your projector is one of these, it is difficult to interface with the projector when running XP.

The latest drivers from Apple for their MBP seem to finally support the type of mirroring that allows the user to force video out of the port. However I have found this to be spotty at best, and not satisfying. It takes so long that many projectors will decide there is no signal before a signal shows up. Or the MBP decides to go ahead and return to setting anyhow.

What would be nice is a thread where people post projectors that don't work via pluggin in the cable so Apple can add the fixes to their drivers. Or at least better support for forcing pixels out of the port.

Anyone else? Find a fix, let me know! I have a couple projectors that don't work in this manner.

-- lates
-- jrawk

17" MacBook Pro Windows XP Pro

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Answer 13

Jul 17, 2007 8:54 PM in response to jaredrawk

I'm experiencing the same trouble with my machine. At this point, if I need to be sure the projector output will work, I just boot into Vista using Boot Camp. That way I don't have to mess with OS X's poor autodetection.

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Answer 14

cpaulPHL

Level 1

19 points

Jul 17, 2007 9:39 PM in response to sonofthunder

Strange - how did you get mirroring to work under Boot Camp? I've been unsuccessful using Boot Camp 1.3 and Windows XP SP2. The secondary monitor shows up in the Windows Display control panel, and I try to select "Allow Windows to Manage this Display" but no go. What am I missing?

I'm experiencing the same trouble with my machine.
At this point, if I need to be sure the projector
output will work, I just boot into Vista using Boot
Camp. That way I don't have to mess with OS X's
poor autodetection.

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Answer 15

Aug 15, 2007 9:36 AM in response to magyarmerce

I'm having similar problems with a Dell 3200MP projector. It's not detecting a signal from my MBP. It seems to be isolated to the Dell because if I connect another projector, an InFocus IN24, it works perfectly.

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