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Brad RubinFlag for United States of America

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Why does my new Macbook Pro screen go dark when I disconnect it from a monitor?

I have a brand new Macbook Pro. I currently have two alternative monitors hooked up in my office at work - one DVI monitor and an HDMI TV. When I disconnect one or more of the monitor cables, my laptop screen goes dark. I am not able to get my laptop screen to come back on without restarting my machine.

I looked in Apple forums and it appears that this is a known issue, but none of the solutions seem to work for me. Can someone help me troubleshoot this problem? I am lost as to what to do next to make this work.
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Davis McCarn
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There is no Eject button on the new MacBook Pro's - or I'm going blind (they don't have a built-in CD/DVD drive).

I have two external monitors (both via DVI / Thunderbolt convertor) and whilst my screen goes black after something is unplugged, it doesn't stay black forever.

What version of the OS do you have and what the spec of the MacBook Pro?  13" or 15" ?

Alan
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Alan, you are correct. No eject button.

I am running OSX 10.9.4
I have the 13" model.
Okay - so you have the same one I do running the same version of OS.

What RAM / CPU did you get?  Don't image it's relevant but you never know.
Are you mirroring displays or extending displays?
The power key replaces the eject key so Command-Ctrl-Power restarts it.

Did you read the article on creating your own hotkey for detect displays?
Processor: 2.8GHz Intel Core i7
Memory: 16GB 1600 MHz DDR3
Extending Displays

The hotkey article seems logical, but my system preferences are different than the screenshots and there is no '+' anywhere in the GUI to add a hotkey.
Oi!  You've got my machine!

If you just plug in the Thunderbolt to DVI connector on one monitor and then unplug it, do you get the same issue?

I don't use the HDMI connector and I don't have the problem so wondering if it is that that could be the issue.

Alan
Yes, it seems they removed numerous options from the create hotkey menus and worse, I can't find a single script or utility that could then be linked to a hotkey.
I did have a thought though, Brad; what happens if you turn off the external display?
And, does the restart work?
I think the issue is when I disconnect the DVI monitor; I can't reproduce this problem with the HDMI disconnect.

I haven't tried the restart since I don't want to spend a ton of time fiddling with this at work; however, I will try that next.

The basic scenario though has been the computer is dark and the keyboard does not respond. This is why I have been doing a hard restart.

I appreciate your help. I will let you both know if I can get a solution. Please let me know if you have other ideas.
I'll break out my HDMI to DVI cable and see if I can reproduce the problem.  Hold fire!
How are you connecting the DVI monitor to the macbook?  I have seen lots of issues with noncompliant adapters.
Okay - running one HDMI to DVI cable and one Thunderbolt to DVI connector and when I unplug either cable, the screens go black for a short while and then comes back up with my normal display!
I am using an Apple Thunderbolt Adapter for DVI. It is Apple issued and not aftermarket.

Screenshot attached.
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Thanks for both of your efforts. I have created a hot key and will reset my system management controlled. Thanks for both of your input.