97 replies to this topic

[ziddan]

I was thinking today that perhaps its possible to fool the eeepc into thinking there is an external monitor plugged in.

After a lot googling i found the answer!

People installing OSX on intel laptops have been having problems with it BSODing if an external monitor was not plugged in.

Someone found a dead simple fix for it, i tried it on my eee.

Here is how to get the eee to think a monitor is plugged in:



Ive inserted peices of a paperclip as per a picture from a mugan on the insanelymac forums.



With this the eee detects a secoundary monitor, meaning it can be set to clone mode, meaning we can get 640x480 stretched or centered as well as scrolling resolutins with the standard driver.

Edited by ziddan, 28 April 2008 - 09:17 PM.

[CyberTron]

Would it be better to do the mod on a vga gender so user can choose to remove it and put it back anytime they want?

[ziddan]

some have, i didnt have one of those on hand and this is very removable as well.

Took two pics with my other webcam, the quality is crap for ordinary stuff as ive removed the IR filter but it shows the wires installed in my eee and the interface where two monitors are detected (although very blurry and lowres)

[Fallentine]

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Would it be better to do the mod on a vga gender so user can choose to remove it and put it back anytime they want?

External monitor support can be disabled within windows.
Infact it can be disabled with the FN key combo.

This mod is great, unless of course you use an external monitor on a somewhat regular basis, then getting the pin connectors out would be a pain.
Though i have an idea for that. Make the pin connectors longer, and give the U end a twist. so it doesnt go in completely so it can be fingered out.

[Neil]

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Though i have an idea for that. Make the pin connectors longer, and give the U end a twist. so it doesnt go in completely so it can be fingered out.

Or get a small plastic cap for the VGA connector (seen them as packaging on a couple of laptops recently, I seem to recall), and then fit the pins into that- then, it's just a case of putting on the cap, and job done :)

[naitsirk]

cool mod! excellent work

[angel eyes]

can you try uploading a good pic of the desktop with the 640x480 ?

[ziddan]

I can post a printscreen but really you wont see any difference as 640x480 is still 640x480 even if its stretched, the stretching is done by the intel software/driver and therefore windows does not care about it.

[CrAzY]

Can you make the resolution above 640x480? Or can it reach 1024x768?

[geoelectric]

That's brilliant. I love it.

Re: stretching, does it honor the driver options to display 640x480 without scaling?

I think I may go buy a m->f changer today and jumper it. This is an awesome idea.

[siafu]

sorry for my ignorance, but what is the purpose of 640x480? Is there something that requires it?

As for the hack, it looks like a simple mod that once I know what its purpose is, even I could do :)

[TheTurnipKing]

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sorry for my ignorance, but what is the purpose of 640x480? Is there something that requires it?

As for the hack, it looks like a simple mod that once I know what its purpose is, even I could do :)

It's a more "standard" resolution than the EEE's somewhat offbeat choice, is all. Presumably it would make it easier to run games, among other things.

[Malifer]

tag

[geoelectric]

TurnipKing:

It's more than that. It's extremely rare for a graphics card to not support 640x480. Most older games default to that resolution, and just won't run at all if it's not supported. The Eee's graphics drivers only support 640x480x16 as a minimum for Windows installation, but games request true-color and fail to start.

[ziddan]

CrAzY: it cant make a 1024x768 desktop fit the screen, for that you need Lazertags drivers. However i think it scales down larger resolution when handling acceleratet graphics, will check when i get home.

geoelectric: I think you are asking if you can get 640x480 without stretching so ill answer that question, yes you can get 640x480 centered with black on the sides (pillarbox?).

mhthomas: i might, dont think this will be any problem though as i dont intend to wiggle the wires around. Ive put some tape over them.

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The Eee's graphics drivers only support 640x480x16 as a minimum for Windows installation, but games request true-color and fail to start.

And thats with the windows standard driver meaning no 3d acceleration.

Edited by ziddan, 01 January 2008 - 11:17 AM.

[n3rdk1d]

so we can use the standard driver and have 640x480 stretched correct? AND have standby? i'd love to have 800x600 scaled so i don't have to scroll. does this do that too? prolly not huh?

[ziddan]

n3rdk1d: standby works with this hack. 800x600 scaled does not, i too would love that with this one but i havnt looked at the drivers so i dont know.

[eFfeM]

on xandros if you go to a higher res externally then you can pan on the local display.

To make this easily removable, I would definitely solder this into an old VGA plug.

[ziddan]

eFfeM: panning works without a hitch, this mod makes the eee work just like when an external monitor is connected.

[siafu]

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I need to get a glue gun or something to seal up the exposed end. Maybe something like clay that dries hard?

Suggestions?

Radio Shack is great for stuff like this!

I keep seeing commercials for "Mighty Putty" it dries hard and bonds to anything.

Edited by siafu, 01 January 2008 - 10:30 PM.