screen goes black

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screen goes black

My iMac 24" early 2008 was working just fine until yesterday when the screen turned off just like when it goes to sleep, but it did not light up when I woke the machine. The strange thing is that when I access the iMac from another mac it shares its screen just fine and everything seems okay. I tried restarting, logging off and on again, shutting down, unplugging and re-plugging but with no success. This morning I turned the machine on again and was surprised to see that everything was just okay. Then again, this evening after leaving iMac on for a while, the screen turned off again without iMac going to sleep. From what I can see it seems that when iMac warms up, something happens and the screen turns off.

Can anyone tell me what may be the cause of this and what would be the best remedy. I am reluctant to take the machine to a repairs shop since it may cost as much as two thirds of a new iMac to have this one repaired depending on the seriousness of the issue. With current sales of the E.O.L. models, it may cost just a bit more to actually get a new machine.

iMac 2.8GHz/Mini 2.0GHz/Mini 1.66GHz/iMacG4 1.25GHz/iPhone4, Mac OS X (10.6.4), Airport Extreme Gigabit LAN

Posted on Jul 29, 2011 12:30 PM

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Answer 1

cvrcak Author

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Jul 29, 2011 1:00 PM in response to cvrcak

I forgot to add that all this started happening a few days after I installed OS X 10.7.

It may be just a coincidence but again it may be the cause...

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Answer 2

cvrcak Author

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Oct 15, 2011 10:00 AM in response to cvrcak

Eventually I decided to take the iMac to an Apple authorized service in The Hague, Netherlands. They kept my iMac for a week and eventally sent me an estimate for over €600 for, what they said was a faulty lcd display replacement. Having paid a bit less than €900 for that same iMac when new, I decided against paying so much for just the lcd panel replacement. I took the iMac from the service, paid them their estimation fee and when I got home, I turned on the iMac and it was working just fine. The problem was gone. I can only guess, but now it seems to me that the service must have reconnected the panel after opening the iMac for checks and, without even realising it, they fixed the machine by properly inserting the panel cable into the connecting slot on the board. I am so glad I did not choose to let them replace the lcd panel. It has been a few months now and the problem has not returned. It seems to me now that they only wanted to rip me of for a minor issue of disconnected panel cable. Shame on them, and good for me because I did not fall for such an ugly trick.

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Answer 3

Oct 16, 2011 11:45 AM in response to cvrcak

I am having the same issue with a 4 month-old iMAC 27 running Snow Leopard.

Screen goes black for no reason while working. (I checked all display options, connections and energy save options)

My external display doesn't turn off when this happens - it stays on.

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Answer 4

Oct 16, 2011 12:59 PM in response to nomacabre

Excuse me, I'm running Lion - not Snow Leopard. Senior moment.

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Answer 5

rkaufmann87

Level 10

140,532 points

Oct 16, 2011 1:07 PM in response to nomacabre

nomacabre,

With due respect you are having the same symptom however I doubt you are having the same problem on a new machine.

I would recommend starting a new thread (this one has been anwered) and stating the problem and any troublshooting your have attempted. Also PLEASE complete your profile, it's very difficult of use to help you without that information.

Good luck.

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Answer 6

Jan 12, 2014 5:13 AM in response to cvrcak

Only the screen goes off but your mac stays on, right? This is how it works for me: when the screen goes black turn off the brightness (f1) and then turn it on again (f2).

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