20 INCH Apple Display <-----> Thinkpad SL400

[Blue Angels]

Hey fellows, I have a quick question which bother me very much.

I have a mint condition 20 inch Apple cinema display, to hook this beautiful display to my laptop (Thinkpad SL400) which hasn't DVI output, I just bought a (female) DVI to (male) VGA converter online, unfortunately, there is nothing show up in the display.

What I did:

1, try different screen resolution, I believe the native resolution of Apple display is 1680*1050, but still doesn't work.

2. try different OS in my laptop (Win 7 and Ubuntu), both don't work.

Could anybody pls tell me what's going on? Thanks.........

 

[CubeHacker]

The problem is that you are trying to take the analogue signal from the VGA port on your laptop and send it to the Cinema Display through DVI, which only accepts a digital signal. Though DVI can supply both analogue and digital signals at the same time, that functionality usually comes from the DVI output on a computer. Your Cinema display needs a digital signal to work correctly.

According Lenovo, the SL400 has HDMI out, which is digital. You should be able to use a HDMI -> DVI converter (costs about $2) and get your cinema display working correctly.

 

[Blue Angels]

Thank you, CubeHacker!

Your explanation makes sense! and Yes, my laptop does have a HDMI port, then I guess I should go hunt a HDMI --> DVI converter. Once again, thank you!

The problem is that you are trying to take the analogue signal from the VGA port on your laptop and send it to the Cinema Display through DVI, which only accepts a digital signal. Though DVI can supply both analogue and digital signals at the same time, that functionality usually comes from the DVI output on a computer. Your Cinema display needs a digital signal to work correctly.

According Lenovo, the SL400 has HDMI out, which is digital. You should be able to use a HDMI -> DVI converter (costs about $2) and get your cinema display working correctly.