PB monitor spanning: less stable?

[Jon'sLightBulbs]

What a pain in the arse. Whenever I hook up an external monitor to my 12 in PB running 768mb RAM, my computer becomes less stable. Word crashes much more often than when I'm not spanning, and I get "out of memory" errors. Is monitor spanning some kind of memory hog?

Does anyone else have these stability problems while spanning monitors?

 

[risc]

Does anyone else have these stability problems while spanning monitors?

No!

 

[themacman]

ive never had the problem before.

 

[Chrispy]

I have never had that problem. The only thing that happens to me every now and then is the computer freaks out when you unplug the DVI cable.

 

[Jon'sLightBulbs]

I have never had that problem. The only thing that happens to me every now and then is the computer freaks out when you unplug the DVI cable.

When I unplug the DVI cable while the computer is "awake" and spanning, one of two things usually happens. 1. The computer goes to sleep and won't wake back up. 2. Everything operates normally, except that the mouse pointer dissapears, never to return until rebooting.

So does anyone have stablity and memory problems while spanning?

 

[therevolution]

I never have problems while spanning. If your problems are constantly reproducible, and your computer is still under warranty or Applecare, you can go take it in and have it fixed.

 

[Chrispy]

When I unplug the DVI cable while the computer is "awake" and spanning, one of two things usually happens. 1. The computer goes to sleep and won't wake back up. 2. Everything operates normally, except that the mouse pointer dissapears, never to return until rebooting.

So does anyone have stablity and memory problems while spanning?

I used to get the missing mouse pointer problem back in Panther but now that I use Tiger it does not happen anymore.

 

[gekko513]

I've never had screen spanning problems except the missing mouse pointer. I found that if I made sure the mouse pointer was on the PB screen when I unplugged I could avoid that problem.

 

[aspro]

Like everyone else, I have only had the missing mouse pointer issue. But to be honest I normally attach/detach my monitor while the PB is asleep.

 

[MacPassion]

I'm thinking about getting a PB 12'' and use an external monitor. Is the RAM really an issue? Does everything get slower when you use and external monitor? For instance, opening documents, drag and drops...etc...

 

[BlueT]

I'm definitely having problems right now with my 12 inch PB. It's crashed 4 times this past week. Word, Camino, even iTunes have crashed or failed to load several times as well. And though I do use screen spanning, I'm not quite ready to blame that yet. I have 768 MB RAM and use a 17" Dell Monitor. I have no idea what the problem could be though.

I'm not going to reinstall Tiger yet, but I'm getting mighty pissed off.

 

[Mac_Freak]

I've never had screen spanning problems except the missing mouse pointer. I found that if I made sure the mouse pointer was on the PB screen when I unplugged I could avoid that problem.

I usually turn off the monitor first, then click the "Detect Displays" thing and PB comes back in single display mode by itself without any issues. It is kind of a like ejecting a drive from desktop thing. I believe this is the proper way to disconnect them while they are still awake.

I don't think you should just junk the cable out while it is still feeding the signal to a external display. It is a bit of a different story when you connect, since the screen spanning/mirroroing is off.

 

[dank]

When I unplug the DVI cable while the computer is "awake" and spanning, one of two things usually happens. 1. The computer goes to sleep and won't wake back up. 2. Everything operates normally, except that the mouse pointer dissapears, never to return until rebooting.

So does anyone have stablity and memory problems while spanning?

I am using external screen with PowerBook eversince G3 ( those black ones) and never had problem. I had been upgrading every 7 to 11 months so I've been through quite few different models. I am using 17" 1.5Ghz with 1GB RAM, system OS 10.3.9. I use at home then I take up to work every day thus plug and unplug twice a day. 19" LCD (analog) at work, 17" (DVI digital) at home, Microsoft external wireless keyboard and mouse combo at work and Macally wireless combo at home via USB hub. So they are completely defferent but I do not see any problem. I even log into PC side to move files around instead doing them in PC which takes 4 to 5 times longer. I have never need to restart except "Apple upgrade" time. So often it goes 3 to 4 months. Once I trade in without even one restart.
I do not see any speed difference with or without external monitor.
One thing I notice is drain a lot of power and creates a lot heat with dual monitor. I need my 'Koolsink" to cool it down.
System is so stable with 20 to 25 software running all the time.
Does it make any difference between software? I mean, did you test if you have any offending software? When you unplug or even if running on back ground? You may have some software combination bad for plug and un plug. Do you have enough space on your start up volume so Mac can write swap information? I suggest to quit all software (Finder only) and test. If still crash constantly, I would take it to service. If work fine, then add one software at time and test until you come across offending software.