Colored vertical lines on PB 17" display

Just out of curiosity - how long did the repairs take and did they tell you what the problem was?

I am in the Apple Store at Sherway Gardens in Toronto and just finished my service appointment at the Genius Bar. I drove in to Toronto from out of town. I was told the repairs are approximately $800. I was told that Apple is not aware of any issues with the vertical lines. My 17 inch powerbook starts with the serial number that everyone is mentioning in this thread. My PowerBook is 5 years old. The Genius bar guy simply says that it's an old computer.

Why are some people getting a flat rate deal to change the screen? I would surely go for it if it was offered. What is the difference here?

Hello there

I have the same problem unfortunately. And I am going to replace the display. Recently, I have searched some web-site to find the proper one. If you can help me, please let me know the following question. Is it possible to set higher resolution (1680 X 1050). my powerbook's native resolution is 1440 X 900. The seller said to me, I can set higher resolution. But I am not sure. Thanks.

Add one more PowerBook G4 Serial W85... to the list. I got a blue line before Thanksgiving, a red one around Christmas, now a new yellow one. Mine too are limited to the built-in screen, it does not affect external monitors or data projectors. They are annoying, and with my line distribution my maximum unaffected width of screen is 6.5 inches wide...so even my 12" G3 iBooks are doing better than this! Shame on Apple for not putting a program together for a fix, a credit on a new purchase, or something like that...ross

i noticed this thread last year,i thought i must be lucky,well luck just run out,same batch and i got my first line!not happy at all!

Hello, I too have a PowerBook 17 inch display with the W85 designation. I am wondering if you ever had your screen repaired or replaced and how that worked out for you. I have also read some posts that suggest that Apple has a flat rate for doing this work. I like the machine but I'm just wondering if it is worth it or should I just give up on the computer and buy another. My screen has ... ohh, about 40 vertical lines on it covering the entire screen from left to right.

Thanks for any help or suggestions you can offer.

Garry in Calgary

Hi all,

I, too, have a 17" Powerbook G4 purchased in late Fall '05. The vertical line issue started for me about 2 months ago. It's currently at 3 lines. I haven't checked the serial number, but am pretty confident that my machine came from the same problem batch starting with "W85" manufactured in Shanghai.

Similarly, I took my machine to the Genius Bar and was told that the machine was out of warranty and could be repaired for a "flat rate" price of around $325.00.

My question is: is this the final answer from Apple on this issue? Seems like there is widespread documentation that this is a manufacturing error, and should be outside of normal wear-and-tear warranty coverage.

I've been a long-time Mac user, both at home and at work. These products are not cheap. Can't we expect a premium customer service response to go along with the premium prices? If it's an obvious manufacturing glitch, seems like Apple should own up as a company and reward brand loyalty from their customers. In comparison, I also have an old 2003 Dell Laptop that has not had one hardware problem, ever (the OS, however, is another story; hence my preference for Mac).

Anyone had any luck with trumping the "flat-rate" repair, or is this a lost cause?

I had my display replaced with about 2 weeks left of coverage. I had around 20-30 lines. After getting it replaced (about a year ago) it has looked great since.

My machine is also a W8, although 86 in this case and it too has started to get the vertical lines across the bottom inch and a half of display. The problem seems to come and go as I type, and if I move the tilt or otherwise touch the monitor. I was told a new screen was 900 bucks. Bit pricey as this machine has had a lot of issues resulting in downtown that has cost me the price of several new 17" Macbook Pros. I have had two battery expansions rupture and deform the case, along with 2 hard drive failures and now this. Do any shops in the greater Toronto area offer the flat rate fix?

Pretty sad. 27 pages dating way back on this problem and silence by Apple. My son's 17" got so many lines it was unusable. Crickets from Apple. Mine just started and 16 have appeared in a short time. We got them both at the same time after our house was robbed. Replaced my son's 1400 and my 12" iBook. My first Mac was the 512k and have had many since. 6400 was my favorite. I've been an ardent Mac evangelist. This has me really frosted.

I'm having the same issues with a 15" PowerBook G4 purchased 4 years ago. Love the computer, but about 1 month ago I started noticing the display would all of a sudden go crazy and become a blur of vertical lines. I used to be able to restart and everything would go back to normal, but now, nothing I do resets the screen to normal. Apple store suggests a new logic board, but this has already been replaced, and they say replacing the logic board will run you almost as much as a brand new computer. I'm frustrated.... an item of this cost should last more than 4 years! Arrrgh!

Not a club that I wanted to join, but my IMac S/N W86... has been getting the dreaded thin vertical lines, up to 3 now. Is this something that anyone who has these lovely lines needs to contact Apple to join the long list of the lucky line club? My IMac is out of warranty as well, so I did not want to do anything if Apple is going to stand up for their product or I have nothing but a rainbow for a screen.

Nice to see that this discussion hasn't been deleted like the others. I too have the "line problem." I'm up to 8 and at first it was only one a week but then had 3 show up one day after another. The lines initially slowly start to fade in from the top and bottom, meeting in the middle, then disappear for about 30 mins. As soon as it fully appears, it never goes away. Right now there are 5 purple, 2 blue, and 1 yellow. I made a Genius appt for tonight and will report back what the outcome of that meeting is. I downloaded and installed the PBG4 Graphics Update that Apple posted, but didn't fix anything. I guess I'll have to decide is it worth the cash to fix this screen vs. saving up ~$2,000 for a new lappy 😟

Found out from the Genius Bar that there is a flat $330 fee (includes tax) to fix the screen. Also included with the $330 I can have anything else fixed as well, in my case this includes the keyboard backlight which went out and the sound card. I say this is pretty decent compromise.

I have this problem too, lines are vertical and switch at times to a strange colour display ... kind of like a screen saver except the screen doesn't wake up. is there any new suggestions on what to do about it?