[benjamino]

Loaded OSX to become only OS loaded - image became warped in shape on iMac screen. The odd restart resulted in blank screen. Reloaded OS9, had machine restored to former setup. On subsequent restart, screen has remained dull to the point of being unreadble, and visible only when viewed in dark room. Discovered that the firmware for OSX upgrade had not been installed...

Is there a way to reverse this effect?
Will it damage it further to reset the VRAM?

I would value any suggestions from anybody else who has been caught in this predicament!

[nredman]

never had this happen but i incourage any of the "smarter" mac users here to help

[benjamino]

Originally posted by nredman:
never had this happen but i incourage any of the "smarter" mac users here to help

Thanks - I'd be really appreciative to hear !

[chabig]

Try a few simple things first...

a) check the brightness and contrast in the monitors control panel.

b) resetting the PRAM will not cause problems, you can try it.

c) update the firmware

d) reinstall OS X

[maceye]

If these problems were caused by installing OS X without the required firmware update then I would assume that if you uninstalled OS X, booted into 9, installed the firmware update, and then reinstalled OS X that your problem would be fixed.

[benjamino]

Originally posted by maceye:
If these problems were caused by installing OS X without the required firmware update then I would assume that if you uninstalled OS X, booted into 9, installed the firmware update, and then reinstalled OS X that your problem would be fixed.

Thanks - I thought exactly that, too!
It is sounding increasingly like a hardware problem, possibly to the point that it has coincided with this OS-upgrade. Unfortunately the screen is now totally blank, as though it has become worse with each startup.

Thanks to all respondents - I'll keep you posted on any changes to it's condition !!!

[chabig]

Originally posted by benjamino:
Unfortunately the screen is now totally blank...

Even if you boot from an OS 9 CD? If so, then you are probably right to take it in.

[benjamino]

Yep - tried the OS9 reload and did a clean instal. Loaded properly once, then bombed. It's been sent in - I'll tell all when I get it back!

Thanking you

[P]

First up - have you tried flashing the PRAM? Turn off the iMac, press and hold Command-option-P-R and start it.

(Do cmd-opt-R with the left hand. If you put the right thumb on the P, you can reach the powerbutton with the index finger... Only Apple could think of a _five_ button combination to do something. Sure glad I don't have a Powermac where the powerbutton is on the computer under the desk.)

You will now hear the startup sound several times. Release the buttons when you've heard it a few times. Now, assuming you have OS 9 installed or loaded on a CD set to boot from, your computer shoudl be back to normal, and you can procedd with the firmware update.

If this does not work... turn the iMac off. Pull the plug. You need to remove the battery. On the slotloading ones, you can do this from the RAM access lid. Yes you can, it's just not easy. Unscrew the bottom cover if you can't do it any other way. On the older models, you need to unscrew most of the iMac. Anyway, remove the battery and leave it out or a minute or so. Return the battery, boot in to 9 and I'll be damned if the Mac isn't back to normal.

[benjamino]

Finally I have found the fix!!
The suggestions of resetting the PRAM and of starting via CD bootup in OS9 were the fix (with a heck of a lot of persistence).
Eventually the screen came back on one of the CD bootups. On occasions its was going to sleep as soon as the power button was pressed... bizarre.
Was able to sort out the Firmware under OS 9.1, as per specs & have subsequently updated to OS 9.2.
Feels as though i've had a lucky escape, as the behaviours were inconsistent between startups and looked increasingly as though it was ALL OVER, especally as you cannot tell whether each startup is causing more damage still...

I hope this adds to the vast body of knowledge out there.

[joedangerous]

Benjamino, I too failed to update my iMac's firmware before the upgrade. Once I identified the problem, though, I was able to find the firmware upgrade file on apple's site, DL it, and restart the machine, all with the warped screen. This fixed the issue.

For anyone else out there having the same problem (and it seems to be common), updating the firmware *after* the install is possible, (at least from 9, in my experience). The trick seems to be to do it ASAP, as the screen quality degenerates as time goes on. Anyone know why?

Dangerous. Joe Dangerous.

[Ianw]

Yes - I had the same problem. I got the screen back by resetting the NVRAM through open Firmware.

Boot into Open Firmware by holding CMD-Option-O-F, You will get a white Open Firmware screen.

Type reset-nvram (return)
Type reset-all (return)

The iMac will reboot - hopefully with the screen back to normal.