[thelostgeek]

Hi ,
I tried connecting my new 13" 2011 MBP to external monitor (sony 22" BX300) through display port to VGA connector. The screen does not get detected without setting the resolution to 800x600. Once it detected , i tried changing the resolution but it just says at the bottom that "Usable resolution 800x600" See attachment. This is in mirror display mode. When i try removing the mirror display the external monitor blanks out.

What wonders me is that the external monitor works great with my other windows laptop in 1280x768 on mirror and 1920x1080 on projector only mode. Any idea what might be the issue ?

This is my 3rd adventure with this new MBP. Hoping to sort out all the issues soon.

Thanks & Regards,
~TLG

[ibook_steve]

What happens in dual monitor mode? Can you get higher resolutions on the external display then?

Steve

[thelostgeek]

Thanks Steve.

No , am not able to get any display in my monitor once i uncheck the mirror displays.

But here is some thing interesting. I just tried the clamshell mode. It is working. I could set the screen resolution to 1280x768. But my concern is , do i have to always have an external keyboard/mouse for connecting to the external display ?

I travel a lot and do presentations (connecting to projectors through VGA) at different locations. I might not have access to an external keyboard/mouse always.

[olePigeon]

Connect the TV to your computer, then scroll to the top of the resolution options. Is there one for "720p" ?

[ibook_steve]

This could be one of 2 things: your GPU or your dongle.

Hopefully it's not the GPU, but if there was something wrong with your video RAM (VRAM), the chip would not be able to pump out anything other than a single display, which is what you are are seeing by not being able to go into dual screen mode and closed lid mode working. This is not likely, but it is a possibility.

More likely is an issue with your DP to VGA dongle. I'd try another one just to make sure that's not the problem.

Finally, are you using software like gfxCardStatus (http://www.codykrieger.com/gfxCardStatus)?] This tool lets you have more control over switching between integrated graphics and discrete graphics. I've noticed that if I'm using integrated graphics on my 2010 MBP, I can't go into dual display mode either. When I switch to discrete, it works. Normally the system would do this for me automatically, but using this software allows you to force integrated or discrete.

In any case, hopefully this has given you some ideas on things to check.

Steve

Edit: There's even something about this in the FAQ: http://codykrieger.com/gfxCardStatus/faq