Need help with Mini Displayport to VGA Adapter

[brig2221]

To recap, I recently purchased my first Apple computer, a 13" Macbook Pro. I plan on this laptop serving as my desktop replacement.

A few questions. I just hooked the cable up, and I get the standard Purple Haze in space desktop that I have on my Macbook, but nothing else. No icons, no toolbars, nothing. The only time I was able to get anything to come up on my larger screen was when I went into Preferences, and Desktop and Screensaver. When I click on that, I did get a box to show up on my larger screen, listed as the Secondary Desktop.

How exactly do I get the larger screen to serve as my main screen? When I close up my laptop, the larger screen goes blank. I have no idea what to do, please help!

Another question I have is how the screen will look once I do actually get it to work. The reason why I ask that is because my larger screen is an old 17" Dell, the old 4:3 box kind. I plan on upgrading to a 20" plus HD display in the near future, but cannot at the moment, so the current 17" will have to do.

Anyhow, just curious if the screen is going to be completely wonky looking given the resolution that my Macbook will be feeding it?

 

[brig2221]

ok, it seems I have figured out a good amount of this by toying around in the preferences.

I went into Displays in Preferences, and I was able to get it to search for and detect the second monitor. I then went to the Arrangement tab, and clicked the button to mirror the displays. That was the only way I could get everything on my larger monitor.

It actually automatically lowered the resolution so that it would be acceptable for my 4:3 Dell Monitor, and did the same for the Macbook screen, thus stretching the image.

That said, I can't figure out how to keep my Macbook screen on the larger connected monitor when I shut the lid to my Macbook. Surely there is a way to do this as I wouldn't always want my Macbook monitor going.

 

[NewMacbookPlz]

ok, it seems I have figured out a good amount of this by toying around in the preferences.

I went into Displays in Preferences, and I was able to get it to search for and detect the second monitor. I then went to the Arrangement tab, and clicked the button to mirror the displays. That was the only way I could get everything on my larger monitor.

It actually automatically lowered the resolution so that it would be acceptable for my 4:3 Dell Monitor, and did the same for the Macbook screen, thus stretching the image.

That said, I can't figure out how to keep my Macbook screen on the larger connected monitor when I shut the lid to my Macbook. Surely there is a way to do this as I wouldn't always want my Macbook monitor going.

To keep the image on while the laptop is closed you need to get the computer in to "clamshell mode." This entails connecting the laptop to an external screen, as well as a mouse/keyboard. You then shut the lid after the external monitor gets its signal and then click the mouse or a key and the computer will enter "clamshell mode."

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3131 for more details.