可编程显示解决方案：Mac因显示设置故障，如何用文本/十六进制编辑器程序化修改？

Hey there, let's work through this frustrating external display problem you're facing. Since you already tried enabling Mirror Display in System Preferences and it's still not kicking on, here's how you can tweak the display configs using text/hex editors (or terminal commands that tie into these files) to get things working again:

Step 1: Locate & Backup Your Display Configuration Files #

Mac stores display settings in a few plist files—start by backing them up to avoid messing up your system further:

• First, check for the user-specific config:

  cp ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver.plist ~/Desktop/windowserver-user-backup.plist
  

• If that doesn't have your external display data, look for the host-specific file (tied to your Mac's hardware UUID):

  ls ~/Library/Preferences/ByHost/com.apple.windowserver.*
  

  Backup the one that appears (replace XXXXXX with the actual filename):

  cp ~/Library/Preferences/ByHost/com.apple.windowserver.XXXXXX.plist ~/Desktop/windowserver-host-backup.plist
  

Step 2: Edit with a Text Editor (Recommended for Beginners) #

Plist files are binary by default, so you'll need to convert them to XML first to edit in TextEdit or any plain text editor:

1. Convert the binary plist to XML:

   plutil -convert xml1 ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver.plist
   

   (Use the ByHost path if that's where your display data lives)
2. Open the file with TextEdit:

   open -a TextEdit ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver.plist
   

3. Look for keys related to your external display:
   • MirrorDisplays: Ensure this is set to <true/> (double-check the value even though you enabled mirroring already)
   • DisplayAnyUserSets: This section contains resolution, refresh rate, and positioning data for each connected display. If your external monitor is stuck on an unsupported resolution, find its entry and modify the Resolution values to a native resolution it supports (e.g., <string>1920x1080</string>)
4. Save the file, then convert it back to binary format:

   plutil -convert binary1 ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver.plist
   

Step 3: Hex Editor Approach (Advanced Users Only) #

If you want to edit the binary plist directly with a hex editor:

• Open the plist file in a tool like Hex Fiend or 0xED
• Warning: Binary plists have a strict structure—editing values incorrectly will corrupt the file, so only do this if you understand how binary plists are formatted.
• Look for strings related to your display's resolution or mirroring state, modify them carefully, then save.

Step 4: Apply Changes #

To make the new settings take effect, restart the WindowServer (this will log you out, so save all work first):

killall WindowServer

Or simply restart your Mac.

Alternative: Terminal Commands for Quick Tweaks #

If you prefer skipping the editor, you can modify settings directly via defaults commands:

• Enable mirroring (if not already set correctly):

  defaults write com.apple.windowserver MirrorDisplays -bool true
  

• Reset display settings to default (a last-resort option):

  defaults delete com.apple.windowserver
  killall WindowServer
  

Remember, if anything goes wrong, just restore the backup plist files you created earlier and restart your Mac.

内容的提问来源于stack exchange，提问作者Leon De Vangeo