Corrupted display when changing res. PLEASE HELP

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Level 1

25 points

Corrupted display when changing res. PLEASE HELP

Guys,

When trying to play some games i noticed that the screen would just go black and i would get nothing. i have put this down to the game trying to select a resolution that isn't supported.

Looking into this i noticed that all my display resolution options seem to be corrupted. Only one of the works which is 1680x1050.
If i try to select 1024x768 the screen goes black and stays that way. Other resoloutions in the list will give me a corrupt screen with a split desktop.

Is there anyway i can restore the display preferences to put this right?

Please help

jon

Macbook Pro 2.0, Mac OS X (10.4.6), 2gb Ram

Posted on May 7, 2007 1:46 AM

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Answer 1

BSteely

Level 5

7,643 points

May 8, 2007 9:38 PM in response to Jonny Skyman

You can use the Finder's Find command and search on the term "windowserver". You should find files like com.apple.windowserver.plist and com.apple.windowserver.xxxxxxxxx.plist where xxxxxxxxx is a series of letters and numbers. Trash any such files you find and restart. Mac OS will automatically regenerate the files with default values.

Before you do the above, try starting up in Safe Mode. If the screen works correctly running in Safe Mode, then that would suggest a problem with your home account's configuration.

If neither of the above affect the problem, try resetting the the PMU, too.

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=14449

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Answer 2

iVmichael

Level 6

13,740 points

May 8, 2007 11:20 PM in response to Jonny Skyman

Try running /Utilities/ColorSynch Utility and 'Repair Profiles'

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Answer 3

Jonny Skyman Author

Level 1

25 points

May 8, 2007 11:38 PM in response to BSteely

Many thanks for the advice but deleting those files has made no difference. I have already reset the PMU.
If it works in safe what could be wrong with the home folder config?

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Answer 4

BSteely

Level 5

7,643 points

May 9, 2007 9:36 PM in response to Jonny Skyman

Are you saying it does work in Safe Mode? As for what in your particular config is causing trouble is hard to say. Maybe try running Preferential Treatment to see if you have some other corrupted .plist file.

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/22790&mode=feedback

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Answer 5

Jonny Skyman Author

Level 1

25 points

May 10, 2007 9:27 AM in response to BSteely

Thanks for the advice but i still have the same problem.

In safe mode it even starts up with the screen split in quarters! If i change the res back to 1680x1050 it is ok but any other res either splits the screen or just goes black!
I ran pref treatment and it found a couple of errors which i trashed but it did not help.

Is there any way to reinstall the display driver?

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Answer 6

BSteely

Level 5

7,643 points

May 10, 2007 7:09 PM in response to Jonny Skyman

This is starting to sound a lot like a hardware problem. I think it's time to involve Apple. Are you still under warranty? I suspect a new motherboard is in your future.

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Answer 7

Jonny Skyman Author

Level 1

25 points

May 11, 2007 8:56 AM in response to BSteely

Well i have it sorted, at last.

I reinstalled the 10.4.9 combo updater and it works now.

Thanks for the help.

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