iMac 27" 2009 Graphics problems

Question

Rick Baines Author

Level 1

10 points

iMac 27" 2009 Graphics problems

Hi.

I'm having some weird graphics issues with my 27" late 2009 imac with ATI Radeon HD 4850.

Sometimes, the names are missing from icons on the desktop.

Many menus are corrupted, some work fine, and some are black.

Some windows are black, or mutlicoloured whn first opened but appear fine when resized.

If I reset the SMC and PRAM, all the problems disappear for a bit, but if the Mac is left for a little while they reappear.

Booting into Safe mode is ok for extended periods of time.

The Hardware test doesn't reveal any problems.

Any ideas?

If it's hardware related, how much is it likely to cost?

Thank.

Posted on Jul 4, 2013 1:36 PM

Reply

Answer 1

MichelPM

Level 10

80,952 points

Jul 4, 2013 11:09 PM in response to Rick Baines

Does your iMac seem to get really warm or hot?

Reply

Answer 2

Rick Baines Author

Level 1

10 points

Jul 6, 2013 5:55 PM in response to MichelPM

Yes. It does get pretty hot.

It doesn't get that hot in Safe Mode though, which turns off Quartz Extreme, so I'm thinking it probably is some part of the graphics card.

The only problem I can see in Safe Mode is that there are a few very faint pink blocks and an inch wide, from the top to the bottom of the screen. There are five of them, about six inches apart.

Reply

Answer 3

Cian H

Level 1

4 points

Jul 16, 2013 9:20 PM in response to Rick Baines

Rick, did you manage to solve this problem or are you still experiencing it?

I have the same model iMac and this issue started happening to me just the other day.

Safe Mode works fine, the same as you, as does recovery mode, but a normal boot exhibits these issues even on the login screen. If i manage to login, menus render all in black, the dock animates to black, etc.

The fact that Safe Mode works leads me to think it could be a driver or other software issue, so i'm thinking to wipe the machine and do a fresh install (I've already tried a simple re-install over the existing bits which didn't fix the issue).

Reply

Answer 4

Rick Baines Author

Level 1

10 points

Jul 17, 2013 10:27 AM in response to Cian H

Hi Cian.

It was a hardware problem - the graphics card needed replacing.

It worked reasonably well in Safe Mode as that turns off Quartz Extreme.

I'm off to pick it up tonight, so hopefully this should have solved it.

Reply

Answer 5

Cian H

Level 1

4 points

Jul 19, 2013 1:40 PM in response to Rick Baines

Yeah, it seems to be a hardware problem for me too, sadly. I tried everything I could on the software side and nothing fixes it, so it looks like I'm in the same boat.

I hope yours is now fixed - did you send the iMac in for repair or just replace the part yourself?

Reply

Answer 6

Rick Baines Author

Level 1

10 points

Jul 22, 2013 1:45 PM in response to Cian H

I took it the nearest Apple Store.

It was actually cheaper than the price for buying the part on eBay.

(Also, I wasn't too keen on trying it myself - it's a bit cramped inside an iMac)

It's fixed and appears to be working perfectly now.

Hope you get yours sorted :-)

Reply

Answer 7

Rhapso

Level 1

0 points

Aug 17, 2013 12:05 AM in response to Rick Baines

Hello,

I had the same issue twice :

In june, my iMac was having some graphic bugs when it was hot. After using a lot, the iMac freezed.

I went to the Apple Store and they changed the 4850 video card.

Now the problem has come back worst sine one week with the new card :

The mac starts with vertical random pixels rectangles and when it tries to boot The OSX, lots of little squares appear and then it freezes. This is 100% reproductible.

I will go back to the Apple Store on monday.

Reply

Answer 8

Oct 10, 2013 8:56 PM in response to Rhapso

Same problem here…

My iMac just came yesterday from repairing (they changed the 4850 video card), after it started freezing and eventually didn't even started up (except in Safe Mode).

Today I copied all my data back to the hard-drive via Migration Assistant and the problem came back, with the new video card 😟

It seems like it need to go back to repair!

Reply

Answer 9

ATBV

Level 1

0 points

Mar 15, 2014 2:17 PM in response to jorgeportugal

At the risk. Of sounding like a broken record, i have the same graphic issues as jorgeportugal, Rhapso, Rick and Cian. Its 5 months since Jorgeportugal's post and longer than that for the rest of you. I am curious to what has happened since....

Did you guys ever get your iMacs fixed, without recurring problems???

Rick, you seemed to have had the best luck out of the bunch. Is your iMac still functional?

Thanks

Reply

Answer 10

Rick Baines Author

Level 1

10 points

Mar 16, 2014 10:47 AM in response to ATBV

Hi ATBV,

I had to have the graphics card replaced, but it works perfectly now.

Reply

Answer 11

Mar 16, 2014 10:47 AM in response to ATBV

Hi ATBV,

my iMac went again to repair and got, again, a new 4850 video card. This time all went well and is working properly ever since.

Best regards!

Reply

Answer 12

Cian H

Level 1

4 points

Mar 16, 2014 11:05 AM in response to ATBV

Same as the rest, i had to take my mac for repair and got a replacement graphics card.

I haven't seen any issues since then 🙂

Reply

Answer 13

e151909

Level 1

0 points

Mar 16, 2014 5:28 PM in response to Cian H

How much was the repair? I have same issue...

Reply

Answer 14

ATBV

Level 1

0 points

Mar 16, 2014 8:18 PM in response to e151909

I would ike to know as well.

Reply

Answer 15

Mar 16, 2014 8:32 PM in response to e151909

e151909 and ATBV

The repair – in Portugal – was 287,99€ (about USD 396,36) the first time. Obviously, as the problem continued after the first video card was replaced, they didn't charged me for the second replacement.

Reply