my screen frequently drops out to black - any solutions ?
iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.8)
Have you checked the Energy Saver settings in System Preferences to see if it's going to sleep?
Have you checked the Energy Saver settings in System Preferences to see if it's going to sleep?
I have increased the energy saving preferences to delay sleep to 3 hrs - no change . I have disabled Java in Safari as suggested elsewhere - still no change .
Someone else suggested its a driver issue - have updated all software - no change .
Any other thoughts suggestions please ?
It may be heat related
As old as your iMac is, have you cleaned out the dust? Dust buildup can lead to over heating issues. Remove any and all things plugged into it including the power cord, Remove the RAM access grille. Vacuum all openings starting with the RAM access area (air intake). Vacuum all ports and plugs, DVD slot and the opening across the top of the rear of the body. Blow compressed air through all your openings and vacuum again to remove any dust you loosend. Reinstall the RAM grille. Plug in the keyboard and mouse if not blue tooth. Insert power cord...
You are now in a perfect position to do a
SMC RESET
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
It is the 5 second timing that initiates the reset.
Here is a link to a Widget to monitor your temps and other operations:
After weeks of frustration trying to figure out why my imac screen kept going black, to the point where it had become virtually unusable because it would go black straight after powering up, IT IS FIXED 🙂 !!!
I tried every suggestion in every forum I could find. I did endless PRAM and SMC resets, downloaded smc fancontrol in case it was an overheating problem, uninstalled and reinstalled Yosemite, tried opening in safe mode, unplugged all peripherals except keyboard and mouse.
NOTHING worked.
And then I read one post that said the person had tried plugging in a different keyboard.
Left with nothing else to try, I tried that.
And it's fixed!
It's like a really simple but miraculous cure. Why did it work? Who knows. I can only assume that the keyboard was somehow causing a glitch in the display (like tripping a fuse).
I was using an Apple wired keyboard with a plug in usb to power a wireless mouse. The mouse usb is now plugged in direct into a usb port on the imac itself and I've plugged in a different wireless keyboard. And everything is now fine.
Such a simple solution, that has saved me who knows how much money and fruitless trips to the Apple store. For the price of a new keyboard I have my very powerful, very expensive to replace, imac working brilliantly again.
I urge anyone with this issue to just try replacing the keyboard. It certainly worked for me 🙂
Joe,
Could you please please tell us if this fix is continuing to work? You'll see my experience with powering down my Apple wireless keyboard in a few posts on Page 16. It worked for an hour and then I went to bed and in the morning it was back to black-screen bug again.
screen frequently goes black on my Imac
