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mrfett · Jul 29, 2002, 09:51 PM

I began having an odd problem last week. When I view a slide show in iPhoto, the images have horizontal black lines of varying width and length going through them. The lines flicker all over the screen during the transitions, then settle into one spot while viewing the picture, then start moving around again when the next transition starts.

The same thing happens during the transitions of Mac OS X's built-in screen saver. In addition, once the transition is done and the image starts zooming in and out, the image starts to get blurry in a digital way.

I'm assuming this is an OpenGL issue, but I don't know what caused it. I've recently installed QuickTime 6 Pro and the latest Apple updates.

I've searched lots of forums and it doesn't seem anyone has noticed this problem. It'd be great if another DVI owner with the latest software could try viewing an iPhoto slide show. Any help would be appreciated. I'm going to take it to a genius at an Apple Store tomorrow, but am doubtful I'll get a resolution, as a call to Apple support got me nowhere.

arshmuck · Jul 29, 2002, 10:27 PM

no problems here. I am running 10.1.5 and installed an ati update about a couple of weeks ago.

mrfett · Jul 30, 2002, 01:09 AM

did you install the retail ati update on your 800 DVI?

Sharky K. · Jul 30, 2002, 03:32 AM

I wouldn't recommend installing retail drivers... It isn't called for nothing "retail".

mrfett · Jul 30, 2002, 11:33 PM

I was desperate for a fix, so I installed the retail drivers despite having passed on them when they came out. Didn't help. Went to the Apple Store, and the genius thinks it's hardware.

So far I've had the PowerBook for 1 month, and in that time:

1. Got a new machine for DOA combo drive
2. Sent it away for a new logic board because my cache got fried (no idea how)
3. Going to be sent away again for this video card issue.

Why do I keep buying these things?

wataru · Jul 31, 2002, 11:45 AM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Sharky K.:
I wouldn't recommend installing retail drivers... It isn't called for nothing "retail".<hr /></blockquote>The ATi retail drivers work perfectly with OEM cards. This has been true for years.

msykes · Jul 31, 2002, 02:20 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by mrfett:
I was desperate for a fix, so I installed the retail drivers despite having passed on them when they came out. Didn't help. Went to the Apple Store, and the genius thinks it's hardware.

So far I've had the PowerBook for 1 month, and in that time:

1. Got a new machine for DOA combo drive
2. Sent it away for a new logic board because my cache got fried (no idea how)
3. Going to be sent away again for this video card issue.

Why do I keep buying these things?<hr /></blockquote>Well, don't they always say bad things happen in 3's? Maybe you'll be in the clear from now on with this machine. At least we all hope so! Sorry about all the problems,

jtwiskowski · Jul 31, 2002, 03:04 PM

I have had the same thing occur on my Ti800-DVI. However, I never had it happen until Jaguar 10.2 Build 6c106 was installed. It only happens every so often. I never saw this in 10.1.5 or earlier.

I thought maybe it could just be a software bug in Jaguar as it is not quite finished yet. Hopefully it is just a software issue, and not signs of faulty hardware components.

BTW, did your Ti behave erratically after the cache fried, in other words, how did you know?

mrfett · Aug 1, 2002, 12:30 AM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by jtwiskowski:
I have had the same thing occur on my Ti800-DVI. However, I never had it happen until Jaguar 10.2 Build 6c106 was installed. It only happens every so often. I never saw this in 10.1.5 or earlier.<hr /></blockquote>Do you mean the horizontal lines in iPhoto slide shows and the screen saver? You have the same problem? I thought it was software too, but the Genius and AppleCare thinks differently, and it's not happening to anyone else as far as I can tell.

<blockquote>quote:<hr />BTW, did your Ti behave erratically after the cache fried, in other words, how did you know?<hr /></blockquote>Yes, it started to crash randomly in 10.1.5. Full-out freezes. It started right after I installed new RAM and a hard drive, so I thought they were at fault, but it was the logic board. I can't explain it. It's possible I caused it I guess, but it's never happened before and I've been putting RAM in PowerBooks for a long time. Also, when booting up in 9, the memory test would fail (happens at start-up), giving an error message.

This latest problem only occured _after_ I got the machine back with the new logic board. I noticed it after installing QuickTime 6 and the latest security update, but reinstalling QT 5 didn't fix the issue. So, I'm thinking the issue popped up while getting repaired. Or, the new logic board could be faulty. I should try Quake on it to see what happens I suppose, but I've been so busy I haven't had time for games.

Anyway, please confirm which problem it is you're having. If it's the horizontal lines, I'd be curious to know if there's any fix you can find, as I'm not thrilled about losing my machine again.

[ 08-01-2002, 12:32 AM: Message edited by: mrfett ]

jtwiskowski · Aug 1, 2002, 12:13 PM

I began having an odd problem last week. "iPhoto, the images have horizontal black lines of varying width and length going through them. The lines flicker all over the screen during the transitions, then settle into one spot while viewing the picture, then start moving around again when the next transition starts."

This is the problem I am have seen on my DVI but only after installing 10.2 Build 6c106. I would at first believe it to be a Quartz Extreme or straight OpenGL bug, but if you have seen it as well, and you are only running 10.1.5, then it must be an OpenGL glitch or hardware issue. I do not want to believe it is a hardware issue, as I wouldn't see why my DVI would show graphics fine, and only display problems showing slide shows in Jaguar. I should see if the problem occurs when the desktop image is cycled . I am fairly confident this is a software bug. I only hope that it will be fixed. I will check with my geniuses, although I am about to be one myself.

mrfett · Aug 2, 2002, 08:52 PM

Originally posted by jtwiskowski
I would at first believe it to be a Quartz Extreme or straight OpenGL bug, but if you have seen it as well, and you are only running 10.1.5, then it must be an OpenGL glitch or hardware issue. I do not want to believe it is a hardware issue, as I wouldn't see why my DVI would show graphics fine, and only display problems showing slide shows in Jaguar.

yeah i feel the same way, but have been unable to find another explanation. please report if you figure it out. i really don't want to be w/o my 'book for another 3 days.

maceye · Aug 5, 2002, 12:30 AM

I have had some odd gfx problems with my Ti 800: whenever I play Deus Ex (old game, but I still like it) I get odd white banding on all the objects at random times during gameplay. The game is for OS 9, which I only use to play the game, so I just assumed that it was OS 9. I haven't had any problems in OS X though.

dbs1415 · Aug 6, 2002, 07:38 AM

I ran into a very similar problem on a PB 550. The problem was that sometimes colored lines would appear through the screen and flicker a bit while I was doing something.

It turned out that this was a memory problem. I had a default 256MB module on the bottom and had added a 512MB module on top. This module claimed to be a PC-133 SO-DIMM but wasn't up to spec.

Here's how I figured it out: any time I had an application which used a lot of memory and which crossed the boundary between the two modules (i.e., FinalCut Pro, Photoshop) I would run into these problems. I discovered this because if I ran them with the 512 on top and the 256 on the bottom I quickly ran into the graphics problems, but I could only reproduce it with the 512 on the bottom and the 256 on top if I opened a lot of programs first, i.e., if I forced the system to use memory across the boundary. (I know OS X does not allocate memory in a strictly linear fashion, but real memory does get used up in that fashion, so I believe this is still valid.)

This shouldn't be all that surprising with an AGP-based system as the AGP bus can access the DRAM directly. Reports of this being more common with Jaguar are also not surprising as it uses the video RAM/AGP RAM much more.

When I replaced the SO-DIMM with a certified (and more expensive) 512MB module the problem went away (in both cases) and never came back.

I would suggest that if you have added memory to your G4 that this is the cause, and if you haven't that your current memory is defective.

mrfett · Aug 6, 2002, 11:17 AM

Originally posted by dbs1415:
I would suggest that if you have added memory to your G4 that this is the cause, and if you haven't that your current memory is defective.

hmmm... that i'll buy. i _have_ added memory to my system, and right after i did so my logic board failed. i need to look into this. i'll report back. thanks for the info!

seanyepez · Aug 6, 2002, 01:24 PM

Bad memory can lead to system instability like this, but I think your video memory is faulty. While bad system memory normally leads to crashes, bad video memory results in aforementioned display artifacts...

Leonard · Aug 6, 2002, 04:02 PM

Originally posted by maceye:
I have had some odd gfx problems with my Ti 800: whenever I play Deus Ex (old game, but I still like it) I get odd white banding on all the objects at random times during gameplay. The game is for OS 9, which I only use to play the game, so I just assumed that it was OS 9. I haven't had any problems in OS X though.

I believe that's a Deus Ex game bug... I think you have to set Composite Textures or something to Yes in an .ini file. I have it noted at home. Let me check and get back to you.

Leonard · Aug 6, 2002, 06:15 PM

Yup, maceye, I checked my note at home and the fix for Deus Ex to remove the white banding is to set TextureComposite=True in the .ini file. Give that a try before you run Deus Ex.

mrfett · Aug 6, 2002, 09:13 PM

well i tried swapping the 2 new RAM modules with my old 256 module and unfortunately the problem was till there. i guess it is the video RAM. oh well.

also, i've confirmed that quake is unplayable in OS X and OS 9. same squiggly distortion all over the screen. so, i think i'm convinced it's a hardware problem.

thanks for all the advice/ideas.

seanyepez · Aug 6, 2002, 09:32 PM

If you're seeing problems in Quake, it's definitely the video memory. Take it in for service.

maceye · Aug 7, 2002, 03:07 PM

Originally posted by Leonard:
Yup, maceye, I checked my note at home and the fix for Deus Ex to remove the white banding is to set TextureComposite=True in the .ini file. Give that a try before you run Deus Ex.

Thanks! The game looks much better now. I hope Deus Ex 2 comes out for the Mac at some point�it looks really good.

Leonard · Aug 8, 2002, 11:11 AM

Originally posted by maceye:

Thanks! The game looks much better now. I hope Deus Ex 2 comes out for the Mac at some point�it looks really good.

Great to here it fixed it.

I loved Deus Ex and if they port Deus Ex 2, I'd most likely buy it.