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brand new 21.5 imac

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KimMazz

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 18, 2010
13
0
Hello, I am brand new to the forum. Just picked up my brand new 21.5 imac today (my first imac btw) I have the 13" macbookpro and I'm moving away from a dell to this imac.

2 questions, and one comment.

#1 - I believe I have a dead pixel, but need some confirmation on this. It looks as if there is a spot on the screen towards the bottom left corner. Almost like something was on the screen, but wiping it with the cloth still shows it's there. I see it when I set my background to any solid color other than the dark gray they give you. Is that a dead pixel?

#2 - My serial number starts with W8953 so according to what I've been reading here that means my mac was built in 2009 in week 53??? Obviously that can't be right. So, what week would it have been built in?

As for the yellow tinge. Not sure... I think all the talk here has made me think it's yellow, but it may just be I've been staring at it for too long.
It it the screen that looks yellow or the gray bar gets a yellow tinge to it?

OOPs, that's actually 3 questions.

Thanks for any answers/help. I was really looking forward to a great experience. After dealing with a dell for 3 years I need a good uncomplicated experience.
 
1. Almost all LCDs have dead/stuck pixels so unless it's killing you, ignore it. After few days you won't even remember where it is

2. Why it couldn't be build on week 53? I've heard people receiving 6 months old MacBooks which have been totally fine.

3. If it doesn't annoy you, it's OK
 
KimMazz said:
Hello, I am brand new to the forum. Just picked up my brand new 21.5 imac today (my first imac btw) I have the 13" macbookpro and I'm moving away from a dell to this imac.

2 questions, and one comment.

#1 - I believe I have a dead pixel, but need some confirmation on this. It looks as if there is a spot on the screen towards the bottom left corner. Almost like something was on the screen, but wiping it with the cloth still shows it's there. I see it when I set my background to any solid color other than the dark gray they give you. Is that a dead pixel?

#2 - My serial number starts with W8953 so according to what I've been reading here that means my mac was built in 2009 in week 53??? Obviously that can't be right. So, what week would it have been built in?

As for the yellow tinge. Not sure... I think all the talk here has made me think it's yellow, but it may just be I've been staring at it for too long.
It it the screen that looks yellow or the gray bar gets a yellow tinge to it?

OOPs, that's actually 3 questions.

Thanks for any answers/help. I was really looking forward to a great experience. After dealing with a dell for 3 years I need a good uncomplicated experience.
Click to expand...

I'm the same as you, new to Mac with a new iMac.

1. If your not happy, replace it. You spent a premium on it, so I would replace it, but if it doesn't bother you leave it there.

2. Week 53 is right, each calendar year has 52/53 weeks, some have 54 if it's a leap year.

3. The easiest way I tested this was open up Google and look at the white background behind the google logo and then move it around the screen. If the background changed yellow, I know I had a problem.

Enjoy your Mac :)
 
Thanks for all the replies. I did the gray bar test and then cut and pasted top and bottom - no difference in color.

Not paranoid, just detailed. :)

It's a beautiful machine with an incredible display. it found my printer, my macbook pro, and my PC without me having to do a thing. Something to be said for that! My PC always drops the connection!

I appreciate the replies and I'm sure I'll be back as I find more things to look at.

Is there anyway I can restore my applications such as CS4 from an external hard drive? Long story - my first mbp was a lemon bad keyboard(replaced 5 times) motherboard replaced 1 time and still no joy. They backed up every file/application to an external hard drive and then used that to install them on the replacement mbp. Anyway can I use that same hard drive for this imac? Or do I have to dig through all my discs for my original CS suite (back to #2) and the upgrade for all the serial numbers?

thanks again, this place is great!
 
Well, since I don't have my applications installed on the imac yet. I had a few steps.

I used the link on this forum to the images. I maximized my screen, and resized it. I took a screen shot at maximized, emailed the shot to me, brought that into Fireworks on my PC, cut and pasted to see if there was color variation from the bottom to the top. There was none. The image pasted together seamlessly.

Brought that image back onto the imac and looked at it there too. Same thing. Color was matched perfectly and no yellow tinge anywhere.
 
You can't test using a screenshot, you need to use a digital camera to take a picture of your screen, however, I really wouldn't bother because you're only looking for problems. If you're happy with your screen, be happy with it. Don't lookfor a problem :)
 
AdamA9 said:
You can't test using a screenshot, you need to use a digital camera to take a picture of your screen, however, I really wouldn't bother because you're only looking for problems. If you're happy with your screen, be happy with it. Don't lookfor a problem :)
Click to expand...


I agree with him. If out of the box you are happy and everything seems fine do not go looking for a problem or you may find one that is not actually there because your mind may think it is. So just be happy and enjoy. It is good to be careful and aware however you are most likely fine and will be happy with your purchase. Good luck with it I cannot wait to get my iMac
 
AdamA9 said:
You can't test using a screenshot, you need to use a digital camera to take a picture of your screen, however, I really wouldn't bother because you're only looking for problems. If you're happy with your screen, be happy with it. Don't lookfor a problem :)
Click to expand...

Well that was helpful, and not ...
I used my phone to capture the screen and when done that way, there is a yellow tinge. the colors on the top and bottom are very different.

I think I should probably try to get this replaced. The only thing that concerns me with that is that I may get one that is worse.
 

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KimMazz said:
Well that was helpful, and not ...
I used my phone to capture the screen and when done that way, there is a yellow tinge. the colors on the top and bottom are very different.

I think I should probably try to get this replaced. The only thing that concerns me with that is that I may get one that is worse.
Click to expand...

I can't see anything wrong. You've just read too much about it in here and now your brains are manipulating your eyes. Unless it really annoys you in REGULAR use, keep it.
 
i received my new 21.5 imac on wednesday. i had ordered it off of Amazon to save on taxes. i also have a W8953 serial number, but i assumed because i had ordered it some place other than apple, it wasn't built in 2010.

my imac is perfect except i do notice there is a slight yellow tinge on the bottom. i decided to just live with it.
 
Hellhammer said:
I can't see anything wrong. You've just read too much about it in here and now your brains are manipulating your eyes. Unless it really annoys you in REGULAR use, keep it.
Click to expand...

You're joking, right? The bottom bar is supposed to be the same color as the top one. You're questioning this poster's eyesight? Seriously? That's one of the worst screens I've seen on here. There's a big difference between objective faults and a subtle trick of the eye, and this is obviously a bad screen.

If it was a question of a very subtle difference, then I guess it's up to the individual to decide if they want to return something, but that's a defective screen--very shoddy manufacturing.

>1. Almost all LCDs have dead/stuck pixels so unless it's killing you, ignore it. After few days you won't even remember where it is<

That's not true at all. I've never seen dead pixels in new LCDs. A few dead pixels in isight are to be expected, but not dead pixels on the monitor. Apple doesn't expect people to live with that, and they will replace those screens with ones that don't have that issue (which is the vast majority of screens).
 
Nihilvor said:
That's not true at all. I've never seen dead pixels in new LCDs. A few dead pixels in isight are to be expected, but not dead pixels on the monitor. Apple doesn't expect people to live with that, and they will replace those screens with ones that don't have that issue (which is the vast majority of screens).
Click to expand...
Not sure how accurate this post is about Apple's policy, but if true, they do allow a few dead pixels in shipped product:

https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/9171325/
 
Nihilvor said:
You're joking, right? The bottom bar is supposed to be the same color as the top one. You're questioning this poster's eyesight? Seriously? That's one of the worst screens I've seen on here. There's a big difference between objective faults and a subtle trick of the eye, and this is obviously a bad screen.

If it was a question of a very subtle difference, then I guess it's up to the individual to decide if they want to return something, but that's a defective screen--very shoddy manufacturing.
Click to expand...

I can't see anything wrong in it. Also, if you only notice it when looking for it, it doesn't matter.

That's not true at all. I've never seen dead pixels in new LCDs. A few dead pixels in isight are to be expected, but not dead pixels on the monitor. Apple doesn't expect people to live with that, and they will replace those screens with ones that don't have that issue (which is the vast majority of screens).
Click to expand...

Then you haven't looked for them. There are 3 672 000 pixels in 27" iMac so it's almost a surprise if there is none. Download one of those dead pixels lookers and I'm sure you'll find dead/stuck pixel(s) from 8 displays out of 10. But seriously, unless they are in the center of the screen, they are ignorable.

In a summary, if you don't notice any faults when using it (= you have to look for them) just live with them as they shouldn't annoy you.
 
KimMazz said:
Thanks for all the replies. I did the gray bar test and then cut and pasted top and bottom - no difference in color.



Is there anyway I can restore my applications such as CS4 from an external hard drive? Long story - my first mbp was a lemon bad keyboard(replaced 5 times) motherboard replaced 1 time and still no joy. They backed up every file/application to an external hard drive and then used that to install them on the replacement mbp. Anyway can I use that same hard drive for this imac? Or do I have to dig through all my discs for my original CS suite (back to #2) and the upgrade for all the serial numbers?

thanks again, this place is great!
Click to expand...

You can use the Migration Assistant to transfer Photoshop from and external drive to your lMac. You might have to authorize it when you start it up, but you will only need your latest serial number. I copied my CS4 using the Migration assistant and it ran without entering serial number or authorizing, but I know of someone that had to re-enter their serial number.
 
Ecoh said:
You can use the Migration Assistant to transfer Photoshop from and external drive to your lMac. You might have to authorize it when you start it up, but you will only need your latest serial number. I copied my CS4 using the Migration assistant and it ran without entering serial number or authorizing, but I know of someone that had to re-enter their serial number.
Click to expand...

Thank you. How would I do that? I'm very new to mac. I don't mind re-entering the serial. But digging through 2 folders of cds is just killer for me.

How do I run migration assistant?
 
Nihilvor said:
You're joking, right? The bottom bar is supposed to be the same color as the top one. You're questioning this poster's eyesight? Seriously? That's one of the worst screens I've seen on here. There's a big difference between objective faults and a subtle trick of the eye, and this is obviously a bad screen.

If it was a question of a very subtle difference, then I guess it's up to the individual to decide if they want to return something, but that's a defective screen--very shoddy manufacturing.

>1. Almost all LCDs have dead/stuck pixels so unless it's killing you, ignore it. After few days you won't even remember where it is<

That's not true at all. I've never seen dead pixels in new LCDs. A few dead pixels in isight are to be expected, but not dead pixels on the monitor. Apple doesn't expect people to live with that, and they will replace those screens with ones that don't have that issue (which is the vast majority of screens).
Click to expand...

Thank you - I returned the first one, the replacement (serial was 953 again) was worse than the original!! I went back again, and this replacement is from 2010 4th week (serial was 004). Instead of the same 953 and it's just great! I can see immediately without the test that the screen is better. I'm going to test, but the display on this one, even to the naked eye is so much better.
 
Hellhammer said:
I can't see anything wrong in it. Also, if you only notice it when looking for it, it doesn't matter. .
Click to expand...

Really? The colors are no where near identical (top grey bars compared to bottom ones--they're no where near the same). Do you have some ocular problem discerning grey?

In any case, I'm not sure that you have a real sense of how this monitor defect affects the display. One would have to willfully ignore the issue to not know it's there. It always there as a sort of subtle washed effect on the screen. It becomes very obvious when you have any screen that uses a lot of blue, grey, or white. In other words, it's a major issue and not something most of us want to live with.
 
KimMazz said:
Thank you. How would I do that? I'm very new to mac. I don't mind re-entering the serial. But digging through 2 folders of cds is just killer for me.

How do I run migration assistant?
Click to expand...

Applications -> Utilities -> Migration Assistant

You can migrate all your files and settings or just choose Applications and files etc.. Very easy to use.

And congrats of your defect-free iMac ;)
 
Hellhammer said:
Applications -> Utilities -> Migration Assistant

You can migrate all your files and settings or just choose Applications and files etc.. Very easy to use.

And congrats of your defect-free iMac ;)
Click to expand...

Thank you once again. I'm sure I'll be back with more questions as I progress.
 
Fiete5401 said:
Do you really keep that iMac with the horrible yellow tinge? :eek:
Click to expand...

Thank you - I returned the first one, the replacement (serial was 953 again) was worse than the original!! I went back again, and this replacement is from 2010 4th week (serial was 004). Instead of the same 953 and it's just great! I can see immediately without the test that the screen is better. I'm going to test, but the display on this one, even to the naked eye is so much better.
Click to expand...

I think he exchanged it ^^
 
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