shakespearemara
Registered
Hi, can anyone help with an external monitor problem please? Bear with me cause this one is complicated. And I searched for it on here and I couldn't find anything cause everyone on here was asking how to get into this setting and I'm trying to get out of it.
So anyway... I'm running a Powerbook G4 Titanium 15" laptop with Tiger OsX 10.4.11 and I hooked an external monitor to it. I was playing around with the settings and saw the rotation feature, which wasn't available until I attached the external monitor. As soon as I clicked on 90 degrees, both the main screen and the external fritzed out. I could vaguely see things through the haze on the main screen but the whole thing had stopped responding to all mouse and keypad commands. Eventually the only thing I could do to regain control was a hard shut off with the power button and unplug the external. After that the main screen booted up just fine but the moment I hook up the external again they go blue screen of death on me and I can't see what I'm doing to undo what I did!! I tried hitting the manual reset on the screen itself, which I didn't really think would work but hey, desperate times...
After some research on the internet I found out that not all Tiger enabled computers can run the rotation function, apparently because the scan rate, or something like that is too low. Which is why the option was disabled when only the main screen was running. Nice to know and would have been good to know sooner but what I need help with now is HOW DO I FIX THIS MESS?!!!!
I tried something suggested on the Apple website, called a PRAM reset (Command+Alt+P+R) but either I did it wrong or it didn't do any good.
I tried, based on another thread on here, deleting the com.apple.windowserver.plist file in Library/Preferences, again no luck.
I hooked up a different monitor, an older flat screen, and it popped right up and I was amazed. But in the preferences it didn't have all the same options like the rotate display menu as the other external screen. So just on a wild idea I unplugged external #2 and plugged in external #1 and it came up and I was ready to jump for joy for a moment but when I hit "Detect Displays" (so they would work together properly) it automatically reverted back to the rotated 90 degrees deal.
I don't know what I did but at another point I did get it to bring up the Rotate menu but it was for the settings for the second borrowed screen. I could tell because it would only accept resolutions up to a certain point. So the problem seems to be partially display specific. While it did work for a minute, the moment it realized the fritzed up one was plugged in, it went back to the specific settings for that monitor; the problem being that I can't seem to access the specific settings to undo what I did to that monitor. I tried changing things around while the monitor was playing nice, but it doesn't seem to affect it because the settings I was messing with weren't for that monitor. And I can't not hit Detect Displays cause even if I didn't, once I rebooted the computer would detect the screen and I'd have to have the other screen handy to do it all over again.
Someone on another site suggested I try lowering the resolution so it would force the screen into a lower refresh rate but if the problem is that the refresh rate of my computer is too low to handle it already, that isn't going to work, but I tried it anyway, just to say I had. No dice. I even found a program that rotates the screens and had a keyboard sequence to rotate the computer screen back to default, but it didn't work cause once it freaks, the keyboard stops responding.
Some sites have mentioned the boot disk, which I have but I want to make sure I know what will happen if I do that. I've backed up my files just in case. Will it erase the programs I've installed or just my settings? Or is it much simpler and is there something in the utilities I can mess with that will reset stuff? If that's what it takes I'm fine with that, I just like to know what I'm getting into.
Anyway, sorry for the super long post but if anyone knows how to get me out of this, help please?!
PS. someone on a tech blog also mentioned connecting to my computer with another mac through our network but my dad and I don't know exactly how to do that. Is it a possibility and where can I find instructions on how if it is? Thanks!
So anyway... I'm running a Powerbook G4 Titanium 15" laptop with Tiger OsX 10.4.11 and I hooked an external monitor to it. I was playing around with the settings and saw the rotation feature, which wasn't available until I attached the external monitor. As soon as I clicked on 90 degrees, both the main screen and the external fritzed out. I could vaguely see things through the haze on the main screen but the whole thing had stopped responding to all mouse and keypad commands. Eventually the only thing I could do to regain control was a hard shut off with the power button and unplug the external. After that the main screen booted up just fine but the moment I hook up the external again they go blue screen of death on me and I can't see what I'm doing to undo what I did!! I tried hitting the manual reset on the screen itself, which I didn't really think would work but hey, desperate times...
After some research on the internet I found out that not all Tiger enabled computers can run the rotation function, apparently because the scan rate, or something like that is too low. Which is why the option was disabled when only the main screen was running. Nice to know and would have been good to know sooner but what I need help with now is HOW DO I FIX THIS MESS?!!!!
I tried something suggested on the Apple website, called a PRAM reset (Command+Alt+P+R) but either I did it wrong or it didn't do any good.
I tried, based on another thread on here, deleting the com.apple.windowserver.plist file in Library/Preferences, again no luck.
I hooked up a different monitor, an older flat screen, and it popped right up and I was amazed. But in the preferences it didn't have all the same options like the rotate display menu as the other external screen. So just on a wild idea I unplugged external #2 and plugged in external #1 and it came up and I was ready to jump for joy for a moment but when I hit "Detect Displays" (so they would work together properly) it automatically reverted back to the rotated 90 degrees deal.
I don't know what I did but at another point I did get it to bring up the Rotate menu but it was for the settings for the second borrowed screen. I could tell because it would only accept resolutions up to a certain point. So the problem seems to be partially display specific. While it did work for a minute, the moment it realized the fritzed up one was plugged in, it went back to the specific settings for that monitor; the problem being that I can't seem to access the specific settings to undo what I did to that monitor. I tried changing things around while the monitor was playing nice, but it doesn't seem to affect it because the settings I was messing with weren't for that monitor. And I can't not hit Detect Displays cause even if I didn't, once I rebooted the computer would detect the screen and I'd have to have the other screen handy to do it all over again.
Someone on another site suggested I try lowering the resolution so it would force the screen into a lower refresh rate but if the problem is that the refresh rate of my computer is too low to handle it already, that isn't going to work, but I tried it anyway, just to say I had. No dice. I even found a program that rotates the screens and had a keyboard sequence to rotate the computer screen back to default, but it didn't work cause once it freaks, the keyboard stops responding.
Some sites have mentioned the boot disk, which I have but I want to make sure I know what will happen if I do that. I've backed up my files just in case. Will it erase the programs I've installed or just my settings? Or is it much simpler and is there something in the utilities I can mess with that will reset stuff? If that's what it takes I'm fine with that, I just like to know what I'm getting into.
Anyway, sorry for the super long post but if anyone knows how to get me out of this, help please?!
PS. someone on a tech blog also mentioned connecting to my computer with another mac through our network but my dad and I don't know exactly how to do that. Is it a possibility and where can I find instructions on how if it is? Thanks!
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