Hooked up ACER 20" (broken imac monitor) now it spans and won't mirror

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as the title states..
i hooked up this monitor 20" 1650x102x something can't remember the exact #'s
i used the mini-dvi to dvi cord from apple.

anyways it now seems to use this monitor as an expansion of my original screen, and not what is dipslayed on the original screen...

which doesn't solve my problem AT ALL of the broken screen on the imac :Angry:
so am i just screwed and i can never retrieve any info from this computer or use it again?? what a waste. i never should have purchased a computer with an integrated monitor :(
 

chscag

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Your Mac's Specs
2017 27" iMac, 10.5" iPad Pro, iPhone 8, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Mini, Numerous iPods, Monterey
That's because you have the external monitor setup so that it extends the desktop of your iMac rather than mirror it.

Are you able to view anything at all on the screen of the iMac? If you can, go into display preferences and drag the external Acer on top of the iMac display so that it mirrors. Unfortunately you can not change that setting from the external display.

Regards.
 
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i can't see anything on the imac monitor at all.. so am i just screwed?>??
:banghead:
 

chscag

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Sure looks that way. The older models were able to switch displays with the press of an F key, now it's done from display preferences. But as I stated in the first reply, there's no way to do it from the external monitor.

Have you thought about replacing the broken monitor in your iMac? Click on this link and follow the links that come up.

http://www.google.com/search?q=iMac monitor replacement

It appears it's not as expensive as I would have thought. Certainly less than replacing the screen on a Mac notebook.

Regards.
 
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.. that's still expensive at around 500$

if i buy a brand new macbook can i hook it up and pull everything from the hard drive?
 
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Your Mac's Specs
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Yes, you can easily transfer your data from one mac to another. Although, it might be more difficult if you can not access the system Preferences menu at all.

Do you have any friends with iMacs of the same basic specs as yours? If so, swap your drive into their machine, plug in the second monitor, enable display mirroring, and then reconnect your drive and monitor to your own system.

How old is your iMac? Is there any way that the internal monitor is still covered under warranty?
 
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not sure.. I had applecare for 3 years. I bought this iMac when the new ones with the intel core duo had 1st come out. I believe that was over 3 years ago.. maybe I should call to make sure. Will I be able to transfer the data even though I can't login on my broken screened computer?

my computer here at work is basically the same as the one I have at home...
Also my parents have the same iMac as me too.
any details on how to swap the drives and do this?
 

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