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Question

macbook pro hooked up to external monitor slow refresh help

May 15, 2011 7:27AM PDT

I have a late 2006 Macbook Pro hooked up to an Asus VE247 24" monitor.

I've been having problems with the monitor refreshing the screen.
For example, when I am using photoshop, it takes a while for me to see
the results of whatever button I pressed (aligning two photos as one
example). Or, if I press "Undo," it doesn't show me what I undid until
I click on another button to do something else. Also, in Firefox, when
I open up a menu (the File menu for example) and mouse over a menu
choice with an arrow next to it, the rest of the menu doesn't come up
until I click on it.

I never had this problem until I hooked up the external display.

A little background about the monitor (from System Profiler on my Mac):

Resolution: 1680 x 1050 @ 60 Hz
Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB888Cool
Mirror: On
Mirror Status: Hardware Mirror
Online: Yes
Rotation: Supported


And about my macbook pro:

Resolution: 1680 x 1050
Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB888Cool
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: On
Mirror Status: Master Mirror
Online: Yes
Built-In: Yes

Also, the refresh problem is also happening on my macbook pro screen when I have the external monitor plugged in.

How can I fix this? Please help. Thanks in advance.

Let me know if you have any questions or need any more information.

Discussion is locked

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Clarification Request
Just as a test
May 15, 2011 8:59AM PDT

Just as a test, try lowering the resolution a couple of notches, and avoid any of them listed as "stretched". See if that improves anything.

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changing resolution
May 15, 2011 1:20PM PDT

Thanks for the response. I did try changing the resolution setting multiple times (actually I think I tried almost every option), and the problem persists.

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And does the problem happen
May 16, 2011 10:33AM PDT

And does the problem happen when you're only using the internal display? Also, how about if you close programs like Photoshop? Does the problem with Firefox remain or does it go away? Just as a test, close every program except Firefox, and see if the problem goes or stays.

I also assume you're running the latest version of whatever OS is on the system.

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=(
May 30, 2011 3:20AM PDT

To answer your questions:

I do not have the problem when I am using the display on the laptop, only when I am using an external monitor.

I have tried closing all of the programs that I have running, and I still have the problem.

Yes, I have the most recent updates for everything.

The weird part: for a while (days), my laptop (hooked up to the external monitor) started working properly and I didn't change anything. But now, it is back to not working again.

Also, someone on another site suggested I try clamshell mode; unfortunately, that didn't help. So, now I am right back to where I started. =(

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One more question
May 30, 2011 7:37AM PDT

One more question: Are you doing a mirror or second display setup?

It PROBABLY doesn't matter, it sounds like you have a bad video chip, but it's at least possible that you simply don't have enough video RAM.

Unfortunately, I don't think any of the 06 MBPs fell under the nVidia recall. I suppose it couldn't hurt to take it to an Apple store and have then run a test, but the program only covers you up to four years from the purchase date officially. Unofficially, you may get lucky and someone won't check too close on the details, assuming that the system is one of those affected and it fails.

There is a specific diagnostic program for the nVidia video chip issue they will need to run, standard AST/AHT/ASD testing won't cover it. Basically the program either says that no qualifying hardware is found, no trouble was found, or it will generate an error code. The diagnostic program is a bit on the big side, so plan to leave the system there for a couple of hours while they download it, find a spare external HDD they can load it on, and test.

I don't know what the SOP is with Apple stores, and if they charge for running a diagnostic on a system, but if they happen to offer, I'd say go for it. Especially if it's free. It seems a touch specific to be something like a failing HDD, but I wouldn't rule that possibility out. Just don't let them fob you off with AST only. Make sure they actually run ASD on it. That should help bring to light any issues regarding the rest of the hardware.

Ultimately though, I suspect you're going to need to make a choice between saving money and just living with this issue, or buying a new laptop. Your current one is 4-5 years old at this point, so I think you probably got your money's worth out of it, and you could probably keep it around as a web browsing and email type device. Something you might take with you to a coffee shop, so if it gets stolen, or has someone's coffee spilled all over it, not that big of a deal.