Dual Monitor Question

[bi0metric]

--Hello--

I am new to this Forum! I'm excited to be here seems really nice, I do have a quick question. I have a imac g5 20 inch and then I have a nother 20 inch monitor, and I would like to know if there is a way to hook both monitors up together so I can use them as dual monitors. For example I would like to be able to pull something off of my screen on my mac on to the other monitor. I have seen it work on power books but is it possible to do it on my imac? I'd really appreciate it if anyone knows please help me!

Thanks!

 

[neocell]

1) Connect monitor to iMac
2) Open System Preferences
3) Click on Displays
4) Click on detect displays
5) Choose your display
6) Choose Mirror for a duplicate of what you have on your iMac or Spanning for having extra desktop space (the one I think you want)

**EDIT**
I was just typing as what I do with my PB, I haven't tried it on my iMac, just thought it'd be the same?

 

[Lacero]

http://www.apple.com/imac/graphics.html

According to Apple's iMac specifications page, you can only do mirroring of the video to another display or out to TV. It doesn't say anything about spanning, but try neocell's procedure.

 

[neocell]

Here's a thread with a link on a patch if your G5 doesn't allow it natively.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/162695/

 

[bi0metric]

Yah,

What I had done today was I went to the apple store and I asked one of the people that worked there if I could do it. He said yes! He showed me how to enable it in the system controls area and he showed me the cable I needed to buy. The weird thing is that the cable he showed me was mini dvi to vga. But it says it's for a 12-inch powerbook g4. Anyways I took the cord home and I tried to plug it in to the Mini DVI port but it didn't fit in. So I guess the guy didn't know what he was talking about. And I pointed out that I have a imac I even showed him in the apple store the one I have! And he's like it will work! And I also asked well why does it say 12-inch power book. He said he is sure it will work! But it didn't so that's why I was wondering if there was something else I could do. Because I have this extra 20 inch flat panel monitor! And I want to hook it up!

 

[neocell]

It appears that the apple guy gave you the wrong adapter. You'll need a VGA adapter, not a mini DVI one. They look very similar, except for the port part of course, so easy to mix up if you're not paying close attention.

 

[Mhaddy]

Only the Power series can do desktop spanning. The iBooks and iMacs can only mirror. While there is a hack that will enable desktop spanning on the i series, it will void your warranty and potentially cause series harm to your iMac (or so I've been told).

 

[OutThere]

Only the Power series can do desktop spanning. The iBooks and iMacs can only mirror. While there is a hack that will enable desktop spanning on the i series, it will void your warranty and potentially cause series harm to your iMac (or so I've been told).

That's pretty much BS...Apple simply disables the feature with software so they can flaunt the distinction between their Pro line and their consumer line.

Go here: http://www.rutemoeller.com/mp/ibook/ibook_e.html

The mini-VGA to VGA adapter will have come with the computer, though you'll need a VGA to DVI adapter to plug in a VGA monitor, they're really cheap. Once you've got the monitor plugged in, turn it on and it will work, then you can change the specifics in the Displays preference pane.

 

[Mhaddy]

Well I'll be a monkey's uncle! One of the reasons why I chose the PowerMac was because of [what I had been told was] the inability of the new iMac to span screens. Rassafrassin'.

 

[Thunderbird]

This was going to be the question I asked as my first post as well. Biometric stole my thunder.

I am thinking of making the leap from the world of PCs to Macs and have long admired the iMac in its various incarnations. The ability to hook up a second monitor to an iMac would be a major deciding factor.

I've heard of that patch/hack that one can do to enable screen spanning. What I would really like to know is whether the second monitor can be hooked up via DVI (and will receive a digital signal), or only analog? I read somewhere that a second monitor can only be hooked up to iMacs to run on analog input.

Appreciate anyone who could either confirm or deny this.

Thanks.