New DisplayLink Driver Released for Mac OS X Lion (10.7)

Posted on 06. Jun, 2011 by in USB-VGA-165

[Update July 2011: Lion is now out! And DisplayLink has an updated beta 3 driver available at the same location as below. The final version of Lion unfortunately has introduced several significant issues with USB graphics. For the most up to date information, see our support forum at http://support.plugable.com/plugable/topics/osx_lion_and_usb_2_0_display_adapter]

DisplayLink has released an updated Mac driver (1.7 beta 1) with support for Mac OX 10.7 “Lion” (both 32 and 64 bit kernels).

The driver is available for download now at http://displaylink.com/support/mac_downloads.php and is compatible with all Plugable USB graphics adapters and docking stations, such as the Plugable UGA-2K-A.

DisplayLink’s release coincided with Apple’s announcement today at WWDC that the Lion update will be available for purchase next month for $29. Driver updates from DisplayLink are free.

This new line of DisplayLink drivers (1.7 and later) is critical for all DisplayLink Mac users looking to upgrade to Lion, as the new OS release breaks all older USB graphics drivers.

The new DisplayLink driver release includes other fixes, but retains the same high-level characteristics and limitations of prior Mac driver versions (displays up to 2048×1152 on high-end USB adapters; limit of 4 additional displays via 4 USB adapters; no Quartz Extreme/OpenGL support).

Installing DisplayLink drivers on a Mac

Posted on 19. May, 2011 by in USB-VGA-165

You can attach up to 4 additional displays on any Intel Mac OS X system with DisplayLink-based USB virtual graphics adapters. Whenever images are redrawn, the CPU is heavily involved, so it may not be as snappy as your main monitor — but it’s the easiest way to build an amazing, plug and play multiple monitor setup on the Mac.

If you’ve never installed DisplayLink’s Mac drivers, here’s a walk-through of the steps (using OS X 10.6.7 and DisplayLink’s v1.6 Mac driver):

1. Fire up Safari, go to this page to download the Mac driver :
http://www.displaylink.com/support/mac_downloads.php

You’ll want to download the latest driver, because DisplayLink’s Mac drivers are still improving, and because new Apple OS updates often require updated drivers from 3rd parties.

2. Once there, make sure you tick the ‘I agree to the terms of the DisplayLink End User License Agreement (EULA)’ and then click on ‘Download Driver’.

3. Safari will instantly start downloading the driver and automatically mount it on your desktop. Once the download is done you should see a ‘DisplayLink installer’ icon on your desktop. Double click on the ‘DisplayLink Installer’ on your Desktop.

4. The ‘DisplayLink Installer’ will pop up. Double click on ‘DisplayLink Software Installer.pkg’

5. You may get a warning: “This package will run a program to determine if the software can be installed”. Click ‘Continue’.

6. On the ‘Install DisplayLink Software’ window click ‘Continue’ to proceed.

7. The ‘Software License Agreement’ will be presented. Proceed by clicking ‘Continue’ again.

8. Click ‘Agree’ to agree with the software license agreement.

9. You’ll get the ‘Select a Destination’ screen. Click on the disk where you want to install the DisplayLink Software, and click ‘Continue’ to proceed.

10. Install to the standard location – just click ‘Install’.

11. You should get a pop up for your password to alow the installer to make changes. Type in your password and click ‘OK’.

12. You’ll get a warning that the computer will need to restart. This is normal, click ‘Continue Installation’.

13. The installation will finish. You should get a message that ‘The installation was successful’. Click ‘Restart’ to finish installing.

14. When the computer finishes restarting, log in and plug in the USB-VGA-165. As soon as you plug it in, the secondary monitor should be autodetected and ready for use.

15. To further configure your monitors, do the following: Click on ‘System Preferences’->

Under ‘Hardware’ click on ‘Displays’

Click on ‘Arrangement’ to re-arrange your displays.


Finally to change your primary monitor, all you have to do is go to ‘Arrangement’. Click on the white bar and drag it to the other screen. As soon as you release the mouse the primary monitor will change.

Notes:

  • DisplayLink’s virtual USB graphics don’t support OpenGL or Quartz Extreme, so apps that do high-end 3D or video should stay on your main monitor.
  • DisplayLink adapters can support VGA, DVI, and HDMI as outputs (below is a high end one that supports all three, and a less expensive one that’s VGA only). They don’t support DisplayPort or any of the earlier Apple proprietary connectors, so watch out with Apple Cinema displays.
Plugable UGA-2K-A USB 2.0 to VGA/DVI/HDMI Adapter for Multiple Monitors up to 2048×1152 / 1920×1200 Each (DisplayLink DL-195 Chipset) Product Details $64.00
Plugable USB-VGA-165 USB to VGA Adapter for Multiple Displays up to 1920×1080 / 1600×1200 Each (DisplayLink DL-165 Chip) Product Details $44.95

Hope this helps! If you have any trouble at all, feel free to contact us at http://support.plugable.com/ or email support@plugable.com

Regards,

Lampros (Plugable Support)

DisplayLink Releases New 5.5 M1 Windows Driver

Posted on 03. Dec, 2010 by in Windows

This release is especially important for users of the latest nVidia drivers (versions later than 258.96) on Windows 7 and Vista, because these recent nVidia drivers conflict with earlier DisplayLink drivers in the area of DirectX functionality.

We’re recommending that affected users download this latest DisplayLink 5.5 M1 (Dec 3, 2010) release or any later version, available at http://displaylink.com/support/downloads.php

Note a reboot may be required as the installer removes the prior version, and installs the new. Please feel free to comment with any experience reports or problems.

Here’s a rundown of important problems that are intended to be fixed from 5.5 (Sept 29, 2010) to 5.5 M1 (Dec 3, 2010) from the DisplayLink 5.5 M1 release notes. We have some notes from us [in brackets] based on what we’ve seen from Plugable customers.

These issues have complete or partial fixes in 5.5. M1:

  • Video playback issues on Microsoft Windows 7 with the latest NVIDIA Drivers. [This is the big incompatibility where nVidia drivers after 258.96 broke DirectX functionality on systems with DisplayLink drivers installed]
  • DisplayLink Software upgraded through Windows Update will not work correctly after rebooting the system (issue affecting releases R5.3 to R5.4 on Windows update). [This problem has kept the DisplayLink version on Microsoft's Windows Update system to the older version 5.2, meaning that users who simply plug in their device without a manual driver download have been missing fixes for a number of serious known issues. Now DisplayLink should be able to resume delivering the very latest drivers via Windows Update]
  • DisplayLink USB monitor could occasionally remain blank after a PC reboot. [we've seen this problem intermittently from several customers. We suspect multiple causes, but hope this resolves most]
  • Sometimes the DisplayLink icon is missing in the system tray. [this had previously been a sign of larger problems]

And other important problems DisplayLink reports fixed, that we haven’t specifically run across:

  • Blue screen on Windows 7 on some platforms when rebooting after having applied layout changes.
  • The DisplayLink GUI stops functioning correctly after switching GPU on some ATI/Intel hybrid systems.
  • Sometimes there are two DisplayLink icons present in the system tray.
  • Video in Basic Mode not working with the latest Windows updates on both Windows Vista and Windows 7.

5.5 M1 is compatible with all Plugable USB graphics devices. Generally DisplayLink does a good regression testing so we’ve generally had a good experience being aggressive about upgrading to get the latest fixes (when things break, they break more often between DisplayLink releases because of external OS or other main GPU driver changes). So we’re recommending this release to all Plugable users who are experiencing any of the problems above.

Page 2 of 1112345...10...Last »