2020 MacBook Air M1 and 2008 Samsung SA 300 Monitor

[up-country_sinclair]

Hi,

 

I'm trying to mirror my 2020 MacBook Air with a 2008 Samsung SA 300 monitor via a USB C to VGA adapter.

 

I've followed Apple's suggested settings on the MacBook:

About this Mac> Displays>Arrangement and then put a check make in "mirror displays".  

 

But no luck. 

 

I get an onscreen message on the Samsung monitor that says, "Check Signal Cable" and underneath that, it says, "Digital".  In the monitor's settings, I'm limited to only switching between "PC and "AV". I've selected both to no result, and every other option in settings is grayed out.

 

However, the MacBook display settings does recognize that it is connected to the Samsung monitor. 

 

I'm not particularly tech savvy, but I'm guessing this issue is due to one of two possibilities:

 

1. The monitor is just too damn old and I need to stop being so cheap and go out and buy a new one.

2. The USB C to VGA adapter is not functioning properly.

 

Any other ideas?

 

I'm new to Mac computers (just got this one about 2 months ago) I'd be most appreciative for any advice or suggestions.  And of course will provide any additional information as needed.

 

Thanks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sometimewoodworker]

The first step is do not switch on mirror displays this is the least useful arrangement and often problematic.

this is due to the refresh rate that your external monitor can support usually being different from the rate supported by your internal display.

 

if you can add the display as a second display then you know that it’s going to work. When you add it select a low resolution and frequency 640 x 480 & 30 MHz is almost guaranteed to work if it’s going to connect at all

 

after that if you really want to mirror them then you can work out the maximum resolution and display frequency available to both of them.

 

You do this by changing the resolution incrementally then the frequency once you go too high you will get a black screen so back off to the last combination that worked. This process only takes a few minutes as unlike windows you do not need to restart to see changes

Do not believe the claimed specs for the monitor as the cable may not support them

Edited April 26, 2021 by sometimewoodworker

[up-country_sinclair]

@sometimewoodworker thanks to your advice and suggestions, the monitor is now working.  

The resolution, however, is not very clear.  Unfortunately I can't adjust it on the monitor.  Is there a way to do this on the MacBook?

Thanks again.

[sometimewoodworker]

47 minutes ago, up-country_sinclair said:

@sometimewoodworker thanks to your advice and suggestions, the monitor is now working.  

The resolution, however, is not very clear.  Unfortunately I can't adjust it on the monitor.  Is there a way to do this on the MacBook?

Thanks again.

Yes in the display pane of the system preferences but you may be restricted if you are using mirroring. You may not be able to have both displays as sharp as is possible using mirroring. 
 

you almost certainly have chosen a resolution that is not native to the display, so rather than a single pixel from the computer being mapped  to a single pixel on the monitor it is mapped to some number of pixels or fractions of pixels. 
 

this is why some possible resolutions available on the internal display are not so clear. 

Edited April 27, 2021 by sometimewoodworker