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Mac mini and USB Monitor

R

roycemac

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 6, 2007
72
0
I have a roll top desk and I need to close it so I require a very small monitor.
Nobody makes a primary monitor under 17" and I need SMALL.
I played with a Double Sight usb monitor when I had Mavericks and it worked pretty good with a VGA dongle (a resistor across pins 5 & 6 to simulate a primary monitor). Screen resolution was an issue with only a couple of applications so i could live with it.

Then I upgraded to Yosemite and that put an end to the USB monitor.
I get pinwheels constantly and the Mini runs so slowly that I can't even start up most apps. its like the USB is sucking up all available resources full time.

I picked up a Fit-Headless 4K hdmi plug to simulate the monitor, but the same results.

Its not a screen resolution issue and my knowledge is too basic to understand or figure out what is happening.

if anyone can shed some light here it would be greatly appreciated.
 
If the USB monitor uses the Displaylink chipset/drivers - good luck.....their Mac software forum is full of complaints....but in any case they have V2.3 beta drivers out, if you're not already using those you could try them.
 
I have an AOC 16" USB monitor that I travel with - it's great.

I AM running Mountain Lion and have not pulled the plug to update to Yosemite, yet.

The AOC website shows that they have a beta driver for 10.10 that was released on Oct. 10th. It may or may not work for you...

Amazon has my AOC monitor for sale at $85.00 - give it a try and download the driver, Amazon has easy returns.

Good luck!
 
QWERTYMac7 said:
I have an AOC 16" USB monitor that I travel with - it's great.
Click to expand...
How is adjusting the brightness, color and contrast on a Mac? I've heard that one must hook it up to a Windows PC to do adjustments? Thanks for your advice.
 
cinealta said:
How is adjusting the brightness, color and contrast on a Mac? I've heard that one must hook it up to a Windows PC to do adjustments? Thanks for your advice.
Click to expand...

For me it's just plug and play, the settings are just fine.
 
You have to remember QWERTYMac7 is using Mountain Lion.....the Displaylink USB drivers supposedly work very well with ML according to their forums. Mavericks and Yosemite are a whole different story.
 
What do you use on the Mac Mini to make it think there's a primary monitor connected?
Click to expand...

I have dual 24" monitors that I use in my office. The AOC plugs into the USB port - AFTER downloading the drivers, then it was recognized and it's been working very well since then.

Yes, I'm on Mountain Lion.

There has never been a need to jump any terminals or the like when I am mobile I have only the AOC monitor - I plug it into the USB port and then fire up my Mac Mini. Easy as can be. I also have a 15' power cord that I use when traveling. It's a fantastic setup.

Hope this helps.
 
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