iMac Screen Blues Out

[jdfrolik]

My 20" 2.66Ghz iMac with 4GB RAM is 5 months old and had been flawless until Saturday, 3 Janauray 2009. That's when it first suffered a series of what I now call a blueout.

What is a blueout? Well, regardless what application is being used or how many are open, 1) the mouse freezes, and then 2) the screen just blues out. It turns solid blue. No lines, no uneven patches. Finally after anywhere from 1 second to 2 minutes the screen returns to normal and the mouse functions again. And nothing, no data, has been lost. If a QuickTime movie, or even a DVD, is playing, the movie just keeps running during the blueout, and when the screen returns to normal the movie has progressed the same duration as the blueout.

At first I considered this a thermal problem. But that doesn't seem likely since it's happened soon after turning on the computer and surfing the Web—not much processing power and overheating there. I had about 10 blueouts within a 30 minute period that first Saturday, and on Sunday it happened about 8 times all day. Then, suddenly, Monday thru Friday it disappeared—and I used my iMac quite a lot during the week.

But then on Saturday, 10 January, the blueout struck again! And again yesterday, Sunday. Yet today I've not had a problem...yet. Nonetheless it's helplessly maddening to say the least!

Has anyone experienced this problem? A faulty graphics card, maybe? Overheating? A burned out cooling fan—do the newer iMacs even have a cooling fan? Fortunately my iMac is still under its 1-year worldwide warranty and an authorized Apple dealer can (hopefully) get this identified and corrected without additional cost. But I'd like to get a heads up before I venture to the shop and speak to the technician.

 

[jdfrolik]

Blueout Video

I am surprised nobody has commented on the initial post. In another Apple discussion forum there was only one other person who's had the same problem as me--and that person is in France. I'm in Germany. For any doubters, this problem isn't a virus, it's in the hardware. A virus would have caused many, many more complaints than just two Apple users. Addtionally, the French user was able to isolate the cause as being his Mac's graphic card, which he replaced, and since then his Mac's apparently blueout free.

Only recently was I able to take my iMac to an Apple authorized service center (Gravis Computer in Germany) and they ran diagnostics...and, surprisingly, found nothing wrong. Their recommendation was to reinstall the OS. I did...and it only made the problem worse. It became so bad that I could set up my video camera and record without much waiting and wasting DV tape. So I made a video and returned the computer to Gravis with a CD copy.

I'm still waiting to hear from Gravis. In the meantime I would like to hear from other Apple users--notably iMac users--who have watched my video. What are your answers to the problem? The Blueout video is posted on YouTubed: 7 Blueouts in 7 Minutes.

 

[OrangeSVTguy]

I can't believe that you haven't taken it back yet to get it replaced or the logic board replaced? I'd complain since you have the proof of it. You're not happy with it so you shouldn't have to put up with it, 6 months later.

Call Apple up on the phone and talk to them and tell them your situation.

 

[jdfrolik]

It had been a week and I hadn't heard anything, so I stopped by Gravis today to ask about my iMac. The service rep said they ran a diagnostic (again) and contacted Apple Germany to send a new logic board for replacement. I assume my video helped solidify that something was defective therein.

Coincidentally the logic board arrived today and a technician will have my computer ready early next week (in Germany such shops don't work weekends). Since the computer's still under warranty this will not cost me financially. But I'm sure that when I start using my iMac again I will be in a constant "suspense mode" for some minutes, or hours, or days...or even weeks until I feel rid of the blueout problem.

And I'll be damned if it reappears... But, hopefully it shouldn't.

 

[geoffreak]

BSOD on a Mac?!?!?! What has this world come to?!?!?! [/sarcasm]

 

[jdfrolik]

Your sarcasm concerning BSoD on a Mac is well taken in jest. But if you watched my entire YouTube video (link at end of Post #2) it's clear the blueout problem was not a Blue Screen of Death because, unlike a Windows OS, the computer continued to function without need of a restart or without any other ill effects thereafter...until it blued out again.