MacBook Pro (L2008) with Dell Display problem

[willw9]

I have my late 2008 Macbook Pro hooked up to a 24" Dell E248WFP Display via VGA. The display sporadically turns off, saying:

Auto Detect (Analog Input)
Power Save Mode

It then turns itself back on a few seconds later. For what it's worth, this is exactly the same screen I'd get when I put my old HP laptop to sleep.

I've played with the energy saver preferences on my Macbook, and there doesn't seem to be any power management options in the monitor's menu.

What's my play here? I've called Dell, but there support is just awful. They kept asking me for my Express Service Code, which I don't have. Then they hung up.

 

[deltaman]

You're looking under the wrong "rock"...

Since early November '08 owners of "Unibody" MacBooks & MacBook Pros have reported a variety of instability issues when connecting various LCD displays to the Mini-DisplayPorts on these notebooks — using any of the three available Mini-DisplayPort adapters. Although there have been significant numbers of reports posted to several support forums — including Apple's own — encompassing a variety of LCD models, Apple Support's "official" policy appears to be "Act Startled!" Quickly moving past that, you'll be told to reformat your drive & reinstall OS X, then test for symptom before restoring any of your own applications. If the problem still persists (it will) you'll be instructed to take your laptop, display & ALL peripherals & cables to an Apple Store or Authorized Service Provider, so that they may verify the problem...

Fortunately for Apple (unfortunately for Unibody owners) there haven't been huge numbers of us attempting to use these new models with external displays; for three months, they've been getting-away with sandbagging the issue — rather than stepping-up & fixing it, or honestly admitting in the Late '08 notebook specs, that only ONE external display (Apple 24" LED) is compatible with the Mini-DisplayPort!

(Watch for class-action news...)