iMac 24 Aluminum screen burn-in?

update and additions. I forgot to mention that they did not replace the graphic card but instead replaced the power supply. the reasoning was they found nothing wrong with the graphic card but the supply seemed to acting up. honestly I dont recall there being any power issues or anything that would have been a sign of power issues but ok. so now the update on the aluminum body they are going to order one and have me bring it in and they will gut it and put all the stuff in the new body on the spot. are you freakin serious? granted this wouldnt force me back onto my G4 mini but obviously they must think I have nothing better to do then wait around for them to get this right. the apple experience isnt what it use to be. words can not explain how upset I am and upset is putting it nicely.

Not related to the imac,
but my samsung lcd monitor started getting problems when i got a wall mount for it,
soon as the hour mark had past and enough heat has built up inside i started getting ghosting,
i tried all the software around and nothing worked,
in the end i took it back down and removed the grills of the air holes and cleaned it from inside and this solved the problem for me,

am not saying do this with your imac as it will void the warranty but move it to a better location,
example away from heaters and much nearer to the window...

also see if you time it,

for me it was always the same time just slightly after 1hr...

i totally got rid of all those burn-in effects.
it's caused by too much heat. this happens when the slit and the blowhole (under where the metal stand and your imac meet, most people don't notice) are blocked by dust.
normaly i had 104F idle! so i just took a vacuum cleaner and sucked out the dust.
temperature is now 84F idle. pretty sweet.

i hope it'll solve things for you.

cheers.

Hi everyone, that's great you all appear to be getting it taken care of one way or the other. Just a couple of things I wanted to comment on from my recent experience:

1. The Apple store/tech crowds usually are (or act) completely oblivious to some of these issues - it's my understanding that it's part of the process when you work for them. That and the fact that certain issues need to be pressed with them until you're blue in the face! No offense to anyone, I work with a past Apple Store employee who gave me the lowdown.

2. On the 24" iMac, yes, the left side does tend to hold alot more heat than the right side, as this is where the power supply is located. When I was having issues with my model, there was a tremendously higher amount of heat and screen burn in on the left than the right. Best of luck to everyone and stay on 'em!

I guess all glossy-display-imacs are affected.

I tried the Apple's procedure and it solved the issue but I think it's caused by too much use without activating the screen saver. My iMac is now configured to start the screen saver in 3 minutes.

Experiencing the exact same issue! My aluminium iMac is only 2 months old. My previous white iMac experienced the same issue with my desktop icons burning in. As a designer, this is incredibly annoying and intolerable.

I have an idea that may be helpful...

I am sure that most of us have either called the Apple support line, emailed Apple support, or physically taken our Mac to an Apple store to get it checked out. Eventhough these options are the "correct" ways to deal with our problems they may not be the most effective.

My idea is this, how about everyone who is having the same problem(s) with their Macs pursue all options for reporting problems at the approximately the same time.

Everyone, at a prearranged time, call Apple support about your Macs problems. Everyone, at a prearranged time, email Apple support about your Macs problems. Everyone, if possible, take your Mac to the nearest Apple store and request service.

What I am saying is to make a concerted effort to bug the crap out of them in the hope that it draws enough attention to help motivate them to address our Macs problems.

It's sort of like the "Tea Party" idea. One person complians and it's hardly noticeable, tens of thousands complain and it draws attention due to the numbers involved.

I am aware that everyone calling at the same time is simply a "traffic jam", so I propose a plan to organize our effort.

My idea, May 4-8 is Mac Week.
May 4: Eastern time zone calls Apple.
May 5: Central time zone calls Apple.
May 6: Mountain time zone calls Apple.
May 7: Pacific time zone calls Apple.
May 8: Everyone calls Apple. (Worldwide)

May 4-8: Everyone emails Apple at least once per day.

I'm aware that this may not make a bit of difference but I say let's do it unless someone has a better idea.

Anyone?

Message was edited by: Kendrick68

I must say I'm really disappointed with what I've been reading on these forum pages. Now, I know that most people only post on here when there's a problem, and that there are probably many more users who have no problems, but this seems quite serious. Video card issues, image persistence, 10.5.6 screwing people's hardware, overheating… it's making me seriously worried. I have been using Macs since the LCIII and am currently using a G5 Dual 2.7GHz at work and a G4 Dual 450MHz at home, both running Tiger. My Apple Cinema Display has been great (apart from the difficulty of cleaning it). However, I need to replace the G4 to do serious design work at home too, and was thinking of a 2.93GHz iMac. Having read about all the problems people have been having, and the refusal of Apple (or some of their stores) to acknowledge the problems, I'm really wondering if an All-in-one really is such a good idea. Trouble is, I can't afford a Mac Pro and I also can't afford to buy an iMac and have to keep returning it. Whatever happened to the Apple of old, whose hardware was worth the premium? I'm going to wait until 10.6 comes out in any case, but obviously the next iMac HW refresh will be a long time coming. What a shame! I hope those of you who are having problems get a solution soon.

I don't have this problem.........

1) Turn the brightness down to minimum, it's far too bright at higher levels anyway
2) set your screen saver to start after 10 mins
3) set the screen to power off after 30 mins
4) Vacuum the air vents underneath and at the top of the iMac once every couple of months to remove dust.
5) don't put your imac near a heat source.

It's not rocket science it's simply common sense to look after your investment.

sizzling badger wrote:
It's not rocket science it's simply common sense to look after your investment.

True, it's simple enough once you know what to do, but I've never had to do that level of pandering to my computer's sensitivities before. My work G5 dual 2.7GHz tower is similarly robust. I think what we're seeing here is the effects of Apple trying to cram ever more performance into a form factor that's already borderline in terms of heat dissipation, using new processors and new display tech, but not being willing to redesign the casework (or test it thoroughly enough). They're not alone, Ayon make an extremely good sounding valve-based CD player that costs as much as an iMac, and it suffers heat-related processor lockups too. Their new one features better ventilation. I think the problem with Apple is their policy of using denial to maintain their reputation for excellent hardware, and being too proud to admit that they were wrong with their designs. I could be wrong, but when their designs were not quite so on the raggedy edge (technically), they had fewer problems. My old G4 tower has never missed a beat - it has adequate cooling and power supply. High performance from a processor that Apple has little experience in, squeezed into a tiny case seems to be pushing the limit too much, and is causing (presumably) problems for a larger percentage of users.

I think your probably right..... the iMac is like a large laptop with the added disadvantage that the screen is not seperate (during normal operation) from the components and this adds to the heat build up.

I've posted on another thread about this; getting similar problems to the left hand side of my 24inch iMac (first generation). Mainly from toolbars of programs such as Photoshop / Illustrator. Not found any fix to stop this as yet, and getting pretty frustrated. Putting up a white screen or leaving it off for a prolonged period were some of the suggestions I got, however I use the thing everyday. Any tips would be appreciated.

Sky

I have the exact same problem, however I did noticed that only white or extremly bright colors will leave a mark. So when you see ghost text on your screen it's not the text that left the mark but the white page behind it. Somehow only high contrast will leave mark

This is not a dramatic issue but it shouldn't happen on an Apple computer, especially when the screen is an integral part of the computer and cannot be replaced easily.

i too have this issue... again! i bought my iMac in March of 2008, swapped it out 3 times in a matter of 2 weeks because the screens on them were just plain embarrassing! finally i decided to keep one that was the best of the trash. months later the screen started to burn in, as everyone here has experienced.

i was so use to the iMac's pathetic excuse for a screen that i didn't even care anymore. but in january of this year i had had enough. i couldn't take it anymore. the screen burn-in was just too much for a $2000+ computer that was under a year old. i had Apple Care, and since apple tech make house calls on desktop computers, i had a tech come to my place and replace the screen. i had hoped that the screen would also be a good one without uneven color and lighting, but unfortunately it was bad, as all the others.

now, 5 months later, the problem with burn-in is back. i'll call Apple Care and have them come replace the screen again. and i'm sure it won't be the last time i'll have to do this before my Apple Care plan runs out.

i've only ever been just absolutely disgusted with the screens on the aluminum iMacs. $250 netbooks have better screens for christ sake! *** APPLE!!!!???

I have the same issue. I've tried upping the fan speeds and using a screen saver, but it doesn't seem to help that much. The only way to get rid of the burn-in seems to be to turn off the iMac for a few days.

Very annoying, especially since I noticed this problem only a few days after the warranty ran out. Considering the steep price of the iMac, I really hope Apple can come up with some solution to this.