Problem with Mini Display to HDMI+DVI+DisplayPort and DVI to VGA adapter

[hi5grant]

I'm kind of new to Mac Rumors so bear with me

Using MacBook Pro bought in 2011, OS X 10.6.8, 2.7 GHZ Intel Core i7, 8GB 1333 MHZ DDR3

Seeing how adapters are expensive, I looked for a multiple link adapter.

So I bought this:

http://www.rakuten.com/prod/thunder...i-dvi-display-port-adapter-for/245429486.html

HDMI port works. DisplayPort I'm not sure if i'll ever use it, haven't tested it so I couldn't say if it functions or not...

but the DVI is a little funky. I dont have a DVI cable to test it on, so I bought this as well:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814998101

My Laptop display reacts and detects when I plug it in, but then goes back to normal. The external monitor is a Dell E153FP. My Professor has an earlier mac laptop and his Apple-made display to VGA works on it just fine. Mine however, does not.

Did I screw up buying an adapter that doesn't support digital to analog or something? I feel like there are thousands of versions of DVI connectors.

 

[takeshi74]

Note (from your first link):

Output Interface: HDMI Female 19Pin and DVI-D (24+1) and DisplayPort 20Pin.

DVI-D is digital.

VGA is analog.

You need a converter.

 

[Stetrain]

Those small/cheap DVI to VGA converters only work when the DVI port you're plugging it into has the extra pins to carry the VGA signal.

It doesn't actually convert DVI to VGA, it just lets you plug a VGA cable into a port that has both DVI and VGA pins.


You could get one of these for doing VGA, I have one and it works pretty well: http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10428&cs_id=1042802&p_id=5107&seq=1&format=2

 

[hi5grant]

Thanks, y'all! I don't know much about display and video connectors, but that makes sense. I had a feeling it wasn't passing the right kind of signal.