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Huge problem with my iMac: Displaying Strange lines *With pictures

liamuk7

liamuk7

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 28, 2008
15
0
England
Hi,

My mac crashed while playing Modern Warfare 2 (via Bootcamp) - I restarted in OSX only to find it froze and this happened: http://twitpic.com/rzcgh

I've managed to back up my HD. And have formatted it via Firewire from a Macbook. But I'm still getting the strange lines and I still can't boot.

But not it won't even boot, before it crashes at startup I see this. http://twitpic.com/s3gge

I've tried booting with a DVD. Installing OSX using the Macbook via firewire, resetting PRAM, booting in safe mode etc... Nothing works.

I guess really I'd like to know what your guesses are at what might be causing this.

Thanks.
 
It looks like the graphics card memory is fried. That's normally what you get when that happens.

Which imac is this?
 
It's a 24" iMac, (intel) which is about a year and a half old now.

I'd tried some other memory but lines still appear and it fails to boot.

If it's the video card would I need to call apple and get them to replace it?

I've also tried a hardware test which came back saying "No Trouble Found"

Thanks,

Liam
 
Looks to me like a graphics card problem as well - strange that the AHTCD didn't find anything, but then again, there are plenty of things that it doesn't look to hard at. You should definitely take it in and have a genius take a look at it. I bet it IS the graphics card, and I'd bet it'll have to be replaced. I hope you have Applecare.
 
I'll join the masses here - it does indeed look like a dead / dying GPU.

Does the newer iMac use a removable / MXM GPU? If not, a new motherboard may cost more than the iMac did.

I hope you got a warranty.
 
I don't have Applecare, and while I'm hoping it's not the Graphics Card it does look like that's the problem.

Damn.
 
If the warranty is only for 1 year then I've probably not got one.

To be fair it's been working perfectly every day since I've had it, never expected anything like this.

Would it be safe to say that I'm screwed?
 
Not screwed - it can be fixed. Depending on your GPU - you might even get a free or discounted repair if it's one of the Nvidias that caused all kinds of trouble for everyone. (I have no idea - you'd have to look it up)

Also for consideration: I'm aware your on the other side of the pond, and you guys don't use credit cards nearly as much as we do. But many credit card companies have (little known) protection plans / customer satisfaction guarantees - and they might even foot a repair for you.

Worth a shot at the very least.
 
Even if it's not one that will allow a free or discounted fix, at least you can fix it yourself! iFixit.com has great disassembly instructions and pictures that will allow you to do it yourself without too much trouble. The graphics card should be removable and replaceable with the same kind, or possibly even a newer one.
 
Big-TDI-Guy said:
Not screwed - it can be fixed. Depending on your GPU - you might even get a free or discounted repair if it's one of the Nvidias that caused all kinds of trouble for everyone. (I have no idea - you'd have to look it up)

Also for consideration: I'm aware your on the other side of the pond, and you guys don't use credit cards nearly as much as we do. But many credit card companies have (little known) protection plans / customer satisfaction guarantees - and they might even foot a repair for you.

Worth a shot at the very least.
Click to expand...

I doubt this would be covered under the nvidia issue as that results in a black screen. This looks like the video memory's overheating. Thermal paste drying up, RAM sinks coming loose.
 
Thanks for ideas guys. I never used a credit card unfortunately.

I'll look into the suggestions so far.

I think Sharangad hit upon a good point. I managed to find this similar issue: http://8.12.32.67/apple/topics/intel_24_imac_screen_problems

The people there seem to think that overheating may have been a big part in the problem too.

For anyone who may come here and have similar problems you could try iMac Fan Control: http://www.derman.com/Download/Special/iMacFanControl.html

As suggested on the Apple "Get Satisfaction" page.

If I can some how run that I think it may be a good starting point.
 
You could try creating a new user and see if things are any different under it. Also, you could try an external monitor to see if that makes any difference.
 
Not sure how I would go about making a new user when I can't login to my mac.

I can access the HD by using firewire on a Macbook, but as far as starting up logging in or booting goes I can't do that at all.
 
liamuk7 said:
Not sure how I would go about making a new user when I can't login to my mac.

I can access the HD by using firewire on a Macbook, but as far as starting up logging in or booting goes I can't do that at all.
Click to expand...

What happens when you try and boot from the DVD to reinstall?
 
If I try to install from DVD I just get a load bar before it crashes.

Sometimes rather than crash, the screen will darken and the "You need to restart your mac" info box appears.

I've followed instructions for what to do if that message appears but nothing has worked.
 
liamuk7 said:
Hi,

My mac crashed while playing Modern Warfare 2 (via Bootcamp) - I restarted in OSX only to find it froze and this happened: http://twitpic.com/rzcgh

I've managed to back up my HD. And have formatted it via Firewire from a Macbook. But I'm still getting the strange lines and I still can't boot.

But not it won't even boot, before it crashes at startup I see this. http://twitpic.com/s3gge

I've tried booting with a DVD. Installing OSX using the Macbook via firewire, resetting PRAM, booting in safe mode etc... Nothing works.

I guess really I'd like to know what your guesses are at what might be causing this.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Did you overclock the GPU in Windows?
 
liamuk7 said:
If I try to install from DVD I just get a load bar before it crashes.

Sometimes rather than crash, the screen will darken and the "You need to restart your mac" info box appears.

I've followed instructions for what to do if that message appears but nothing has worked.
Click to expand...

Will it boot from the DVD? The "You need to restart your mac" message is a kernel panic. Kernel panics are usually caused by something hardware related, frequently bad RAM, but I suppose a failed video card could also be the cause. Do you have all the peripherals with the exception of keyboard and mouse disconnected? Do you get the kernel panic with the original RAM installed? How about with only one stick of the original RAM?
 
Welcome to the club!

I first experienced this very same catastrophic failure of my mid-2008 24" iMac with the 8800GS in October '09, 5 weeks out of warranty. Interestingly, also while clocking in a number of hours on graphically-intensive games in Vista...

To my surprise, Apple agreed to replace the logic board and video card--both of which were fried--free of charge. Didn't even have to raise my voice. The total of the repair job was well over $1300 CAD.

Now, just this past Thursday, it died again. Exact same issue. After quick call to Apple, it was revealed that the parts installed are covered under 90 day warranties. Frighteningly low warranties as they are, mine failed after a mere 42 days.

Venting aside, call Apple if you haven't all ready. Be honest with them, but express how disappointed you are in whatever way you feel most comfortable and fitting. Then just pray you don't have my luck. I have, however, heard rumors from technicians that Apple has replaced some out-of-warranty aluminum iMacs for customers. Not all hope is lost if "new" parts fail after 90 days.
 
I remove everything from the Mac, keeping just my Keyboard and mouse in, and I still get the error message yes.

It is quite possible that playing the game in windows may have caused the problems in the first place.

Because of a mix up when I purchased the apple I actually have 5 sticks of RAM, all of which I have tried, both on their own and in combination with each other.

Nothing happens. I still get the same problems.

I've been cooling my mac in the hopes that any heat problems might be sorted too, but still nothing.

I'll be calling Apple in the morning, I'll try what has been suggested - but I'm not expecting much.
 
Good luck! Definitely sounds like the logic board/video card. No conventional fixes work.

If you don't get the answer you want from Apple at first (ie. free repair), hang up and phone them again for a different CSR.
 
Thanks DRATM, and thanks for the nice tip!

I've just checked my receipt and realized that I'm just over 2 months off my Warranty. Do you think this would help my case at all?

And at £1,400 for a machine which has lasted a year and 2 months I'm hoping that they will have a little sympathy.
 
liamuk7 said:
Thanks DRATM, and thanks for the nice tip!

I've just checked my receipt and realized that I'm just over 2 months off my Warranty. Do you think this would help my case at all?

And at £1,400 for a machine which has lasted a year and 2 months I'm hoping that they will have a little sympathy.
Click to expand...

Also, when calling AppleCare, if you can't get a satisfactory answer from them ask to speak to Customer Relations. I've heard of them making good when AppleCare couldn't/didn't want to.
 
seen similar things lots of times ,when gamers come and ask me to fix their pc
its is the graphics card memory/processor cooked with 98 %certainty

for gamers i always install
a nvidia geforce gtx 285 or a ati radeon HD 4870 x2 nothing less for someone who want to play games and i dont mean chess when i say games ok you can play games with a less powerful graphics card ...but just dont ....
its just that you can live with a slower processor like a 2.4 ghz dual core , but your graphics card should be able to handle all a game asks for as modern games put about 40%strain on the processor but 60% on the graphics card and thats optimistic
 
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