Radeon HD 6870 Dual monitor (DVI) not working SOLVED

[TheLloyd]

Hi billdlv81,

I have the same gfx card as you (and probably same of the rest of the hardware). I'll try your solution of the link you provided. Let's hope it'll also work for me ;-)

If I read everything correctly you only had to edit your ATI6000Controller.kext file and change your boot.plist to include:
AtiConfig=Gibba
AtiPorts=5

Right?

Thanks

Yes you are correct.

Hi billdlv81,

It looks like you have put a lot of time into getting Dual Monitor DVI capabilities on your CustoMac.

I have almost an identical build as yours and have everything working perfectly, except, of course, for this issue.

Would you (or someone else) mind posting a step by step procedure to resolve this issue on my machine, as if I were a four year old?

 

[rumey]

Hi TheLloyd,

the easiest way for a 4 year old would be to use the ATI6000Controller.kext that billdlv81 has provided on his last link (insanelymac). It worked perfectly for me.

One thing that is important is to remove any HDMI cable as that would disable the upper DVI port

 

[TheLloyd]

Ahhh. Finally was able to get this to work.

Please note that AtiConfig=Gabba NOT AtiConfig=Gibba as mentioned in Rumey's earlier post.

If anyone is having a hard time with the steps required on this post, I am happy to try to help...

 

[darko_kun]

Ahhh. Finally was able to get this to work.

Please note that AtiConfig=Gabba NOT AtiConfig=Gibba as mentioned in Rumey's earlier post.

If anyone is having a hard time with the steps required on this post, I am happy to try to help...

Hey Lloyd I wouldn't mind that help! I downloaded the Kext and installed that but Im not sure how I go about editing the plist file. What exactly do I do? Where do I enter that text? Thanks!

 

[darko_kun]

Can anyone let me know if my com.apple.boot.plist is correct? I can't get my 2nd monitor working on DVI in lion. I have the Sapphire 6870


<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>Kernel Flags</key>
<string>AtiConfig=Gibba AtiPorts=5</string>
</dict>
</plist>

 

[rumey]

Remember what TheLloyd said: Gabba, niet Gibba.

Also take in mind to not use the HDMI port as that will disable the upper DVI port.

 

[darko_kun]

Remember what TheLloyd said: Gabba, niet Gibba.

Also take in mind to not use the HDMI port as that will disable the upper DVI port.

Thanks for the response Rumey. I tried using gabba as well but it's still not working. I have nothing plugged not HDMI so it's not in use. The monitor works fine until I boot into Lion then the signal goes away and it just goes to sleep. I installed the kext that was posted in a earlier post using Kext helper and kextbeast is there some other way I should be installing this? I've been at this for a while now and can't figure it out. Did you have any other suggestions?

 

[rumey]

I didn't use any utility to install it. I just removed the existing file (copied to a folder on my desktop) and replaced with the new one.
After reboot it all worked.

If it doesn't I'll see that I post my details when I'm back home.

 

[darko_kun]

I didn't know you were able to just move the kext to the folder. I'm going to try that right now and see if it works. Thanks I would appreciate the details!

So just moving the kext into the kext folder wasn't a good idea. I ended up having to reinstall Lion lol I installed the ati6000 kext using kext utility this time around but my second monitor is still not seen when I try to detect monitors. Even tried changing the way my plist was formatted but still no go.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>Kernel Flags</key>
<string></string>
<key>AtiConfig</key>
<string>Gabba</string>
<key>Atiports</key>
<string>5</string>
<key>graphicenable</key>
<string>yes</string>


</dict>
</plist>

This is pretty frustrating since it's the only thing I need lol I'm so close! I had my other monitor working on snow leopard without a problem. I think I will try again tomorrow.

 

[Inspector42]

I didn't know you were able to just move the kext to the folder. I'm going to try that right now and see if it works. Thanks I would appreciate the details!

So just moving the kext into the kext folder wasn't a good idea. I ended up having to reinstall Lion lol I installed the ati6000 kext using kext utility this time around but my second monitor is still not seen when I try to detect monitors. Even tried changing the way my plist was formatted but still no go.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>Kernel Flags</key>
<string></string>
<key>AtiConfig</key>
<string>Gabba</string>
<key>Atiports</key>
<string>5</string>
<key>graphicenable</key> /* should read graphicsenabler
<string>yes</string>


</dict>
</plist>

This is pretty frustrating since it's the only thing I need lol I'm so close! I had my other monitor working on snow leopard without a problem. I think I will try again tomorrow.

There's a typo in your plist-file. See my comment in the quote above. This is most likely preventing proper function of the graphics card as I believe the default is graphicsenabler=no.