Q: Strange vertical stripes

THIS IS A HARDWARE ISSUE

I'd suggest not obsessing over when, why, how and get a replacement. When this began to happen on my MBP after about 6 months of use, I brought it in to the Apple Store. They said they'd never seen it but figured it was a LED display defect. They replaced the display and the problem is gone (for about 2 months now of daily use). Nothing else was changed, just the display. If this is happening to you, ask for a new display.

Sorry mate but there is no definate its a hardware issue. Not all apple techs know of every little problem and the exact cause. Often they will just see something and as it is abnormal and the customer has a complaint, theyll just associate it as a certain problem and aim to fix it by doing what seems relevant.

Perfect examples of this was how the popping sound coming out of my harddrive was a problem to one tech, yet normal harddrive behavior to another.

So in your case, i think the apple tech has just seen your screen and gone "yeah, its probably an lcd issue"

I remember mine stopped after doing a pram reset. However, i ended up getting a new mbp (for a different reason other than stripes) so it may not have corrected the issue as i only had the mbp for 2 weeks after the pram reset.

this issue is so randomised im thinking its software. if it was hardware i believe it would be alot more common and recurring.

anyway, i havent noticed it happen for ages and i dont really care about it anymore tbh, not enough to send in and get my screen replaced. ive slept my computer on battery about 10 times in a row now (10 days) and ive yet to see it.

Follow up to my earlier post: My continued websearch turned up this chap's advice which didn't work for me but may work for some of you: http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2008/04/28/some-macbook-pros-show-vert ical-striping-display-issues
On the otherhand perhaps ars in arstech stands for something , but he does introduce me to the eject button (Top-right) that I didn't know about.
JCT

Matt S writes:
I was pleasantly surprised to see that the photo of my computer was dug up from the apple forums to serve as a photo for this article. We all are mostly finding that this issue is not--afterall--related to turning off the "automatically adjust brightness as ambient light changes" option. A quick fix to get rid of the stripes when they appear: shift-control-eject. This keyboard combo will instantly turn off your screen. When you cursor or hit a key the screen will come back on--without the stripes. If you too are having issues with the screen, please take a moment to post your name on the Appke forums (you can find the link in the article above). The more views/entries we can get on the forum, the better. Maybe Apple will finally sit up and take notice. Thanks for posting this report arstech!

Yes! Definetely! Windows troubleshooting methods introduced to Leopard.

Santa Monica, CA Sunday May 4, 2008 4:30PM...

My stripes just returned!!!

Running on 30% Battery.

And I tried to change the desktop, but system preferences won't come up.

Took yet another photo, but what's the point if Apple is ignoring the problem?

While my computer was on, in the middle of using it the stripes appeared. No sleep, no waking, just on and working.

OK, I just got back from the apple store.
I drove there with my laptop open, keeping it from sleeping.
Rushed to the Genius Bar where I showed it to two "geniuses" (I have no doubt these people know more about computers than I, it's just a little obvious, that we have to call them geniuses. (Read a book about propoganda, to understand the use of labels & titles)

OK, They look and the concierge says I'm in LUCK! Someone can see me today.

Nevermind that I'm in for a second time for the same problem, supposedly fixed only a couple days prior. Nevermind that I have a brand new (Whoops! I'm sorry- It's now a refurbished "brand new") $2500 laptop that still doesn't work (and again I recommend evey one buy a refurbished Mac, especially since that's what you're likely to end up with anyway).

So they see me. They plug my laptop into a screen to see if the physical problem is a software one (Nevermind that it could easily be a software problem that only affects the actual laptop).
And they say it's the display and order me a new one.

I mention this thread, and the ID #. But no one bothers to read any posts (including mine, meant to get SOME response), to see that dispalys have been replaced to no avail.

But it's the megacorporation system. Do A. Do B. Do C.
And nevermind that you'll end up at Z, so why not jumpstart the process by starting there?

So I'm at step B to get my brand new laptop.

Actually I'm hoping they upgrade me to a DELL (LOL).

By the way, while I'm at the bar I'm next to a man who's in a similar boat as me. Been using Macs since 1984, with never a problem, Now...?
Nothing but problems.

I'll let you know what happens after the display is replaced.

PS- I'm writing this on my "broken, old" laptop (PBG4), because since returning home I can't get online with my new MBP!

The yellowish tint is another well-known problem of the screens in current MBPs. It looks like a manufacturer (I do not remember who, but my screen is yellowish and has been produced by AU Optronics) is not able to build "neutral screens".

On other forums you can find very long threads about that.

mac.cardi

The Chimei and the AU Optronics are said to show the yellowish tint on the lower part of the screen. The LG and the Samsung seem to be better with this respect.

That's why I'm reluctant to have my LCD (LG type) exchanged, although it shows the stripes issue occasionally.

Peter

Just writing to ask you a question.

I've been using this MBP for longer than a month.
In the first weeks I never noticed the stripes: I would have if they were present since I was very careful in looking at/hearing details/noise.

Then I had the stripes once. Then no stripes for a lot of days. Now I have stripes almost every day. In fact, even if, at the beginning, I decided not to bring this MBP to the service centre and wait for a word from Apple, now I will ask for repair. The only problem is that I am in Italy where customer satisfaction is not among the priorities of any company: if they are not able to replicate it, they won't do anything.

Did you notice a degenerative course in your stripes? Does their frequency increase over the days?

mac.cardi

PS. I did not check the battery charge everytime I saw the stripes. Anyway, it was around 30% twice. Another dynamic I noticed: in some stripe-occasions (I cannot say everytime or N times because it depends on the external light) I saw the keyboard illumination going on to a strong level when the MBP woke up and then instantly dimming out to a much lower intensity.

Message was edited by: Mac Cardi

No one except Apple knows so far, whether it is a hardware or firmware issue.

I'd say with the ctrl-shift-eject keyboard shortcut workaround it is even not a big issue for me currently.

It might become an issue, if it is hardware related and it gets worse up to the point, where the backlight doesn't work at all. And that usually happens AFTER the warranty period is over

And it will be an issue, if you want to sell your MPB at some time. You have to inform the buyer about the issue, if you play fair, and that definitely has a negative influence on the price you will achieve.

I did a photo of the screen showing the stripes, with the system profiler window open showing the serial number of my MBP. That way I can proof, that this device has the stripes issue.

In case Apple doesn't come up with a fix within the next months, I'll send it in for repair and with the picture attached, I don't think I have to argue whether the MBP needs service. Maybe I'll have to fight the yellowish screen issue afterwards, but well let's see.

Peter

Peter, may be I do not understand. You have a LG panel, but, at the same time, the yellowish tint on the bottom part of the screen? Am I correct: LG and yellowish?

So, basically, there are no "good" screens also with respect to the color reproduction?

mac.cardi

No my LG panel is fine, it doesn't show any yellowish colors at the bottom, just the stripes issue.

My fear is, that if I send it in for repair I might get it back with a yellowish Chimei or AO panel and probably the stripes issue isn't solved as well. That's why I prefer to wait a bit longer for a possible firmware fix.

Peter

Well, I've finally cracked and taken my MBP back to Apple for a replacement. The issue went from occasional, to once a day and eventually to every time I restarted. Sleeping and waking the screen sorted it out but I didn't like the way it was getting worse. At the end I was getting the stripes whether or not the MBP was plugged in or whether ambient light detection was on or off.

Anyway, I now have a new one which (touch wood) is ok at the moment.

I'm looking at the 10.5.3 Seed Notes and it doesn't appear to mention a fix for any issues like this. Look for yourself:

http://news.worldofapple.com/archives/2008/05/06/new-build-of-mac-os-x-1053-emer ges-seed-notes/

I suspect this may end up being hardware related... can't wait for an official answer to this.

Cheers,

-john

You state that there are no fixes in 10.5.3 for the problem but how could you know if there is a fix if we don't know the problem. Apple could be fixing the problem but not calling it a fix to MacBook Pros. On that note, there seems to be quite a number of fixes for Core Image. I wonder if bad code could be causing the problem as I still can't replicate the stripes in Windows.