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I BOOK and Dell monitor..newbie ?

T

toothman

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 9, 2005
8
0
New Orleans.LA
howdy....I am patiently waiting for my 14'' I book to arrive, and my new Dell 2005 has already gotten here...My newbie question is...the dell came with a cd monitor software...will the I BOOK read this, since the monitor I assume is used mostly on pc's...and secondly..do I need to load it into my mac..or will just plugging it into the ibook work ok...what should I expect when it is hooked together...will it automatically mirror the laptop image..or do I need to do something specific for it to work..
just trying to get ready for it's arrival//
Thanks for patiently reading this..and thanks in advance for any replies...
PEACE....KEN :)
 
first it is a iBook not an I BOOK.

the next thing is your iBook will read PC cd-roms, however it cannot run the software that is on there. your ibook will be able to plug-in to the moniter without much work. you should search the forums on the mirroring question.
 
I have the same Dell 2005 with an old powerbook and it's just awesome. You will not need the CD, Tiger sees the monitor with no problems in Displays under System Preferences

However you will most likely want to look into the external display hack for iBooks, as I don't think you will want to mirror the 1024 by 768 resolution of the iBook screen.

My TiBook (16mb of vram, VGA out) in clamshell mode drives this screen with out a problem for me. I added a bluetooth adapter (hidden nicely behind the screen in one of the USB ports) along with a wireless keyboard and mouse and it's like a whole new computer. Can't believe I used that dim old screen from the TiBook for so long!
 
You will need to download "screen spanning doctor" to allow your new iBook to span monitors, as it comes the iBook can only mirror it's 1024x768 screen to another display so that when you plug in that huge monitor, you will see your iBook desktop as it appears on the built in monitor.

With the hack installed and running you will be able to make the big monitor your main display and use the built in one as an auxiliary - which would look very cool indeed.

You shouldn't need the software as the video card should be able to tell what display is hooked up from the moment you plug it in.

A word of warning though, screen spanning doctor has an option to enable "clamshell" mode (similar to the powerbook's ability to run an external display whilst the laptop is closed). DO NOT ENABLE THIS MODE!! The iBook is not designed to be used in this fashion - it is designed to radiate heat via the keyboard and using it with the lid closed will seriously stuff it up.
 
Am I the only one to say wtf? Your monitor comes with drivers? That makes absolutly no sense whatsoever.
 
It's not so tough to understand, or it shouldn't be. :) PC's may have any of a million different combos of monitor, gfx card (or integrated graphics), and motherboard. Here's another link that explains monitor drivers. It notes that macs generally don't need drivers, and that most recent PC don't either, due to the plug and play standard. My 19" dell LCD at work came with a driver/install CD, but I never had to open the envelope becuase XP pro supports plug and play. I bet if I'd been running Win 98 I would have needed the driver.
 
rosalindavenue said:
It's not so tough to understand, or it shouldn't be. :) PC's may have any of a million different combos of monitor, gfx card (or integrated graphics), and motherboard. Here's another link that explains monitor drivers. It notes that macs generally don't need drivers, and that most recent PC don't either, due to the plug and play standard. My 19" dell LCD at work came with a driver/install CD, but I never had to open the envelope becuase XP pro supports plug and play. I bet if I'd been running Win 98 I would have needed the driver.
Click to expand...
But... but... but... but my Winblowz 3.1 Amstrad doesn't need that. And that ain't recent. I really don't see the point. As said, you don't need new drivers for when you get better speakers, and it's identical. New GFX card, like new sound card. But new monitor? It's not like your VCR needs a firmware update every time you buy a new TV
 
Maybe on a PC, the monitor comes up in black and white and starts installing spyware until you put the drivers on and type a serial number. :D

Then it leaves the spyware on... :D
 
greatdevourer said:
Am I the only one to say wtf? Your monitor comes with drivers? That makes absolutly no sense whatsoever.
Click to expand...


Unlike PCs and Macs, not all systems can just detect the monitor and know what is, know the native resolution and refresh rate.

Toy with Linux and you just might need to isntall a driver.
 
greatdevourer said:
Am I the only one to say wtf? Your monitor comes with drivers? That makes absolutly no sense whatsoever.
Click to expand...

Often the display "drivers" are just a list of which resolutions are supported, and at which refresh rates.
 
wako said:
Unlike PCs and Macs, not all systems can just detect the monitor and know what is, know the native resolution and refresh rate.

Toy with Linux and you just might need to isntall a driver.
Click to expand...
But I've never had to on Linux, either. Or, in fact, on any OS. Ever. I'm confuzzed :confused:
 
Most displays will respond to an electronic request and send the required information back to the computer. But some older ones require the information file to work properly. But I don't see why a modern display like the Dell would need the information file :confused:
 
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