Member Avatar for Goldfinch

I have been trying to connect my 20" Apple Cinena HD display to a Lenovo ThinkCentre running Win7, i bought an adapter to deal with the DVI-D Single Link to VGA connection, but the screen has not responded, I cannot configure the PC until I get a screen working.

Edit: To clarify this was Lenovo ThinkCentre M58 Desktop PC - Intel Core 2 Duo 3.0GHz, 160GB HDD, DVD-ROM, Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit. I replaced the default 2GB DDR3 with 4GB DDR3. And it was a $5 adapter. It's hard to tell if that's the problem, but if it is, then I'm not sure where to get one that fits. Apparently the model is: RB-M58/C2D but I am not familiar with the numbering scheme so I am not sure, just that it is an M58.

Edited by Goldfinch
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Short summary and practical next steps based on this thread: as reported, the cheap DVI↔VGA adapter did not bring the Apple Cinema display to life, and as suggested the likely culprit is a signal/adapter mismatch rather than a defective monitor or PC. The Apple 20" unit expects a digital DVI connection; a passive little DVI‑to‑VGA dongle will not convert digital↔analog signals.

Quick troubleshooting checklist:

  • Visually inspect the monitor DVI socket: if the four small pin holes around the flat blade are missing it’s a digital‑only DVI (no analog).
  • Confirm the monitor is powered and shows its own power/LED behavior when plugged in (some Apple panels have a visible self‑test when no video is present).
  • Test the display with any machine that has a native DVI output (or with a known working DVI cable) to verify the panel itself is good.
  • Test the Lenovo’s DisplayPort with a known good DisplayPort monitor/cable to confirm the PC output works and to determine if the DP port supports “dual‑mode” (DP++).

Adapter and conversion guidance (concise, practical):

  • For a DisplayPort source, two legitimate routes exist: keep the signal digital (DP→DVI) or perform an active digital→analog conversion (DP→VGA active). A passive VGA/DVI dongle is not a converter and will fail on a digital‑only DVI.
  • If the PC’s DP supports DP++ (dual‑mode), a simple DP→DVI cable/adaptor that carries digital DVI will work. If DP++ isn’t supported, an active DP→DVI adapter is required. Active converters cost more than the tiny $5 dongles.
  • Direction matters: buy an adapter/cable made for DisplayPort (source) → DVI (display), not the reverse.

If the above still fails, the most reliable fallback is a low‑cost PCIe video card (with native DVI/HDMI) or a properly rated active converter. This will avoid ambiguous adapter behavior and restore the Apple display at its native digital resolution.

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Member Avatar for rproffitt

Is this the M9177LL/A ? If so DVI-D to VGA would be more than a few dollars. I continue to find folk trying 5, 10 buck adapters and that's a dead end. Sometimes they want a technical reason why it doesn't work. That's on the web.

Let's here more about the exact models of the machines and what else you from from the Lenovo other than VGA.

Member Avatar for Goldfinch

Just noticed your question started referencing the Apple Display not the Lenovo, yes that appears to be the model.

Edited original post. Reproduced from above.

Edit: To clarify this was Lenovo ThinkCentre M58 Desktop PC - Intel Core 2 Duo 3.0GHz, 160GB HDD, DVD-ROM, Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit. I replaced the default 2GB DDR3 with 4GB DDR3. And it was a $5 adapter. It's hard to tell if that's the problem, but if it is, then I'm not sure where to get one that fits. Apparently the model is: RB-M58/C2D but I am not familiar with the numbering scheme so I am not sure, just that it is an M58.

Edited by Goldfinch
Member Avatar for rproffitt

All 5 dollar adapters do not convert VGA (analog) to DVI-D (digital.) Since that's so well discussed, let's not repeat why it doesn't work.

notes a DisplayPort. That might work.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815158234 and
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812816166 is from your PC's displayport to DVI-D (which your M9177LL seems to have. Both are digital so that's what I would have chosen for an adapter.

You'll want to check which DisplayPort size is on your PC

Member Avatar for Goldfinch

Hi, It looks like if plugging the monitor into the DisplayPort will work then it needs to be a DVI female to DisplayPort male link, I looked at the link you gave me for a DisplayPort but its for a male-male connector. Would this work? http://www.amazon.com/Dell-DisplayPort-Single-Link-Adapter/dp/B00Q20H3O8%3FSubscriptionId%3DAKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q%26tag%3Dduckduckgo-ffsb-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB00Q20H3O8
If the price is really an indicator of quality I could try to find a more expensive one, but this is the only one that came up from the few I looked at so far that seemed to fit the bill. I'm just guessing that I recognize the Dell brand name so maybe its good. No expertise implied here.

Member Avatar for rproffitt

The Dell adapter looks OK. While I've set these up over the years, I don't recall your exact monitor and PC. But this looks like the usual so I hope for the usual result (working.)

It's a shame there are folk making 5 dollar VGA to digital cables. I guess there are folk that will hope and buy such things even if they shouldn't work. That is, not one has been seen working here across a few hundred instances (I used to run a repair shop.)

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