ERROR: Video card glitch!!

[potentpotable]

So I was doing regular browsing when suddenly my MBA froze (magic mouse stopped working too, lost BT connection) and the screen starting flickering like crazy. I think it was something to do with the graphics, I have no idea. I had to force shutdown with the power button because it wouldn't even go to sleep when closing the lid.

Has anyone else experienced this? Will post a video on YouTube very soon so you can see what happened.

PS. It's an 11.6", 1.6GHz, 4GB RAM.

Video evidence: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WxEsstiEMc

Again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqK4FNASMZc

 

[M87]

No, hasn't happened to me. Title needs more exclamation.

 

[WardC]

crap. that is exactly the configuration I'm getting, I'm getting mine on Monday. I hope mine doesn't have this glitch. And I hope if it does, that this is something temporary and not serious. I have heard of glitches with the video cards in the MacBook Pros occassionally acting erratic (the 330M)

 

[potentpotable]

Updated with link to vid.

This is my first Mac so I don't know why it happened, or if it's happened elsewhere. If someone could shed light on this issue being widespread with other Macs equipped with the 330M, that'd be great.

 

[HardLuckStories]

simple solution take it back to store for a replacement as that air is ****ed my friend!

 

[neteng101]

That's not a glitch - that's just broke. Get it replaced.

 

[ct2k7]

Not a glitch, the video card is dying. Get it replaced.

 

[potentpotable]

WHAT?!

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

I freakin' waited a whole week for them to build it and ship to Canada, and now I have to return it?!

/hyperventilating

Just a couple things to clarify:

1) Anyone know if the Apple Store has upgraded machines in stock (mine's the 1.6GHz and 4GB RAM)?

2) How long do you think I have before it completely dies? It's only happened once. And it might take some time for Apple to ship a replacement machine.

Caveat emptor, my friends... :'(

PS. Check this out: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=12497599#12497599 FML

 

[neteng101]

1) Anyone know if the Apple Store has upgraded machines in stock (mine's the 1.6GHz and 4GB RAM)?

Stores here do have the 1.6/128/4GB maxed out configs. Guess you can try the store there and see if they have any.

 

[ct2k7]

They might have some in store. Get a genius appt asap, request expedited service.

I first saw this on my 11 year old notebook, born in 1995 died this year.

 

[potentpotable]

I first saw this on my 11 year old notebook, born in 1995 died this year.

So does that mean it's not a real problem? haha

At the moment (9:02pm EST), I'm on the phone with Apple Care. Tech rep asked me to load boot stick and check for anomalies in the welcome/language screen - none. He's got me on hold again as he looks for more ways to root out the problem, and to make sure it won't happen again.

Update:

I just spoke with Apple Care - no need to return/replace my machine yet.

Any of you use Google Chrome? Apparently, mine crashed 200 times, and there were some issues with the built-in PDF viewer.

I'm gonna use Chrome extensively and try to open a bunch of PDFs to make the flickering come back - if it does, I think we've found the root of the problem.

 

[HardLuckStories]

So does that mean it's not a real problem? haha

At the moment (9:02pm EST), I'm on the phone with Apple Care. Tech rep asked me to load boot stick and check for anomalies in the welcome/language screen - none. He's got me on hold again as he looks for more ways to root out the problem, and to make sure it won't happen again.

Update:

I just spoke with Apple Care - no need to return/replace my machine yet.

Any of you use Google Chrome? Apparently, mine crashed 200 times, and there were some issues with the built-in PDF viewer.

I'm gonna use Chrome extensively and try to open a bunch of PDFs to make the flickering come back - if it does, I think we've found the root of the problem.

Thats interesting about Chrome. I had it on MBP15 but it continually had nvidia card running so battery life 2.5 hours and hot machine. Never used it since and didn't install on Air, Safari is designed for Macs so i'm gonna stick with it.

Did like the speed of chrome on 7 though, and reliability, just not on Macs.

 

[bb147]

This is NOT a software problem..

I had this EXACT issue with a older white macbook 13", i took a video of it too and posted it on youtube.

The bluetooth would randomly drop out and consistent graphics problems like this where the screen goes crazy, I have to turn off the computer and turn it back on to fix it.

It is a hardware issue for sure, because this would happen to me whether I was on mac OSX or in Windows XP, or even in the Mac OSX installation screen! Mine never got fixed, they replaced the bluetooth module and it helped for a little bit but it would happen again at random times.

 

[hachre]

This is obviously a hardware problem. Get it replaced...

 

[potentpotable]

Arghh crap. Apple Care seemed reluctant to do it, given that Chrome was acting all crazy. How can I still push for a replacement??

I've read in the Apple forums that this flickering has happened multiple times to people, but I can't replicate it no matter what I do - I've tried maxxing out Chrome (including opening a ******** of PDFs), and last night I played Counter-Strike:Source for six hours straight on native resolution. Still NO flickering whatsoever.

Apple Care said that it could be a one-time thing. As it stands, I'm worried that it IS a hardware problem, yet the problem won't show itself again. It's like The Thing.

 

[jazz1]

Arghh crap. Apple Care seemed reluctant to do it, given that Chrome was acting all crazy. How can I still push for a replacement??

I've read in the Apple forums that this flickering has happened multiple times to people, but I can't replicate it no matter what I do - I've tried maxxing out Chrome (including opening a ******** of PDFs), and last night I played Counter-Strike:Source for six hours straight on native resolution. Still NO flickering whatsoever.

Apple Care said that it could be a one-time thing. As it stands, I'm worried that it IS a hardware problem, yet the problem won't show itself again. It's like The Thing.

Ha, Ha, I love The Thing re-make. You probably feel like your in the scene where the suspected infected humans are tied to a chair, and one of them goes into monster mode

Don't worry, Apple will make it right. I've always had better luck taking my machines to the Apple Store, especially if they were a brand new model. I think they have more discretion to replace and don't want the bad PR on a new model.

 

[rotobadger]

A quick Google and I found that this problem is creeping up on a number of people. I was going to pull the trigger today on a high spec 11''. Now I'm not so sure.

I'm reading about the same issues on some other forums: Freezing and flickering screen. Happening frequently for some users.

 

[potentpotable]

Ha, Ha, I love The Thing re-make. You probably feel like your in the scene where the suspected infected humans are tied to a chair, and one of them goes into monster mode

Don't worry, Apple will make it right. I've always had better luck taking my machines to the Apple Store, especially if they were a brand new model. I think they have more discretion to replace and don't want the bad PR on a new model.

Hahaha, maybe I should draw some battery juice from my Air and put a hot wire to it, see if it jumps up and attempts to crawl away.

Anyway, Apple was pretty adamant about taking care of me - you're bang on that they don't want any negative attention.

A quick Google and I found that this problem is creeping up on a number of people. I was going to pull the trigger today on a high spec 11''. Now I'm not so sure.

I'm reading about the same issues on some other forums: Freezing and flickering screen. Happening frequently for some users.

It seems like for most people, when it flickers it flickers a lot - it's only done it once for me thus far.

Ultimately, despite this potential software/hardware issue, I have zero regrets about getting the 11" Air. It's one of the best notebooks I have even seen and used in years, and I love being able to carry it around with me in a Canada Post envelope like it's a stack of paper. It's lighter than some of my textbooks!! Apple's definitely bought my soul...

 

[pfjellman]

The second day I used my 13" MBA I saw the screen do a white flickering in the lower right corner. It wouldn't stop until i closed the lid and reopened it. It didn't freeze or do anything else weird, and now it hasn't done it again since (last Wednesday).

Definitely something to keep an eye on, made me a bit nervous.

 

[chrono1081]

I've had something similar happen and honestly it looks like a software problem not a hardware problem. (I didn't look at your vid yet so we may be talking different things) but mine did something where lines flickered across the screen after wake from sleep.

I simply closed the lid and opened it right back up and the flickering left. I sent apple feedback about it and offered a video of it if they contact me.

I don't use Chrome so I don't believe this is the issue.

EDIT: After seeing your video you have a different problem. Yours is for sure a bad video card.

 

[potentpotable]

EDIT: After seeing your video you have a different problem. Yours is for sure a bad video card.

UGH. Everyone keeps telling me this, yet I have had ZERO problems since I created this thread (other than MS Word crashing a few times randomly). I've logged over 25 total hours on Chrome, too.

Fingers crossed for a recurrence...

 

[jeznav]

Thats definately a hardware problem. I had my MacMini upgraded from 2GB to 4GB ram and a week later that started to happen. (Lines, flickering, etc). The Apple representative told me that happened because of bad ram. So he replaced my cheap Pheonix Ram sticks with an OWC Apple Certified ram and it all worked fine after that.

Edit: Add to that, I also had safari crash 100 times in a row. I couldnt even open it as it crashed as it launches.

 

[chrono1081]

UGH. Everyone keeps telling me this, yet I have had ZERO problems since I created this thread (other than MS Word crashing a few times randomly). I've logged over 25 total hours on Chrome, too.

Fingers crossed for a recurrence...

In the 15+ years I've been fixing computers I've seen some weird stuff with graphics cards. I've seen many issues that only happen once or twice and you never have an issue since.

If your machine isn't causing problems, I'd say just hang on to it. If you start seeing it again then I would suggest having it swapped out.

 

[boonlar]

I work on laptops all the time and it seems like GPU issue to me. Since 2006 the solder used on the GPU has no lead so it sucks and when it gets hot it tends to crack. Lot's of laptops have this problem and the xbox does too (RROD). The Air has very little cooling for the video card they put in it so I suspect in a year or two many people will be experiencing this issue.

 

[wirelessmacuser]

In the 15+ years I've been fixing computers I've seen some weird stuff with graphics cards. I've seen many issues that only happen once or twice and you never have an issue since.

While it's only been a decade for me, I agree completely with your observation. Issues with graphics cards can be very intermittent, and often they stop reoccurring completely.

http://goo.gl/h82r