not able to use external monitor

[abhishekit]

ok I did that firmware change to have multiple monitor support in my ibook.
Now I connected a monitor (which I earlier used with windows machine) , but nothing is happening. I clicked 'detect monitor' in prefs but its doing nothing. DO i have to do something else.
thanks

 

[janey]

Re: not able to use external monitor

Originally posted by abhishekit
ok I did that firmware change to have multiple monitor support in my ibook.
Now I connected a monitor (which I earlier used with windows machine) , but nothing is happening. I clicked 'detect monitor' in prefs but its doing nothing. DO i have to do something else.
thanks

well its called *spanning*, not multiple monitor support.

what kind of monitor is it, and are you sure all your adapters and cables are in working condition (especially the mini vga to vga adapter, since you said you used the monitor earlier with a windows machine)? Display prefs should show the monitor.
Unless you did the temporary one instead of the semi-permanent firmware hack...*shrug*
works fine on my iBook.

 

[abhishekit]

Re: Re: not able to use external monitor

Originally posted by übergeek
well its called *spanning*, not multiple monitor support.

what kind of monitor is it, and are you sure all your adapters and cables are in working condition (especially the mini vga to vga adapter, since you said you used the monitor earlier with a windows machine)? Display prefs should show the monitor.
Unless you did the temporary one instead of the semi-permanent firmware hack...*shrug*
works fine on my iBook.

ok..spanning it is
mini vga to vga adaptor is fine, its the first time I am using it..its almost new. I think i did semi-permanent change, writing 7-8 lines of code at firmware.
The monitor is an ugly 15" CRT monitor, normally seen with windows computers. My roommate hooked up his windows laptop to it and it worked fine.
Do i have to restart my laptop, after I hook it up?

 

[mactastic]

You shouldn't have to restart it to see the monitor. Can you mirror your laptop screen to the external monitor? That should tell you if your cables are working regardless of the hack. If you can get the same thing to show up on both monitors you probably flubbed the hack. Try to find the code and copy/paste it into the terminal. It's pretty easy to make a typo at the terminal.

 

[baby duck monge]

also, what ibook are you using? it could be that your model is not supported.

i actually just did this hack earlier today and it works fine (though i used this german applescript so i didn't have to screw around with it myself).

 

[janey]

Originally posted by baby duck monge
also, what ibook are you using? it could be that your model is not supported.

i thought the spanning hack worked with most recent iBooks?
I assumed it was relatively new due, especially after he noted that his mini vga to vga adapter was new.
mactastic> btw this isnt a terminal thing, its an open firmware thing. you cant copy and paste.

Nevertheless, i would have thought a mac-boot or reboot at open firmware would do the trick...zap pram, reset pmu, try again

 

[mactastic]

oh ok, you have to start up in single user mode to do this?

 

[janey]

Originally posted by mactastic
oh ok, you have to start up in single user mode to do this?

no, you have to hold down option+command+o+f at startup (just like you boot up into single user mode).

a light gray screen will appear, with some text (like open firmware version, battery charge, etc.) and a prompt.

 

[mactastic]

Hmm... ok, I'm considering doing this soon on my wife's iBook G4. Do you have to re-apply it, say after an OS update or anything?

 

[janey]

Originally posted by mactastic
Hmm... ok, I'm considering doing this soon on my wife's iBook G4. Do you have to re-apply it, say after an OS update or anything?

hell no. open firmware is not part of the OS.