Dell monitor is rudely ignoring my Mac Mini

[freebrian]

The Mac Mini is late 2012 running Catalina with latest update. It works with an old Acer brand monitor I have.

The Dell monitor is E2015Hv, an old LCD monitor from 2015, and that monitor also currently works with an old Dell computer. So all these components work, just the Mac Mini and the Dell monitor don't communicate with each other.

The Dell monitor which I want to use with the Mac Mini has VGA output and I have that attached to a VGA-to-HDMI adapter to connect it to the Mac Mini. When I power on the Mac, the monitor just sleeps and acts like nothing happened. The adapter also works between the Dell monitor/Dell computer, so the adapter is apparently not defective.

Is there any way I can configure the Mac and Dell monitor to work with each other? I'd really like that because I'm more comfortable with LCD monitors than LEDs and well, this is what I already have lying around.

Link to the monitor

Support for Dell E2015Hv | Overview | Dell US

www.dell.com

 

[Fishrrman]

You could try a Minidisplayport (Mac end) to VGA (display end) cable.
It connects to the thunderbolt port on the back (which is also compatible with minidisplayport, I believe).

Amazon.com: Cable Mini Displayport To Vga

Amazon.com: cable mini displayport to vga

www.amazon.com

Something else to try, right now, with the cable you're using now:
- power down, all the way off
- hold down the option key and KEEP HOLDING IT DOWN
- press the Mini's power on button
- the goal is to keep holding down the option key until the startup manager appears (this may "force" the mini to "see" the display in order to present the startup manager).

If it does, just select the internal drive and hit return.

Does this work? (you won't know unless you try it)

Yes, I realize "it's clunky".
But... what works... works.

 

[iStorm]

The Dell monitor which I want to use with the Mac Mini has VGA output and I have that attached to a VGA-to-HDMI adapter to connect it to the Mac Mini.

You've got this backwards. It is a VGA input and should be an HDMI-to-VGA adapter. The direction matters as not all adapters/cables are bi-directional, especially when going from digital to analog or vice versa.

Which adapter did you get? Is it an active (powered) adapter to convert the digital HDMI signal into an analog VGA signal? If not, it's a passive (unpowered) adapter and the Mac mini does not support this. (Some PCs do, which sounds like your Dell does.)

You will need either a Mini DisplayPort to VGA adapter, Mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter, or an HDMI to DVI adapter...as specified on their Tech Specs page.

Mac mini (Late 2012) - Technical Specifications - Apple Support

support.apple.com

 

[freebrian]

I did make a mistake when I wrote "output" instead of input. Now I got the mini display port adapter after reading that's what it needs... thanks!