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stevegalante · May 8, 2009, 06:27 PM

It takes 6-7 minutes to boot. MacPro 8core 3.0GHz, 8G RAM, Leopard last updates, 3x additional internal 1Tb drives (Seagate Barracuda), one external FW 1.6Tb drive (OWC). All usual and unusual procedures attempted (permissions repaired from install DVD, internal additional disks disconnected, external FW dirve disconnected, Ethernet disconnected, Spotlight is not indexing anything, PRAM reset, cleaned with Applejack in Single User mode, removed all disks except for system drive, run Apple Hardware Test), finally I've isolated the problem. I simply attached one monitor only directly to the Mac via a short DVI cable and a short VGA cable and it boots up in both cases in 30 seconds. I normally have 2 monitors connected via two long (15 meters each) VGA cables, since my Mac is in another room and I operate it from a recording studio control room. I can exclude some cables' malfunction (weird because I have two of them) or the cable length. With the same setup, same monitors, my G5 booted pretty fast. I know I should try to have a better extension system, but does any of you have any other ideas ? What is my Mac trying to do in those 6 minutes ? Thank you !!!

reader50 · May 8, 2009, 08:12 PM

Boot in Verbose mode, then watch the text to see where it's spending the time.

Hold down Command-v to boot in Verbose mode.

stevegalante · May 8, 2009, 09:30 PM

I did try it. Looking at the verbose mode log it hangs at a point where it says "CSRHIDTransitionDriver... done", I looked at the line before this and it was something referring to a USB driver (I suppose...). Since I have an extender on my USB port (Belkin) I thought to take it out momentarily, connect a normal keyb/mouse with no extensions and restart. This time the log goes fastly after that line and hangs on a line that says "Airport : Link Up to en 2".cBut, when I start in Verbose mode with 1 monitor it hangs on the following line : "localhost usr/sbin/ocspd[66]: starting". With 2 monitors it hangs on the line "Airport : Link Up to en 2". By disabling Airport it comes back to hang on the (in)famous line "CSRHIDTransitionDriver... done".

reader50 · May 9, 2009, 01:58 AM

In each of these different hangs, what gets printed next? Perhaps it's not hanging on any of those things. Perhaps the hang is on the next item, which doesn't get printed until after the hang finishes. The timestamps will make it look like each separate item is taking a long time, but lines are mostly printed when they have already been completed.

Could you quote us a few lines from each log section, before / after the hangs? And tell us the changes you made for each boot attempt?

stevegalante · May 9, 2009, 11:10 AM

Ok here's the results :

- normal boot (non verbose mode, 2 monitors with two 15mt analog extensions) /
I checked the system.log file with the Console Utility, and found (what I think is) a long time between these two lines ("galante music" is my username) :

May 9 11:26:24 galante-music com.apple.SystemStarter[28]: kextload: extension /System/Library/Extensions/DigiDal.kext is already loaded

May 9 11:30:45 galante-music loginwindow[34]: Login Window Started Security Agent

and also another "pause" (1 minute) between these two:

May 9 11:31:50 galante-music login[181]: USER_PROCESS: 181 ttys000
May 9 11:32:59 galante-music login[181]: DEAD_PROCESS: 181 ttys000

and these two:

May 9 11:33:02 galante-music login[261]: USER_PROCESS: 261 ttys000
May 9 11:34:31 galante-music com.apple.launchd[126] (0x109490.Locum[179]):

- normal boot in verbose mode (2 monitors with two 15mt analog extensions)

These are the lines that get printed before the hang:

AirPort: Link Down on en2:
uth result for: 00:14:bf:f7:61:cb MAC AUTH succeded
AirPort: Link Up on en2:

And then it hangs for a long time and then it goes directly to the desktop screen without printing any other lines.
Opening the system.log this time I found a relatively long time between these two lines:

May 9 11:51:45 galante-music kextd[10]: writing kernel link data to /var/run/mach.sym

May 9 11:52:41 galante-music com.apple.SystemStarter[28]: PACESupport - launchd already started us

and a very long time between these two:

May 9 11:52:41 galante-music com.apple.SystemStarter[28]: kextload: extension /System/Library/Extensions/DigiDal.kext is already loaded

May 9 11:57:04 galante-music loginwindow[34]: Login Window Started Security Agent

and another noticeable pause betwwen these two:

May 9 11:57:30 galante-music /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app/Contents/MacOS/Finder[140]: CPSPBGetProcessInfo(): This call is deprecated and should not be called anymore.

May 9 11:58:47 galante-music ProTools Pref and Database Helper[154]: CFPropertyListCreateFromXMLData(): Old-style plist parser: missing semicolon in dictionary.

Does this tell you anything ? Do you want me to try other things ? Thank you very much in advance

stevegalante · May 9, 2009, 02:33 PM

After trying a 10.5.6 Combo Updatr (same results) I've done some checking on the system.log files on Mac's Console, and I found that, judging by the timing, there are always long "pauses" between these lines:

11:25:27 galante-music kextd[10]: writing kernel link data to /var/run/mach.sym

11:26:24 galante-music com.apple.SystemStarter[28]: PACESupport - launchd already started us

(approx. 1 minute)

11:26:24 galante-music com.apple.SystemStarter[28]: kextload: extension /System/Library/Extensions/DigiDal.kext is already loaded

11:30:45 galante-music loginwindow[34]: Login Window Started Security Agent

(approx. 4 minutes !)

What's going wrong ???

reader50 · May 10, 2009, 02:07 AM

I was hoping someone else would chime in, since I don't recognize the driver DigiDal.kext - it is likely a driver for some 3rd party device that I don't have.

It looks to me like you have more than one hangup cause, and I'd go after them one at a time. The DigiDal kext is the first suspect, especially since the login delay around that driver is the longest. It looks like the system is trying to launch two copies.

In the Console.app utility, open the Logs pane. Check the console.log, then try clicking down to /Library/Logs/CrashReporter. See if DigiDal.kext has a crash log entry somewhere with a complaint - perhaps it doesn't have permission to write to some folder. Or it may have been waiting for some remote server that isn't available.

On a more basic level, try another test. Connect two monitors to your MacPro via direct (short) cable. You already tried this with one monitor, and bootup went quickly. Use the same ports you use with the extensions. Find out if it always slow-boots if two monitors are connected, regardless of cable length.

btw, are the monitors connected to different video cards? You haven't told us what PCIe cards you have in your system.

stevegalante · May 10, 2009, 08:45 AM

DigiDal.kext is an extension of Digidesign ProTools (the main application I'm using on this Mac), so I'll try what you suggested to see if maybe it's trying to load two times. In this Mac I have three Digidesign PCIe cards (ProTools HD3 Accel system).
I'll also do the test with the video card, I'm using the one that comes by default with this Mac, it should be an NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 512MB, if I remember correctly.
I'll follow up with these tests, thank you

stevegalante · May 12, 2009, 09:40 AM

Originally Posted by reader50

It looks to me like you have more than one hangup cause, and I'd go after them one at a time. The DigiDal kext is the first suspect, especially since the login delay around that driver is the longest. It looks like the system is trying to launch two copies.

What I would like to know first is if the Mac is wasting time in doing the task of the line BEFORE the delay or in doing the task described in the line AFTER the delay. Do you know it ?
I also tried a search, not from Spotlight, but from the "Find" command in the Finder, to see if I have two copies of the DigiDal.kext extension, but it cannot find anything. Of course I have my hidden files visible and I am doing a search for visible and invisible files. But, if I open the Sytem/Extensions folder I can see the DigiDal.kext extension is there.

Originally Posted by reader50

In the Console.app utility, open the Logs pane. Check the console.log, then try clicking down to /Library/Logs/CrashReporter. See if DigiDal.kext has a crash log entry somewhere with a complaint - perhaps it doesn't have permission to write to some folder. Or it may have been waiting for some remote server that isn't available.

In the logs pane I actually have 2 "library/Logs" subfolders, one of them has a "crash reporter" folder that is empty, in the other one there are two crash reports, one from Spotlight, one from Digidesign ProTools, but it happened when the application was open and working, not during the mac boot.

stevegalante · May 12, 2009, 12:53 PM

Other things I tried (unsuccessfully):

- disable Apple Dashboard Advisor;
- Verify and repair KeyChain (with KeyChain First Aid from KeyChain Access);
- remove everything from Login Items;

I'm going to try creating a new user account now...

reader50 · May 13, 2009, 05:04 PM

There could be multiple copies, or multiple attempts to launch the same copy. If it is multiple files - I don't trust Spotlight or the Finder to search for system files. Both approaches have proven flakey for me. Instead, I use EasyFind with settings set to check all file types.

Extensions can be stored in multiple places:
/System/Library/Extensions/ <- commonest location
/Library/Extensions/ <- 3rd-party location for system-wide use
(home)/Library/Extensions/ <- user-specific location

stevegalante · May 14, 2009, 03:32 PM

No luck with creating another user account (as I thought)... I searched with EasyFind for DigiDal.kext but I have only one, and it is where it should be. I also searched for "PACESupport" (it's the software that controls the ilok USB key) and I found there's a "PACESupport" folder in /Library/StartupItems but there are actually two PACESupport.plist files, one in /Library/LaunchDaemons, and one in /library/StartupItems/PACESupport/Recources. I think both are in the places where they are supposed to be, even because I uninstalled and reinstalled the PACE software completely, but who knows, what do you think ???
Another thing I might want to try is to delete /System/Library/Extensions/AppleHWSensor.kext, /System/Library/Extensions.kextcache and Extensions.mkext and restart. have you heard of this ?
Also, i checked my last system.log file. These are the few lines before the "main" delay:

May 14 16:19:33 galante-music com.apple.SystemStarter[28]: kextload: extension /System/Library/Extensions/DigiIO.kext appears to be loadable
May 14 16:19:33 galante-music com.apple.SystemStarter[28]: kextload: loading extension /System/Library/Extensions/DigiIO.kext
May 14 16:19:33 galante-music com.apple.SystemStarter[28]: kextload: extension /System/Library/Extensions/DigiIO.kext is already loaded
May 14 16:19:33 galante-music com.apple.SystemStarter[28]: kextload: extension /System/Library/Extensions/DigiDal.kext appears to be loadable
May 14 16:19:33 galante-music com.apple.SystemStarter[28]: kextload: loading extension /System/Library/Extensions/DigiDal.kext
May 14 16:19:33 galante-music com.apple.SystemStarter[28]: kextload: extension /System/Library/Extensions/DigiDal.kext is already loaded

and then:

May 14 16:23:58 galante-music loginwindow[34]: Login Window Started Security Agent
which in the Console.log files becomes:
14/05/09 4:24:07 PM com.apple.launchd[1] (com.apple.UserEventAgent-LoginWindow[109]) Exited: Terminated

So it appears to me that the problem could arise from that Security Agent instead of the DigiDal/kext and/or DigiIO.kext, am I wrong ?

P · May 15, 2009, 06:44 AM

Originally Posted by reader50

Extensions can be stored in multiple places:
/System/Library/Extensions/ <- commonest location
/Library/Extensions/ <- 3rd-party location for system-wide use
(home)/Library/Extensions/ <- user-specific location

Really? I thought kernel Extensions only loaded from /System/Extensions. They certainly don't load from ~/Library/Extensions - that would be a pretty obvious privilege escalation, since an unprivileged user could load code with root privileges, and anyway the system at boot doesn't know who will log in next anyway.

As for the OP problems...Have you tried trashing the kernel extensions cache and forcing a rebuild? The tool is called "kextcache", but the easiest way is to just do touch on the DIRECTORY /System/Library/Extensions. The next reboot after that, the cache will be rebuilt so the boot will be slow, but it should speed up after that.

I also note a pause between Airport initing and loginwindow starting. Is it perhaps looking for a server on the network to boot from? That is controlled from the Directory Utility app in /Applications/Utilities, but I don't know the details.

stevegalante · May 15, 2009, 08:24 AM

Originally Posted by P

As for the OP problems...Have you tried trashing the kernel extensions cache and forcing a rebuild? The tool is called "kextcache", but the easiest way is to just do touch on the DIRECTORY /System/Library/Extensions. The next reboot after that, the cache will be rebuilt so the boot will be slow, but it should speed up after that.

You mean going into the System/Library/Extensions and delete what exactly ? I used Onyx to delete all caches, isn't this the same thing ?

Originally Posted by P

I also note a pause between Airport initing and loginwindow starting. Is it perhaps looking for a server on the network to boot from? That is controlled from the Directory Utility app in /Applications/Utilities, but I don't know the details.

I'll look into this, thank you, but anyways it's not booting from the network, even if a network exist on the location that my Mac is connecting to when it's started.

stevegalante · May 15, 2009, 11:58 AM

Other things I tried (always unsuccessfully):
- update to Mac Os 10.5.7 Combo
- disabled AirPort on startup
- followed this article: Startup hangs with “Login Window Application Started” | OSX Journal - Hackintosh Tips, Tricks, and Discoveries on an OSX86
Strangely while doing this it said to me there was no "Extensions.kextcache" file...and when I rebooted I couldn't find it anywhere. In fact, booting time is getting worse, probably it does not rebuild that cache for some reason...

- followed this article:
Fix for securityd hogging RAM when reauthorizing apps' Keychain access | 43 Folders
Nothing seems to work...

reader50 · May 16, 2009, 01:35 AM

Originally Posted by P

Originally Posted by reader50

Extensions can be stored in multiple places:
/System/Library/Extensions/ <- commonest location
/Library/Extensions/ <- 3rd-party location for system-wide use
(home)/Library/Extensions/ <- user-specific location

Really? I thought kernel Extensions only loaded from /System/Extensions. They certainly don't load from ~/Library/Extensions - that would be a pretty obvious privilege escalation, since an unprivileged user could load code with root privileges, and anyway the system at boot doesn't know who will log in next anyway.

It appears you are correct. According to Apple's File System Overview (PDF 404 KB) the Extensions subfolder only applies to the System domain. I had checked my own system before posting, and found an Extensions folder (one kext inside) within my /Library folder. Checking with Apple System Profiler reveals that extension isn't seen.

Originally Posted by stevegalante

...
Strangely while doing this it said to me there was no "Extensions.kextcache" file...and when I rebooted I couldn't find it anywhere. In fact, booting time is getting worse, probably it does not rebuild that cache for some reason...

Those files are located here, just outside the Extensions folder:
/System/Library/Extensions.kextcache
/System/Library/Extensions.mkext

'P' is correct on the rebuild process too. If the Extensions folder has a changed modification date, then the kext cache will be rebuilt on next boot. You can use a utility to 'touch' the modification date on this folder. Or drop a file into it, followed by deleting/removing the file.

It might be useful to work on other delays for a bit, since the DigiDal problem is turning frustrating. I can't duplicate your issues for local testing, because I've never had that card. Nor do I have a MacPro - my Quad G5 does not suffer from your problem, as you discovered with your own G5.

Try one of the usual standbys - open up System Preferences -> Accounts -> (your account) -> Login Items tab. Look over the list - installed applications have been known to tack items into here. Something in here may be trying to reach a remote server, or otherwise causing delays. It would be very interesting if you had duplicate items here.

Are you set to auto-login to your regular account? I'm assuming you are - when you tried creating an alt account, the delay didn't go away. To properly test the alt account, you'd need to switch auto-login to the new account, or set login prefs to drop you on the Login screen after bootup.

stevegalante · 10:51 AM

Originally Posted by reader50

Try one of the usual standbys - open up System Preferences -> Accounts -> (your account) -> Login Items tab. Look over the list - installed applications have been known to tack items into here. Something in here may be trying to reach a remote server, or otherwise causing delays. It would be very interesting if you had duplicate items here.

I specifically deleted all items in the login items cab, not that I had many of them, just a cache cleaning utility for Digidesign, that I removed. Now it's empty but it does not change much...

Originally Posted by reader50

Those files are located here, just outside the Extensions folder:
/System/Library/Extensions.kextcache
/System/Library/Extensions.mkext
.

Strangely I do not have any Extensions.mtext, only have Extensions.kextcache...
I'll try the automatic login on a new account, but I am tempted to think that I should go back to the start of this post, at the monitors/extension cables issue. This morning I disconnected one of the two monitors and boot. The booting time "dropped" to 4 minutes and the system.log did not report any dramatic delays between lines...

reader50 · May 16, 2009, 12:21 PM

I've been skipping around the hardware side of the question because it doesn't make sense. VGA is an outgoing signal, it shouldn't matter how long the cables are. Certainly, long cables could degrade the eventual picture. But the computer shouldn't even notice the cable length. Bootup is primarily a software affair.

Still, if you are amenable to trying a band-aid solution, try this. Use 1 (or two) KVM switches. On boot, leave it switched to a local monitor. If bootup goes fast, click it to the remote monitor afterwards. Assuming it really is the cable length confusing your MacPro somehow, this might trick it into skipping the delays.

stevegalante · 01:59 PM

Originally Posted by reader50

I've been skipping around the hardware side of the question because it doesn't make sense. VGA is an outgoing signal, it shouldn't matter how long the cables are. Certainly, long cables could degrade the eventual picture. But the computer shouldn't even notice the cable length. Bootup is primarily a software affair.

I'm glad to hear that, that's what I thought too.

Originally Posted by reader50

Still, if you are amenable to trying a band-aid solution, try this. Use 1 (or two) KVM switches. On boot, leave it switched to a local monitor. If bootup goes fast, click it to the remote monitor afterwards. Assuming it really is the cable length confusing your MacPro somehow, this might trick it into skipping the delays.

It's a good idea, thank you. But, assuming it worked, how could I turn it into a "permanent" solution ? Since I have two remote monitors/mouses/keyboards, should I have 2 KVM switches + 2 "local" monitors to trick my Mac ?
By "KVM switches" do you mean a 2port Video Splitter like this ?
http://www.trendnet.com/langen/produ...0S&cat=111

There are two more little considerations: the two extensions are both VGA, so I am using two adapters to connect to the two standard video outputs of my Mac (dual-link DVI), maybe they can be the cause ? Also, when during boot, approximately at half-time, the screen goes black for a moment and then returns to where it was, and this happens on the "normal" boot gray screen and even with the black screen if I am in verbose mode (all white messages disappear for a moment). Maybe this is normal or it could be an indication of something...

stevegalante · May 16, 2009, 04:08 PM

Little update: I used TechTool Pro 4 to run ALL its routines on the startup drive (and all the others), using its "virtual" startup drive ("eDrive"), very minor errors found (all corrected). Even starting from the virtual drive with only 1 extended monitor results in a pretty "usual" 5 minutes startup time. Restarting the system after all the repairing and optimizations (no defrag of course) does not change things.
Then I re-ran the test of booting with only one monitor connected directly (via DVI cables) with no extensions, booting time is an incredible (at least for me...) 1'15"... Aaaaarghhhhhh

reader50 · 06:50 PM

Originally Posted by stevegalante

It's a good idea, thank you. But, assuming it worked, how could I turn it into a "permanent" solution ? Since I have two remote monitors/mouses/keyboards, should I have 2 KVM switches + 2 "local" monitors to trick my Mac ?
By "KVM switches" do you mean a 2port Video Splitter like this ?
http://www.trendnet.com/langen/produ...0S&cat=111

No, I meant a "switch" in that the output only goes one place at a time. Not a splitter, which sends output to multiple places. The idea is to cut off at least one of the long VGA runs during boot, letting your Mac Pro see one long run + one local. This combination seemed to produce OK boot times for you.

Technically, I'm referring to a reverse KVM switch, (1 computer, two monitors you alternately switch to) but I think you can use most KVMs in reverse anyway. Especially if it's a manual switchbox, with no electronics to possibly get confused when you use the switch in reverse.

You're using a switch to swap one of the monitors after boot. You can do this by unplugging the local monitor after fast bootup has finished, then plugging in the VGA extension to the remote monitor. But while your Mac will handle this, continually swapping the cables will presently wear out your ports & pins. Better to use a switch box, which is designed for this duty.

You only need to apply the switch to the VGA signal - never mind the keyboard/mouse. Your mac can have multiple keyboards/mice plugged in, so no need to apply a switch to them. Try this KVM. It's cheap, and a manual switch. It will have connections on the back for 2 computers and one monitor. Use them in reverse - run the "monitor" jack to your video card. Run the 2 "computer" connections to the two monitors: the long VGA cable + the local "fool your MacPro" monitor. After bootup, flip the switch to the remote monitor and you're all good.

Originally Posted by stevegalante

Also, when during boot, approximately at half-time, the screen goes black for a moment and then returns to where it was, and this happens on the "normal" boot gray screen and even with the black screen if I am in verbose mode (all white messages disappear for a moment). Maybe this is normal or it could be an indication of something...

This (momentary blanking) probably means the monitor has switched resolutions and/or color depth. It could also mean the generic video driver used in early boot has been swapped out for the full video driver as it became available.

P · May 17, 2009, 07:55 AM

Originally Posted by reader50

I've been skipping around the hardware side of the question because it doesn't make sense. VGA is an outgoing signal, it shouldn't matter how long the cables are. Certainly, long cables could degrade the eventual picture. But the computer shouldn't even notice the cable length. Bootup is primarily a software affair.

It can have an effect actually. Pin 12 is bidirectional (sends DDC data back and forth so the computer can poll the monitor on what it can do) and pins 6, 7 and 8 are return pins for R, G and B respectively. One can detect the presence of a monitor by checking if there's a signal on one (or all) of those last three pins. That said, I don't think it applies here, but it can happen.

EDIT: Oops, I didn't read the rest of the thread closely enough. I guess it might be the reason after all, eh? Try the KVM thing first, and if it still won't work I think I have an old hack to trick VGA detection somewhere among the bookmarks.

You mean going into the System/Library/Extensions and delete what exactly ? I used Onyx to delete all caches, isn't this the same thing ?

You don't delete anything, preferably. You "touch" the folder - ie, change its modification date - to force an update of the cache on reboot. As reader50 suggests, drop something into the folder /System/Library/Extensions and take it out again. On next reboot, the cache will be rebuilt.

I don't know if Onyx deletes that cache or not - I don't use it, and the info on it isn't clear on the subject.

stevegalante · May 18, 2009, 11:43 AM

I tried to "touch" the /System/Library/Extensions to rebuild the cache, cache rebuilt, no difference.
I re-booted with no Firewire, no Ethernet, no Iloks (I have two), only 1 video (VGA) extender, only one key/mouse set directly connected to the Mac (no extenders), no difference.
When I say "reboot" I always shut down the Mac completely, wait like 10 sec and reboot from the Mac switch, just to make sure...
Then I reconnected everything, Firewire, Ethernet, the two mouse/keys extenders, the Iloks, but this time I connected only one monitor with a short VGA cable. Booting time, less than 1 minute...
At this point I added the second monitor, connected via the 15 meters VGA extender and rebooted. Booting time, 4 minutes...
So at this point I think I excluded everything, including the type of connection (it seems not influential if it's VGA or DVI), and for some reason the culprit is just the cable length... right ???

reader50 · May 18, 2009, 01:01 PM

Then I'd suggest two VGA switchboxes - one for each long cable run. I'd thought it booted faster with one long run still attached, but it looks like you'll need to fool it on both monitors. At least the switch boxes are cheap.

Note: you don't need two local monitors, just one so your MacPro will initialize the GUI on bootup. Then flip the switch boxes to the long extension runs after boot has finished.

P · May 18, 2009, 04:51 PM

Another possibility is to just trick the detector instead of adding another, local, monitor. Take a look at the pinout - you need to connect 1 to 6, 2 to 7 and 3 to 8 - ideally with a small resistor, but a piece of wire would probably work as well.

There are also dumb VGA splitters that you might use instead of having a switchbox that needs to be flipped..

stevegalante · May 18, 2009, 09:02 PM

Originally Posted by P

Another possibility is to just trick the detector instead of adding another, local, monitor. Take a look at the pinout - you need to connect 1 to 6, 2 to 7 and 3 to 8 - ideally with a small resistor, but a piece of wire would probably work as well..

What would I actually do or achieve by doing this ? And, should I connect these pins on both sides of the VGA cable ?

Originally Posted by P

There are also dumb VGA splitters that you might use instead of having a switchbox that needs to be flipped..

Can you give me an example of such a unit ?
Thank you

P · May 19, 2009, 07:19 AM

Originally Posted by stevegalante

What would I actually do or achieve by doing this ?

Instead of having a monitor locally in reader50's setup. The resistors will fool the detecting routines in the computer that there is a real monitor there - resistors are smaller and cheaper than a monitor, if you don't have one around.

Originally Posted by stevegalante

And, should I connect these pins on both sides of the VGA cable ?

Either side is fine. Easiest is to have a Y-cable, 1 male to 2 female, and connect the pins on one of the female ports. The other female goes to the existing long run.

Originally Posted by stevegalante

Can you give me an example of such a unit ?
Thank you

I just googled "VGA Y-cable" to verify that they exist. I have no real recommendation for a place to get one, but they seemed to be common enough.

reader50 · May 19, 2009, 09:38 AM

Another possible answer is to change the long VGA cables to higher-quality versions. Heavier gauge cables will have lower resistance over the long runs, without requiring hacks with switchboxes or splitters + resistors/jumpers.

Plus, if you believe the marketing, the girls will ohh and ahh over your more-expensive cables. Seems doubtful, but if the ads say so, it must be true.