Mini Display Port Problem

[acfusion29]

Not sure if I should post this here or in peripherals, but I was just at the Apple store and I picked up a Mini-Display Port adapter. My intentions were to hook it up to my TV so I could watch movies lying down in bed on the TV rather than having my laptop burn my legs half way through the movie

So to the point of the thread: I tried to hook it up and it seems to work ONLY with my MacBook display open (not shut). If I don't shut the screen, then the full picture does not appear on the TV, there are black lines on the sides (left/right). When I shut it, the lines disappear and the picture refreshes... however the picture quickly goes away after about 10 seconds. I am having the same issue on my Samsung monitor. Faulty cable, adapter or port eek?

What's causing this problem? When I had a whitebook and the adapter for that one, I hooked it up no problem to my TV/LCD. I also had to close the lid or else the picture wouldn't fit the screen, but I don't mind doing that.

 

[tobyg]

Do you have an external keyboard and mouse hooked up?

Your other option may be something like that program InsomniaX, but I've never tried it.

 

[acfusion29]

Do you have an external keyboard and mouse hooked up?

Your other option may be something like that program InsomniaX, but I've never tried it.

I use InsomniaX but I don't think that would do it. I had my wireless mouse plugged in and that's how I got it to wake up from sleep so the picture would appear on my TV.

 

[tobyg]

What I'm saying is normally, without a kb or mouse plugged in, when you shut the lid it will sleep. I think that's what yours is doing. So you need to shut the lid and 'wake it up' with an external mouse or keyboard, and then it should continue to function with the lid shut. The other option is InsomniaX to keep the Macbook running even when the lid is shut, even if there is no external mouse and/or keyboard.

 

[acfusion29]

What I'm saying is normally, without a kb or mouse plugged in, when you shut the lid it will sleep. I think that's what yours is doing. So you need to shut the lid and 'wake it up' with an external mouse or keyboard, and then it should continue to function with the lid shut. The other option is InsomniaX to keep the Macbook running even when the lid is shut, even if there is no external mouse and/or keyboard.

Yeah, I used a wireless mouse to wake it up from sleep and the picture appeared on the TV, then disappeared a couple seconds later.

 

[tobyg]

Maybe it's a bit more picky and also wants to see a keyboard? I can imagine people have wireless mice on their desk they might 'bump' or leave "on" inside their bag, you wouldn't want your Macbook waking up every time your wireless mouse caught a movement or had the button depressed when traveling.

 

[msa50]

Hi!

This is probably because you are running your macbook on battery. In this case macbook falls again at sleep after a few seconds. You need to connect AC adapter so that mac stays awake. If you insist on using battery power, there is a workaround for this that you may be able to found on the net.