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Dual Monitor on a 2014 Apple Mac

Hi,


How do i add a second monitor to my iMac desktop?


I'm running Catalina 10.15.2


These are the ports i have at the back of the monitor:



I believe i need an adaptor of some sort for a VGA or HDMI? These are the cables that came with the monitor..




I bought a Mini DP To VGA Adaptor but i can't plug it into the back of the iMac monitor.


Any help appreciated.


Paul.

Posted on Mar 28, 2020 8:13 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Mar 28, 2020 8:16 AM

Paul, what input ports does your external display have?


HDMI (need Mini Display port to HDMI adapter)

DVI (need Mini Display port to DVI adapter)

Mini Display Port (need Mini Display port cable)

VGA (need Mini Display port to VGA adapter)


Not all adapters are made the same, buy high quality adapters. Also follow the steps in Use external monitors with your Mac

8 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Mar 28, 2020 8:16 AM in response to Paul_Clifford

Paul, what input ports does your external display have?


HDMI (need Mini Display port to HDMI adapter)

DVI (need Mini Display port to DVI adapter)

Mini Display Port (need Mini Display port cable)

VGA (need Mini Display port to VGA adapter)


Not all adapters are made the same, buy high quality adapters. Also follow the steps in Use external monitors with your Mac

Mar 29, 2020 1:38 AM in response to Paul_Clifford

usb does not as such carry video signals it's a general purpose serial data interface it require special dongles which act as external usb graphics cards

https://www.displaylink.com/products/usb-adapters

more

https://www.google.com/search?q=mac+usb+video+card&oq=mac+usb+video+card&aqs=chrome..69i57.2933j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8


but it should not be such a big problem the back of my imac 2011 looks more or less like yours the 2 ports in your photo most to the right are thunderbolt ports

I use the thunderbolt to dvi as seen here

About the Apple Mini DisplayPort adapters - Apple Support

you should be able to use the thunderbolt to vga also displayed in the link


I've been using my adaptor with a variation of different monitors (samsung, dell and now asus) since 2011 without problems

these days the asus monitor which has several inputs are shared between second monitor for the imac, xbox screen and monitor for a windows desktop

Mar 29, 2020 5:11 AM in response to rkaufmann87

I figured it out. More accurately, i was an idiot and in my impatience, hadn't tried the adaptor i'd purchased correctly. It's fine now and works a treat. As you've no doubt discovered, and this is a prime example....the error is sat in front of the screen.


Your questions prompted me to look more closely at the back and what i was doing.


Thanks a bunch and hope i haven't wasted too much of your time.


Paul.

Dual Monitor on a 2014 Apple Mac

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