Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
I'm really frustrated.

So I was able to get back home from a live-in catsit to reinstall the OS on my A1181, only to find that the replacement keyboard/topcase "6" and "N" keys don't work (but I could have sworn all of the keys worked when I tested the keys in Terminal running in the Lion Recovery OS). So it's faulty.

Or is it?

After taking the screws out and reseating the cable, the keyboard works fine. But when I screw everything down, the problem returned. I'm guessing it's potentially a faulty keyboard/trackpad cable, but I'm not sure. I really don't want to have to go to the hassle of getting another replacement topcase.

Maybe I can transplant the keyboard cable from the old topcase to the new topcase. We'll have to see when I move back home.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DCBassman
Hmm. AFAICS, the mDP-to-VGA cable needs* DP input and actively converts it to VGA so it should™ have worked with the TB dock's DP output. You're going Mac mini > TB cable > TB dock > mDP-to-VGA cable > Monitor? What does System Information > Graphics/Displays show as connection type when the monitor is connected directly to the mini? DP or something else?

(* I suppose it's not impossible that it's actually a HDMI-to-VGA adapter, thus requiring a dual-mode DP source outputting a DVI/HDMI signal.)
I've now got Lion re-istalled, so will check later today. The cable I ordered will be here later also.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Amethyst1
No, really: it's better --after you turn all the Apple telemetry crap off (MRT, Spotlight, ReportCrash, etc) and clone it to HFS+, it positively sprints. (Mojave will probably branch off into a hack/fork in the near future, if that has not already been done, in which remaining crud is stripped out, leaving a sleek OS designed to run both 32- and 64-bit software not requiring silicon.)
 
OK, back to zero with the new Mini. CS6 project scrapped for now.
I might be wanting to seriously mess with the Windows machine in the near future, so have reconfigured the Mini as a daily driver running patched Catalina, which it does well. If/when the WinBox goes offline, it's ready to go.
The 11" MBA is the fallback to both of these.
The two 2011 15" MBPs are currently...redundant. Oh dear...
 
  • Like
Reactions: TheShortTimer
You'll find a use for them. ;)
You know, I'm not so sure. At the moment, my Mac laptop itch is being royally scratched by the little MBA. I love it.
Have moved the Elgato dock onto the Mini, now that I've got the video connected to the HDMI port.
The little MBA is a true Apple fanboi machine; I understand the attraction more now! :D. It's lovely!
 
  • Like
Reactions: TheShortTimer
You know, I'm not so sure. At the moment, my Mac laptop itch is being royally scratched by the little MBA. I love it.
Have moved the Elgato dock onto the Mini, now that I've got the video connected to the HDMI port.
The little MBA is a true Apple fanboi machine; I understand the attraction more now! :D. It's lovely!

You're not alone in your fondness for the MBA range. As is known by most of our forum regulars, I have a couple of the 11" machines and to reiterate from previous posts, their ultra-portability within a Mac package is a winner in my book because they lend themselves so well to situations where you need a device that's more powerful and usable than a smartphone but smaller than even a 13" MacBook.

This afternoon, I participated in MS Teams and Zoom videocalls using my 11" 2010 C2D MBA w/ Catalina.

m7lDdIn.png


nfoz2wn.png


Even with 2GB RAM and a 1.4Ghz CPU, it still manages to hold its own as a secondary daily driver laptop. :)
 
Now I'm curious - could you add a Thunderbolt GPU to an iMac, then use said iMac's "Target Display Mode" to display the output on itself? :p
Good question :D One hurdle is that TDM on TB iMacs requires TB video input, i.e. an eGPU that provides TB video output like the Blackmagic RX580 or Sonnet Breakaway Puck RX5500/RX5700. I don't know if anyone has tested if TB TDM works using an eGPU and if a single TB controller can handle the setup you describe.
 
Last edited:
Good question :D One hurdle is that TDM on TB iMacs requires TB video input, i.e. an eGPU that provides TB video output like the Blackmagic RX580 or Sonnet Breakaway Puck RX5500/RX5700.
A Thunderbolt iMac can do Thunderbolt TDM because it has a Thunderbolt host controller that has a DisplayPort Out Adapter (use ioreg to view the Adapters of a Thunderbolt controller). Most Thunderbolt host controllers don't have a DisplayPort Out Adapter. They usually only have two DisplayPort In Adapters.

Thunderbolt TDM works by having the Thunderbolt host controller of another Mac setup a Thunderbolt DisplayPort path between that Thunderbolt controller's DisplayPort Out Adapter and the DisplayPort In Adapter of the iMac. The path setup is triggered by typing Command-F2 on the iMac which initiates some kind of communication between the Thunderbolt NHI of the iMac and the other Mac. Command-F2 also switches a DisplayPort MUX so that the iMac display is connected to the DisplayPort Out Adapter of the iMac's Thunderbolt host controller instead of the DisplayPort output of the iMac's GPU. The Thunderbolt DisplayPort path is special because it is between two Thunderbolt host controllers - which means it's a cross domain path (each host has it's own domain).

I suppose it could be possible to setup a normal (not cross-domain) Thunderbolt DisplayPort path from the BlackMagic or Sonnet eGPU's Thunderbolt DisplayPort In Adapter to the iMac's Thunderbolt DisplayPort Out Adapter. If it works, then you would see that the iMac display is connected to the eGPU instead of the iMac's built-in GPU. Apple doesn't have any public API for doing Thunderbolt stuff. You would have to reverse engineer this path setting code and the DisplayPort MUX switching code.

I don't know if anyone has tested if TB TDM works using an eGPU and if a single TB controller can handle the setup you describe.
TDM should work. Since the Mac has a built-in GPU and an eGPU, both connected to DisplayPort In Adapters of Thunderbolt controllers, the question is, which DisplayPort In Adapter will be chosen as the source of the DisplayPort data that will be sent to the iMac's DisplayPort Out Adapter?

The built-in GPU is connected to a DisplayPort In Adapter of a Thunderbolt host controller.
The BlackMagic or Sonnet Breakaway Puck GPU is connected to a DisplayPort In Adapter of a Thunderbolt peripheral controller.
Will TDM choose the DisplayPort In Adapter of the host controller or the peripheral controller?
Maybe it will choose the shortest path? For example, if you connect the Thunderbolt cable to a host Thunderbolt port then it will choose a DisplayPort In Adapter of the host Thunderbolt controller. If you connect the Thunderbolt cable to the eGPU, then it will choose the DisplayPort in Adapter of the eGPU.
 
The mini's, or the dock's? If the former, does the latter also work?
It should work. At least it works in my case: iMac 2011 -> Elgato TB dock 2 -> monitors HDMI.

Here is a pic from my earlier test. The display on the left is connected to the dock. If I remember it correctly the ACD on right was plugged directly to the iMac.

iMac Triple displays.JPG
 
Last edited:
It should work. At least it works in my case: iMac 2011 -> Elgato TB dock 2 -> monitors HDMI.
Thanks for testing. A DP-to-VGA adapter should also have worked from the dock for @DCBassman, yet it didn’t. That’s why I asked.

Here is a pic from my earlier test. The display on the left is connected to the dock. If I remember it correctly the ACP on right was plugged directly to the iMac.
It must have been because you can’t run two non-TB displays from one TB1/TB2 dock.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TheShortTimer
Thanks for testing. A DP-to-VGA adapter should also have worked from the dock for @DCBassman, yet it didn’t. That’s why I asked.
Yeah, I didn't try any of those fancy adapters. I just straight plugged them in with their native cables... ;)

Oh, I must have used some adapter to get that ACD to plug into the iMac - it must have been one of them plain Apple ones like DVI-something to MDP? ;) I have not used VGA stuff for a long time.
It must have been because you can’t run two non-TB displays from one TB1/TB2 dock.
Yes, I think you said that back then too. 👍
 
  • Like
Reactions: Amethyst1
Have managed to find a nice monitor for not a lot on local Facebook Marketplace, an Eizo Flexscan SX2462W. Lots of input choices, nice stand, rotation if I want it (unlikely), and generally better build quality than the venerable HP 2211x I've been using for the past 11 years.
 
Compared to what? Finder is broken. Fugly UI.
Broken how? What part of Mojave's destop environment is fugly, let alone broken -- If you put the same desktop background picture up, you'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference between El Capitan and Monterey.
Has SIP.
Next, please.
Boot into Recovery partition. Run Terminal. "csrutil disable". SIP now off.
 
Broken how? What part of Mojave's destop environment is fugly, let alone broken -- If you put the same desktop background picture up, you'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference between El Capitan and Monterey.
Those two are fugly too. Here:
And here:

(How long have you been using Macs? ;) )

Boot into Recovery partition. Run Terminal. "csrutil disable". SIP now off.

Why should I if I can choose OS that doesn't have that nonsense?
 
eBay blooper: got what I though was a Belkin Thunderbolt 1 or 2 dock, cheap, no PSU. Turns out it's a brand new, still-has-the-foil-on Thunderbolt 3 Dock Pro. Presumably, it needs a 170W PSU to be used to the absolute max, but I have a 90W Kensington laptop charger that happily powers it up, so ahead so far. Then, of course, how do I adapt everything to TB3?
Oops.
Ah well...
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.