Dim blotches of screen

I have the same problem! My dim spots are on both sides though. The right side is the worst. The bloches are faint but noticable and bothersome. I have AppleCare so I'm sending mine in. I'll let you know what the say.

I have this trouble also... I have installed a temperature sensor applet for Dashboard and have noticed that my computer gets very hot and that the cooling fan doesn't ever seem to turn on anymore (it used to when I first installed Mac OSX 10.4). My computer can get as high as 140 degrees F, and that's without playing any games or doing any serious processor-intensive operations! I wonder if overheating is what causes the faded areas when hot components come in contact with the screen when we close the lid.

I sent my computer in to get this problem fixed and Apple replaced my screen with a new one. It's not perfect. The small, thumbsized dim blobs in the corner are still there, but it's not spreading out to the rest of the screen like before. I think the ones in the corners are normal, but having that spread faintly to larger areas of the screen is not. So if your dim blotches can be seen outside of the small corner circles, then I'd send in your computer to get the display replaced.

Hi there.

I've been experiencing the dim blotches on my screen for a few weeks now myself. They start from the bottom two corners and spread out diagonally about 3 inches from each corner towards the center of the screen. However, what is odd is that this only seems to happen when I turn on my computer. Once I've been using it for a few minutes, the blotches disappear completely until the next time I wake up my laptop from sleep mode.

Any suggestions/comments? Should I take my PB to a technician and have it looked at or is this normal?

Cheers!

Not normal -- you should see some brightness there from the back panel lamp, but it should not be as noticable as you say it is. If you set the backlight completely off is it still visible?

Welcome to Apple Discussions, Robert.

The symptoms that are being described here all sound like a cross between the 'white spot' and 'uneven illumination' problems that early 15" PowerBook Aluminium models (like mine) were afflicted with.

If that is the case then there is probably only one cure - replacement of the LCD and, perhaps, the inverter board as well. In which case the obvious thing to do is to contact Apple, if the afflicted PowerBook is still under warranty. If it is out of warranty then professional attention is still required - but, be warned, replacement LCDs are not cheap.

EDIT: The uneven illumination issue I mentioned will, sometimes, clear if the screen is set to maximum brightness or once the PowerBook has warmed up. However the problem never really goes away and just gets worse over time. Therefore a replacement was/is the only fix that I'm aware of. Exactly how relevant to the issue described on this thread I cannot say, but I would imagine it does have some relevance.





15 1.25G/12 1G PBs, Mac minis, iBooks G3/G4, Mac OS X (10.4.3) Cube, TAMs, iPods 2G/4G, iPs, AEBS, AX

Actually, that's totally not true. All LCDs need a warm up period for full brightness and even illumination. An article on this can be seen here: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25242 . The uneven illumination is abnormal and a problem if it exists after about an hour. When I had my LCD replaced these blotches of light and dark areas remained after 1 or 2 hours. My new display is slightly uneven for about 30 minutes, however, small, light circular spots remain in the corners. These spots are faint and are less than an inch in diameter. I'm pretty sure that this is normal for the 12inch display. I have seen many photos of 12" iBook and Powerbook displays and the space cicular spots in the corners seem normal. Overall, my new screen is better than the last, but is not perfect.

If you are concerned that your display is abnormal or has the potential to become worse, which it could, I would call Apple and let them know about your issue. If you still have warranty or Apple Care you should be able to send it in to be looked at for free if they think there might be an issue here.

> My new display is slightly uneven for about 30 minutes, however, small, light circular spots remain in the corners. These spots are faint and are less than an inch in diameter. I'm pretty sure that this is normal for the 12inch display. I have seen many photos of 12" iBook and Powerbook displays and the space cicular spots in the corners seem normal.


My own experience is contrary to yours. None of the 12" PowerBooks or iBooks I own, used or come across have displayed the spots issue that you describe. So, for me, that would be abnormal.

However pretty much all have displayed some form of uneven illumination for a very short period of time (ie. under 15mins).






15" 1.25GHz/12" 1GHz PBs, Mac minis, 12" iBooks G3/G4, Mac OS X (10.4.5) Cube, TAMs, iPods 2G/4G, iPs, AEBS, AX

Hmm, that's interesting. Either the screens I get and have seen just suck or you just don't notice it. They are really faint, only in the bottom corners, and it's similar to if you were to press a finger on the LCD. So it seems like there is pressure in the corners, but there really isn't. It is something that is easy to miss because it's so faint. I really don't know anymore lol. it's better than my last screen though.

Since your earlier post, I got curious so I tried re-examining my 12" PowerBook/iBooks to see if I could see what you have been seeing.

So far I still cannot see the spots on any of the screens - having tried it with different coloured desktop backgrounds and under different brightness settings. Perhaps I'm lucky and blind.






15" 1.25GHz/12" 1GHz PBs, PPC Mac minis, 12" iBooks G3/G4, Mac OS X (10.4.5) Cube, TAMs, iPods 2G/4G, iPs, AEBS, AX