I recently wanted to add a monitor to my late 2011 MacBook Pro, but I have issue with main graphic card (failed AMD GPU) that is connected to the HDMI port and the other graphic card doesn't seem to have any port I could plug into. Note I have verified the HDMI port is currently non-functional.
I'm thinking about alternatives:
- Apple TV or AirPlay (is this still supported by newer monitors?)
- USB/WiFi connection?
What would be the best option here? Except buying new MacBook Pro of course.
Current state of my MBP:
- OS: High Sierra 10.13.6
- it works fine until I have to reboot (below copy from the link to the forum what I do when MBP gets restarted)
Procedure I use:
1 - Boot Single User (press Command + S) at boot (If you have MacOS installed on your hard drive).
2 - If you have a blank HD, then use the USB stick/Pendrive with the MacOS installer (El Capitan, Sierra or HighSierra).
2.1 - Press Option key at boot, Position the mouse on the MacOS installer icon.
2.2 - Press Command + S and keep holding these two keys.
2.3 - Click the MacOS installer icon -> continue holding the Command + S keys until you finish the MacOS installer Single User boot .
Enter these commands (change gpu-power-prefs to Intel GPU and boot verbose):
nvram fa4ce28d-b62f-4c99-9cc3-6815686e30f9:gpu-power-prefs=%01%00%00%00
nvram boot-args="-v"
reboot
Best Answer
The linked forum thread has 109 pages; What is your current state of MacBook - what have you tried from that forum post?
If your MacBook is now working and using the integrated graphics card, you can try to buy a USB to VGA/HDMI/... adapter.
Streaming to an Apple TV (which then connects to a TV/monitor) should work, even without the dedicated graphics card, but there are some limitations to it (e.g. may be slow, not ideal for videos/transitions,...). At least I could not find anything that implied it being a problem.
AirPlay is as far as I know only for music.
But you should probably read more about this problem here.