white screen on iMac

Question

white screen on iMac

Hi,

My mid-2011 iMac intel suddenly showed a white screen this morning. I've tried all the various fixes I can find to try to get to the Disc Utility on startup, that is, shutting down, then restarting, then pressing Option R or Command R or Shift or Command-Option R.

Only Command-Option R has done anything at all, which is to bring up a spinning globe and the message "Starting internet recovery - this may take a while". However after it finishes, the Apple symbol then comes up and it starts to load but then goes to a black screen and then to a white screen again.

Are there any other suggestions for restoring this thing or is it just time for a new computer?

Thank you.

iMac G5, Mac OS X (10.5.6)

Posted on Oct 24, 2018 12:21 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Tesserax

Level 10

159,998 points

Oct 24, 2018 12:45 PM in response to reluctantuser

Don't give up yet.

Please try the following, in order. Stop at any step where the issue is resolved:

Reset your Mac's SMC.
- What: Reset the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac- Apple Support
- How: Hold down the <shift><control><option> keys, and then, press the power button. Hold all of them for, at least, 10 seconds.
Why: Resets fans, keyboard backlight, status indicator, battery indicator, display backlight, power button, close/open the lid, sleep or shut down, battery doesn't charge, MagSafe indicator light incorrect status.
Reset your Mac's NVRAM or PRAM.
- What: How to reset NVRAM or PRAM on your Mac - Apple Support
- How: At boot-up, hold down the <option><command><P><R> keys.
Why: Resets sound volume, display resolution, startup-disk selection, time zone, & kernel panic information.
Boot up your Mac in Safe Mode.
What: Use safe mode to isolate issues with your Mac- Apple Support
How: At boot-up, hold down the <shift> key until the Apple logo appears on the screen.
Run the Apple Hardware Test (AHT) to uncover any hardware issues with your Mac.
- Use Apple Diagnostics or Apple Hardware Test- Apple Support
- About the "Apple Hardware Test does not support this machine" message- Apple Support
How to Use Apple Hardware Test to Diagnose Mac Problems- OSXDaily
Boot up your Mac in Internet Recovery Mode.
- What: About macOS Recovery- Apple Support
- How:

For Internet Recovery Mode: Immediately after pressing the power button, hold down the <option><command><R> keys until the spinning globe appears on the screen.
When at the initial Recovery Mode screen, select the Disk Utility option. Run Disk Utility > First Aid to verify the startup disk's integrity.

Why: To verify the startup disk integrity using the Disk Utility's First Aid option.

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Answer 2

Tesserax

Level 10

159,998 points

Oct 26, 2018 12:22 PM in response to reluctantuser

One last question... though the test claimed no hardware problem, would this not in fact be a hardware problem?

Yes, your notebook may still have a hardware issue even though the AHT did not detect it. You may need to run the AHT multiple times to "find" it. Even then, it still may not. From the description of the issue, so far, I would suspect either the HDD, logic board, or the graphics to be suspects. If you can't re-install the operating system, your only choice would be to take it in to have the Apple technician run more extensive tests ... if you think it's really worth it.

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Answer 3

Tesserax

Level 10

159,998 points

Oct 25, 2018 11:47 AM in response to reluctantuser

So the AHT did not uncover any issues nor running Disk Utility's First Aid didn't report any issues with the system drive either ... correct?

If that's the case, then you basically have the choice to take it to your local Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider to have it looked at, get an estimate/repaired or get a new Mac.

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Answer 4

Oct 25, 2018 10:21 PM in response to Tesserax

Going through the above list:

1. Apple symbol shows on pale yellow/white striped screen; it loads then screen goes black, and then Apple symbol appears again and it starts again trying to load, over and over.

2. Startup sound plays then goes to black screen, then Apple symbol shows on pale yellow/white striped screen; it loads then screen goes black, and then it starts again trying to load, over and over.

3. Same as 1.

4. Starts Internet Recovery, then does Test. Result is no hardware problem.

5. Shift-Option-Command-R is the only combo that results in a different result than 1. With Shift-Option-Command-R, it first goes to Starting Internet Recovery before the Apple symbol comes up and it starts loading, then going to black screen, then repeating attempted load over and over. The other combinations of keys just bring up the Apple symbol with the same unsuccessful load attempts, followed by black screen, then repeated.

So, while the test shows no hardware problem, none of the suggested actions actually got me to the Disk Utility. And I have actually bought a new computer.

One last question... though the test claimed no hardware problem, would this not in fact be a hardware problem?

Thanks for your help.

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Answer 5

Oct 25, 2018 11:06 AM in response to Tesserax

Thanks for the response. None of those suggestions has fixed the issue.

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white screen on iMac

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