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Just got 19' widescreen display for macbook

L

Liebo11

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 19, 2006
94
0
I have a question . . . for some reason the highest i can get my resolution up to on the external display is 1280 x 768 and I know the monitor can handle optimum 1440 x 900. Am i supposed to be mirroring it or am i right when i know there is some way to do an extended desktop mode. Can someone please help me its driving me nuts!

- J
 
my external monitor screen only has my wallpaper on it and then i can drag over like some of my windows but the dock isn't there and like its not 1440 x 900. HOW DO I FIX THIS ITS SERIOUSLY DRIVING ME CRAZZZY!!!
 
Oh, you haven't gotten that far yet. :D

Go to "System Preferences" > "Displays" and you should have 2 windows that pop up, under the display tap in your external monitor window, set it to the highest. :)
 
In Display Preferences;

Detect Displays will show all displays and you should have a screen on each one. The screen which is your main one will have an arrangement tab between the Display and Colour tabs

Click on the arrangement tab and drag the little toolbar (it will be on the smaller one) over to the other monitor if you want the toolbar to be on the external monitor while it's connected. If you will have a particular set up all the time e.g. macbook to the left of the monitor, you can position them that way so that your mouse moves consistently betwen screens.

That worked for me, and any time I connect to my external monitor it becomes the main monitor.
 

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thanks i did that and it works now but why isn't there even a setting of 1440 x 900 the biggest one is like 1600 x 1200 and of course it says input out of range and the same with 1400 x 1068. So how do i get it to have the 1440 x 900 optimum?
 
Are you conecting via DVI or VGA?

I use DVI and I had no problem setting up. I don't know if it's the same for VGA
 
i have the vga to mini dvi connector and i don't know if it would be different settings or not. is there some kind of Intel GMA 950 video card upgrade out there on the internet or anywhere that i can download? Also, is the dvi to mini-dvi a better connection?

thanks

j
 
might sound bad.. but did you restart your computer?


also, what video card are you using? 128 or 256.. either way, i see no reason why it wouldn't let you get the full resolution. try lowering the frequency rate and messing around that way.
 
The DVI is very crisp and clear, but tbh I never tried the VGA adaptor on it, but from what I gather DVI is a better connection. If your monitor has a DVI input, it would be well worth trying. Mine detected 1440x900 immediately, and I was set up to go in about a minute.

As regards downloading something, I dont think there is anything.
But then again someone may well come along with a link in the next post.
 
it doesn't even give me a 1440 x 900 option so I don't know what to do from here. Any help would be greatly appreciated. How do i even fool with the frequency rate?
 
You could always try setting a custom resolution with something like SwitchResX. The fact it's showing you somewhat random resolutions (i.e. not the ones the display actually supports) suggests a problem with the VESA signalling between the monitor and Mac which could be due to the VGA port or adapter. Try it with the DVI adapter if you can.

B
 
j26 said:
In Display Preferences;

Detect Displays will show all displays and you should have a screen on each one. The screen which is your main one will have an arrangement tab between the Display and Colour tabs

Click on the arrangement tab and drag the little toolbar (it will be on the smaller one) over to the other monitor if you want the toolbar to be on the external monitor while it's connected. If you will have a particular set up all the time e.g. macbook to the left of the monitor, you can position them that way so that your mouse moves consistently betwen screens.

That worked for me, and any time I connect to my external monitor it becomes the main monitor.
Click to expand...

thank you, thank you...

i have used the search button and i have been blessed.
 
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