Re: OSX screen corruption black lines
- From: Mentally Sub-Normal <sarah.j.balfour@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2007 11:38:52 -0000
On Sep 29, 11:02 am, PhilHibbs <sna...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
My brother's iMac has thin black lines across the screen. It looks
like a software issue, as the lines are per-window and scroll with the
window's contents. Sometimes Firefox gets chunks of its display
jumbled up. The logon screen has large blocks of random pixels on it,
and desktop icons have strips of random pixels as well. Any
suggestions? Sorry I don't know what version of OSX it is, but it was
bought a little over a year ago if that helps.
Phil.
If it was bought just over a year ago then it's 10.4.x (with 'x' being
somewhere in the region of 4-7 I would guess). OS X itself has been
around for quite a few years now (for our purposes since '01, though
OS X Server debuted in '99) In other words, as long as eXtra Problems
has, but Apple has continually sought to update its OS (there have
been 4.10 incarnations since, with the 5th due next month).
So, we have a late(?) 2006 iMac, which probably means it's a 1st
generation Intel, rather than one of the last of the G5s (if he bought
it new, obviously).
This page from MacInTouch might be of interest <http://
www.macintouch.com/readerreports/imacintel/topic3995.html> (it mainly
refers to early 2006 G5s and Intels, but it could be similar to your
brother's issue).
It sounds like an issue with the display driver to me. Now, I would
take any advice I offer you with a tonne or two of salt, as I am still
using a 2-year-old G5, which is my first Mac (I do have a MBP, but
it's at a friend's house at the moment, and I am unable to retrieve
it).
The best way to troubleshoot would be to attach an external monitor
(if he hasn't got a spare one then, maybe, he could beg, borrow or
steal one just for the purposes of testing). I think, though I don't
know too much about iMacs, that it would need to be a DVI as opposed
to a standard VGA unit (or you would need a VGA to DVI cable - in case
you didn't know, VGA connectors are (usually) blue and DVI white).
If that showed the same problem, then it's more than likely a hardware
issue. If not (and a reinstallation of the OS doesn't fix it) he could
simply use the external monitor (though I'm not sure that the native
one can be switched off).
Now, someone correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the first gen Intels
have on-board graphics (as opposed to a dedicated GPU)?
Someone with more knowledge than I (JonB, Daniele perhaps) will
probably tell me I'm talking out my rear orifice, but he could try a
repair installation of the OS (instructions on how to do this can be
found here <http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303124>
(this article gives start-up key combinations for Intel-based
systems). Put the 1st DVD in the drive, hold down cmd-c until it pings
and it'll boot from the disc. His user manual should give instructions
on how to perform a repair installation.
I have just done some searching on Apple's discussion boards and found
this to be quite a common problem with 1st and 2nd gen Intel iMacs
(I've never been too much of a fan of all-in-ones, but I do find
myself lusting after one of the new iMacs - trying to persuade my
parents to buy one).
If you want to to take a look yourself then it's <http://
discussions.apple.com> click on iMac, then Intel and do a search for
'lines on display' or a similar search term.
One such thread can be found here <http://discussions.apple.com/
thread.jspa?threadID=975131&tstart=0>. Another here <http://
discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1050636&tstart=0>.
Not identical, but refer to screen corruption and all could be caused
by same issue.
Another interesting fact is that some are reporting that the serial
numbers of machines with display issues begin 'W8603'
Another thread <http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?
messageID=1672510>
Someone even posted pictures of the lines on his 1st gen Intel iMac
here <http://displaylines.googlepages.com/home>. I know these lines
are white/grey, not black, but is it a similar issue to your
brother's?
I know this doesn't help much. but at least you know you're not alone.
Sarah
.
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