MBP CD2 DVI to VGA not working with projector

Yea, same problem here, but interestingly enough, everything works great under boot camp (windoze), detection works. This leads me to believe it is a driver issue within OS X.

Apple, I need to do presentations from my computer, I hate PowerPoint.

Also, I have a question, does the DVI to VGA not work period, or is it just with the projector?

I have the same problem with a MacBook Pro AND a Mac Pro, using a Proxima UltraLight x350 projector. Nothing works when using VGA on this projector, though it works great using DVI. This is a serious issue that Apple HAS to fix.

I have the same issue, but mine worked fine for years, then bam no VGA via the DVI adapter. Adapter is good, projector works fine with other macs, VGA powers external monitors fine as well. It must be a software issue related to a OS X update.

PLEASE HELP US!!!!

I have been struggling with this problem for several days, preparing for classes. Our university uses various models of projectors, and I have generally been unable to get the MacBook to recognize the external monitor connected through the Apple-supplied VGA adapter. Maddeningly, sometimes it would recognize the external, but that seemed to be about 1 out of 10 times, and I couldn't figure out what was going on the few times it worked. I just spent a couple of hours experimenting, and I think this sequence works consistently.

1) Have the Mac on as normal. Don't do anything with the monitor settings.
2) Have the external monitor off.
3) Have the VGA cable disconnected *from the Mac*, but ready to go.
4) Power up the external monitor, making sure its input is set properly so that it is looking for the signal from the Mac rather than a DVD player or something.
5) Immediately (within 5 seconds or so) plug the VGA cable *into the Mac*--not the other way around.

It appears that if I follow this sequence, the Mac does great. It recognizes the external monitor and immediately adjusts to the proper specifications of the external monitor.

Near as I can tell, the Mac does a single cycle search for additional monitors within about 5 seconds of plugging the adapter into the adapter slot. If it doesn't find the external monitor searching for it during that brief cycle, there seems to be no way of making another opportunity to introduce the 2 pieces of machinery.

I hope this really works--both because other people need it, and because I will be really embarrassed in class tomorrow if it doesn't.

Steve Hays

just had this exact same problem with my new MBP running 10.4.10 trying to attach to a proxima projector. My G4 powerbook works perfectly. This is a huge problem for those of us who use our computer for international conferences. I cannot carry 2 laptops!

I'll add to this list as another person (actually our school district) having issues with various projectors. This year, we purchased many new macbooks, and when we hook them up with a miniDVI-VGA adapter to our Eiki NB4S projector, we get no display. However, just like many of you have posted, if we use a Powerbook or iBook, it works fine. Here's some details that might help:

-Whenever you plug in the projector, the MacBook will detect it, and shows it as another display "Eiki NB4/NB4S"
-You only have 3 choices for resolutions:: 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768
-You cannot change the refresh rate

-Whenever you attach the projector to a Powerbook or PowerPC mac, it also detects the display and shows it as "VGA Display"
-You have MANY choices for resolution, as it has various refresh rates

My only thought is that there is a driver issue with this particular projector. Since the other ibooks see it as a "VGA Display" and gives us various resolutions, I think it is just detected wrong. My theory is Apple programmers wanted to be helpful and only list the display modes that work with this projector, giving you 3 choices. This is fine, but I believe they put in the wrong refresh rate, making it impossible for it to be detected. This of course is my theory, so it could easily be something different.

When I contacted Apple support, they were unable to give me an answer or solution. I'm hoping someone is monitoring this forum topic and will hopefully see this is an issue for any newer MacBooks. In our district, none of our new computers (MacBooks) now work with these projectors, which means we either have to buy new projectors or use older PowerPC macs.

Thanks for any replies and support.

Chris Wolf
Technology Specialist
USD 473

To everyone who is having problems with projectors / external monitors...

Please take the time to send feedback to apple otherwise this critical issue may not receive the attention it deserves.

http://www.apple.com/macosx/feedback/

p.s. Don't expect a reply

"We read all feedback carefully, but please note that we cannot respond to the comments you submit."

Update on Eiki Projector:

As stated above, I still have the same issue with the projector and any Intel Mac. However, I'm able to use the projector if we use a Digital (DVI) connection. In other words, if I use the following setup, I'm able to project:
-Use a mini-DVI to DVI adapter
-DVI to DVI cable
-Change the input to Digital signal

At that point, I do get a picture; however, I'm restricted to only three choices: 800x600 256 colors, 800x600 million colors; 1024x768 256 colors. I know this projector is capable of more then 256 colors at 1024x768. So my thought is there is something with the driver setup still. Hopefully, this could give other people an option, if their projector does have a DVI input.

Chris Wolf
Technology Specialist
USD 473

This issue has yet to be fixed and I'm extremely annoyed.

I plugged my MBP C2D (2.2) into a projector using a VGA-DVI adaptor and it worked the first time. Didn't test it again for a while. Between then I performed some system updates, and due to those updates I believe something broke it. Not sure, was originally running 10.4.8 at the time. Will not work on any vga-based projectors. Tried multiple projectors/dvi adaptors, all working fine with Windows laptops/external monitors/projectors.

Please help fix it, apple!!

I was also having this problem, but I seem to have found a sequence of steps that will generally allow it to work on Epson projectors (I don't have any other models).

I have the NVIDIA GeForce8600M GT graphics card.

1) Make sure the projector is completely booted up before attaching it to the computer.

2) Attach the VGA cable to the DVI-VGA adapter THEN plug the adapter into DVI port of the laptop.

3) If it doesn't work, unplug the adapter at the DVI port, wait a second, and then plug it back in again.

It seems that the drivers only "reset" and try to correctly identify the projector if you unplug/plug at the DVI port. Don't unplug the VGA cable from the adapter, it won't do anything.

Hi folks,
I got a Powerbook G4 15'' and I have the same problem with some projectors and external monitors.
I also noticed the following things:
1) The problem can occur suddenly when I connect monitors/projectors that have worked until the day before;
2) The problem can occur also with monitors that have both VGA and DVI connectors. In that case:
- if I plug the monitor with the VGA connector, the monitor is detected but no signal is sent to the device;
- if I plug the monitor with the DVI connector, the monitor is not detected!
3) I have re-installed the MACOSX 10.4.10 combo update (PPC), but nothing had happened.
4) IMPORTANT: I have a backup of my OSX system in an external firwire drive. I taken the "snapshot" when my external HP monitor still worked. Yesterday, the problem occurred with the HP monitor, so I tried to boot my computer from the external drive, but the monitor still did not work.

I'm bored because, currently, all of my external monitors (home, office, ...) does not work with my PB and, all the more so, when I have to do presentations I'm almost sure that my PB will not work with the projector...

Help

Message was edited by: Fabio D.

I agree completely. I had my notebook connected to a projector several weeks ago for the first time without any problem. Now I need again for lectures and it doesn't work, exactly as described by the other colleagues.
It is really annoying that we have to ask obediently if Apple can kindly fix that problem. There are cheaper notebooks at hand without such stupid problems!!!

I am having similar problems using external projectors (NEC, Dell, etc), for example, for Keynote presentation. I did not have any problem at all with my old PBG4 but with my MBP, lot of problems. It appears that my MBP sometimes recognizes that an external projector is hooked up, according to the Preference Panel but nothing is dispalyed on the external display. Occassionally, my MBP totally freezes up on connecting to a projector; I have to unplug and disconnect the battery. The only reliable slution/work around seems to be to reboot with the projector connected. I need a more elegant solution, though.

I am having the same issue with my Sharp Aquos TV using DVI to VGA plug. It used to work about a couple of weeks ago but when I tried to connect the MBP again last week, it didn't work. I have an IBM that works with the TV so I don't think it is a problem with the TV.

Just as mentioned above, the MBP recognizes the TV but no signal is sent to the TV. Also, usually when I connect a computer to the TV, it shows the mHZ and resolution on the TV. But when I connect the MBP, it shows --MHZ. Which goes to show that no signal is sent to the TV.

Hope a solution is found soon.

I'm having the same problems with my Macbook Pro C2D and my Mitsubishi DLP HDTV. I've been beating my head against this thing for days. I get no signal whatsoever on the TV from the MBP.
My PC works fine (using custom timings with Powerstrip) but this Macbook Pro just won't work.

I took my custom timings from Powerstrip and tried them with DisplayConfigX and SwitchResX with no luck.

I tried a coworkers machine (same model) and it's doing the same exact thing.

My old Powerbook works fine. I even dual booted into Windows and it doesnt work. Bizarre.