Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

CRT Display problem with Mac Mini

C

cwright

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 5, 2004
573
0
Missouri
OK, the other day my dad accidently set the resolution on my brother's Mac Mini (connected to a 21" CRT) to a refresh rate that the monitor could not handle. As far as I knew, when that happens and the screen goes blank, it should automatically reset it after 30 seconds if you do not confirm the changing of the resolution/refresh rate. Well that didn't happen, and now I can't change it back.

I've tried rebooting the Mini, resetting the monitor, turning it off and on, etc. But is there any way to change the refresh rate back to normal (1600x1200 at 60-65hz) without re-installing OSX?
 
C

cwright

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 5, 2004
573
0
Missouri
I tried that, but it didnt help anything. After holding down the keys until it reboots again, the monitor still won't come on.

Any other ideas?
 
zen.state

zen.state

macrumors 68020
Mar 13, 2005
2,181
8
I don't know what to do about the monitor but you should keep your dad away from all the computers in the house. :)
 
jeremy.king

jeremy.king

macrumors 603
Jul 23, 2002
5,479
1
Holly Springs, NC
Hold em down and let it reboot a couple times while still holding cmd+option+p+r, just for safe measures.

The resolution and refresh rate are stored in the PRAM, so resetting it should fix it if that's your problem. See http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86194

Have you tried the monitor on a different computer to make sure it still works and didn't just coincidentally die while he was playing with the settings?

And for kicks, double check all your cabling to make sure they haven't come loose.
 
CanadaRAM

CanadaRAM

macrumors G5
Oct 11, 2004
12,417
6
On the Left Coast - Victoria BC Canada
I would try unpluging the monitor, booting, shutting down, plugging the monitor back in, and rebooting (possibly with a PRAM reset at this time as well).

Another opinion from http://www.appletechs.com:
"You can get around the out of range problems if you boot off of a CD or another hard drive and go hunt down the monitor plist file and trash it. It should be under users/yourusername/library/preferences/ByHost/

The file is named com.apple.preferences.displays.somegibberish.plist

Just delete that and restart, it should reset your monitor preferences."
 
D

dfinn

macrumors member
Jun 15, 2005
52
0
CanadaRAM said:
I would try unpluging the monitor, booting, shutting down, plugging the monitor back in, and rebooting (possibly with a PRAM reset at this time as well).

Another opinion from http://www.appletechs.com:
"You can get around the out of range problems if you boot off of a CD or another hard drive and go hunt down the monitor plist file and trash it. It should be under users/yourusername/library/preferences/ByHost/

The file is named com.apple.preferences.displays.somegibberish.plist

Just delete that and restart, it should reset your monitor preferences."
Click to expand...

Couldn't you also boot into single user mode and do the same thing?
 
mrgreen4242

mrgreen4242

macrumors 601
Feb 10, 2004
4,377
9
Setting the refresh/res to a mode that a CRT doesn't support can damage the display, however it usualy doesn't, and when it does it is usualy fairly mild, ie, not total failure. However, I would, as suggested, try another monitor and see if it works while reseting the PRAM.
 
C

cwright

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 5, 2004
573
0
Missouri
Thanks for all the help... I havent had a chance to mess with the monitor recently but I'll give it a shot today.

I do have a small 15" LCD monitor that I could try to plug in, but if the Mini's resolution is set at 1600x1200, I don't know if it would change automatically for the LCD or not.

Anyway, I'll let you know if i figure it out.
 
ITASOR

ITASOR

macrumors 601
Mar 20, 2005
4,398
3
cwright said:
[...] but if the Mini's resolution is set at 1600x1200, I don't know if it would change automatically for the LCD or not.

Anyway, I'll let you know if i figure it out.
Click to expand...

It always has changed by itself for me...hopefully you'll have the same luck!
 
Mechcozmo

Mechcozmo

macrumors 603
Jul 17, 2004
5,215
2
Next time only display safe resolutions... its a checkbox...

While zapping PRAM you need at least 5 chimes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom