I only have problems with randomly appearing red or green squares when I launch iPhoto and occasionally when watching video. A reboot usually fixes it until I launch iPhoto again. Anyone else see this happening?
iMac (27-inch Mid 2010), iOS 5.1
Are you implementing the suggestions in this thread? I was in the same position as you but after removing all running programs (resident and login items) that I do not need or only used occasionally, I have eliminated the crashes. This is a broad net but until the source of the problem is found it is better than junking the iMac. When you are removing programs I recommend using a software tool like AppCleaner to be sure suspected problem routines are removed.
jmf
Okay, I did a PRAM/SMC reset Friday. This included removing ALL attached (USB HDD/FW/T-bolt/External Speaker) peripherals. Thumbs crossed, it has cleared my issue. It has been two full days with no issue which has been quite rare.
I did some heavy CPU activities this morning, I have been browsing the web and flash-related sites this evening, scrolling, 16 tabs open, no issue.
No Chrome
No Antivirus
I'll keep you posted. I have been extremely busy with work and have not had time to take my baby to my Apple Service Center yet. But I think this might have done it.
HayMoose
Haymoose - I followed your instructions and uninstalled Chrome and Avast Antivirus and have had no issues at all for 3 days. I think you might have discovered it. I will write in if I encouter any more issues.
I found that rdmgrab and rdmd (remote desktop RDM+) were causing this issue for me. Once I removed the binaries from /opt/local/bin/ and rebooted the problems vanished. I have a 27" imac Mid 2010 running Mavericks.
Hope this help someone
Mike C.
Mike C - I've been eagerly following this thread, as my late 2010 IMAC 27 started having this same problem about a couple months ago. I have Apple Care and called them, but when none of their solutions worked, they told me to take it to the Genius Bar at my Apple Store (but will try that as a last resort) as their appears to be a question on whether this problem is hardware or software related. I'm still on Snow Leopard. My Mac has performed perfectly up till recently. I've tried PRAM and using OnyX to clean it up, but that only lasts about a day before the dreaded plague returns. I was about to try Haymoose's solution (although i haven't seen him respond since Nov 10) to see if it worked. Then I saw your note as well on how to tackle this challenge. How does a novice access /opt/local/bin to remove the binaries you mentioned? Does it matter that i haven't used Remote Desktop (although the app is on my Mac). Thanks.
Sorry for the delay guys. My issue has reappeared.
My fix did not work.
I agree this is a software issue, I still see them occur via VNC session, Parallels Access, and Screen Sharing. I am also seeing them when remotely accessing a work related mid-2012 Mac Mini.
I too plan to follow Mike C's steps to see if it goes away.
It's been a crazy week and I apologize again for not updating readers of this important thread.
Haymoose
Hey TerrellPDX,
Did you ever resolve the red and green square dots anomaly? I'm having the same problem on my 2010 Imac and I'm trying to find the best solution. I see alot of reports, but no clear answers on how to fix. Thanks.
Bill
I never did fix it but I've got some good information for the group. I decided to buy a new 2013 iMac and figured I would fix and repurpose the old one when I found the time. Since I primarily use my desktop for music production I decided to try and use the old iMac as an additional monitor just to see if it would work. I won't go into much detail about trying to use a cord - forget about that. I decided to use Air Display. What I found is that the display worked flawlessly when used as a second monitor. If I use it as a stand alone the spots appear immediately. I tried passing the same picture back and forth. On the new iMac it displays just fine on both monitors. On the old one it gets annihilated with dots. After everyone from the Genius Bar to independent shops telling me it was likely hardware, I'm now fairly certain it's software.
Sounds like that would eliminate the graphics card and the monitor. Does that help you guys at Apple?
jmf
Well folks I officially proved it is not any 3rd party extention, and am at the end of a rope here.
After crashes sometimes twice daily, I went and bought a new external hard drive. Formatted and installed a fresh copy of Mavericks, did not resore any information or move any data over. Just minutes after the fresh system install booted, the pink squares appeared!
Of course I've learned to deal with the video issues, but after letting it sit for about an hour doing nothing, again still on its first boot from a fresh install, I sat down, opened system preferences, and it froze solid.
I'm convinved after everyone's information here that some video driver update that apple adopted and integrated several system version back is the culprit. I have NO idea what to do next, the only solution I see is reverting to a fresh install of 10.6 or 10.7 and not ever installing an update. That's certainly not acceptible for a computer that in my mind is still relatively new (Again, I have a Mid-2010 27" iMac with quad 2.8 i5). My computer is fast becoming a brick. I can't even sell it knowing that a fresh install will immediately have issues!
I too have this problem with (mostly) green/red tiny flickering squares randomly showing up on my 2010 iMac 27". I first noticed it shortly after upgrading to Mavericks which was about 9 days after my Applecare expired. I do not have this problem on my 2012 MacBook Pro Retina also running Mavericks.
The glitches will blink much faster when I scroll up/down within Safari.
I've read all the comments here, but it's not clear if anyone has found the silver bullet fix.
Thing's I've tried that did not fix the issue:
Things I have not tried yet:
Anyone figure this out yet?
Mid 2010 iMac 27" HERE ALSO. This is probably a combination of software and hardware, and that is why Apple is silent as a permanent solution would likely trigger a company replacement program. In the meantime, my solution is to use my Windows environment for critical projects that I would normally be doing on my iMac.
jmf
I would also like to chime in that i'm having the same issue with one Mid 2010 iMac 27". I have 8 others that don't have this problem. I'm also dual booting with Windows and don't have any issue with the windows side.
It's clear there are a number of us with the same model and same issue, how do we get apple's attention to see if they can help us?
I have the same issue with my 27" mid-2010 iMac. Apple has replaced the video card, then the logic board, and now they seem to be doing it all over again trying to resolve the issue. However, I found out from a genius posting on a different message board that he had the same issue with 2009-2010 27" iMacs and it turned out to be the DC-to-DC cable from the power supply to the logic board. Apparently it's a cheap part but takes a long time to replace because the cable runs behind everything in the machine.
I'm attempting to contact the genius bar folks working on my imac to tip them off about the DC-to-DC cable. I will post with my results.
Red and green square dots?
