30" Cinema Display gone black but power on. Fixable or not?

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Level 1

20 points

30" Cinema Display gone black but power on. Fixable or not?

This morning my 2009 30" Cinema Display didn't light up when I started up.

It's worked fine for years and was fine when I shut down last night.

I've spent the day reading and trying all the troubleshooting tips, with no luck. The power light is on but the screen stays black. As far as I can tell, my Mac Pro is fine, the issue seems to be with the display.

It's out of warranty, so my options are: buy a new one ( can't afford it), buy a second-hand one, or get this one repaired.

So does anyone have any advice? Is it worth repairing, or will it just be cheaper to buy a second-hand replacement?

Are these older displays fixable? Black screens seem a common problem: is it usually hardware failure?

Any advice welcome, thanks.

Mac Pro 2.93Ghz, ATI Radeon HD 4870, 30, Mac OS X (10.6.8), 12GB RAM

Posted on Jul 7, 2013 3:23 PM

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Answer 1

Jul 7, 2013 7:18 PM in response to Agasucci

Assuming you've already verified your cables are in tight, the obvious things have been checked over...

With the cinema display and computer on: Hold a bright flashlight directly up to the display face - so you don't see any glare - look immediately around the flash light on the display - can you see that the display itself is working? (except without a back light)

If so - it's likely your backlight, or backlight driver, which can be repaired. Do not know how much it would cost for parts and labor, as I usually provide my own labor. So in my case - approximately $100.00 in either scenario.

My opinion - until Apple offers matte displays again - very much worth fixing this one up.

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Answer 2

Agasucci Author

Level 1

20 points

Jul 7, 2013 9:22 PM in response to Big-TDI-Guy

Thanks for your reply.

Yes, I checked all the cables etc. I also tried rebooting my Mac Pro from the system DVD: still nothing, so while that's not definitive, it does indicate its the display at fault, and not the Mac Pro.

I tried your flashlight test (good tip BTW!), with 3 different lights, under different lighting conditions (darkness, room lights on); I would have expected to see the white login box in the centre of the screen, but could see nothing.

Totally agree with you about the matte surface. And that extra 3" makes a big difference too. I know nothing lasts forever, but I'll be really sorry if this baby's truly dead.

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Answer 3

sgginc

Level 3

676 points

Jul 31, 2013 3:48 AM in response to Big-TDI-Guy

Mine has a blank screen and the power light is off.

The power brick is good.

It shows up in Monitors.

The USB ports have no power.

The repair shop says it needs a new LCD screen and they cannot repair it.

Do you know someone online that repairs these.

Thanks …Ken

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Answer 4

Agasucci Author

Level 1

20 points

Jul 31, 2013 4:33 AM in response to sgginc

Mine turned out to have both a faulty logic board, and a faulty screen. I had both replaced, at a total cost of £395.

It now works just fine, but I hesitate to reccommend the people who repaired it, as I'm not happy with the service I actually got from them. Although they fixed it, and it works, they also managed to damage the casing, so it has lost much of the resale value it might have had.

That said, the parts they replaced were new, not cannibalized from old machines, so they're obviously still obtainable from somewhere. Just because one repair shop said they can't fix it doesn't mean another one can't.

Good luck!

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Answer 5

Jun 2, 2014 3:02 PM in response to Agasucci

I have exacly the same problem.

Did you ever resolve your situation?

I have seen them sell refurbished for around $200.

I'm considering this versus the cost of repair.

A

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Answer 6

Jun 20, 2014 6:47 AM in response to Agasucci

I had the same problem with my 27" Cinema Display turning black on my screen and I had put a band aid over the iCamera on the very top of my monitor and restarted my MacPro desktop which I purchased new three years ago. After the band aid over the iCamera and I have no black screen anymore.

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Answer 7

Jul 11, 2014 2:27 PM in response to Agasucci

Just encountered the same thing. Mine is intermittent. I can shut down and bring it back up and the display works for about 20 minutes and then goes black -- poof! I thought it was the card Apple ATI Radeon 5770 and replaced it. But, it's still acting the same. Any ideas what is causing an intermittent problem?

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Answer 8

Jul 11, 2014 2:41 PM in response to arothafel

I just ended up replacing mine. I was lucky to find a really good condition used one locally on Craigslist for $175.

All working fine now.

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Answer 9

Feb 21, 2015 11:04 AM in response to Big-TDI-Guy

@Big-TDI-Guy,

I have an Apple Cinema Display A1316, with the exact same problem. I followed your advice and shined a flashlight directly onto the LCD panel, and I can see a faint image. I checked to see if I had power at the test point at 24V DC and had 25V constant there.

Anyway, do you do any repairs on these displays? If so, I would like to send mine to you for repair since you know what you're doing :-)

Thanks

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