Chosen Solution
I want to use an external monitor 23" dell and according to Apple genius bar the only way to do this is to disable/disconnect the imac monitor I have the torx #8 & #6 would like to see a video 9-16-10 up date to clarify I do have the iMac connected to the dell monitor but need to disable the iMac so I can get the iMac to act as a tower only and to give the dell everything . The connection is from a mini dvi to the hdmi on the Dell
You don’t need to remove the internal monitor. Geez, who hires these “Geniuses?” all you need is (Depending on the model) a mini-DVI to DVI/VGA adapter, a mini-VGA to VGA/DVI adapter, or a mini-DisplayPort to VGA/DVI adapter. Like I said, each generation of iMacs is different for the adaptor. Tell me what iMac you have (Eg: G3, G4, G5, or Intel) and i can tell you which adapter you need.
In system preferences you can turn on “display mirroring” which will have the external monitor display the same as the iMac’s screen. Then you could disconnect the iMac’s display in order to save power consumption. There may be a better way to turn off the iMac’s display but I don’t know it. If you are looking for a guide we need your model #, there is more than one model of iMac, and each has a different way of disconnecting the display.
