Need help with Video Mirroring...!!!

[DanUk2003]

Hi,

I'm trying to connect my iBook (dual usb model) to mirror to an external VGA monitor.

Usually it works fine....


However, if I plug everything together, turn on the iBook and the monitor at the same time, the iBook mirrors correctly to the monitor (grey apple logo etc...) then when the MacOS X startup screen appears the monitor goes into standby.

So I know it works at startup, just not 'in' the OS itself...!??!

Also, my display prefs are set to 'Television' - i didn't do this and don't know why it's like this. I've also tried reinstalling the OS - no change. I've tried the monitor on other laptops and it's OK.

Please help!!


EDIT:

I think the problem lies with the fact that my computer *thinks* its OWN monitor is a TV, when in fact it is of course a built-in LCD display.

Earlier it switched back to saying I was on a Color LCD (as it should) and video mirroring worked. Then it went back to telling me I was somehow using a TV...

 

[Brandhaus]

have you tried plugging the monitor in after you startup instead of when you powerup?

 

[janey]

Re: Need help with Video Mirroring...!!!

Originally posted by DanUk2003
I'm trying to connect my iBook (dual usb model) to mirror to an external VGA monitor.
Usually it works fine....
However, if I plug everything together, turn on the iBook and the monitor at the same time, the iBook mirrors correctly to the monitor (grey apple logo etc...) then when the MacOS X startup screen appears the monitor goes into standby.
So I know it works at startup, just not 'in' the OS itself...!??!
Also, my display prefs are set to 'Television' - i didn't do this and don't know why it's like this. I've also tried reinstalling the OS - no change. I've tried the monitor on other laptops and it's OK.

Hrmm you know you can span monitors on an iBook right? All you need to do is fiddle with open firmware (just google it).
I suggest you plug in your external monitor after you start up, after you log in.
What do you mean your display prefs are set to "television"? Does the thing recognize the monitor as a television as opposed to a standard vga monitor?

 

[DanUk2003]

Originally posted by lazyboy922
have you tried plugging the monitor in after you startup instead of when you powerup?

Yes, I have. Either way it does not output to the external monitor (I've also tried it with a projector - no joy there either). It only seems to work while the iBook is booting up, then when MacOS X starts, it goes into standby...

 

[janey]

Originally posted by DanUk2003
Yes, I have. Either way it does not output to the external monitor (I've also tried it with a projector - no joy there either). It only seems to work while the iBook is booting up, then when MacOS X starts, it goes into standby...

Maybe you have a bad mini vga to vga adapter, or a damaged video card? /me shrugs
Try again with another adapter and another monitor. Make sure you leave each one plugged in for a few minutes, and that the display prefs recognizes the monitor. Otherwise, I dont know what to tell you.

 

[DanUk2003]

Re: Re: Need help with Video Mirroring...!!!

Originally posted by übergeek
Hrmm you know you can span monitors on an iBook right? All you need to do is fiddle with open firmware (just google it).
I suggest you plug in your external monitor after you start up, after you log in.
What do you mean your display prefs are set to "television"? Does the thing recognize the monitor as a television as opposed to a standard vga monitor?

I've tried plugging in the monitor after i've started up - no joy.

The iBook seems to think that I'm running on a Television (even WITHOUT the external monitor being connected) - it used to say I was using 'COLOR LCD' - but now it doesn't.

 

[mactastic]

After you plug it in, have you tried going to the display prefs and clicking the 'detect displays' button?

 

[Brandhaus]

i know that on the powerbook, pressing f4 or one of the f keys toggles between monitors.

 

[mactastic]

Originally posted by lazyboy922
i know that on the powerbook, pressing f4 or one of the f keys toggles between monitors.

The iBook doesn't have that function on the F keys because that switches you between monitor spanning and video mirroring, which are very different. The iBook can do this, with the aforementioned firmware 'hack', but it does not come ready to do it out of the box.

 

[Brandhaus]

Ah yes, you are correct mactastic, thanks for clearing that up.

 

[freeflydrew]

If you boot up to the apple hardware test cd, while the second monitor is connected, it should mirror correctly... if it doesn't, you know that there's a hardware problem which is probably the video card. This is part of the logic board which has been a problem to almost all the ibooks (g3 models).
This is a great way of testing it, so the Apple Rep doesn't tell you that you have to reinstall anything on the machine.