[jrunke]

Basically, I'm wondering how I can hook this Apple monitor up to my Sony Vaio with Windows 7. The monitor is built for a macbook, and is connected with a "Mini DisplayPort" plug, but also has a USB plug. When I plugged the USB into my computer the first time I was prompted with a driver check, one of which was missing called "Display iSight." Now when I plug it in nothing happens.

My dad bought this thing for his macbook and it now collects dust in a guest bedroom at his place! If anyone can help it would be greatly appreciated!

[compnovo]

jrunke, on 23 May 2010 - 08:47 PM, said:

Basically, I'm wondering how I can hook this Apple monitor up to my Sony Vaio with Windows 7. The monitor is built for a macbook, and is connected with a "Mini DisplayPort" plug, but also has a USB plug. When I plugged the USB into my computer the first time I was prompted with a driver check, one of which was missing called "Display iSight." Now when I plug it in nothing happens.

My dad bought this thing for his macbook and it now collects dust in a guest bedroom at his place! If anyone can help it would be greatly appreciated!

Hi and welcome to the forums.
The USB port(s) on monitor are for peripherals and can't be used to power them. What you need is a mini displayport to vga adapter like this:
http://www.newegg.co...lay+port+to+vga
Newegg also sells adapters for dvi ports if your Sony has one:
http://www.newegg.co...lay+port+to+dvi
Hope this helps.

[smax013]

compnovo, on 24 May 2010 - 04:42 AM, said:

jrunke, on 23 May 2010 - 08:47 PM, said:

Basically, I'm wondering how I can hook this Apple monitor up to my Sony Vaio with Windows 7. The monitor is built for a macbook, and is connected with a "Mini DisplayPort" plug, but also has a USB plug. When I plugged the USB into my computer the first time I was prompted with a driver check, one of which was missing called "Display iSight." Now when I plug it in nothing happens.

My dad bought this thing for his macbook and it now collects dust in a guest bedroom at his place! If anyone can help it would be greatly appreciated!

Hi and welcome to the forums.
The USB port(s) on monitor are for peripherals and can't be used to power them. What you need is a mini displayport to vga adapter like this:
http://www.newegg.co...lay+port+to+vga
Newegg also sells adapters for dvi ports if your Sony has one:
http://www.newegg.co...lay+port+to+dvi
Hope this helps.

I don't believe any of those will help. To my knowledge, the Apple 24" LED display comes with a "integrated" cable. This means that there is no "female" Mini Display port on the monitor...there is a permanently attached cable with a "male" Mini Display port connector on the end of it.

See this image:



And this website (ignore that it is in Japanese...it is the pictures that matter):

http://www.wangtam.c...y_cc_163610.php

And this review by Macworld:

http://www.macworld....ma_display.html

There do appear to be converters that will supposedly do the job. Here is one such converter:

http://www.atlona.co...er-p-17859.html

It appears that it ain't cheap, however. It looks like that converter is about $150.

[compnovo]

smax013, on 24 May 2010 - 07:10 AM, said:

compnovo, on 24 May 2010 - 04:42 AM, said:

jrunke, on 23 May 2010 - 08:47 PM, said:

Basically, I'm wondering how I can hook this Apple monitor up to my Sony Vaio with Windows 7. The monitor is built for a macbook, and is connected with a "Mini DisplayPort" plug, but also has a USB plug. When I plugged the USB into my computer the first time I was prompted with a driver check, one of which was missing called "Display iSight." Now when I plug it in nothing happens.

My dad bought this thing for his macbook and it now collects dust in a guest bedroom at his place! If anyone can help it would be greatly appreciated!

Hi and welcome to the forums.
The USB port(s) on monitor are for peripherals and can't be used to power them. What you need is a mini displayport to vga adapter like this:
http://www.newegg.co...lay+port+to+vga
Newegg also sells adapters for dvi ports if your Sony has one:
http://www.newegg.co...lay+port+to+dvi
Hope this helps.

I don't believe any of those will help. To my knowledge, the Apple 24" LED display comes with a "integrated" cable. This means that there is no "female" Mini Display port on the monitor...there is a permanently attached cable with a "male" Mini Display port connector on the end of it.

See this image:



And this website (ignore that it is in Japanese...it is the pictures that matter):

http://www.wangtam.c...y_cc_163610.php

And this review by Macworld:

http://www.macworld....ma_display.html

There do appear to be converters that will supposedly do the job. Here is one such converter:

http://www.atlona.co...er-p-17859.html

It appears that it ain't cheap, however. It looks like that converter is about $150.

Scott,
Thanks for the clarification. I'm using a "non-Apple" monitor with our Mac Mini (using a mini-dvi to vga adapter that I purchased from Amazon) and didn't realize the Apple monitors would have a different configuration.

[jrunke]

Ah, thank you very much! Bummer about the price though

[smax013]

compnovo, on 24 May 2010 - 07:34 AM, said:

Scott,
Thanks for the clarification. I'm using a "non-Apple" monitor with our Mac Mini (using a mini-dvi to vga adapter that I purchased from Amazon) and didn't realize the Apple monitors would have a different configuration.

Apple likes to do non-standard stuff a lot of the time. It is one of the more annoying things about Apple. They have LONG used non-standard video connectors for their monitors most of the time.

While I will admit that their solution for the 24" LED display makes it GREAT for a MacBook or MacBook Pro with a Mini Display port (it would work great with my MacBook Pro), it does kind of make those monitors somewhat of a "one trick pony".

[smax013]

jrunke, on 24 May 2010 - 11:49 AM, said:

Ah, thank you very much! Bummer about the price though

There are other similar options, but I have not found one that is cheaper. It appears that this is due to the fact that it needs to be a "converter", not just an "adapter". In other words, it needs some sort of "active circuitry" I believe. So, just a "dumb" cable converter will not work.

So, if you are not willing to spend the money on such a converter and you (or your dad) are not going to use it with a Mac with a Mini DisplayPort, then it will likely just sit there not getting used unless you choose to sell it.

[rewhite]

jrunke, on 23 May 2010 - 08:47 PM, said:

Basically, I'm wondering how I can hook this Apple monitor up to my Sony Vaio with Windows 7. The monitor is built for a macbook, and is connected with a "Mini DisplayPort" plug, but also has a USB plug. When I plugged the USB into my computer the first time I was prompted with a driver check, one of which was missing called "Display iSight." Now when I plug it in nothing happens.

My dad bought this thing for his macbook and it now collects dust in a guest bedroom at his place! If anyone can help it would be greatly appreciated!

You can get a female to female mini-DVI adapter/coupler that when combined with a mini-DVI to DVI adapter will allow you to connect the Apple monitor to your PC. But this is an adapter not a converter so no guarantee it will work.
Mononprice.com sells these adapters.

[nightalon]

So, I think this is kind of a farce on Apple's part.

Here's the deal:

I have two laptops that I like to use in Columbia University's Engineering Library:

Dell Precision M4400 with DisplayPort
Apple MacBook Pro 15 Mid-2010 with mini DisplayPort

The library has three types of beautiful monitors available for use with laptops (I supply my own cable since they only supply VGA):

Dell 30" U3011 CCFL-backlit IPS panel at 2560x1600
Dell 24" U2410 LED-backlit IPS panel at 1920x1200
Apple 27" LED Cinema Display LED-backlit IPS panel at 2560x1440

The MacBook Pro can connect to all three. The Dell monitors require a mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort adapter and a DisplayPort cable. (MBP->MDP2DP Adapter->DP cable->DP port)
The Dell can only connect to the Dell monitors. I am using the same DisplayPort to mini DisplayPort adapter in the reverse direction. (DellPC->DP cable->DP2MDP Adapter->MDP coupler->LED Cinema Display) [DOES NOT WORK!]

Apple should fix this with a firmware update. They finalized the MDP standard and made it compatible with DP. Why shouldn't their monitors be compatible with DP via a simple adapter?

The Dell laptop recognizes that it is connected to the LED Cinema Display, but when you try to activate the external monitor, the system freaks out for a while and then concludes that the external monitor could not be "enabled". It even drops the resolution of the internal panel while it's freaking out. This has never happened to me before with any other monitor.

I even connected the USB iSight and USB hub; the drivers install fine. I have not tested any of this in MacOS or Linux.

Unacceptable...standards should be standards. Apple should tell consumers that the version of MDP on its monitors is non-standard!