Robert Farthing

Q: 27" Cinema display flickers when woken from sleep

I've noticed that my 27" Apple Cinema display flickers briefly when woken from sleep.

I have had the display for 8 months, and haven't noticed this before.

It flickers (or flashes), just once when the display wakes when the computer is woken from sleep. It only affects the bottom third of the display.

Once it has properly woken, and flickered once, it then works o.k.

Has anyone else had this?

Thanks.

Bob.

2010 Mac Pro 3.2GHz Quad Core, 27, Mac OS X (10.6.7)

Posted on Jun 27, 2011 12:53 AM

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Q: 27" Cinema display flickers when woken from sleep

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  • by Robert Farthing,Solvedanswer

    Robert Farthing Robert Farthing Jun 27, 2011 11:37 AM in response to Robert Farthing
    Level 1 (65 points)
    Jun 27, 2011 11:37 AM in response to Robert Farthing

    O.k., so I'll just give an update here in case anyone else suffers the same problem sometime.

    I tried the 27" Cinema Display on my MacBook Pro, and there was no flickering.

    ........so it wasn't the display..........

    I reset the PRAM and SMC, no change.

    I removed and re-seated the graphics card, no change.

    I re-loaded Snow Leopard from the original discs, and the flickering stopped.

    I updated all the software (re-loading from discs reverts to an earlier software version), and everything is still o.k.

    Problem solved!

    Must have been a glitch in the software somewhere, and a reload of the OSX got rid of it.

    Relief!

     

    Bob.

  • by Robert Farthing,

    Robert Farthing Robert Farthing Jun 28, 2011 1:39 AM in response to Robert Farthing
    Level 1 (65 points)
    Jun 28, 2011 1:39 AM in response to Robert Farthing

    Hmmm.........it appears I spoke too soon.........

    The first few times it woke from sleep, sure enough the flicker had stopped. Now I notice that if you sleep the computer for just a few seconds, there's no flicker on awakening, but if I leave it to sleep for a while, the first time it re-awakens, I get the flicker again (before, it flickered every time).

    I've backed out to a previous version of OSX now (10.6.4). I'll see how that goes.

     

    Bob.

  • by Robert Farthing,

    Robert Farthing Robert Farthing Jun 28, 2011 10:16 AM in response to Robert Farthing
    Level 1 (65 points)
    Jun 28, 2011 10:16 AM in response to Robert Farthing

    So, now that I've backed out to an older OS (10.6.4), I haven't had any flicker at all when I wake it from sleep.

    I've tried it from a few seconds asleep to over 2 hours, and it seems o.k.

    I'll continue to run it like this for a couple of days, then I'll update the OS, and see if the flicker comes back.

    Bob.

  • by Robert Farthing,

    Robert Farthing Robert Farthing Jun 30, 2011 2:38 PM in response to Robert Farthing
    Level 1 (65 points)
    Jun 30, 2011 2:38 PM in response to Robert Farthing

    Right.....I ran 10.6.4 for a day with no problems, so I updated to 10.6.6 yesterday, and have run with that for a day and a half, and haven't had any problems with screen flicker when the computer wakes from sleep.

    I'll run with this for another day, then update to the latest OS and see if the flicker returns. If it does, it's obviously a bug with the latest OS.

    Bob.

  • by Robert Farthing,

    Robert Farthing Robert Farthing Jul 1, 2011 6:58 AM in response to Robert Farthing
    Level 1 (65 points)
    Jul 1, 2011 6:58 AM in response to Robert Farthing

    O.k., so I updated the OS to 10.6.7, and ran that for a day with no issues, so I updated to 10.6.8.........and the flickering returned.

    Therefore, it must be a bug with OSX10.6.8.

    I'll re-install from the Snow Leopard disc, then combo update to 10.6.7, and report this as a bug.

    Surprised no-one else has noticed it...........

    Bob.

  • by Robert Farthing,

    Robert Farthing Robert Farthing Jul 1, 2011 8:42 AM in response to Robert Farthing
    Level 1 (65 points)
    Jul 1, 2011 8:42 AM in response to Robert Farthing

    So I've now gone back to 10.6.7 and the flicker has stopped, so 10.6.8 is at fault.

    Has anyone else noticed this, or am I the only one?

    Bob.

  • by Robert Farthing,

    Robert Farthing Robert Farthing Jul 10, 2011 11:18 PM in response to Robert Farthing
    Level 1 (65 points)
    Jul 10, 2011 11:18 PM in response to Robert Farthing

    O.k., so I'm the only person in the entire world with this problem............

     

    Interestingly, I was in the Apple Store yesterday, and I tried out the Mac Pro with 27" Cinema Display (more or less the same setup as mine).

    When I woke the screen from sleep (several times), it didn't flicker.

    However, when I checked the OS version, it was still running 10.6.7!!!!

    Now why would they not upgrade?

    I asked the guy in the Apple Store, and he said all of the machines are running 10.6.7, none of the stores have upgraded yet.

     

    Odd..........I wonder why not.

     

    Bob.

  • by Robert Farthing,

    Robert Farthing Robert Farthing Jul 21, 2011 2:57 AM in response to Robert Farthing
    Level 1 (65 points)
    Jul 21, 2011 2:57 AM in response to Robert Farthing

    O.k., so I've been messing about with this some more.

    First, I trued using an HDD as the bootup disc, to prove that it wasn't the SSD at fault. It still flickered.

    Then, I tried changing the output resolution, and BINGO! In every resolution except the top 2560 x 1440, the flicker does not happen.

    Therefore, the problem lies with the fact that Lion (and 10.6.8) has problems with the highest resolutions when the screen wakes.

    I'd love to hear from someone with a 27" cinema display that shows the same problem (or 27" iMac, maybe?).

    Bob.

  • by Robert Cramer1,Helpful

    Robert Cramer1 Robert Cramer1 Jul 21, 2011 5:36 AM in response to Robert Farthing
    Level 1 (20 points)
    Jul 21, 2011 5:36 AM in response to Robert Farthing

    Robert - you're not the only one. My mac pro flickers when I wake it from sleep, and it also does a brief static-y flash during startup. During normal operation, it performs perfectly, but for the price they charge for these things, I expect perfection, or I would have bought a Dell.

     

    This only started happening with 10.6.8 (and yes I am running the monitor at native resolution). I was looking forward to installing Lion tonight to fix this issue, but it looks like you already tried that and it didn't make a difference. My video card is an ATI 5770 in case that's another possible cause of this issue? (bad display drivers in 10.6.8 and Lion perhaps?)

     

    I'll keep you posted on my situation, but I'm not very hopeful. I still have a few days to return my dual 27" Cinema's, which I may wind up doing in order to get the Thunderbolt displays in a few weeks without taking a bath on resale value by keeping the non TB displays that I have now.

     

    Bobby

  • by Robert Farthing,

    Robert Farthing Robert Farthing Jul 21, 2011 5:43 AM in response to Robert Cramer1
    Level 1 (65 points)
    Jul 21, 2011 5:43 AM in response to Robert Cramer1

    Thank you, thank you, thank you. At last someone has put me out of my misery.

    I also have the 5770 video card. At least I know it isn't my hardware now (like the Apple Support guy suggested).

    I'm now going to go back to 10.6.7 (again) to get rid of the flicker. Lion doesn't hold enough adavantages (and it is full of bugs) for me.

    Let me know how you get on. I'll contact the Apple store and see if they've got Lion loaded on their Pro yet, then try that one.

    Thanks again.

    Bob.

  • by Robert Farthing,

    Robert Farthing Robert Farthing Jul 21, 2011 6:40 AM in response to Robert Cramer1
    Level 1 (65 points)
    Jul 21, 2011 6:40 AM in response to Robert Cramer1

    Just a thought.........if you're thinking about swapping out the 27" displays for TB displays, you will need a TB compatible computer, or they will not connect (according to the Apple Store).

    Bob.

  • by Robert Cramer1,

    Robert Cramer1 Robert Cramer1 Jul 21, 2011 6:50 AM in response to Robert Farthing
    Level 1 (20 points)
    Jul 21, 2011 6:50 AM in response to Robert Farthing

    Yeah - I'm trying to verify that 100% right now. I know that I won't get full functionality from the TB dispaly (no TB, FW or ethernet on the back of the monitor) but if I can get video and USB between the Mac and the displays, that would be enough. I haven't seen any docuemtnation anywhere deatailing wether or not that TB displays will work with existing video cards / Mac Pro's, or if I'll have to do a full round of upgrades including my Mac Pro and the ATI 5770. And as you know, there are no TB video cards on the market at this time. My timing basically *****...

     

    My plan was to return the Cinema Displays while I still can, fall back to a spare Dell 21" that I have lying around the house for a few weeks (yukkkk..), and then figure out what to do with the TB diplsay as they get closer to release. I'm contempling upgrading my Mac Pro, but if I can stick with what I have, it would save me some cash.I woudln't even mind upgrading my video card, but I just dropped $2000 on these 2 Cinema Display's last week, and I feel like they are already outdated.

     

    PS - I am constantly selling gear, so resale value and having the "latest and greatest" are pretty important to me, hence the interest in the TB displays.

     

    Bobby

  • by Robert Farthing,

    Robert Farthing Robert Farthing Jul 21, 2011 7:03 AM in response to Robert Cramer1
    Level 1 (65 points)
    Jul 21, 2011 7:03 AM in response to Robert Cramer1

    According to the Apple store, system requirements are;

     

    System Requirements

    • Thunderbolt-enabled Mac computer, including MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac mini and iMac
    • OS X v10.6.8 or later

     

    and the connections are;

     

    Cables

    • Built-in Thunderbolt cable
    • Built-in Universal MagSafe cable (up to 85W)

     

    all of the other ports appear to be outputs, so I think you would need another graphics card (which isn't available yet).

     

    I've just confirmed that the display Mac Pro in the local Apple Store has Lion on it now, so I'm going to have a play at the weekend.

     

    Bob.

  • by Robert Farthing,

    Robert Farthing Robert Farthing Jul 21, 2011 8:05 AM in response to Robert Cramer1
    Level 1 (65 points)
    Jul 21, 2011 8:05 AM in response to Robert Cramer1

    Another thought..........I can't see anywhere that the MacPro is actually compatible with TB........even the latest ones (mine isn't).

     

    Bob.

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