10-23-2009, 05:12 PM
I've seen similar problems before, mostly with G4s running 10.5.x when connected to large LCDs. The Mac seems to lose the display and the display flicks off and on in exactly the same manner as when "Detect Displays" is clicked. It usually goes into a cycle of flicking off and on right after a cold start or wake from deep sleep. Power-cycling the monitor -- sometimes power-cycling it a few times in a row -- usually fixes it until the next cold restart or deep sleep. Preventing deep sleep is a fairly reliable kludge to prevent a recurrence in such situations and dropping into thousands of colors may also help keep the monitor online.
My office had a MBP hooked up to a low-end Dell 24-inch that occasionally displayed a similar problem, except that the screen went to black instead of blue-and-then-black right before the monitor went to sleep and it didn't get stuck in a cycle -- the monitor just went dark. Usually right after the login screen popped up. A shorter cable seemed to reduce the number of incidents. The 10.6.1 update seems to have fixed it.
I have a theory that both issues relate to signal-strength. Different cable lengths and high quality cables might make a significant difference in the frequency of the event.
Since you're running 10.6.1, I think your problem might be more like that of the G4s rather than the MBP. For that kind of video problem, the "fixes" that I've found are just workarounds that rather than curing it simply reduce the number of incidents. If you aren't the type to live with a kludge, you're probably best off returning the monitor.
My office had a MBP hooked up to a low-end Dell 24-inch that occasionally displayed a similar problem, except that the screen went to black instead of blue-and-then-black right before the monitor went to sleep and it didn't get stuck in a cycle -- the monitor just went dark. Usually right after the login screen popped up. A shorter cable seemed to reduce the number of incidents. The 10.6.1 update seems to have fixed it.
I have a theory that both issues relate to signal-strength. Different cable lengths and high quality cables might make a significant difference in the frequency of the event.
Since you're running 10.6.1, I think your problem might be more like that of the G4s rather than the MBP. For that kind of video problem, the "fixes" that I've found are just workarounds that rather than curing it simply reduce the number of incidents. If you aren't the type to live with a kludge, you're probably best off returning the monitor.