Image on external monitor is off-center I have a 13" retina MacBook Pro and an Acer X223W external display, connected via an official Apple Mini DisplayPort > VGA adapter. The Acer is set to 1680x1050 (its default resolution).

I wanted to adjust the colors on the Acer, so as a start I hit the physical Auto button on the display. As soon as I did this, the image on the display jumped over to the left by about 2". So the image is now cut off on the left, leaving a big black gap on the right.

If I switch the resolution to anything else, e.g. 1440x900, it'll fill the display like normal again. But if I switch it back to 1680x1050, it gets shifted over to the left again.

I tried adjusting the horizontal position of the image with the display's on-screen controls, but (a) it was already set to 50/100 (which should be the center), and (b) the maximum value of 100 doesn't move the image far enough to the right to eliminate the gap. So that apparently isn't the issue.

I also tried:


Restarting/rebooting the laptop
Turning the external display off and back on
Unplugging the Mini DisplayPort > VGA adapter and plugging it back in
Restarting/rebooting with the adapter unplugged, then plugging it back in
Repairing permissions
Repairing color profiles
Using different color profiles (including one downloaded from Acer's website)
Forcing OS X to detect displays (System Preferences > Displays, hold Option and click the "Detect Displays" button)
Resetting PRAM
Plugging the adapter into the laptop's other Thunderbolt port
Switching the arrangement of the displays
Changing which display is the primary
Enabling/disabling mirroring
Resetting the display via the OSD's built-in reset function
Hitting the Auto button again


None of those steps made any difference.

Then I tried plugging the adapter into a different MacBook Pro entirely (non-retina 13"). Amazingly, it does the same thing – the image shifts 2" over to the left at 1680x1050.

I'm running OS X Mavericks 10.9.4 on both MacBook Pros if that's of any relevance, but it seems like the issue is with the display itself since everything was perfectly fine until I hit the Auto button.

Furthermore, if I take a screenshot of the external display, it captures the full image. So that suggests the laptop is outputting the image to the display correctly, but the display itself is showing it off-center.

I've found other forum threads that suggest using a different adapter (e.g. DVI instead of VGA), but given that I've always used this display at 1680x1050 with the same adapter, I know it works...

I'm at a loss as to what else I can try to get the image to reposition correctly. Any help appreciated!
I had the same problem but with an iMac and a second monitor, where the second monitor, on applying a custom resolution, shifted the screen 2 inches right.

Unplugging the monitor from the back of the iMac, and plugging it back in adjusted the shifted screen back into place.