[X4U] Re: X4U Digest, Vol 28, Issue 35

[Rob Kendall]

>
> > Message: 9
> Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2006 09:49:40 -0800 (PST)
> From: "Zane H. Healy" <healyzh at aracnet.com>
> Subject: Re: [X4U] if PB monitor dies, does external work?
> To: x4u at listserver.themacintoshguy.com
> Message-ID: <200612211749.kBLHneCO020662 at onyx.spiritone.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
> > Just curious to know...if a powerbook or ibook's own monitor stops
> > working for whatever reason, outside of apple care, will an external
> > monitor be able to work and be recognized by that computer?
>
> Many, many moons ago, my only (and first) Mac was a PowerBook 520c, the
> backlight died, but once I got the adapter necessary to hook up a VGA
> monitor, it worked just fine for a few months that way until I was able to
> buy a PowerMac 8500/180.
>
> The trick is probably going to be getting it configured so that you can use
> that external port, rather than the screen if you don't normally have that
> port turned on.  If the screen is totally dead, you might not be able to get
> it to switch over to the other screen.  I was lucky, I was just barely able
> to see stuff on my screen.
>
>                Zane
>

As I'm in digest mode, this may already be answered, but you should
have no problem.  I don't believe iBook/PB monitor outs are 'turned
on/off' so much as they just detect when something is connected to
them and port the screen image to it.

At least that was the case i recall when my iBook logic board died *4*
times over the course of 3 years (it was the 800mhz from end of the
2002 batch that apparently had lots of problems with the logic
boards), each time the processor/HD etc. would be fine, so I could
connect an external monitor to the AV dongle and it would just work.
If there is a problem with some kind of stuck setting, i'd guess a
PRAM zap at start up (opt-appl-p-r) would reset anything monitor out
related.

-Rob