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b3t4 · May 20, 2003, 03:05 PM

My 17" PB is nearly one month old now.
i am using it every day around 10 hours.
today i discovered something which i don't like at all. i have bright white spot on my display. You can only see it on white. but it is pretty annoying.

Do i have to send it in? How can something like this happen???

thanks beta

Finrock · May 20, 2003, 03:10 PM

That happened to my 15" PowerBook (500MHz) three times. Apple replaced the LCD each time under AppleCare.

It was annoying to watch DVDs, do any kind of graphics work, etc.

-Finrock

anoetic · May 20, 2003, 03:10 PM

Does the white spot line up with the apple logo on the other side?

If their is a bright light source behind your powerbook the light can shine through the transparent apple logo. It happens on my Ti Book. Either move it away from the light source or cover the spot.

This would be my first guess for what it is.

b3t4 · May 20, 2003, 03:14 PM

no it has nothing to do with the apple on the back. the apple is a bit lower than this.

i guess i just found a second one.

on my pismo500 i had the same ones but there i thought that a 2 year old display is allowed to have such things but my new 17" shouldn't have it.

damm i don't wanna send it in and wait weeks to get it back. ****. i need to work on the machine.

i hate that.

well i guess i have no other choice

beta

Finrock · May 20, 2003, 03:34 PM

I seem to remember my spots lining up with the line where the keyboard meets the palm rest (on the Ti). However, the first time it happened it was in a big blob towards the top right part of the screen.

I'm curious as to the cause of this too.

-Finrock

iWrite · May 20, 2003, 04:25 PM

I have that too on my 1Ghz and Apple just sent the box to send it in.

I call them "Blobs" or distortions.

Mine looks like someone is pushing the LCD in from the back, actually, causing that effect.

urrl5201 · May 20, 2003, 04:33 PM

You may consider finishing your important work before sending it in. It's warranty is not running anywhere anytime soon...

Since you have a camera I would take some close up shots of the whole powerbook in case it comes back scratched or worse.

iWrite · May 20, 2003, 06:02 PM

Also, when you send it off via Airborne make sure that you take it down to the Airborne counter in person and show it to the person at the counter (make note of their name) so that they can see that it is not damaged at all and when you get it back don't open the box unless you have witnesses in case it comes back damaged.

Do all of that in addition to taking pictures -- take pictures with the System Profiler open showing the serial number of the system, also, which will identify it on top and on bottom take a picture with the battery out and the serial number showing inside of the battery case which will identify the system from the bottom.

Good luck.

all2ofme · May 20, 2003, 06:34 PM

Same thing with my first TiSD out of the box. Apple replaced it in the end. You'll be fine once you've sent it in, but I agree with what others are saying - get the work you can done on it first, THEN send it in.

Good luck with it.

b3t4 · May 21, 2003, 06:43 AM

alright thanks guys.

beta

Arch. · May 21, 2003, 04:29 PM

My 17"has two spots on it. The part is on order and an Aple dealer is going to change the frame and the LCD for me. My two are the exact same as you have described.

gif32 · Sep 25, 2003, 02:17 AM

Exact same problem here. Funny though, by the time my call made it to someone who's supposedly a "top-tier" support rep, he says he's never heard of this problem before. Since it's a brand new 15" aluminum, he wanted to get it in for an "engineering sample" so he could go after the LCD manufacturer if necessary.

He claims there is a brand new Powerbook sitting in a box at his office in California waiting to go out next-day air to me. After the fiasco I went through getting this (my first mac ever!) in the first place, I'm not looking forward to Airborne again, but oh well - the biggest of the spots is driving me crazy.

Before I decided it was unbearable, I had already installed and set up all my software (Adobe design collection, AIM, VectorWorks, Office, etc). My question: Dantz Retrospect Express claims it can restore my entire system drive from a backup (to external firewire hdd), WHILE the OS is running. Has anyone ever tried this before? Seems like something Windows would have never put up with... but it would save me a ton of time in reinstalling / reconfiguring / recopying.

My toybox from Griffin got here this morning -- iCurve, PowerMate, and iMic -- and it's a total letdown to have to ship the Powerbook back already. I haven't sold the PC yet but I never wanted to have to boot it again!

I can only hope my replacement is problem-free! It seems like some of you have had these spots "appear" (mine were there out of the box) - and that makes me nervous.

nobitacu · Sep 25, 2003, 03:12 AM

Yup, Apple Care will take care of that for you. No worries.

Ming

spalding12 · Sep 25, 2003, 06:30 AM

you gotta love those LIARS who claim they've never heard of some common complaint like screen issues. they are very common and when someone on the phone tells me that he/she has never heard of them... i ask for someone else.... someone who isn't a liar.... every time

greg

machem · Sep 25, 2003, 11:49 AM

This http://www.chaosmint.com/macintosh/a...e-issues.shtml (which lists some "leaked" internal KB articles), should be pertinent to your issue. Clearly, they will take the machine back and repair/replace it.

HTH

spalding12 · Sep 25, 2003, 11:55 AM

cool site in the above link
thanks for sharing it with us

greg

rcarlosnyc · Sep 25, 2003, 01:09 PM

I have 2 hot spots on my 17" PBook. Had them for a couple of months. I haven't gotten around to sending in for repair yet.

marumari · Sep 25, 2003, 01:19 PM

Actually, I ordered online, and my 15" model had the exact same problem. I brought it to the Apple Store at the Mall of America and they exchanged it for me (as an "engineering" sample). The bright spot drove me absolutely crazy.

MacsGalor · Sep 25, 2003, 05:46 PM

I had the same thing with my 15" Albook Apple is going to let me exchange it. I am going tonight. I think that they will exchange for up to 10 days after purchase and then they will repair.

gif32 · Sep 25, 2003, 11:05 PM

Thought I'd post a pic of mine. The blurred out stuff is just my name and Apple case number. I was out of state all day today but was expecting a prepaid overnight airbill from Airborne - and got nothing. Apple was closed when I got home. If this even turns into the same Apple/Airborne fiasco I went through getting the first one...

Unbelievable to me that their "top-tier" support guy said he had no idea what I was talking about. I wonder if these spots are very wide-spread and people just don't notice / don't care? Being that such a high % of Apple owners are visual designers, it's hard to believe they'd go unreported.

Anyone able to comment on my previous backup/restore question? Although I have installed 10.2.8 so maybe I'll just start from scratch with the new one... whenever it gets here!