Why does the display on my 27" iMac keep going black?

Question

Level 1

5 points

Why does the display on my 27" iMac keep going black?

This seems to be happening very often now. It started with just every once in a while.

I will be using my iMac and the display goes black. It does NOT go to sleep. Just the display goes black. I do video and audio editing on my iMac and if I am listening to playback or a song while the screen goes black, I can still hear it. So, I know it has not gone to sleep.

A way that I have gotten around this is by, once the display goes black I will then push the power button to make the iMac go to sleep. Then, I will push it again to wake it up. This usually works and the iMac will work just fine afterwards. Now what is happening, the iMac will go black again after a few seconds of being turned back on from sleep.

I tried to run a diagnostic with an Apple person over the phone and for some reason my iMac will not respond to this.

AND... It has gotten worse. I can't even boot up my iMac from a power down without the display going black.

Any help?

iMac, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.4)

Posted on May 4, 2014 8:44 PM

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Answer 1

rkaufmann87

Level 10

140,856 points

May 4, 2014 9:03 PM in response to ApplePhan142

When did this start happening and are you really stil using ML 10.8.4?

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Answer 2

ApplePhan142 Author

Level 1

5 points

May 4, 2014 9:10 PM in response to rkaufmann87

I can't even get my iMac to stay on long enough to see what version that I am on. I think that I am current at 10.9.2. This started slowly. Started happening around a year or so ago. Very rare then. Now way more frequent. I can't even boot up without it going black.

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Answer 3

rkaufmann87

Level 10

140,856 points

May 4, 2014 9:12 PM in response to ApplePhan142

Create a new user account and log into it, if the problem disappears then you have an issue with your standard user account, if the p roblem persists this indicates a global issue that may be hardware related.

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Answer 4

ApplePhan142 Author

Level 1

5 points

May 4, 2014 9:26 PM in response to rkaufmann87

Ok. So I made a new user for my iMac. I will let you know if the problem persist.

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Answer 5

Kalavas

Level 1

0 points

Mar 1, 2015 7:37 AM in response to rkaufmann87

Display turns black at random operating times.

I'm on OS X 10.10.2

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Answer 6

Mar 1, 2015 10:02 AM in response to Kalavas

What's the model of the machine?

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Answer 7

Kalavas

Level 1

0 points

Mar 1, 2015 11:30 AM in response to jortbru1299

OS X Yosemite

Version 10.10.2

iMac 11,3

Boot ROM Version: IM112.0057.B01

SMC Version (system) 1.59f2

iMac (27-inch, Mid 2010)

Processor 3.6 GHz Intel Core i5

Memory 8 GB 1333 MHz DDR3

Graphics ATI Radeon HD 5750 1024 MB

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Answer 8

Kalavas

Level 1

0 points

Mar 1, 2015 11:36 AM in response to Kalavas

ATI Radeon HD 5750:

Chipset Mo

Type: GPU

Bus: PCIe

PCIe Lane Width: x16

VRAM (Total): 1024 MB

Vendor: ATI (0x1002)

Device ID: 0x68a1

Revision ID: 0x0000

ROM Revision: 113-B9710C-238

EFI Driver Version: 01.00.417

Displays:

iMac:

Display Type: LCD

Resolution: 2560 x 1440

Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)

Main Display: Yes

Mirror: Off

Online: Yes

Built-In: Yes

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Answer 9

Kalavas

Level 1

0 points

Mar 2, 2015 7:19 AM in response to Kalavas

Another way to describe this might be....

iMac randomly "goes to sleep" midstream, as I type.

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Answer 10

Mar 2, 2015 8:35 AM in response to Kalavas

I have the same issue, Late 2009 iMac 27"

I don't think it's a OS or profile issue as it happens even before logging on to the profile. In Target Display mode it works fine. I've tried reinstalling OSX but can't as the screen goes black so can't see what I am doing.

I've had recently the GPU and screen replaced so I might need to take it back again but it would be good to have it known what is causing this.

If anyone had this and found a solution please share.

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Answer 11

Mar 2, 2015 9:45 PM in response to stellamaris5

I have the same model and the same problem. I am running Mac OS X 10.2.2.

The problem started about a few months ago and it is getting worse and more frequently. Need help urgently to solve the problem.

Will sending the machine to Apple Store fix the problem?

Any suggestion is appreciated.

I turned the machine off on Feb. 22 and haven't tried to turn it on yet and at the mean time I am using a 1st Generation MBA machine which is quite slow.

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Answer 12

Mar 3, 2015 3:41 AM in response to ApplePhan142

I have a similar problem that I posted before I four this thread I posted under iMac 27" display sleep problem I shan't type it al in again here.

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Answer 13

Mar 5, 2015 9:44 PM in response to Duncan Stuart Elliott Parker

I had a similar problem. I have returned it to the repairers (Apple subcontractors) 5 times and spent over $500 on different fixes including getting a new video card and nothing has solved the problem. Apple have advised that they dont know what is causing the problem. I have since declared my experiment with Apple computers over and have decided to go back to a Windows PC out of frustration. I just think it is a dud product.

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