Q: New iMac 27inch screen flickering/tearing/shutoff

whats the power cable difference then?

my week 48 and now my week 49 both have the same 3 pin standard pc plug?

Good News! Yea Tom, I figured you'd be Set. It's the Screens & there just replacing Cables too be Sure.
Here is a Pic of My Yellow.
Copied the Bottom Gray Bar right Underneath the Top Gray Bar.
It looks a lot more noticeable that way.

Click on this Link to see my Yellow iMac:
Click On Large at the Top so You Can Really see it!

http://www.mediafire.com/i/?oqcw14z4mtx

Hi Dino,

Thanks for the image. Wow! that looks evident for me, I work as a Graphic/Multimedia Deisigner and I wouldn't accept that, although this could be unimportant for other people.

By the way, long before on this topic(page 83) a user called Sonics99 commented he had his Screen and Cable replaced and still experience the flicker:

*+"Well sorry to report to everyone that the symptoms returned last night. First a flicker and then the vertical screen issue.+*

*+So I have either ruled out the graphics card, display cable, lcd as possible fixes. Or there just aren't any good parts out there yet as the problem has not been fixed on Apple's end. So in that case, I have proved nothing+*

*+The only meaningful parts left are the, powersupply, logic board, and inverter.+*

*+I suppose at this point I will just wait and keep checking apple's internal support site for them to make a report as to what techs should do to fix this issue. I smell a Rev A or B of something."+*

Also the graphic card. Obviously this could be an isolated case and it was some time ago, maybe those parts have had some fix recently...

Message was edited by: fa_design

Kurt Hudson wrote:
FAIL. 1/2 the way thru uploading final cut to the computer its twitching and tearing and blacking out worse than ever before... I assume this is a week 2... DO NOT BUY A 27 inch imac whatever you do...

Kurt, I'm very sorry...
But please consider getting the LCD and cable replaced.

If these symptoms are a result of poor transportation techniques then there's a fair chance that most iMacs delivered to your location have the same problem. And this possibly explains why some people are receiving multiple faulty exchanges.

Personally, if my iMac exhibits these problems I'll be opting for a repair (LCD and cable replacement).

fa_design,
Yea it looks bad when you put them close together. But separate from Top to Bottom, I just notice it's a little lighter On Bottom. Tell you the truth, I would probably not have noticed if I did not see the Posts & Tests. I plan on getting an exchange but I fear getting something much worse. I'm playing the Waiting Game for now.
So you got your Screen & Screen Cable Replaced & you just started getting The Flickers? That *****! I was certain that was the fix. Too Bad! I don't know what to think. My Screen has not flickered all day. But that don't mean nothing.:-)

If anything, none of the "fix" is actually working and we have Apple employees among us telling us "my machine just works with no flickering; the repair really works".

ahhhh...Spys or PR People!! I already asked someone on here, if they worked for Apple?

fa_design wrote:
By the way, long before on this topic(page 83) a user called Sonics99 commented he had his Screen and Cable replaced and still experience the flicker:

There are 3 points that I think are worth noting regarding Sonics99 and his LCD/cable replacement.

1. He did the job himself. I'm not undermining his repairing abilities. There just may be something different that the Apple techs are tightening or adjusting that does the trick.

2. His replacement screen had the yellow tinge issue. This could mean he replaced a dodgy screen with another dodgy screen.

3. It was the very early days of the issue rearing its ugly head. Probably before Apple knew which components were dodgy, therefore increasing the chance that dodgy replacement parts were being sent out around the world.

It's a shame that Apple Discussions don't give users the ability to send private messages to one another. I'd love to hear an update from Sonics99 - and his opinions.

In the mean time I hope that those who've had their LCDs/cables replaced keep us up-to-date with progress reports.

Hi Dino,

That post for the screen and cable replaced wasn't mine, it was a user(Sonics99) who posted before, around November and December. He said he used to work for Apple so he knew how to repair Macs and had some contacts with the company so he could order the parts and replace them himself. He had changed the graphic card before and that didn't fix the problem either. However, as I said before it could be an isolated case or maybe the parts were defective as well, who knows.

I'm still waiting to hear a resolution for this problems in order to buy one iMac. I know the percentage of defective iMacs may be very small, however I can't afford to waste my time going through the process of changing a unit or repair it, not after spending so much money.

I think I will wait for a Rev B or a new Mac Pro if they become cheaper.

Good luck with yours!

Hi DeeJay,

You're right about those points. Also, it'd be good to hear from Sonics99 again. Maybe Apple kicked him out of this thread for talking about their technical service doing... lol

I'm really sorry to hear that! How long was your new screen and cable installed before it acted up? Is your computer an i7?

Mine was installed 01.04 and still working today 01.08!

OK here is the Sonics99 posts:

"Sonics99

10 Dec 09:

oeliu- that is interesting and I have heard that a few times on here though it is hard to track who it didn't work for. While that might be possible being something that simple I have trouble believing aplle would accept all of those back and do so many replacements for such a simple fix. That doesn't make much sense from any standpoint to me. That sounds like they would only serveto make the problem seem much worse leaving people in the dark. Just my nickel.

Btom2010-I do but to be honest I didn't mostly do to time today.

11 Dec 09:

Speaking of today, I replaced the LCD and the display cable. So far in the little testing I can do it has been fine. The real proof will be over the next couple of days and weeks. I wish I only did one to narrow it down better but had both parts and figured why not.

LCD and display cable fix report - 36.5 hours now and no signs of any of the symptoms. I am not holding my breath until she makes it a few more days though.

13 Dec:

LCD and display cable fix report - 73.5 hours now and no signs of any of the symptoms.

At this point seems like it might be safe to assume it is fixed, but without a negative it is hard to assume a positive since it is so random and hard to reproduce with some people not having it happen until days out.

As of right now, everything is good.

14 Dec 09:

Well sorry to report to everyone that the symptoms returned last night. First a flicker and then the vertical screen issue.

So I have either ruled out the graphics card, display cable, lcd as possible fixes. Or there just aren't any good parts out there yet as the problem has not been fixed on Apple's end. So in that case, I have proved nothing

The only meaningful parts left are the, powersupply, logic board, and inverter.

I suppose at this point I will just wait and keep checking apple's internal support site for them to make a report as to what techs should do to fix this issue. I smell a Rev A or B of something."

I wonder if my wait for parts meant that the parts he used were from stocks made with whatever defect the screen and cable had?

I'm sure hoping that my screen and cable fixed my problems It has been 864 hours since my repair and I still have no problems with the flickering. I seldom turn it off just put it in sleep mode. I think I had it off (Shut Down) one full night.

My 27" lasted till last night before the screen flicker/blacking out started. My iMac is 4 days old and I've got an appointment tomorrow at the Genius Bar. ....

Tom,

Have you got them replaced more than a month ago?... I think it should be ok, sleep well!

atlatnesiti wrote:
Thanks Cuenlain,
http://www.derman.com/iMac-Fan-Control
is the one to go for.
Works like a charm and It did unlock original iMac settings in it's default values.
Thanks again,

What specifically do you mean by "it did unlock original iMac settings in it's default values?"

On a different note, I wonder whether this flickering is at least partially caused by some sort of environmental issue. My first iMac flickered exactly once in the four days I had it. My second iMac (which I returned for the yellow tinge) never flickered in the three weeks I had it. My current iMac that's been on since 12/23 hasn't yet flickered (touch wood). Now, I know that's not yet conclusive, but it's looking promising.

FWIW, I've had all of my machines plugged into a Belkin power conditioner until I just recently switched to a 1000VA CyberPower UPS/voltage conditioner. I've never done any seriously heavy-duty graphics processing but I have done some very processor intensive stuff (as I type this I'm converting a Blu-ray Disc to a 720p MP4 file in Windows Vista x64 using VMware Fusion -- that maxes all four CPU cores) and it hasn't yet seemed to faze my machine.

Anyway, this problem is so sporadic and, in many cases, infrequent, that I bet it's hard for the engineers to pin down. I love my machine, but man, I'm still scared the flickering's gonna start!

Message was edited by: Schwa72