Hairline crack appeared inside screen

Question

Level 1

9 points

Hairline crack appeared inside screen

I've just noticed a hairline crack at the bottom of the screen. There has been no impact of any kind that would have caused this and the damage looks internal rather than external.

Anyone else seen this?

intel iMac, Mac OS X (10.6)

Posted on Sep 10, 2009 1:44 PM

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Answer 1

Shimodax

Level 1

60 points

Sep 17, 2009 2:59 PM in response to MarkYooNeek

Hard to tell from the picture, but see the answers in this thread ( http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2160480&tstart=0) on how to remove the front glass. Maybe it's indeed just a fiber, which will be easily removed.

The glass of the LCD itself is rather thick (I have dismounted and taken apart a LCD panel so I know), almost as thick as the outer glass, so it's not likely that it would crack just in this small way (everything is possible under the sun of course, just not that likely), if there was tension in it, I'd expect it rip right through.

Let us know what you find.

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Answer 2

Shimodax

Level 1

60 points

Oct 19, 2009 3:17 PM in response to traceyyyy

There are iMac 24" panels for sale on ebay, but replacement is not for the squeamish (but also not impossible for someone with good technical skills).

The panel type is LM240WU2 ... see this thread: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2150293&tstart=90

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Answer 3

iCare

Level 4

2,490 points

Sep 16, 2009 10:43 AM in response to MarkYooNeek

There isn't enough info here to provide a well thought out response.

Can you provide more info about which iMac model you have and it's size? Is it one of the aluminum iMac's? Is the crack you see in the case/enclosure, LCD, or the glass panel (if yours has one)? How long have you had the system? Are you sure it's a crack? Do you have a picture that you can post and provide a link to?

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Answer 4

MarkYooNeek Author

Level 1

9 points

Sep 16, 2009 12:09 PM in response to iCare

I bought an iMac from the local Apple store in June.
"About this mac" tells me it's an iMac9,1 Intel core 2 duo 2.93 Ghz 4GB RAM. The screen casing is aluminium and I think the the screen size is 24inch (it is running 1920 x 1200 screen resolution if that gives a clue)

I have a photo of the crack here: http://www.inperspective.com/temp/crack.jpg

The crack does not appear to be on the exterior glass. I can run my fingernail or even the corner of a piece of paper across the screen surface where the crack appears and I cannot feel any bumping - it appears to be totally smooth on the outside.
I'm pretty sure it is a crack not a hair because looking at it from the side you can see the light defracting along the crack line.

Hope this helps
Many thanks for your response.

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Answer 5

iCare

Level 4

2,490 points

Sep 16, 2009 2:09 PM in response to MarkYooNeek

The additional information is very helpful.

From the picture it almost looks like a fiber on the back side of the glass rather than a fracture, but since you've got a better view from where you are I'll accept that it could be a fracture.

I would take it back to the place you purchased it and ask them to pull the glass panel and inspect it. If they confirm that it is fractured then they'll likely just replace the glass. Hopefully it's just a stray fiber that they can easily remove.

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Answer 6

JacKP308

Level 1

20 points

Sep 17, 2009 8:32 PM in response to MarkYooNeek

Thats why I like to shop at the apple store because when there is a problem they will handle it 9 times out of 10. So take it where you bought it as posted above and they will fix it for you no problem. Seeing how you just purchased in june I wouldn't attempt to remove the screen on my own unless you are comfortable in doing so. If its a crack you could make it worse and they might say you're liable for removing the screen. Good Luck

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Answer 7

MarkYooNeek Author

Level 1

9 points

Sep 20, 2009 10:32 AM in response to JacKP308

The store recommend sending it off to their service guys.
My ideal scenario is they keep the hard drive (it took me an age to set up with all my dev tools) and put it in a new iMac to save me the effort of restoring from TimeMachine backups

If I go down this route does anyone have any tips on the best steps to lock down the drive if I send it off to a service dept?
Or is there anything I could use to create a disk image of the whole existing hard drive on my backup external drive and restore from that to a new disk?

Cheers,
Mark

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Answer 8

Shimodax

Level 1

60 points

Sep 20, 2009 11:00 AM in response to MarkYooNeek

Look for a tool named SuperDuper! It does a very easy job of creating a fully bootable backup (and restoring it too). I used it with external (USB) drives and could even boot an image from the USB drive directly.

However, if you have a time machine, this may be the easiest way. I think I remember when doing a fresh install, it will ask if you have a time machine backup somewhere and just offers to restore that.

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Answer 9

Oct 14, 2009 8:22 AM in response to MarkYooNeek

Hi
I have a 24" imac, Dec 2007 model. My son was gaming and got mad at it and hit it...its now broken inside.....what is cheapest way to get the lcd screen replaced..I stay in uk if that makes a diff

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Answer 10

MarkYooNeek Author

Level 1

9 points

Sep 17, 2009 3:26 PM in response to Shimodax

Thanks for your help, iCare and Shimodax. Much appreciated.

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Answer 11

MarkYooNeek Author

Level 1

9 points

Sep 22, 2009 11:51 AM in response to Shimodax

Problem solved!
After much closer inspection (with the screen turned off) the offending article looks to be a fibre trapped behind the screen.
Panic over. Many thanks for your help.

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Answer 12

PJB

Level 2

365 points

Oct 19, 2009 4:57 PM in response to traceyyyy

Unbelievable. Are you sure you're not trolling?

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