Q: Small lines / dots over parts of screen

A week or so ago I had the same problem, but I maybe have a solution.

A couple of weeks ago I changed the screen saver (changing photo setting)
I noticed that from then on, the cooling fan was much more often working and that on idle time !
And than a couple of weeks later, suddenly the cursor appeared with stripes on the right side bellow
IIII IIII IIII IIII
IIII IIII IIII IIII
IIII IIII IIII IIII
IIII IIII IIII IIII

When I read all the comments on the discussion forum, it became clear that there is a problem with the videocard. But how come it appeared only now, a couple of years later ....
Heating up or overheating ?
Why not ? ... so lets try to change possible overheating
I changed the screen saver back to flurry.
I took the vacuum cleaner and a screw driver
Opened my iMac and give her (him?) a good cleanup in the inside (dust, dust, dust ... !!!)
Restarted and .... so far, 3 days later, the problem has not appeared again

Bad news so far. Apple Italy says that this G5 is not in the range of the ones they will fix free... that those were with Videocam inside and that to fix it will cost over 500 euro. In other words, you're up a creek and buy a new boat as this one leaks. I still love the function of my MAC computer but am very unhappy with the level of service regarding what is obviously a 'known defect'.!

So, how do we speak up. I now have to replace the computer! They say it is outside of the range of known problems. Are they not paying attention!

I called Apple, made a strong case, even started making some headway up the chain of command, but in the end got a flat no. As our machines are a few years old (mine from 2005) they said the machine was simply old and that this was unfortunate but still normal wear/longevity. My retort was that I have a perfectly functioning powerbook from 2001 still going strong... But alas that was then, now things are as they are : (
Maybe try selling your computer on ebay. For some reason, people are willing to pay a lot of money for broken macs. Anyhoo, I hope you have better luck reaching somebody that can help.

I just started having THE SAME PROBLEM! JUST TODAY!

I have no idea what's going on. All I did was click on my email icon on the dock to check my email like i've done 1000's of times, my email opened then there was some weird lines/dots to the right of my mouse. Then i clicked F11 to expose the desktop and there were the same dots/lines on all of the icons. WHAT HAPPENED?

You can view my screen shot by clicking here: http://www.djmgraphix.com/screenshot.html

I'm going to try "CLEANING" the inside of my iMac like toemtoem said they did. I'll keep you posted!

DJM
P.S. It's a 20" iMac that's about 3.5 years old. (out of icare)

I just started having THE SAME PROBLEM! JUST TODAY!

I have no idea what's going on. All I did was click on my email icon on the dock to check my email like i've done 1000's of times, my email opened then there was some weird lines/dots to the right of my mouse. Then i clicked F11 to expose the desktop and there were the same dots/lines on all of the icons. WHAT HAPPENED?

You can view my screen shot by clicking here: http://www.djmgraphix.com/screenshot.html

I'm going to try "CLEANING" the inside of my iMac like toemtoem said they did.

DJM
P.S. It's a 20" iMac that's about 3.5 years old. (out of icare)

Cleaned it up with with the vacuum and still nothing!

Seems we're almost all in the same sinking boat. All with G5 which now evidently has a shorter 'life' I'm a bit concerned about just buying another MAC with this happenning.

Sorry to hear. I think we may have been too late to clean our macs and reverse any damage. I only cleaned mine after this problem started. My machine picked up a lot of dust after 3 years and I can see how this may have contributed to an overheating motherboard/video card. Cleaning G5s like ours is so easy to do, so this is a call out to others with similar models to do so before it is too late - pass it on.
P.S. After 3 weeks my machine has not gotten any worse. Still ***** though.

Agreed .... still though. I'm using the MAC through a matrix of lines for the moment. Why don't we all write to MAC customer service? I've only got the us address Apple
1 Infinite Loop
Cupertino, CA 95014
408.996.1010

Anybody got another?

I have an old 17" iMac G5 (2nd generation ALS, purchased in May 2005) that just started having this problem. I ran the Apple Hardware test and it came back with the bad video RAM error. Opened up the machine and capacitors all look fine (like new). I tried jg501's suggestion of disabling Quartz Extreme (see http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=9304483#9304483), and it worked! It cleared all of the icons, file bar and dock, but it doesn't fix the lines around the cursor. Still better than nothing.

i also have the same problem with my iMac 17 inch, i am a mac lover and when such things happen with apple, seriously feel bad. any one need my iMac g5 for parts..so bad apple, if possible we all should talk to apple and get the parts replaced for a reduced price.

I had the same problem start about a month ago with the dots and lines increasing as time went on. I read a number of threads in this forum and all of them pointed to the logic board being bad which is very costly to replace. I also read where serial numbers starting with W8 which referenced the Shanghai China plant as the manufacturer. I also ran the tech tools diagnostics which came back with a VRAM failure confirming what I read from others. Then out of the blue I happened to remove my iSight camera which was mounted via the attached magnetic base to the top of my iMac and low and behold all of the dots and lines disappeared. I even ran the tech tools diagnostics and it came back this time with VRAM passed. I don't know if this really fixed the problem and it will return soon or whether the magnetic field was effecting the VRAM or not, but it's looking good so far.

I am also having this problem but i get a kernel panic after 15 or so minutes. anyone else getting kernel panics(screen dims, gray box with power icon watermark and text that says "you need to restart your computer...")

My iMac started this about two weeks ago. It is over 5 years old. The first week it would come and go but now for the last week it has stayed. There is three users on this computer and only one user has the lines so bad it can't be used.
I have found the logic boards on the net for under $400.00. Has anyone replaced the board as a fix?

Roger