Picture of those lines on the screen of my iMac

[NewJeffCT]

When I had asked about the problem with the pixelated lines on the screen of my iMac, most people seemed to think it was strange, or had never heard of the situation.

So, I took a picture here and uploaded it to photobucket:




That was the page for the quicktime trailer of the new Beowulf movie, but it has happened in other places as well.

[DS1]

1. video card could be overheating

[NewJeffCT]

2. it's not just with quicktime, though

it often happens whenever I open a second application.

I do have a good 125gb of space on my hard drive...

[QueenOfCalifornia]

28. This iMac

has no video card.

[Omphaloskepsis]

3. What iMac do you have?

Intel or PowerPC?

edited to add :: Do you have a external monitor you can hook up to it? That would help figure out if it is a LCD problem or a video circuitry problem. It certainly looks like a hardware problem.

[NewJeffCT]

4. the only external monitor that I have

is a nearly 10 year old monitor that is hooked up to our old Dell computer.

[NewJeffCT]

5. oh, it's a powerpc

I bought it almost exactly two years ago, a few months before the Intel Macs came out. I only bought this one because they said it would be at least a year until the Intel Macs came out, but it ended up being only a little over a month.

when I boot up in safe mode, it seems to be ok.

[BlueJazz]

7. "when I boot up in safe mode, it seems to be ok"

That's the Key.
You might try taking out all the drivers for your card and reintalling the drivers....or perhaps as the first poster said: It could be overheating when under a load.

Does the screen look fine when you FIRST start the computer? (in normal mode)...or does it mess-up after a period of time?

[NewJeffCT]

8. It's fine when i first start it up or reboot

But, then the lines occur... often if I open up more than one application.

edited to add:
how does one take out all of one's drivers?

[BlueJazz]

12. Boy...It sounds like a Driver problem. You might try downloading the ..

....drivers from the imac site (maybe updated ones?)....then taking out all your drivers that are now installed then reinstalling the fresh drivers.

That would, at least, tell you if it's your card or something else...

[NewJeffCT]

13. I've been exchanging emails with a mac person

who knows way more than me... but, she seems convinced it's a software issue because it seems to be okay running in safe mode.

[BlueJazz]

14. Yep...My feelings also....

[SoCalDem]

6. Chuck?? Back away from the screen..do not look at it :)

:rofl:

[Connonym]

9. Agent Mike has done a poor job installing your surveillance device

that's all it is. That guy, he's a hack.

[NewJeffCT]

11. well, it lasted for 20 months or so...

until the past few months, my computer has been running okay, just progressively slower over time.

However, the lines on the screen are a fairly recent phenomenon - maybe the past 6-8 weeks.

[Connonym]

15. hmm so what have you done over the past couple months to get you noticed?

Mikey must have just installed the faulty bug

[NewJeffCT]

16. Nothing new installed - just software updates

to the various software I've used.

The only things we have on the computer are things we've had on there for at least a year - non Mac stuff that includes: MS Office, Skype, Firefox, Yahoo Messenger. I had installed Flip 4 Mac about 18 months ago, I think. That is about it.

Everything else is an apple application.

[NewHampster]

10. Monitor Cable

Either the cable is bad, has a bent pin or is not on tight.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

26. it's an imac

there is no cord - the screen and computer are built together...

[NewHampster]

29. ick

:puke:
____macs

[Pierre.Suave]

17. I suppose you passed on...

Apple Care didnt you?

That will teach you. I think the LCD is going bad. Backup your data now, and then buy a new one.

[NewJeffCT]

20. I had it for a year, but didn't renew it

I had never gotten an extended warranty on a PC and never had major problems, so figured I didn't need it with the supposedly superior Mac.

[Pierre.Suave]

22. that will teach you.

Seriously. I thought it was worthless too, until I needed it. Then, I was glad to have it. It was a choice between getting it fixed for free because of apple care, or buying a new computer without it.

Which would you pick?

[NewJeffCT]

24. If the choice is between

spending several hundred bucks to fix the iMac or not, I'd likely just go and buy a PC.

[Pierre.Suave]

25. That is your choice

Fix the iMac or go to PC and Winblows hell.

[NewJeffCT]

30. I've only had problems with one PC in my life

And, that was one from the now defunct Packard Bell company back in the mid 90s. That ended up being replaced for free with a new HP after I complained to the CT Dept. of Consumer Protection.

The HP ran well for me for several years before I replaced it with a Dell in 2001. The Dell still runs, but is on its last legs.

I had a couple of IBMs before the Packard Bell disaster, and those were fine as well.

I was just a bit paranoid about viruses & spyware and the like, so I bought the Mac because they're less vulnerable. And, it's a blue company as well.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

27. I was going to ask this...

oops.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

18. Do you have your hardware test disc?

try using that - it will test your video ram

[NewJeffCT]

19. I think it comes with the install disc

but, I could be mistaken.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

21. it does

:thumbsup:

[jgraz]

23. Have you dropped or bumped your mac recently?

I had exactly the same pattern on my powerbook and it turned out to be a busted connection between the monitor and the motherboard.

[SPKrazy]

31. very strange

has it gotten wet?

been bumped or dropped

or maybe it is some new alien life form trying to communicate with us through your puter