external monitor color problem - DVI to VGA

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I'm hoping someone out there can help me out with this.

Macbook Pro last years model. I use external monitors alot for video DJing. I normally go DVI to VGA using the adaptor that came with the MBP. The other night I tried a different adaptor- DVI to composite. Now when I go back to the DVI to VGA my external screens have a yellow green tinge to them. I bought a new DVI to VGA adaptor and that didnt help. I calibrated the color profile, detected displays. and still the external screens are a yellow green color. You can still see whatever Im playing but there is definately something wrong with the color.

Please Help me if you can. I use this computer 4 nights a week for work and I need it to be working good.
 

chscag

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The original display profile (DVI to VGA) may have been overwritten when you switched to the DVI to Composite cable, but should have gone back to the original when you again used the DVI to VGA cable.

Let's try deleting the display profile files for each of your external monitors and see if that will get rid of the problem.

Navigate to /Library/ColorSync/Profiles/Displays/ Look for the name of each of your external monitors and move the individual display profile files to your desktop.

A new display profile file should automatically be created for each monitor when attaching them to the MBP. If all returns to normal, you can delete the old display profile files.

Regards.
 

chscag

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When you go back to the DVI to composite adapter, do the external monitor screens return to normal?

Also, how about the internal screen display on the MBP? Are you operating in mirror mode or extended desktop mode? And is the internal screen on the MBP OK?

Post back.

Regards.
 
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yes, when i go back to the DVI composite adaptor, the external screens go back to normal.
The internal MBP screen is just fine. I have tried both mirror & extended. still yellow.

mike
 

chscag

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OK. That means the graphics and display within your MBP are operating normally. We just haven't found out where the information regarding the monitor profile is being stored. Normally it's stored in the files I asked you to move to the desktop.

What make model of external monitor(s) are you using? I'm just wondering if the problem is not with the internal settings of the MBP but rather the monitor(s) themselves. I've had strange things occur with certain external monitors that required a complete reset of the monitor settings back to factory default before I could get it working properly.

If your monitor(s) have a reset back to factory default setting, try doing that and see if things return to normal. I'm hoping the monitor is "remembering" the composite settings and that's why the display is wrong.

Regards.
 

chscag

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I have tried4 different monitors with the same result. Yellow.

We're probably dealing with a system file somewhere that has been changed and we can't find it. There are several system files which depict display preference or have to do with the hardware setup. I would hate to start using a "shotgun" approach to deleting or moving them without knowing for sure which one was safe to do so.

Do you have a backup (Time Machine or otherwise) that you could use to restore the system to before you changed out the cable? Or perhaps restoring from backup would be inconvenient and would involve a loss of data?

My next suggestion is to contact Apple support if your machine is still under warranty or Apple care and run the problem by them. Perhaps someone there may know which file or files can be edited or removed to get things back to normal.

Regards.
 
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I didnt back it up. But all my important files are actually on an external. So maybe if all else fails I can just wipe the system and start over?

Im taking it to the Mac Store today.
we'll see.
 
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so i took it to the Mac store. They couldnt figure it out. So I reinstalled the system software along with everything else. Still the external screen is a green yellow color. I think that this is telling me that there is a problem with the video card.
what do you think?
 
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Same problem!

so i took it to the Mac store. They couldnt figure it out. So I reinstalled the system software along with everything else. Still the external screen is a green yellow color. I think that this is telling me that there is a problem with the video card.
what do you think?


There is no problem with your video card, it is a matter of getting the OLDER type VGA monitors to work with the adapter. The signals for the various rgb components get switched improperly, there is a fix for this in some obscure setting.

I will try and track it down and post here.
 
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Has SOMETHING to do with the Apple DVI -> VGA adapter being "too compliant" -- apparently the extra DVI pins get tricked by low quality VGA and somehow disable the wrong color channel.

Quick and dirty "fix": do NOT screw-in the adapter all the way, so the the portion nearest the back of the MacBookPro is about 1/16" away from fully seated. This will result in the extra pins NOT being connected and the VGA signal will look fine. Some folks have gone so far as to clip off the extra pins...
 
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Hardware broken

I've the same problem with my Macbook: the green screen when I connect it by DVI connector to an external display.

But not always!

When I pull/lift the DVI connector up while it is plugged in, normal colors appear! It is getting worse and worse unfortunately, and it's a nuisance when giving presentations to first have to carefully find the exact way to hang the display wire in the air...

But in my case, it seems like a hardware problem. So I just had to write about it in this thread, and I'm curious to hear from others experiencing the same problem, does this 'fix' it temporarely too on your machines?
 
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When I pull/lift the DVI connector up while it is plugged in, normal colors appear! It is getting worse and worse unfortunately, and it's a nuisance when giving presentations to first have to carefully find the exact way to hang the display wire in the air...

Looks like this is a pretty old thread, but...

I'm currently dealing with the same problem - the adapter for my Macbook shows yellow on the external monitor unless I prop it up with something, but my coworker's is totally normal. Guess I should try the quick and dirty fix!

I can't understand why these adapters are so poorly designed. The plug-and-go functionality is nice but they just don't hold well enough!
 
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yellow tint using projector

Hi folks,

I have the same problem.
I have a MacBook Pro 15 inch and I could never use a projector using the DVI to VGA adaptor because it has a yellow tint when projects the image.
I just can use my computer with s-video adapter which is very boring.

Does anyone discovery how to fix this problem?

cheers
 
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Yellow on mine is new and and changes if I wiggle the cord

I was searching for a solution to my "yellow" problem and found this thread. I thought I'd add my situation to the thread. I've been using my Apple Mini DVI to VGA Adapter for a few years, as I teach at a university, and sometimes it's just easier to project from my computer than to transfer files. It's worked fine until a couple of weeks ago. I'm projecting on the same computers I have in the past, but the yellow is new. However, for a while, if I just wiggled the adapter, the correct color would come back, so I figure that the adapter needs to be replaced- can't figure out a way to fix it. It's getting harder to wiggle it back to the right color as time goes on. I don't know that it helps much, but it's another piece to the puzzle, anyway.
 
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Same problem!

Hi guys.. I'm bringing the old thread back.. I got the same problem here..
I'm using macbook pro 15 early 2008.. And the vga out using converter turn yellow, i've tried everything but still no fix.. Does anyone already got the solution? So desperate now..
 
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Same problem

I got a Panasonic digital TV, and I've been hooking it up to my MacBook Pro via. the DVI port, using the DVI-to-VGA adapter that came with my Mac, since a couple months ago. At first the connection was working fine. A couple weeks ago I started getting a yellowish screen on the TV. Skin tones look greyish-green now. Reds look brown. Occasionally I've seen the full color come back, but it's been intermittent, going in and out. Wiggling the cord doesn't help. It gives all the indications of a connection problem, though. I think one of the colors is not getting through (I'm thinking it's the red). I've rechecked the connection to the TV, and "screwed in" the connectors to make sure they're not the problem, but it doesn't seem to help.

Has anyone fixed this problem? I'm thinking maybe I should take my Mac into an Apple store to see if they might be able to diagnose this. The comments on here have been helpful in getting a better idea of what's going on. At least now I know I'm not the only one with this problem. :)
 

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I have seen this be related to the port on the source device or the display - once in the last 25 years. If unplugging it and re-plugging it doesn't fix it, I'd suggest you just replace first the adapter, then the cable. Or just get duplicates of both at once. You can probably find both for around $10 at monoprice or Amazon.

You can always check the pins to see if there is a bent or missing pin. Once I've identified a patch cable thats misbehaving on me though, it goes in the trash.
 

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