Macbook Pro (SantaRosa) internal display not detected by graphics card, external monitor OK

Posted by BLAU on Super User See other posts from Super User or by BLAU
Published on 2012-11-23T16:26:16Z Indexed on 2012/11/23 17:09 UTC
Read the original article Hit count: 266

Filed under:

macbook-pro

|

laptop-display

My MacBook Pro (2.4 Ghz, Santa Rosa with infamous nVidia card) acts strange. It shows the normal gray screen with Apple logo and animation flawlessly during start up but the internal display goes black without any rendering at all when all is loaded. (shining a light on display show nothing) If an external monitor is connected through the DVI port it will remain black during start up and then show the desktop as the internal display goes black. This happens both while booting to Mountain Lion and Windows XP. I have checked "About my Mac" and only the external display is listed. The same is the case if I use the nVidia Control panel in Windows XP.

My questions: Is this a hardware problem or is it related to software maybe even firmware? What controls the display during start up, graphics card or something else?

© Super User or respective owner

Related posts about macbook-pro

Macbook Pro - Randomly sleeps and won't wake up

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
All, I have a Macbook Pro 13" (mid 2009) that has had a long time issues which seems to be getting worse. Occasionally, I will go to wake the computer with the keyboard and can't wake it. The HDD spins up, the light on the front of the computer stops blinking, but as soon as it seems like the display… >>> More
Persistent static routes fail on MacOS 10.6.5 startup!

as seen on Server Fault - Search for 'Server Fault'
I'm unable to get static routes to persist a reboot on Mac OS 10.6.5. I've tried all of the methods prescribed in Google search results, and previous posts on this site. I've tried manually creating a launchd daemon, and used RouteSplit's launchd daemon to no avail. It's clear that the interface is… >>> More
Persistent static routes fail on MacOS 10.6.5 startup!

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
I'm unable to get static routes to persist a reboot on Mac OS 10.6.5. I've tried all of the methods prescribed in Google search results, and previous posts on this site. I've tried manually creating a launchd daemon, and used RouteSplit's launchd daemon to no avail. It's clear that the interface is… >>> More
Persistent static routes fail on MacOS 10.6.5 startup!

as seen on Server Fault - Search for 'Server Fault'
I'm unable to get static routes to persist a reboot on Mac OS 10.6.5. I've tried all of the methods prescribed in Google search results, and previous posts on this site. I've tried manually creating a launchd daemon, and used RouteSplit's launchd daemon to no avail. It's clear that the interface is… >>> More
Fan speed monitor Software for Macbook Pro Unibody on Windows

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
I've tried multiple temperature monitor and fan speed software on my Macbook Pro Unibody under Windows 7 64-bit RC. None of them can report the fan speed. Currently I'm using SpeedFan which reports the CPU temperature of each of the two cores, but is not able to detect or interface with the Fans.… >>> More

Related posts about laptop-display

Cloning (mirroring) laptop display to area of external monitor display

as seen on Ask Ubuntu - Search for 'Ask Ubuntu'
I'm using Maverick "10.10" Meercat on a HP Pavilion tx2110. This machine has an NVidia Go6150 graphics card, and sports a 1280x800 display. I have an external monitor which can do 1280x1024 resolution. FWIW I'm using openbox as my window manager; as I understand it this shouldn't be a factor. I'd… >>> More
Can't use laptop display?

as seen on Ask Ubuntu - Search for 'Ask Ubuntu'
I've just installed Ubuntu 11.10 with a LiveCD. During the installation, nothing was shown on screen unless I plugged in an external monitor. Same thing happens within Ubuntu. I have an Emachines E525. Could this just be a backlight issue or something? It works fine on Windows though. If anyone could… >>> More
Laptop Display Not Working

as seen on Ask Ubuntu - Search for 'Ask Ubuntu'
Hello, I just purchased this laptop. It is working fine but I want to use Xubuntu on it. I managed to get 10.04 installed and running but it did not recognize/use the wireless card. So I want to try 10.10. However, every time I try, the screen goes black and never comes back on. I have tried the Live… >>> More
Different resolution laptop display

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
Hi guys, some of you might have read my previous question "Weird laptop display", I've got another question regarding the same issue. I should've mentioned I went for higher resolution display. Instead of XGA display (1024x768 px) I went for SXGA+ (1400x1050 px). So the question is: Is there a difference… >>> More
What is your laptop's display size?

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
I want to get a new laptop and not sure what display size is the optimal. I need it for programming while I'm traveling. So the balance is between portability and usability. My old laptop is 15.4" and I think it's big and heavy for travel. >>> More