External monitor set-up woes

[molesworth_2]

I'm trying to set up a Dell UltraSharp U2415 as an external monitor for my macbook air, and they don't seem to want to talk to each other. The monitor came with a mini DP cable, which I assume (possibly wrongly) goes into the airbook thunderbolt port (hey, it fits), and a USB cable. I've tried using both cables, and just the mini DP, and neither way seems to work. Dell support is no help, and I'm frankly surprised I'm not finding any current useful advice on the web. Please let me know where I'm going wrong; if I can't get this working I'll have to try to fit this monitor back in the box to send it back, and no one wants to see me try to do that.

Thanks in advance,
n. molesworth

 

[motrek]

I'm trying to set up a Dell UltraSharp U2415 as an external monitor for my macbook air, and they don't seem to want to talk to each other. The monitor came with a mini DP cable, which I assume (possibly wrongly) goes into the airbook thunderbolt port (hey, it fits), and a USB cable. I've tried using both cables, and just the mini DP, and neither way seems to work. Dell support is no help, and I'm frankly surprised I'm not finding any current useful advice on the web. Please let me know where I'm going wrong; if I can't get this working I'll have to try to fit this monitor back in the box to send it back, and no one wants to see me try to do that.

Thanks in advance,
n. molesworth

Ignore anything to do with USB for now. The video signal doesn't go over USB.

The mini-DisplayPort cable will work.

Did you set the monitor to the mini-DP input?

 

[Carlanga]

I have my MBA connected to my monitor via miniDP to HDMI belkin cable.
Are you sure the other side of that cable is USB and not something else? What ports does the monitor have?

 

[motrek]

I have my MBA connected to my monitor via miniDP to HDMI belkin cable.
Are you sure the other side of that cable is USB and not something else? What ports does the monitor have?

USB is irrelevant to the conversation for now.