[spiff72]

Hey everyone...

I have a 17" 1.67 PB with 1.5 GB Ram, and it has been exhibiting an issue intermittently where various pixels on the screen (all over - background wallpaper, images on web pages, etc.) Will turn green and flicker very quickly. It has been doing this for about 6 months, and I just dealt with it for a while, but now my Applecare is about to expire in April, so I want to get this fixed under warranty. I can't tell if the issue happens when the computer is running hot, or if there is another underlying cause.

The problem is that it is intermittent, and if I just send it into Apple, I know they will just tell me nothing is wrong. My hope is to get a photo of the screen tonight if/when this happens, and then print it out so I can show it to someone at the Apple store in a nearby town. Do you think that this is enough proof for them to fix it, or would they have to be able to duplicate the problem at the Apple store (or at their service center once it has been sent in)?

Also - a more general applecare question:

What are the odds that I could get them to just replace this computer? This will be the fourth time I have sent it in. Once was for a battery issue, another was for a loose hinge (the screen would just fall over if you tilted the computer toward you by more than 20 degrees or so), another for an issue with the charging (the plug would no longer make good contact inside the jack). Is it worth complaining about all of the issues that I have had with this thing? I still have another issue as well, where if you put side pressure on the plug where it plugs into the power jack, the light will turn a very bright shade of orange, and the plug will get painfully hot to the touch. I have tried to get them to look at this problem on the last two occasions that I sent it in, but they did nothing about it. My wife's 15" doesn't do this.

Thanks in advance for your comments...

[mduell]

Take photos (or video) when it happens.

[spiff72]

I will try - I have had the camera ready to go all night, and of course it hasn't happened tonight.

[redhot_nyc]

I would get a laptop cooler (the type that goes underneath) - there are many brand names but Zalman comes to mind.

You could also take the machine apart and clean it out. Then take a look at the GPU and see if you can put some better thermal compound on it (Arctic Cooling MX-2 is pretty amazing stuff) - this may help if the Video Card is overheating.

While you're at it, you could put new thermal compound on the CPU as well. Just my opinion; let's see what other people say....

[spiff72]

Originally Posted by redhot_nyc 

I would get a laptop cooler (the type that goes underneath) - there are many brand names but Zalman comes to mind.

You could also take the machine apart and clean it out. Then take a look at the GPU and see if you can put some better thermal compound on it (Arctic Cooling MX-2 is pretty amazing stuff) - this may help if the Video Card is overheating.

While you're at it, you could put new thermal compound on the CPU as well. Just my opinion; let's see what other people say....

Thanks for the suggestions, redhot_nyc, but since there is still warranty coverage on this machine, I am not about to take it apart! I finally managed to have the camera ready last night when it did it's thing, and took some photos and some video (which show it best). I plan to use this video to demonstrate to the nearby Apple store the issue I am having (since it is intermittent). Just for fun I did try a screen grab, and when I look at the images while the flickering is taking place, it duplicates it. This seems to imply that the effect is causing the green pixels to flicker where there are certain values of color or luminosity (since the exact pattern was flickering on the screen grab). Once the effect stopped, the screen grab (and the rest of the display) looked normal again.

I want to get this fixed (or even better, see if they will replace it under warranty since this is the fourth time that I have had to send it in to Apple).

If I get a chance tonight I will post some images/videos to get some opinions. I do think it is a hardware problem, but I backed up to my firewire drive and then did a clean install of Tiger. I want to see if it still happens now that I have removed most of the software.

Thanks,
Jeff

[spiff72]

OK - here are a few images showing some very close views of the problem. Notice that hot green pixels.

flickering_pixels1.jpg

flickering_pixels2.jpg

flickering_pixels3.jpg

Here is a video I took - it shows the flickering nature of the green pixels.
Warning: The following file is 45MB!
flickering_pixels.mov

I did find that the problem happened again after a clean install of Tiger (and letting software update run its course bringing me back to 10.4.11). This makes me confident that this indeed a hardware issue (not software).

I have an appointment at the Genius Bar this weekend. I'm crossing my fingers hoping they treat it as a lemon (but I know that is pretty unlikely).

[BearOso]

Originally Posted by spiff72 

OK - here are a few images showing some very close views of the problem. Notice that hot green pixels.

flickering_pixels1.jpg

flickering_pixels2.jpg

flickering_pixels3.jpg

Here is a video I took - it shows the flickering nature of the green pixels.
Warning: The following file is 45MB!
flickering_pixels.mov

I did find that the problem happened again after a clean install of Tiger (and letting software update run its course bringing me back to 10.4.11). This makes me confident that this indeed a hardware issue (not software).

I have an appointment at the Genius Bar this weekend. I'm crossing my fingers hoping they treat it as a lemon (but I know that is pretty unlikely).

I've had this identical problem before on my desktop, where certain-colored pixels were flickering oddly, particularly noticeable in the menus at blender3d.org. These pixels even moved with the window and were replicated when I did a screen capture and scaled it down, which made me wonder if the video card was failing.

It turned out that the DVI cable was loose at the video card end. Plugging it in all the way fixed it. Chances are, you just have a loose cable.

[spiff72]

Update:

I brought it to the Apple Store and explained it to the tech before I showed him the video. He said it sounded like failing video memory, and that the logic board will then need replacement.

My pixels did move with windows, too, but a screen grab didn't capture them once the effect vanished. The pixels seemed like they were attached to areas of certain colors or certain brightness or luminosity.

Since they weren't giving me a new one and were sending it in for service, I mentioned a couple of other issues (superdrive randomly make the ejecting noise with no disk, and that the power adapter didn't make good contact with the plug).

Hopefully I get it back this week in perfect working order.

[spiff72]

Well, this trip to the service center isn't going as well as the last ones.

I brought it in to the Apple store, and they said it would take 3-5 business days to get it back. I saw no updates to the online status until Wednesday (they shipped it Monday - I assumed that they sent them next day air, but maybe it is 2nd day). It made it to the "diagnosis" stage (and then maybe the "repairing" stage), and then it went on hold because they couldn't duplicate the problem. I had a folder on the desktop (called "graphics problem") with the photos and video I have linked above. I don't know if they never saw it, or didn't bother to look.

I called Applecare after I saw that the repair was on hold and they needed additional information. I spent over an hour on the phone with the service rep (she was very nice), and I explained that the issue was intermittent, and this was why I brought it into a store so I could show them the video and get someone else to actually see the phenomenon in person. I read off the full web addresses of the pictures and video file I have on my web page. After that call, I hoped they would begin making progress again, but it is now nearly 10pm EDT and it is still on hold. I called back an hour ago to find out why it hasn't changed status. I was then told that the status hadn't updated because the depot hadn't acknowledged the information that they were sent yet.

Does it normally take this long? I called and gave them the info they needed within an hour of getting the email request. At this rate I probably won't get it back until Monday at the earliest, and probably more like Tuesday-Wednesday...

I am going to be really mad if they don't fix it because they didn't see it happen, even though I have documented proof that the problem exists...

[spiff72]

Well, another update.

It has now left the "On Hold - Need information" stage, and entered the "On hold - part on order" stage.

This could take a while!

[lisa_is_not_mac]

that sucks

[spiff72]

Update:

They are replacing my PB with a brand new 17" MBP! After 2-1/2 weeks of waiting for parts on backorder, they called me Friday and left a voicemail for me at the office. I called back, left a message, and got a call back on Monday. They said I could keep waiting, or they would replace it. I was stunned. Obviously I opted for the new one! (I added $100 to upgrade to the high res screen).

It should ship in a few days. I cant wait!

Thanks Apple!

[Nodnarb]

Nice!