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fjs08

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 25, 2003
1,252
0
Hi,

I have my 15" Powerbook set up pretty well now. I have an external monitor attached via a DVI to VGA cable. Both monitors are working, however they are basicallyworking like 2 separate monitors. I can drag the presentation from one to the other, leaving the first empty. When I'm home, I'd like to move everything over to the external monitor and shut down the notebook monitor down. How do I accomplish that, or can I??? When I was using XP, all I did was toggle the FN F8 key and the screens would shut down or open in sequence. Is that possible with OSX???

Thanks.

Frank
 

MacManDan

macrumors 6502
Apr 11, 2003
295
0
You can enabled Video Mirroring from the System Preferences-> Display pane, and then manually turn off your PowerBook screen (by turning down the brightness level all the way .. is that right? .. or am I misunderstanding what you want to do?
 

iJon

macrumors 604
Feb 7, 2002
6,586
229
no thats not necessary. i forgot the exact process because i dont do it anymore. but what i would do is plug in everything and turn on my powerbook. as soon as it was booted up i would shut the lid and put it to sleep. with an external keyboard i would wake the system back up. it would reconize that my powerbook lid was shut, and transfer the video the the external monitor only. i believe you can do this by pluggin in a monitor, turning on the powerbook, and shutting the lid real fast before it comes on. i cant remember though, give it a try, because i havent done it in forever since i got a powermac.

iJon
 

jadariv

macrumors regular
Sep 11, 2002
129
0
I have a Tibook and external monitor at home. For some reason i could never get it to work right in the beginning.

Just make sure to have the newest version of os x. Make sure the power cord is plugged in. close the lid and put it to sleep then hook on external monitor and then external keyboard and mouse. Computer usually wakes up after plugging in keyboard (at least mine ususally does) so make sure you plug in monitor first.

Believe me, you don't want to be stuck mirroring or doing the dual desktop, especially if you play games or are doing 3d as they must pull to much off the video card and run way to slow.
 

tpjunkie

macrumors 65816
Nov 24, 2002
1,251
5
NYC
iJon is correct, however you must have an external mouse and keyboard plugged into your powerbook, which must also be plugged into the AC outlet.
 

fjs08

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 25, 2003
1,252
0
You guys are unreal. I browsed through about 10 books at B&N today trying to find the answer and it wasn't in any of the books. Thanks. NOW, how do I go back<g>.

I had the PB booted up with both screens running. I shut the PB and it the space key on my external keyboard and my external monitor took over.

When I reopened the PB, everything was blank. I tried two things, both worked, but I wonder if this the right way to go. 1st, I rebooted the machine and my PB screen was on and the external was as an extension, so to speak. I could drag the contents of my PB screen onto my external monitor. 2nd, I opened the PB which was sleeping, and then put the external monitor to sleep which reawoke the PB monitor. Is this the way or is there another.

Thanks again.

Frank
 

gopher

macrumors 65816
Mar 31, 2002
1,475
0
Maryland, USA
Put the Displays menubar item in the Menubar

Apple menu -> System Preferences -> Displays -> Display tab. Check the necessary checkbox. Then you can control all resolutions and display modes from the menubar.
 

iJon

macrumors 604
Feb 7, 2002
6,586
229
Originally posted by fjs08
You guys are unreal. I browsed through about 10 books at B&N today trying to find the answer and it wasn't in any of the books. Thanks. NOW, how do I go back<g>.

I had the PB booted up with both screens running. I shut the PB and it the space key on my external keyboard and my external monitor took over.

When I reopened the PB, everything was blank. I tried two things, both worked, but I wonder if this the right way to go. 1st, I rebooted the machine and my PB screen was on and the external was as an extension, so to speak. I could drag the contents of my PB screen onto my external monitor. 2nd, I opened the PB which was sleeping, and then put the external monitor to sleep which reawoke the PB monitor. Is this the way or is there another.

Thanks again.

Frank
usually to get it back put it to sleep, unplug your monitor, and awake it. it will see there is nothing to go to anymore and go back to the main screen.

iJon
 

RichP

macrumors 68000
Jun 30, 2003
1,579
33
Motor City
I use my 20" apple display like you mention, and on this, the power button on the monitor can turn on/off the powerbook (no fumbling with opening and closing).

Of course, this wont work for you. I hear their are USB power buttons that you can use, or an older mac keyboard with the power button on it. This should send the appropriate on.off signal via USB to the PB.
 

iJon

macrumors 604
Feb 7, 2002
6,586
229
Originally posted by beefcake
The PB is widescreen, does that have any impact on what the display looks like on a regular aspect monitor?
nope because each monitor has its own resolution. your powerbook will understand the widescreen format, and your external will have its own set meant for it.

iJon
 

MacBoyX

macrumors 6502
Jan 3, 2003
406
0
East Coast, USA
I don't want to be the downer here but...since the 15" PB breathes via it's keyboard as well as the fan...won't using the PB with the lid closed cause it to get hot and maybe even over heat?

What will that do to the LCD with all the heat hitting it?

Just a thought...

MacBoyX
 

iJon

macrumors 604
Feb 7, 2002
6,586
229
Originally posted by MacBoyX
I don't want to be the downer here but...since the 15" PB breathes via it's keyboard as well as the fan...won't using the PB with the lid closed cause it to get hot and maybe even over heat?

What will that do to the LCD with all the heat hitting it?

Just a thought...

MacBoyX
well i havent heard of problems like that but it can be an issue, guess we will have to do some research on it.

iJon
 

jadariv

macrumors regular
Sep 11, 2002
129
0
I have my PB hooked to an external monitor a lot with the lid closed and have run into no problems.

Once in a while if i am playing a game with the cd drive going like crazy and fan is on for a while. I just pop the lid open. Once the image is up on the monitor, you should be able to open the lid back up and the screen should be off.
 

fjs08

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 25, 2003
1,252
0
Hi,

How stable are the PB screens. One reason I use an external monitor at home is that I have the machine "on" from 530am until around 8pm every day of the week. Now obviously, the screen/PB is asleep a majority of the time. I was trying to preserve the life of the screen by using an external monitor. Have any of you out there found the screen life to be a real issue, or should I probably just not worry about it.

Frank
 

gopher

macrumors 65816
Mar 31, 2002
1,475
0
Maryland, USA
Originally posted by fjs08
Hi,

How stable are the PB screens. One reason I use an external monitor at home is that I have the machine "on" from 530am until around 8pm every day of the week. Now obviously, the screen/PB is asleep a majority of the time. I was trying to preserve the life of the screen by using an external monitor. Have any of you out there found the screen life to be a real issue, or should I probably just not worry about it.

Frank

The screen should be fine. Many improvements have been made to screen technology. Though I'll say this much, a backlight after a good length of time will wear out. Probably 6 years or more.
 

fjs08

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 25, 2003
1,252
0
Hi,

>> Probably 6 years or more._<<

Yikes. I went through 3 screens on my Thinkpad in 3 yrs. I guess I should be ok with the Mac.

Frank
 

JeffDNYC

macrumors newbie
Nov 16, 2003
1
0
Wrong Resolution on Widescreen Sony TV

I hooked up my Sony widescreen HDTV via the DV port on my PB15. The problem is the PB reads the resolution of the HDTV incorrectly, assuming it's something like 1920x568. I went into the displays control panel and unfortunately, this was the only resolution choice available, although it did correctly recognize the display as a "SONY TV." Basically, in assuming the screen is wider then reality, the computer compresses the image into a narrower window than appropriate.

Does anyone know how to fix this or manually add another resolution choice for the external TV?

Thanks for the help!
 
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