Windows 7 on MacBook Pro won't acknowledge HDMI out
May 30, 2012 2:17 AM Subscribe
13" MacBook pro running Windows 7 with an HDMI out adapter. Windows doesn't even acknowledge the adapter, though it works fine on Mac OS. Video hardware is the GeForce 9400M (which can't do audio output via HDMI, since it's basically from just before Apple built in that functionality). What to do? I want to hook it up to a TV that doesn't have a VGA or DVI connector at all, so HDMI was about the only option.
Response by poster: Are there separate drivers that the most up-to-date Boot Camp doesn't include? I'll give this a shot when I get home!
posted by DoctorFedora at 4:54 AM on May 30, 2012
posted by DoctorFedora at 4:54 AM on May 30, 2012
Response by poster: Grrrr, no dice. Still not working even with the newest drivers.
posted by DoctorFedora at 5:56 AM on May 30, 2012
posted by DoctorFedora at 5:56 AM on May 30, 2012
Response by poster: It's 64-bit Windows and a third-party HDMI adapter, if that makes a difference. The adapter works fine in Mac OS though so I can't imagine it's the cause.
posted by DoctorFedora at 6:00 AM on May 30, 2012
posted by DoctorFedora at 6:00 AM on May 30, 2012
The answer to your question is yes, but if the HDMI isn't built into your Nvidia hardware on the mainboard, then those aren't it. See if you can locate the particular 3rd-party who makes the HDMI adapter, and then search for Win64 drivers.
posted by Sunburnt at 7:22 AM on May 30, 2012
posted by Sunburnt at 7:22 AM on May 30, 2012
what do you mean by "is not recognized"? have you checked the Display control panel in Windows? sometimes Windows will see the secondary screen but will not use it until you tell it to. if you go into Display and then hit "Configure screen resolution", it will show you what displays it knows about and will allow you to turn them on/off or configure mirroring and all that whatnot. there's also a Detect button which will tell Windows to re-scan for displays, which may make it figure out that the TV is hooked up. (for best results you should have the TV connected, on and switched to the input you're using for the computer.) if none of this works, you may very well actually have a dodgy adapter. it may also be worthwhile to poke through whatever NVidia control panels are there too, as sometimes the video drivers add in various things to detect displays and all that.
DVI-to-HDMI converters are (usually) very simple devices - in (at least) the older specs of HDMI, the video bits are really just DVI anyway, so the converters just take the DVI signal and plop them on the right pins on the HDMI end of things. no conversion really, other than the physical one, so there wouldn't be any drivers for the adapter itself. there may, however, be drivers for your TV - you might check the manufacturer's website to see if any are available.
another option to possibly consider is a more complex adapter type thing that will also take in your audio. something like this (you'd also have to get a TOSlink cable for the audio - your Mac supports that through the headphone jack, there's an optical out embedded in there.) that will also require power, though it will also route your audio over the HDMI cable too.
posted by mrg at 11:11 AM on May 30, 2012
DVI-to-HDMI converters are (usually) very simple devices - in (at least) the older specs of HDMI, the video bits are really just DVI anyway, so the converters just take the DVI signal and plop them on the right pins on the HDMI end of things. no conversion really, other than the physical one, so there wouldn't be any drivers for the adapter itself. there may, however, be drivers for your TV - you might check the manufacturer's website to see if any are available.
another option to possibly consider is a more complex adapter type thing that will also take in your audio. something like this (you'd also have to get a TOSlink cable for the audio - your Mac supports that through the headphone jack, there's an optical out embedded in there.) that will also require power, though it will also route your audio over the HDMI cable too.
posted by mrg at 11:11 AM on May 30, 2012
Response by poster: The thing is, it's Mini Displayport to HDMI, which just takes advantage of a particular pinout in the Mini Displayport and let you plug in a different cable, connected to the right pins. There isn't a driver for the adapter because it has no special hardware.
This is all complicated by the fact that it all works just fine in Mac OS mode on that same computer and TV.
posted by DoctorFedora at 1:52 PM on May 30, 2012
This is all complicated by the fact that it all works just fine in Mac OS mode on that same computer and TV.
posted by DoctorFedora at 1:52 PM on May 30, 2012
Response by poster: Also, I've tried forcing it to detect old monitors and TVs, though Windows, for some reason, keeps the "search for TVs at startup" option grayed out. No dice there either.
Doing something like VGA out and then converting it to component isn't really ideal, because the plan is to hook up my computer to a TV for the purposes of playing a very timing-intensive music game, and any lag introduced by converting from digital (Mini Displayport) to analog (like DVI or component) would be a problem.
posted by DoctorFedora at 3:42 PM on May 30, 2012
Doing something like VGA out and then converting it to component isn't really ideal, because the plan is to hook up my computer to a TV for the purposes of playing a very timing-intensive music game, and any lag introduced by converting from digital (Mini Displayport) to analog (like DVI or component) would be a problem.
posted by DoctorFedora at 3:42 PM on May 30, 2012
Are you using Apple's adapter or a third-party adapter?
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:13 AM on June 2, 2012
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:13 AM on June 2, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 2:44 AM on May 30, 2012 [1 favorite]