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+--- Thread: Mac Minis and 1600x900 Resolution? (/showthread.php?tid=86514)
Mac Minis and 1600x900 Resolution? - rapayn1 - 10-23-2009
I have a 1.83 GHz Mac Mini Intel Core 2 Duo with 1GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM. It was happy with an old HP 17" LCD Monitor. Yesterday I came home with a 20" widescreen Dell monitor (Model S2009W) that has a max resolution of 1600x900. This was not a great resolution, but it was better than the 1280x1024 that the HP maxed out at. However, when I connected the new Dell to the Mac Mini, the video would not display for more than 2 seconds before going back to a black screen. This is with DVI and when I tried it with VGA cables.
I found this article that sums up my problem perfectly:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2103035&tstart=0
I've tried SwitchResX and the problem is not fixed. I'm running Snow Leopard and that has not helped. Why won't a Mac Mini display at 1600x900? I thought Macs could display at any resolutionWhat can I do short of returning the monitor and paying a restocking fee? The reason I went with a 20" model vice a 24" model that had a 1920x1200 resolution, was because of the desk space size, and the cut-out for the monitor on the computer desk can't accommodate a monitor bigger than 20". The hole for the monitor is as follows:
19.5" Wide
17.5" Tall
11.5" Deep
Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks in advance. I have 7 days to take it back to the store.
Re: Mac Minis and 1600x900 Resolution? - Black - 10-23-2009
Looks like switchres ought to work if you follow through with the setup-- I'm confused by your statement that it didn't "fix" your problem-- could you elaborate?
Re: Mac Minis and 1600x900 Resolution? - rapayn1 - 10-23-2009
It appeared to put the 1600x900 resolution choice in the menu, but the display still only works for about 2 seconds and then it goes black. Unplug it and plug in the old HP and the video works fine. Someone just PM'd me and said that I need to get the timing numbers for that Dell and use DisplayConfigX to make it work. However, I was cautioned that if I do it the wrong way, I will destroy the monitor and will never be able to see anything on it. Not too encouraging a thing to read. :-)
Re: Mac Minis and 1600x900 Resolution? - rapayn1 - 10-23-2009
When I turn the monitor and computer on, I want to be able to work on the computer without the screen blanking out and going black on me within 2 seconds. I want it to act like it did with the old 17" HP LCD.
Re: Mac Minis and 1600x900 Resolution? - space-time - 10-23-2009
sounds like a defective motor to me. Does the monitor work at other (LOWER) resolutions?
is there a refresh rate you can change (I am not sure if this applies to LCDs)
Re: Mac Minis and 1600x900 Resolution? - Doc - 10-23-2009
Are you running the display at 60 Hertz?
Re: Mac Minis and 1600x900 Resolution? - rapayn1 - 10-23-2009
It won't work at any resolution (DVI or VGA) for more than 2 seconds. The Mac Mini works fine with the other older HP monitor. So, I don't think it is a problem with the Mac Mini or the cables. With the Dell I can select VGA via the onscreen display, I can select auto detect or Digital DVI. It's all very frustrating though since I can only work 2 seconds at a time before I have to turn the power button off and then back on to be able to steal a quick glimpse of the screen. Logging in is an adventure. Selecting displays from the System Preferences window is a challenge at 2 seconds at a time. Our daughter has a Mac Mini in her bedroom and it runs a 24" Dell model S2409W just fine. Same Mac Mini that I am using to try and run a smaller Dell monitor.
Re: Mac Minis and 1600x900 Resolution? - rapayn1 - 10-23-2009
I've been able to change the Hertz from 75 to 60 and back, but I still have the same problem. The same problem that Wardoggie describes in that Apple Support forum thread that I linked to above. Here it is again:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2103035&tstart=0
I'm getting lots of PMs about changing the front porch settings. I don't understand what that means. Apparently I have a front porch and a back porch and they need to be in sync.
Re: Mac Minis and 1600x900 Resolution? - Black - 10-23-2009
There are exactly two discussions about this problem searchable on the internet-- the one you linked, and this one. Which suggests there may be something wrong with one of your ports or connectors.
Can you describe exactly which connectors/cables/adapters you're using in detail?
Re: Mac Minis and 1600x900 Resolution? - rapayn1 - 10-23-2009
I'm using the included DVI cable and the included VGA cable. The connector on the back of the Mac Mini accepts one end and the other end gets connected to either the VGA or Digital connector on the back of the Dell monitor. I suppose I could take the monitor back to Best Buy this weekend and have them connect it to a Mac Mini in the store to try and reproduce the problem. If they can, then it is the monitor. If they can't then my Mac Mini doesn't work with this monitor, but isn't really broken since it works flawlessly with two other (but older) monitors.