CPCookieMan

Q: Having a graphics problem with PowerBook G4...

So I have a PowerBook G4 Aluminium 1.33 GHz and it seems to be having a problem with the computer's graphics. I haven't found any insight on this problem online. The PowerBook will start up and look fine, then as it gets warmer, the graphics start to do weird things. It's really hard to explain what it looks like at the height of the problem. It is certainly still a usable computer, but you get green dots and sometimes purple on the screen, and they move around when windows move around. It seems to react more to blues and greens, and also there's more in places like window shadows. Like I said though, only after it warms up. It takes about 5 minutes to be warm enough to start causing the problems. Are there any fixes? Help!

 

CPCookieMan

PowerBook, Mac OS X (10.5.8), Also has 10.4.11

Posted on Aug 9, 2011 8:11 PM

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Q: Having a graphics problem with PowerBook G4...

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  • by old comm guy,

    old comm guy old comm guy Aug 9, 2011 9:04 PM in response to CPCookieMan
    Level 4 (2,244 points)
    Aug 9, 2011 9:04 PM in response to CPCookieMan

    Generally, the graphics processors are mounted on the logic board, so we need to at least decide if it is the display or the CPU that is causing the problem.  (I am betting GPU, but we will see in a bit.)

     

    If you have an external monitor handy, connect it to the DVI output of the PowerBook and bring up the computer and select mirroring by pressing the F7 key, for simplicity.  If the video disturbances show on both monitors, turn mirroring off (press the F7 key) and see if the disturbances still show on the external monitor.

     

    If the disturbance does not go to the external monitor, then your display module or its connections may be compromised (loosened up).  If the disturbance shows up on the external monitor as well, then likely the only solution is a logic board replacement.

     

    Before going farther, though, you should at least do one safe boot and see if the problem shows up, as during safe boot, much of the GPU is idled.

  • by Allan Jones,

    Allan Jones Allan Jones Aug 10, 2011 10:17 AM in response to CPCookieMan
    Level 8 (35,187 points)
    iPad
    Aug 10, 2011 10:17 AM in response to CPCookieMan

    As video failures are commonly heat-related, you may wish to monitor your temps and fans. Get Temperature Monitor here:

     

    http://bresink.com/osx/TemperatureMonitor.html

     

    It's free and puts a temp readout in your menubar for easy checking.

     

    The DashBoard widget iStatPro, also monitors temps but I like the other program better. However, the widget will monitor fan performance on some PowerBooks:

     

    http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/status/istatpro.html

     

    Note that is may not detect fans on older PowerBooks. I have a 1gHz 17" and iPS doesn't see any fans.

     

    I'm not sure of the safety cut-off range for the PowerBooks. I know my fans speed up when the temps read by Temperature Monitor reach the vicinity of 140°F.

     

    If the widget detects your fans but never shows them speeding up, that could be causing your issues.