Graphics corruption issue continues in Mavericks 10.9.1

I figured I would chime in and say that I, finally, decided to take the plunge and try Pehtis's solution. Being ever so cautious, I backed up first, then disabled the memory compression. I've been running with it disabled for a couple of days, now. I have been pushing the processor and doing the types of tasks that I know have had a tendancy to trigger the graphics glitching and I have not seen a single artifact appear on my display. No chunky drop shadow rendering. No unreadable app names in the dock. No noisy Dashboard widgets. Not a thing. I feel quite confident that Pehtis found the problem (I thank you, sir).

From a memory standpoint, iStatPro seems to indicate that I, generally, have more RAM available to me. Looking at the memory profile in Activity Monitor, there is, obviously, a lot more swap being used. This is to be expected, since there is no compression happening. Based on my typical usage, I have not noticed any degradation in system performance. I like the idea behind memory compression. I'd, certainly, like to enjoy the benefits that it has the potential to provide. But if Apple can't or won't get it to work right with my processor, then it's looking like I'll probably be happier without it.

What annoys me more than the problem, itself, is Apple's resounding silence on the issue. I have sent feedback to Apple several times since this issue first materialized. I have tried to bring attention to the numerous threads on these forums detailing the issue as well as Pehtis's solution. Whether or not this feedback has has caused someone to stand up and shout "hey, we should fix this!", is anyone's guess. I just need for someone, ANYONE, from Apple to come out and tell us that, yes, they're aware of the problem and, yes, they're working on a fix. Mavericks has been out for four months, now. And not hearing a thing about this has been beyond frustrating.

I have the same issue which appears to be getting worse. I have a MacBook Pro 17 inch mid 2010 running 10.9.1 I do receive some releif if I go to displays and change scale of display and them return it to Best for computer

Oh...so THAT'S what using Mavericks is supposed to feel like.

It looks like you can add me to the "problem solved" column. I reenabled memory compression and updated to 10.9.2. After as solid day of usage, I haven't experienced any graphics glitches. Performance has been as rock-solid as ever. Hope it, finally, sticks (fingers crossed, knock on wood).

For what it's worth, I went to 10.9.2 using the combo update rather than the incremental update. I always use the combos. They will reinstall components from the previous point updates as well as installing the current one. Maybe that can be a help to someone.

I have similar issue with iMac 2009 with Ati 4850 graphics.

Basically I have run all maintenance scripts, repaired permission etc. no effect

If I start mac in Safe mode - no issues- runs perfectly. Running Apple HW test (AHT) - no issues found either.

-most of the menus are unreadable

I wanted to add to this discussion. I have a new MBPr that came with Mavericks and I have the issue occasionally as well, running 10.9.2.

I haven't tried the fixes and I can recover just by closing and opening the affected window. For some reason, in my case, it happens most often when running Microsoft Remote Desktop.

Exact same issue as you e151909, late 2009 iMac with 4850 card. I am on the latest Mavricks 10.9.2. Booting into safe mode also works perfectly. The problem seems to start occuring when I watch flash video or anything that is GPU intensive.

Going to turn off the memory compression as suggested by other since I have 12 GB of RAM available and don't see much use for the compression.

Glad to see I'm not the only iMac user with the issue - everyone in the forums says its affecting their MBP 2010 models.

e151909 wrote:

I have similar issue with iMac 2009 with Ati 4850 graphics.

Basically I have run all maintenance scripts, repaired permission etc. no effect

If I start mac in Safe mode - no issues- runs perfectly. Running Apple HW test (AHT) - no issues found either.

-most of the menus are unreadable

i think there's an opportunity for all of us to get this problem sorted - now that Apple has opened up the OS X 10.9.3 beta to non-developers for free ...

amigo hola ami me pasa lo Mismo Pero directly no me deja Para entrar a la porción de la PC Que CUANDO entro en mac me tira la Pantalla azul diretamente y entro en mod re cuperacion me hace lo mismo pero no me deja ahcer nada ni poder entrar y no tengo el cd alguno me lo podria facilitar

Well, tried turning memory compression off, no luck. I am pretty sure my video card is dying as I've reinstalled Mavricks fresh althought I can't run Apply Hardware Test for some reason (tried a couple tricks out on the net but decided to bag it).

Graphic card was changed by Apple, costed around 200euros. I did complain that it is NOT normal that graphics card do fail - it is a quality issue. They did not listen - just explaining "out of warranty" - bad Quality i need to say. I have never had a Graphics card issue on Any PC. That is the downside of All in Ones - expensive to repair. Good business for Apple for sure - 200euros of 50euro card (max).

As in other threads, people are confusing/combining two different issues.

If you have a MacBook Pro 15" from 2010, there is a known hardware issue related to the graphics chip. Not all models were affected, but there is a specific test that can be run to see if you have the problem. It's not a test you can run; you need to take it to an Apple Store or an Apple Authorized Service Provider. Tell them you have a 15" 2010 and you need to see if you have an affected board. If the test fails, and your system is within 3 years of purchase, then the repair may be covered. Most of the systems are outside that three year window, but it never hurts to try.

Hi Simitty25,

How you solved your problem?

I have exact same issue as you have

iMac 27-inch, Late 2009

Processor 2,8 GHz Intel Core i7

Memory 8 GB 1067 MHz DDR3

Graphics ATI Radeon HD 4850 512 MB

Software OS X 10.9.4 (13E28)

I was on the Mavricks 10.9.3. than i updated OS X 10.9.4 with the safe mode.

Booting into safe mode also works perfectly.

The problem occurs immediately when i started normal boot.

This was first started the crushing installing process to "Logitech Control Center" than that doesn't fixed yet and its killing me.

Going to turn off the memory compression as suggested doesn't worked for me.

I used "Mavericks Cache Cleaner" for 10.9.4 and done everything is possible.(Virus scan home folder as well)

I used "Cocktail 7.1" and i tried fix this issue with it.

I used "TechTool Pro 6" which is not for 10.9.4 and even i tried everything is possible.

also i reinstall Maverick over my 10.9.4 than i update to 10.9.4 ... Still problem persist.

I'm fully focused on this problem last 48 hr. and i couldn't get any progress at all.....

Please advise... Please advise... Please advise...

Hi proerkan,

Sorry to hear your having the same issues I had. I also tried similar things that you listed. I ended up taking it to the Apple Store and they ran diagnostics on the machine and they could not determine what the issue was (and the video card came back OK). However the guy at the genius bar suggested I replace the video card and I went with that. It cost me about $200 which is far cheaper than buying a new iMac. After replacing the video card, I came home and restored my backup and everything works OK now - no more distortion/snow in the video output. The machine has been working good for about 2 months with no problems.

Since it sounds like you've exhausted all software level fixes, I would suggest taking it into the Apple Store and having them replace the video card.

Hope this helps!

Chris

proerkan,

You said that the problem goes away when you boot in safe mode and returns under a normal boot. This is, strongly, indicative of a third party software issue and NOT a hardware problem. If I understand your post, correctly, the problem started when you installed Logitech Control Center (?). Have you tried uninstalling that? If not, that would be a good place to start. Had you installed any other new software prior to the issue first occurring? If so, that may be a potential cause.

Hi Crebro,

- Yes it all begun with Logitech Control Center installition. on the restart frizzed the iMac and i hold down the power button to shut down.

Till than story goes on...

I done uninstall the LCC reboot few times and tried something... than reinstall and uninstall again nothing and related with it.. (no changes at all) also I had not installed any other software at that time period.

- I can say the problem goes away while I'm on safe mood but on the safe mood graphic/ video rendering speed really slow so i don't have precise judgement. That may be still effecting %2 - %3 percent.

Also yesterday i format my Imac and reinstall from the internet with my apple id (directly installed 10.9.4). After that my iMac works fine till this afternoon. Less than 24 hr period it turned back that problematic situation.

Also after i format & reinstall clear maverick i took time machine backup. than i started to copy my files on iMac.

Now I'm writing this lines from safe mood in a minute i will do recovery...

I will come back and let you know the results..