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chucker23n1

macrumors G3
Original poster
Dec 7, 2014
9,248
12,310
The setup:

  • a late-2013 15-inch MacBook Pro; no dGPU
  • at work: two identical 1080p monitors. One connected via HDMI through a Belkin Thunderbolt 2 dock, another directly via HDMI
  • at home: two identical 1680x1050 monitors. One connected via HDMI to DVI cable, another via mini-DisplayPort to DVI cable.
  • 10.5.5 Beta (19F72f)
My work setup works fine.

But with my home setup, no matter which external monitor I connect first, as soon as I connect the second, I don't get a stable image. Instead, I mostly get three black screens, but every ~5 seconds, I briefly get either some or all of the displays briefly displaying an image; then it disappears again. Connect just one of the two, and it works fine.

It can't be bandwidth, because surely, 1680x1050 monitors take up less bandwidth than 1080p ones. I've also tried reducing one monitor's resolution before connecting the other, to no avail. It really feels more like one of them pesky Catalina issues.

I've already resetted PRAM and the PMU, and deleted the ByHost System Preferences (which did contain many of the display setups).
 
(Just go to work; those displays, as before, instantly work. Sigh.)

One thing to add: even if I close the lid, I can't connect both displays at home. It's gotta be something weird about them being the same kind of display.
 
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