Dual Monitors Set Up in Mac Mini

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With the Monoprice MiniDisplay Port to DVI Adapter that I bought from Monoprice, I am now finally able to do dual display with my Mac Mini.

I already have a Dell 2408WFP LCD Monitor and recently picked up a Samsung 2443BW LCD monitor. So I have two 24″ monitors to hook up with my Mac Mini. There are lots of talk and chatter in the internet about the Mac Mini and its ability now to power dual monitors.. so I just have to try to see if I can get it working too (that’s the geek in me…). There is a very good YouTube video on this that you can watch.

The Mac Mini comes with 2 display output: Mini-DVI port and Mini DisplayPort output. Out of the box, the Mac Mini already comes with a Mini-DVI to DVI Adapter. Hence I purchased a Mini Display Port to DVI from Monoprice which is WAY WAY WAY cheaper than Apple Store. I love Monoprice. Do you ?

So here’s a picture of the connections at the back of Mac Mini. One adaptor out of Mini DVI and one out of Mini Display port. Both adaptors are then linked to the monitors via normal DVI cables.

Dual Display with Mac Mini 2009

Dual Display with Mac Mini 2009

In Snow Leopard Mac OS, I went to System Preferences and then display screen set up and found that immediately I can now choose mirror display or extended display.

No reboot, no setup issues, no worries. It just works. Typical Mac. Typical Apple (And dont call me a fan boy !)

And so…….

Mirror Display:

Dell 2408WFP LCD Monitor on the left and Samsung 2443BW LCD monitor on the right
Dual Display with Mac Mini 2009

Extended Display:

Dell 2408WFP LCD Monitor on the left and Samsung 2443BW LCD monitor on the right
Dual Display with Mac Mini 2009

(And I can even choose different wall papers for different monitors…!)

But….. the next challenge is to also enable dual display in VM Fusion. I am currently running VM Fusion 3 with Windows XP. I need Windows XP to run MT4 software.

At first, I could not get it to work as I keep seeing only 1 screen in VM Fusion. The other screen is blank. I could not move any windows from the left screen to the right screen.

I google for help and found this: View->Use All Displays in Full Screen in VM Fusion. So I go to VIEW (at the top of the screen in VM Fusion) and saw the setting “Use All Displays in Full Screen”. Enabling it and behold:

Dual Display in VM Fusion 3 with Mac Mini 2009

Lovely !! Hope you like the photos 🙂

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7 Comments

  1. I was gonna got the Dell, but they don't sell this model anymore, so I'm looking at this Samsung as it's height adjustable.
    How about image quality-wise? Is the Samsung any good?

  2. It is okay.. not too bad.. there is a pre set of TEXT in the monitor setting that helps to optimize the text.

    I think for the price, it is okay. But as I saw at SITEX recently, there are a lot of good monitors from LG that are at a brilliant price. For example, there is one with Web Cam at only $330.

    Also, I like this Samsung only because it is 16:10 and has a straight bezel.

  3. hi there,

    so i've got the mac mini, and i'm trying to set it up to a dell monitor. i have all the things plugged in including the dvi to vga converter. but it won't show up on the dell screen.

    i've checked the dell screen menu and there isn't much i can change.

    can you offer any pointers?

    i see you have succesfully booted onto a dell screen. help!

    [email protected]

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