Q: Small lines / dots over parts of screen

I commented on this before here but Apple decided to pull my comments. They don't like to receive real criticism. I did have the same problem and I called Apple Customer relations. The geniuses did confirm IT IS A LOGIC BOARD PROBLEM. After giving Apple customer relations a cogent and respectful argument on why this is wrong and why they should fix it, they did. I now have a new logic board in my iMac G5. A 3 month warranty exists with this new logic board. Turn around time from when I took it in to the Apple store, called Apple Customer relations and got it back home - one week.

The Problem below from the 1st Post is what I experienced:
My G5 has suddenly developed odd vertical lines and dots in some parts of the screen....For instance following the cursor is a patch of these lines about 15mm square. They're also over any icon and the dock.

my iMac (Ser No. : W85200.....) suddenly developed this problem yesterday whilst playing a H.264 QuickTime movie.

I was aware of the Apple Programme for fixing this issue, but never took it up because I didn't have any of the reported issues until now!!

And today after researching the issue, I discover the programme is closed!!!!!

I'll check my extended hardware protection plan I took out - I am really hoping that it is still valid (is supposed to be three years after the apple warranty runs out - so four in total if I remember correctly)

Has anyone in Germany had this issue and sorted it out ok?

P.S. seems to me though that this is an OSX system software (Quicktime / Display Manager?) problem rather than the logic board:

the finder, dock and quicktime player seem to be damaged whereas other software, e.g. Camino work fine without displaying any dots or lines.

I ran the Apple Hardware Test on my G5 iMac this morning:

Logic Board / Mass Storage / Memory: Passed

Video RAM: Error detected (2ATI/1/4:113-xxxxx-117)

So is it possible to just replace the Video RAM?

(Come to think of it - the Video RAM in my old PowerBook G4 also failed which left it unusable!! Is the Video RAM the *point of failure*? i.e., devices often seem to have a built-in failure mechanism to shorten the devices life-span. Otherwise, they would function way longer than intended; which would in turn be detrimental to corporate profits.)

my iMac G5 decided to start doing this very recently and I am not happy at all.

A thousand dollars to replace? I cant afford that.

Great News!!!

Yesterday I went to the shop where I bought my iMac - the service package I bought had unfortunately expired but they gave me a number at Apple Germany to call, which I did today.

... and they graciously gave me an extension!!! With the Case ID given, I can go to an authorised Apple Service centre and get it fixed! Wow, I'm so relieved - thanks Apple!!

So, even though the programme is closed - it seems if you talk to Apple about the issue (and your iMac serial number is within the ranges stated in the "iMac G5 Repair Extension Program for Video and Power Issues"), it can still be sorted out.

Hi,

sounds great! I called Apple germany in january 2009 and they said that there is no chance to get the iMac G5 repair extension program.
The error occured on my iMac a few days after the repair extension programm was closed.
But now my mac changes between iMac display and VGA-monitor even though I don't have a VGA-monitor!
Could you please tell me the german apple phone number that your shop told you? I'd like to try it again!

Thank you!

I too had the same problem, to a point where the iMac was unusable.

After much persistance with Apple Customer Relations, they agreed to pay for the repair of my iMac even though it was out of the 3 year warranty and out of the serial # range for the repair programme. They acknowledged that the fault was a recognised problem.
For your information, my iMac had it's motherboard replaced 3 times, as the first 2 failed in a matter of days!!
All OK now though.
Apple must have lots of these spare just waiting for a 'home'.
It pays to persist.

Good luck.

Same experience as Phil Booth but in France; and they had to change display 3 times (the problem kept coming back) so the Imac has now its 4th display and works just fine after now 5 months.
So persistence with Apple but also trust that they will understand (eventually !)

CK520**** - Lines suddenly appeared whilst using computer in April 09 - one minute OK, the next not. They form a sort of pinkish grid effect all over the screen, rendering the computer all but unusable. After a bit of investigation I have discovered that my Mac's serial number falls within the range of known faulty machines listed in Apple's Repair Extension Program - which finished in December 08. If my computer was known to be from a faulty batch, why was it not recalled by Apple? Why was I not notified? We register our machines with serial numbers, so Apple presumably knows where they are. I've been using Macs for over 20 years, but looking at the comments here and the sheer number of problems, my confidence in the quality of Apple's products has been severely shaken.

I'm kind of new to this kind of troubleshooting, but something doesn't make sense to me. I notice that the problem is only present in areas of the screen with shadows or shading. For example, the dock is all jacked up when it is on the bottom, but it looks normal when placed on the sides. BUT each icon goes weird when magnified. Another example - the menubar looks awful when transparent, but clears up some when opaque. Why is an avi file played in Quicktime show the most extreme versions of the symptoms, but the same video played in VLC look perfect? How is that hardware?

Hello
Experienced exactly the same problem around june 1st 2009. Preceeding this problem my iMac have had (and still have) problems wiht the bluetooth communication with my keyboard and mouse. Any connection?
Can't understand why this should be a hardware problem - there are no lines etc. in the program windows - it only appears on the dock, menu bar, screensaver and around the cursor.
With so many users experiencing this display problem, Apple should take action!

my imac is also having this problem recently. but there's also another thread that has useful information. you may want to look at this:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1146388

hopefully, it could help address our problem.

*Below is a list of issues my iMac24 (iMac6,1) had when I took it to the Bridge Street Apple Store in Huntsville Alabama on May 22, 2009.*

+Issues started in April.+

+Initial Symptoms include:+

+Frazzled looking icons+

+Horizontal lines in windows that disappear if window is resized+

+Lately, (last 3-4 days) symptoms include hard freeze that request TURN OFF/TURN ON+

+Sometimes “Login Window” image is broken up but still allows login.+

+I have all automatic sleep / energy saver preferences turn OFF. System still goes to sleep after a random amount of time…I leave for lunch, when I get back there is a computer login window.+

*Bridge Street Apple Store replaced the Processor Board and the Power Supply and ran diagnostics and assured me all was well. This took 3 weeks. I picked up my iMac yesterday on June 11th.*

*Today two issue are still apparent. 1) Horizontal lines in windows that disappear if window is resized.*
*2) I have all automatic sleep / energy saver preferences turn OFF. System still goes to "semi shut down" after a random amount of time…i.e. I leave for lunch, when I get back there is a login window on my screen.*

*I told the Genius that many discussion boards confirmed these issues as being linked to the NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT video card.*

*Can anyone confirm the two issues mentions are linked to the NVIDIA??*

Yep. Similar issue with my G5. Oddly enough, this happened the day I got my new iMac when I was transferring over my files! Good timing at least haha, but I wanted to sell it hmm...

http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/9003/3978598.jpg

thats what mine looks like, not really usable anymore. Worked fine the 3-4 years i've had it. Not sure if it is worth taking it in.