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Secondary Display Resolution Problems with Geforce 330M

wikus

wikus

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jun 1, 2011
1,795
2
Planet earth.
I have a mid 2010 MacBook Pro (10K549), 2.66ghz with a Geforce 330M graphic card running Mac OS X 10.6.8. Any external display I connect my Macbook to using the Mini Display Port does not display the screen on the set resolution. For example, if I connect my macbook to my 24" LG L246WP it cuts off a significant portion of the screen and shifts it over to the left. The monitor reads the incoming signal as 480i. If I switch around some settings, I can get it centred on the screen, but it becomes 4:3 aspect ratio with black bars on the side, although the rest of the desktop space is cut off (meaning, 1920x1200 is cropped to about 1024x1200 and my cursor disappears where there is remaining desktop space). Refer to the image below:

5bcowp.jpg


I've tried using 3 different HDMI cables to connect to my monitor. All gave me the same problems. I've tried connecting the Macbook Pro to LCD TVs, and while I can get full screen resolution, it does not display the secondary desktop at 1080p on the TV. It is *not* a monitor issue because I've got this same LCD monitor connected to my Mac Pro and it works fine. I've got a 2010 Macbook, and it also works fine with my LG monitor. I've tried upgrading to OS Lion hoping it would fix it (maybe a graphics driver issue) but it still gave me the same problems.

Basically, I can take a screen shot from the secondary display and it will give me a jpeg on my desktop thats 1920x1200, but on screen its cropped and moved and the monitor registers it 480i. Same goes for any other LCD Monitor or TV I've tried hooking this up to.

Whats going on???

I have apple care 2013, is this something they can fix or give me the same Macbook pro but in proper working condition? I don't care to get a brand new laptop, I just want to hook up my external to my laptop!

Please help!
 
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Re-installing OS X 10.6.3 did nothing. Updating to 10.6.8 did nothing. Resetting the SMC and PRAM did nothing. Using SwitchResX did nothing. Using different HDMI cables did nothing. Using different Mini displayport to HDMI adapters did nothing.

Here's whats weird though: I walked into a Best Buy with my laptop, and I connected my laptop to a Cinema OLED display via the supplied mini displayport cable from the monitor, and it WORKED NORMAL.

So why doesnt HDMI not work properly????

Could it be the fact thats its using an adapter in itself? For example, what if I bought a straight Mini Display Port to HDMI cable like this: http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Mini-Displa...823?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item415b7677d7

???
 
wikus said:
Could it be the fact thats its using an adapter in itself? For example, what if I bought a straight Mini Display Port to HDMI cable like this: http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Mini-Displa...823?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item415b7677d7

???
Click to expand...

Now this is STRANGE.

I went to a local computer store and bought a 3ft Minidisplay Port to HDMI cable (no adapter), and my 24" LG monitor works FINE now.

I've got my macbook setup to get its logic board replaced. Should I Still go ahead and get it done or leave it as is? I'm annoyed knowing it doesnt work with adapters.
 
wikus said:
Now this is STRANGE.

I went to a local computer store and bought a 3ft Minidisplay Port to HDMI cable (no adapter), and my 24" LG monitor works FINE now.

I've got my macbook setup to get its logic board replaced. Should I Still go ahead and get it done or leave it as is? I'm annoyed knowing it doesnt work with adapters.
Click to expand...

If the problem is fixed then there is no point of spending the extra cash to get it replaced.
 
y0umebednow said:
If the problem is fixed then there is no point of spending the extra cash to get it replaced.
Click to expand...

I have Apple Care until 2013, so I wouldnt be paying anything for it.

I have a feeling the video card on it is either a first gen 330M or one thats faulty.
 
y0umebednow said:
If the problem is fixed then there is no point of spending the extra cash to get it replaced.
Click to expand...

Actually, I was wrong;

While video works on the new cable, there is NO sound output. Using the adapter gives me sound output via minidisplay port to hdmi, but the picture is still a mess.

What the hell, why am I the only one with this problem? This is my *FIRST* laptop and I've always avoided laptops for being pure crap compared to REAL desk computers, and this experience is leaving a real FOUL taste.
 
So let me get this straight..

You bought a 3 foot HDMI to mini display cable.. the video works but no sound, correct?

Your adapter has video and sound but the video is messed up, correct?

I can you tell this, your HDMI to mini display (adapter or cable, you choice) are not created equal. Some don't output sound, when I went shopping for one on amazon I had to read the reviews and people stated for your macbook pro order your adapter from this specific vendor or you won't get sound through the hdmi cable.

btw I also have the same model as you.

edit: This tells me that your adapter is messed up and needs to be replaced.. this has nothing to do with the logic board.

edit 2: Just to be sure, you did go to system preferences, sound, output and selected your monitor right?
 
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Tortri said:
So let me get this straight..

You bought a 3 foot HDMI to mini display cable.. the video works but no sound, correct?

Your adapter has video and sound but the video is messed up, correct?

I can you tell this, your HDMI to mini display (adapter or cable, you choice) are not created equal. Some don't output sound, when I went shopping for one on amazon I had to read the reviews and people stated for your macbook pro order your adapter from this specific vendor or you won't get sound through the hdmi cable.

btw I also have the same model as you.

edit: This tells me that your adapter is messed up and needs to be replaced.. this has nothing to do with the logic board.

edit 2: Just to be sure, you did go to system preferences, sound, output and selected your monitor right?
Click to expand...

I've used two different types of adapters, one by Moshi and another by Dynex and both gave me the EXACT same problem, in windows as well. Both work fine on my dads Macbook with Minidisplay Port.

For each adapter, I tried using two different types of HDMI cables, one from Monoprice and another from Rocketfish. Neither worked for me, but both work fine on my dads Macbook.

Its definitely NOT an adapter problem.

I've tried everything though, and yes I did use system preferences to select the audio out and it doesnt show HDMI. SoundSource (an application to select audio out) also doesnt see it, but it does when using the adapter.

I've tried SwitchResX and it didn't help at all.
 
Ahh.. that sucks. It was sounding like it might have been an adapter issue but if you used it on a different mac and it worked then it must be a different issue.. hopefully replacing your logic board fixes it. :-\
 
Display Port eventually died. It wouldn't connect to my LG LCD. Got the logic board replaced today, hooked it up to an Apple Display instore and it worked along with sound on the monitors speakers. Hopefully I get the same results at home.
 
Got my Macbook back from the Apple store today: still the same problem.

I have a feeling they didnt replace the logic board. I opened up the bottom case and saw dust in the fans. If its a replacement, it shouldnt have any dust at all.

This is seriously pissing me off now. In the 10 years I've had Mac Pros, I've never had as much bull***t problems as I've had with this laptop in TWO months.
 
Here's a video of the problem after I got my macbook 'fixed'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMKNbc34bZA

Also, my serial number in 'about this mac' is wrong, they missed a character from the bottom case. I called in to make an appointment and they told me I have the wrong serial and they didnt see it until they said to look at the bottom of the macbook.
 
Well I have had a similar experiences, but never that much of my screen... I'd say 20-30% was offscreen left.... Anyway I am a self taught person, so forgive if this was obvious to you, and here are a couple dumb and obvious questions:

At one point you say it's any monitor, but you only show one... Is it really any monitor? Your monitor has 1080p specs, so it should work...

If its just the one, have you tried messing with the monitors settings? In almost all cases where my MacBookpro displays incorrectly on external monitors, I can fix it by tweaking the monitors settings, not my MacBooks settings...

A "scan setting" usually does the trick, as opposed to picking a resolution, but also aspect ratio settings, etc can help make it look right...

Good luck, nothing more frustrating....
 
I have the exact same monitor with a macbook pro. It worked fine for me if you use the supplied hdmi->dvi cable the monitor came with and a dvi->mini dp converter for the macbook pro. It also works fine and looks just as good if tuned properly at VGA.

Why LG never gave it a DVI, I have no idea.

I also can give you an explanation for why it isnt working in your configuration. HDMI has 2 formats: PC and AV. HDMI on monitors is set to PC. HDMI on tvs is set to AV. Most video cards output at AV format because they assume that you are going to be using it with a TV. Almost no video cards use the PC setting, so when you plug in the monitor via HDMI, the picture is 2 inches or so offscreen and it doesnt look right. This is a fundamental problem with how HDMI was created. The fix is for one end of the connection to be connected by DVI. That way, it forces the video card to use the PC format. So, that is why my setup above works and yours does not.

TL;DR: connect hdmi->dvi cable on the monitor and a dvi->mini dp converter for the macbook pro, and it should work fine.
 
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Freyqq said:
I have the exact same monitor with a macbook pro. It worked fine for me if you use the supplied hdmi->dvi cable the monitor came with and a dvi->mini dp converter for the macbook pro. It also works fine and looks just as good if tuned properly at VGA.

Why LG never gave it a DVI, I have no idea.

I also can give you an explanation for why it isnt working in your configuration. HDMI has 2 formats: PC and AV. HDMI on monitors is set to PC. HDMI on tvs is set to AV. Most video cards output at AV format because they assume that you are going to be using it with a TV. Almost no video cards use the PC setting, so when you plug in the monitor via HDMI, the picture is 2 inches or so offscreen and it doesnt look right. This is a fundamental problem with how HDMI was created. The fix is for one end of the connection to be connected by DVI. That way, it forces the video card to use the PC format. So, that is why my setup above works and yours does not.

TL;DR: connect hdmi->dvi cable on the monitor and a dvi->mini dp converter for the macbook pro, and it should work fine.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply!!

I put the issue on the back burner, mainly because I got tired of the problem and just accepted it, but also because I somewhat got lucky;

Apple replaced my logic board TWICE. The first time they replaced it, they put in the wrong serial number. So I had to get it replaced regardless. The second time they replaced the logicboard, I was still experiencing the external display problem but my laptop was now freezing VERY often; in OS X, in Windows 7 and even during installation of Windows 7. I took it to the apple store and showed the problem, couldnt be replicated but it DID happen in front of them and they decided to give me a completely brand new 15" 2011 MacBook Pro. I'll be honest, I wasnt as happy as some would think; yes I got a new laptop, but at that point I was so tired of it, I didn't care.

So, I took the 2011 MBP with the 6750M gpu and I *still* had the same problem with the MDP to HDMI ports via adaptor. My only work around is using a MDP straight to HDMI cable but this way, I get no sound, so I have to hook up my laptop via audio out to my stereo.

Now, given your explanation, why does the monitor work with all other laptops and my mac pro, but not on the laptop? On the 2010 MBP I got it working completely fine (proper picture and sound) but ONLY in Windows 7 with updated drivers?

Thanks again!
 
wikus said:
Thanks for the reply!!

I put the issue on the back burner, mainly because I got tired of the problem and just accepted it, but also because I somewhat got lucky;

Apple replaced my logic board TWICE. The first time they replaced it, they put in the wrong serial number. So I had to get it replaced regardless. The second time they replaced the logicboard, I was still experiencing the external display problem but my laptop was now freezing VERY often; in OS X, in Windows 7 and even during installation of Windows 7. I took it to the apple store and showed the problem, couldnt be replicated but it DID happen in front of them and they decided to give me a completely brand new 15" 2011 MacBook Pro. I'll be honest, I wasnt as happy as some would think; yes I got a new laptop, but at that point I was so tired of it, I didn't care.

So, I took the 2011 MBP with the 6750M gpu and I *still* had the same problem with the MDP to HDMI ports via adaptor. My only work around is using a MDP straight to HDMI cable but this way, I get no sound, so I have to hook up my laptop via audio out to my stereo.

Now, given your explanation, why does the monitor work with all other laptops and my mac pro, but not on the laptop? On the 2010 MBP I got it working completely fine (proper picture and sound) but ONLY in Windows 7 with updated drivers?

Thanks again!
Click to expand...

again, it's a driver issue. Either the driver manufacturer picked the tv (AV) profile or the monitor (PC) profile. It's not a hardware issue what-so-ever. Long story short, hdmi is a mess. DVI works fine :)
 
Freyqq said:
again, it's a driver issue. Either the driver manufacturer picked the tv (AV) profile or the monitor (PC) profile. It's not a hardware issue what-so-ever. Long story short, hdmi is a mess. DVI works fine :)
Click to expand...

Sucks that I can't use audio!

Would be nice if Apple wrote better drivers (or ATI, if they are in fact in charge of writing them for Apple). I could buy a different monitor but I don't have the money for that right now (I probably should, the colour rendition on the LG is poor, I'm thinking of buying an Asus PA246Q (fantastic monitor, colours are much more vibrant and white is actually white).

Either way, I dont think I'm going to keep this laptop for more than another 12 months. Im finding working on it at home is not as comfortable as working on a real desktop. Will probably sell both the laptop and mac pro for a new mac pro next year (laptop is being used for school (web development)).

Thanks again (that reply was FAST btw).
 
just plug the audio directly into the mbp's audio out jack. It will work just as well. I also own an hp laptop (it even has a dedicated hdmi jack on the laptop itself), and hdmi doesn't work correctly on the monitor either.
 
eehm, don't you think that your Monitor simply does not 'support' mini display port to HDMI? and maybe the monitor is faulty somehow that makes it overscan in some weird way? since it works with other monitors! I'd say the laptop was fine :p
 
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