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Imac screen on black

Last days I have a problem with my Imac. After a while working on Imac my screen turns on black. Imac itself is still running. After a while (30 minutes) if I try again the screen comes back. And then it starts again. Restart does not help. Does anyone know what this can be or similar experiences. Looks like a Hardware problem, which I do not hope. Imac is almost 1.5 years old.

iMac (27-inch Mid 2010), iOS 5.1

Posted on Apr 20, 2012 3:46 PM

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10 replies

Apr 20, 2012 5:15 PM in response to Mhdr

I've been experiencing the same problem on iMac 27 (mid-2011) running Lion for almost 2 months now without any solution from Apple Store technicians. Everytime the screen goes black I have to hit the powe button as to put the computer into sleep mode and wake it with the keyboard for the screen to light up again.


The first time I took the computer to the store on March 3, the technician said the problem was software-related. He reformated the hard drive and did a clean install of OSX.


The problem persisted.


When I returned to the store, they decided to change the screen.


The problem persisted.


Last week, they change the motherboard and the video card.


The problem persists.


I am taking the computer back to Apple Store tomorrow and will ask for an exchange. The computer is unusable (the screen went black seven times since starting this message).

Apr 20, 2012 11:58 PM in response to davidOUo

I have been experiencing a similar issue with my iMac running ios 5.1. If I put the computer in sleeping mode, the screen obviously becomes black, but I can not use the computer anymore until I turn it off and on again. This time iTunes was left open and if I use the remote control I can hear music - so the iMac is working, the screen in not! Anyone can help?

Apr 22, 2012 3:29 AM in response to Mhdr

Hi, thank you all for your responses.


I had also a problem with my virussoftware on the Imac. I have installed virusbarrier x6. This virussoftware was reporting error messages in my imac console about a missing file. Besides that it was expired within 12 days. So I decided to remove this virusbarrier software yesterday morning. And guess what? Since then I don't have any problem with my Imac monitor anymore while the Imac was used a lot since then. Maybe too early to draw this conclusion, but it is a little bit strange. I contacted the support of the supplier of virusbarrier and asked for an explanation, but did not get a reaction until now.

Apr 22, 2012 3:39 PM in response to X423424X

It worked well for 1 day, but this evening the problem came back agai n so it looks not to be a VB issue. This evening I did a smc reset and a nvram and pram reset, but it didn't help. I can not believe it is a hw issue, because it worked well for 1 day pefectly. I have also installed Istat and monitored the temperatures of the different components, no strange values noticed.

Aug 7, 2012 11:02 AM in response to Mhdr

Hi. August 2012. My 21 inch 1 year old iMac is doing this. I am using two displays, and the external one works just fine, allowing me to do a hardware check. My computer does not recognize its internal monitor. I think it could be a bad video card or connection to or from the video card. At the time, when I felt the exhaust ports, things were hot.


I am disappointed that no Apple response has been posted, nor has anyone posted a solution related to an Apple repair.


Has anyone found that a good vacuuming has helped, or anything else?


If an Apple person is reading this, you might be interested to know that I have been an Apple person since the IIe - while using and creating various DOS and Windws based networks and computers over the years, and that this iMac (which in itself was a replacement for an iMac that died within three weeks of purchase, and that that one was a replacement for an iMac that was dead right out of the box), is the poorest, worst, most disappointing computer that I have ever owned. I am pretty sure that my next purchase, likely within weeks since my iMac is broken once again, will be a Windows-based PC and not another Apple product.


My home network is totally Mac, I was going to buy an Apple TV, I have one of the last Motorola laptops, and old Mac Mini, and up u til this machine generation have recommended Apple products. No longer.


Same for my phone, and my next tablet.


I am totally fed up with the lack of solution posted by Apple for this problem.

Imac screen on black

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