M2 Mini No longer sees HDMI monitor after software update

The M2 Mini 2023 runs server stuff and home automation in the closet so I don’t know exactly which update caused this to change as I mostly just connect to it via VNC or Apple Remote Access. I’ve had an OLD 17” monitor connected to it since I bought it which worked fine through the HDMI to VGA adaptor that the last mini I used as a server came with. Sometime recently it stopped noticing the monitor was there at all. Since I normally connect from my desk and only rarely then, it is not necessary 90% of the time but when you need a local monitor you need it 100%!

After one of the more recent software updates, it is currently running 15.5 but this was broken before that update, it stopped being able to wake up and use the monitor at all. I just thought the adaptor was probably not supported anymore so I bought a small external HDMI monitor but that arrived today and it doesn’t see that either. In the display control panel it only shows “Screen Sharing Virtual Display” and never shows the external monitor no matter which one I connect or how often I reconnect or restart or whatever.

If anyone has any advice about getting it to notice that it has a physical monitor connected that would be awesome also any threads I can follow to try to debug it myself. So far all the info I’ve found is things like run the color profile setup which I can’t do here because the monitor doesn’t even show up as connected at all. The monitor initially realizes that something is connected via HDMI as it says so, but instead of showing the desktop a few moments later as others it goes back to “No Signal”

Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome!