Q: MacBook Pro screen blinks

Mine still blinks on the Better Battery setting also (after 10.6.2.
*****!
Note:this is the 450th post to this "answered" thread.

10.6.2 doesn't fix mine too

Admittedly, my late '08 15" unibody MBP hasn't suffered much from the blinking problem (actually, it never has blinked, I only see a (partial and very vague) horizontal line every 2 or 3 days) but nonetheless, the machine suffers from the same problem. I'd hoped the 10.6.2 update would fix it but this afternoon I saw a line again. This was the first since the update so it seems the problem still exists.

Message was edited by: flappah

With such a long thread to this topic, I really think apple should start looking into this problem and get it fixed as soon as possible. Clearly from this thread, we can see that it's been a very common issue among many especially those owning a late '08 MBP model. If it's really a firmware issue, some update should be done soon, and if it's a hardware issue, apple should quickly recall the MBPs and get the necessary parts replace... Instead of addressing all the other issues in a firmware update, address this issue which many people have been experiencing for such a long long time already (since oct '08)...

I have the same intermittent screen flicker when using the 9400M. I was hoping with the update to 10.6.2 that it would stop. No such luck, it only happens with more randomness. All of which makes me hesitant to bring it in for service. It is very hard to reproduce on command!

mine's the same, blinks on 9400 and 9600
and in bootcamp it get event worst, its like flashes on the screen.

Hello,

I'm a french user of a MacBook Pro 17" Unibody since april 2009... And you can add another one with mine to your very long list of broken machines...

I wasn't using the 9400M for a very long time, and tonight I've decided to use it. I thinked that it was my software wich was blinking, but when I tried another one, same problem occured. Finally, I searched a topic on this problem with google, and I found yours.

Tomorrow I'm gonna take it for the whole day at work, and I will use only the 9400M, for battery life reasons. If it do it all the day, I will go to the Louvre's AppleStore tomorrow evening. I hope that they will listen to me carefully, as I worked for them some days in the past...

Another reply, just to say that I've made a little movie of this problem, to show it to the Genius...

My MBP is in the service at the moment. Today an email arrived me from my ASP. They say that there is no technical failure after a few days of diagnose and there is no need to replace the logicboard. They will ship it to me tomorrow........

SH*IT-- Ship it to the ASP was pure 2 weeks fu*c*k*i*ng timewasting!!!

BTW: My Apple warranty just expired at Nov.10.

I have been having the same problem with the top half of the display blinking while using the on board graphics chip set. I just had it sent out last week. The genius told me that the logic board would be replaced, and than that should fix the problem. Apparently the people at the repair center didn't agree, because when I went in to pick up my computer I found out that the display assembly had been replaced instead. The product repair summery lists this: Item Number: 620-4630, Description: Display Panel or Assembly, Symptom: Bad Spot(s)/Pixels. I have used the machine for one day, and now my problem seems to be worse. The curious thing that I did get out of it was when I did a screen recording with the new quicktime player in Snow Leopard. I stopped the recording after I saw the screen blink, but the blinks don't show up in the recording. I don't know what the frame-rate of the screen recording is, but it didn't show up in the recording.

Just my two cents.

@Ryan_E
This is one thing i've noticed, too.

When i make a screenrecording with Quicktime X or Screenflow and the flicker appears during the recording, it's not flickering on the recorded Video..
I've tried it a couple of times .... with the same results.

This mist be a driver issue!!

No that's not a driver problem... Recording your screen don't use your graphic card, so you don't see the problem.

Now, I'm waiting for a new logic board, the genius agreed with me that it's a 9400M problem, so they replace my logic board, but they don't have one in stock, so I have to wait for one, it'll arrive in 2-3 days.

More to come when my logic board will be replaced...

Im waiting for software fixes. People are too keen on having parts replaced. That just leads to more problems.

Here's a good case study on the problem:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2230728&start=0&tstart=0

I have found further evidence that this issue is not faulty hardware, at least for me.

I have booted from a "live" Linux CD of Mint 7, and I have experienced no issues.

Everything that I have experienced suggests an incorrectly set refresh rate thanks to a driver conflict that has been caused by 10.6.2.

wow, this thread does not appear "answered" to me!

I'm having the same issues with my screen blacking out when on the "better battery life" graphics card setting. Sometimes it only flickers for a second, but other times, it will be off for 10-20 seconds before coming back on!!

Apple, please address!