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mike Savage

Q: Colored vertical lines on PB 17" display

There is a lot of documentation on various websites and discussion boards about 17" Powerbooks with displays that break down after about 15 months of use.

I am unfortunate enough to own a 17" powerbook assembled in April 2005 in China - serial number beginning with W8. I believe this is the same time-period and factory location where hundreds (if not thousands) of identical machines were assembled that are now having the same colored-lines-in-the-display defect as my machine.

All these machines assembled at the same time, at the same place, using the same batch of LCD screens, are experiencing the same defect after the same amount of use.
Something stinks, and it smells like a manufacturing problem to me.

Does anyone know if Apple has man'd up and acknowledged the problem yet?





17" Powerbook G4 1.67   Mac OS X (10.4.9)  

Posted on May 21, 2007 5:36 PM

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Q: Colored vertical lines on PB 17" display

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  • by DavidHudd,

    DavidHudd DavidHudd Sep 14, 2007 1:41 PM in response to Bambi Vincent
    Level 1 (40 points)
    Sep 14, 2007 1:41 PM in response to Bambi Vincent
    So is the view counter on the Apple forums like the odometer on a car? Have we gone around the clock? Does it get to 4000 views and then it goes back to zero and are we now back at 24 again?

    Just wondering!

    David
  • by Fruit of Spirt-being tested,

    Fruit of Spirt-being tested Fruit of Spirt-being tested Sep 15, 2007 4:32 PM in response to a brody
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 15, 2007 4:32 PM in response to a brody
    If it is true the repairs on the Powerbook G4's cost between $400-$900. And some had paid this price only to have the problem reoccur within 90 days. Apple must know this. They probably repaired some of the faulty G4's themselves, and they do NOT endure even for APPLE. Therefore, can we expect a recall? Please, someone. Give me a link where I can be included for future possibilities of a solution.

    My screen has many vertical lines, and today it is Navy Blue instead of the bright blue it once was.
  • by analogguy,

    analogguy analogguy Sep 16, 2007 2:32 AM in response to mike Savage
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 16, 2007 2:32 AM in response to mike Savage
    2 days ago my 17" PB (bought in July 2005) developed the VL problem. Luckily I sprung for AppleCare. I talked to a tech at a Genius Bar and was quoted a price of $310 if it was out of warranty. I will call AppleCare on Monday and see what they say. Statistically speaking it is incredible that Apple won't acknowledge that a problem exists.
  • by NehutoX,

    NehutoX NehutoX Sep 19, 2007 2:25 AM in response to mike Savage
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 19, 2007 2:25 AM in response to mike Savage
    I bought a PowerBook G4 17 inches in july 2005 and last week I saw my first vertical blue line on my screen. I live in France so I called the french support and the sympathic person that answered me told me that this problem had been recognised by Apple for the 15 inches but not for the 17... He gave me some manipulations to reinitialize the alimentation system, but told me that as far as Apple doesn't recognize the responsibility of that problem I couldn't be helped another way...

    I don't understand why Apple doesn't take its responsibilities with its customers and I'd like an official response from a competent person from Apple.
  • by JanNon,

    JanNon JanNon Sep 19, 2007 7:33 PM in response to JanNon
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 19, 2007 7:33 PM in response to JanNon
    2nd line appeared last week - red line on left hand side of screen, someone at Apple has to be monitoring this discussion, there is obviously a problem that needs addressing, please guys, do something - preferably before I can't see my screen anymore.
  • by Paravillintiniay,

    Paravillintiniay Paravillintiniay Sep 19, 2007 8:19 PM in response to NehutoX
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 19, 2007 8:19 PM in response to NehutoX
    I used to have just one line, for a long time. Then, all of a sudden, the number grew.

    I, of course, have a W8 etc. etc. etc....


    Now I have 16 vertical lines, and the right two inches of my screen flash white horizontal lines that are transparent....

    Yeah.

    I've called AppleCare, etc.






    Here's my question though.

    With this many people that have this problem, why isn't anyone contacting the Better Business Bureau?
    It's obvious this is a manufacturing problem, and while it isn't Apple's fault, they should just recall.
    While I understand their reasoning not to, still...

    Why not contact BBB? Wouldn't that make sense?
  • by glshooter,

    glshooter glshooter Sep 19, 2007 11:28 PM in response to mike Savage
    Level 1 (45 points)
    Sep 19, 2007 11:28 PM in response to mike Savage
    Hey All, I too am a member of the VL club. What started as a single line, has multiplied to ten. I was wondering if anyone knew if it was a problem with the LCD or the computer? Will replacing the LCD fix the problem or will the lines return? Anyone...??? I'm thinkin Apple is never going to step up and take care of this, they've moved on to "bigger and better" things (intel & iphone). So, if I wanted to fix it now rather than later, is it simply replacing the LCD?

    Thanks, GL
  • by fish78,

    fish78 fish78 Sep 20, 2007 1:10 AM in response to glshooter
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 20, 2007 1:10 AM in response to glshooter
    It's a problem with the panel and the connector cable. I know some persons who have changed the panels and have some vertical lines again. If I were you I wouldn't replace the panel.
  • by TomSawyer,

    TomSawyer TomSawyer Sep 20, 2007 5:49 AM in response to fish78
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Sep 20, 2007 5:49 AM in response to fish78
    I swapped the cable but the screen had the same exact lines that were there before the swap. Some have hypothesized that the problem might be in the inverter board.

    I've been wondering how some folks have been quoted $300 to fix this while others are still getting a figure at or above $600. With the tinkering and damaging I did I'm not far from having spent $300 without a fix.
  • by a brody,

    a brody a brody Sep 20, 2007 6:06 AM in response to John Sawyer1
    Level 9 (66,889 points)
    Classic Mac OS
    Sep 20, 2007 6:06 AM in response to John Sawyer1
    Do you have some information that points in this direction? I need to know, since I use that website all the time, as I repair Macs, and though I know I could use Apple's, at http://support.apple.com/specs the Chipmunk site tells you two things that Apple's doesn't: when and where a Mac was made. The "where" I don't need (except to occasionally satisfy my curiosity), but the "when" is sometimes handy, to figure out if a given Mac is still covered under warranty or a repair extension program.


    Just because a Mac was made during a certain time period does not mean it will be still under warranty. The warranty starts from the day you buy the machine, not the day it is manufactured. As for my information about Chipmunk it is all infered by the facts:

    1. It is not run by Apple.
    2. There are no secure pages on the website.
    3. Serial numbers are frequently removed by moderators to protect the privacy of people on the forums and potential misuse of serial numbers.
  • by waterlillian,

    waterlillian waterlillian Sep 25, 2007 8:23 PM in response to Paravillintiniay
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 25, 2007 8:23 PM in response to Paravillintiniay
    I second that. I'm up to my eyeballs in student loans right now, and I bought my PB 17" (W85) in August 2005 hoping it would last me through college. Right now I have one pink line, which I can ignore, but from what I'm reading here it seems like that's just the beginning of the issue, and I won't be surprised if I find ten more lines within the next few weeks. I'm an animation student, I can't have this junk on my screen. And I can't afford to replace this computer or do repairs right now.

    There are so many of us posting here. It really, deeply frustrates me that Apple is showing such bad customer service.
  • by tuscan,

    tuscan tuscan Sep 27, 2007 5:11 AM in response to Paravillintiniay
    Level 1 (44 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 27, 2007 5:11 AM in response to Paravillintiniay
    this week on monday i got a 3rd vertical line, and just a minute ago (it's thursday) a 4th line, which is annoyingly blinking...

    sorry apple, that's really not what i call leading technology.
  • by Sandra D.,

    Sandra D. Sandra D. Sep 27, 2007 8:47 AM in response to mike Savage
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 27, 2007 8:47 AM in response to mike Savage
    I also have a 17" PB serial W85...
    Purchased May 2005.

    I had two lines appear a few months ago (at appx 2 years old), within a day of each other (pink & cyan). Just got my third line (cyan).

    It looks like I should expect this to continue until the screen is unusable. I was a total Mac convert after purchasing this great machine, but now with this problem and Apple not addressing it, I can no longer rave to everyone about how superior it is.
  • by DennisWingo,

    DennisWingo DennisWingo Oct 8, 2007 8:15 PM in response to mike Savage
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 8, 2007 8:15 PM in response to mike Savage
    I think I know what the problem is. I have the same problem with my Mac (purple vertical lines). It got worse and worse until the LCD backlight died. I am an engineer and technician and I took my machine apart down to the LCD. The problem is that one of the pins on the power cable between the LCD inverter and the motherboard gets pinched, causing the lines as voltage is drained into the case. After enough time the pinched cable breaks, and the LCD goes dark. You can still see that the LCD is working but no backlight.

    This took two years for the vertical line problem to morph into the broken cable problem so it would be incredibly hard to troubleshoot, especially for today's technician that is a board swapper. I have been troubleshooting computers since the 70's.

    If you have this problem, there is a 99% chance that this pinched cable is the problem. Also, does anyone know where I can buy a cable?
  • by DennisWingo,

    DennisWingo DennisWingo Oct 8, 2007 8:53 PM in response to mike Savage
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 8, 2007 8:53 PM in response to mike Savage
    Folks

    After reading hundreds of your messages and checking the serial number on my laptop I am pretty sure that I have figured out the problem. I have a powerbook with the W85 serial number as well and got the famous vertical line problem. After a little over two years the powerbook LCD backlight failed. The screen is still readable in bright light but no LCD backlight.

    I first bought a slightly older G4-17" (1.5 GHz) laptop from a buddy with a bad hard drive (serial number starting with W84) because I had to replace my screen in an emergency before a meeting and replaced the screen on my 1.67 W85 serial number machine. Guess what no vertical lines anymore either.

    When I had time I disassembled both machines to see what was different and to troubleshoot my LCD (when I put the dark LCD on the older machine, same issue). I replaced the inverter to no avail and the only other thing that it could have been was the backlight itself or the power cable between the inverter and the Motherboard. Well there was no voltage out of the inverter and when I actually ohmed out the cable between the inverter and the motherboard I found a wire that had been broken. It was still in one piece but the wire had broken inside its insulation. It is the grey outside wire, one of four in the cable.

    From the position of the break and by looking closely, I figured out that the cable was getting pinched by how the plastic hold down post was pushing the cable down as it comes across the interface from the LCD case to the main laptop case. I tried soldiering the cable to no avail and that is when I figured out that the cable is probably made out of tin or steel, not copper or aluminum, and therefore is brittle and subject to this type of wear failure.

    I noticed on the older laptop that the plastic hold down piece is made in a different configuration and may not pinch the cable in the same way.

    I am 100% certain that this is where my vertical lines came from as they disappeared when the cable actually broke (I can see the screen quite well in bright light).

    This problem would not manifest itself in any logic board or LCD test as it is a pinch in the cable that actually lowers the voltage or shorts the ground wire (I don't have a schematic to determine which) going to the inverter, creating a ground loop.

    I have been troubleshooting computers since the late 70's and I know that this is the problem with my machine and is probably the problem with all of yours.

    You may be able to test this by opening your laptop keyboard case off the machine (like when you replace a hard drive), and use a torx wrench (I think it is a number 6), to remove the screw that holds down the plastic part that holds down the LCD backlight power cable. Then close your machine and see if the lines are still there! You may have to wiggle the hold down a bit to get it to loosen up. Don't move it too much as it becomes difficult to resecure the top of your case to the machine as that part likes to lift up and bind the case.

    You can probably just reaffix the case top to your machine without screwing it in and test it that way as this will remove all of the mechanical binding from that cable. If the vertical lines are gone then guess what, you solved your problem.

    If this does work I would recommend just taking a pair of clippers and remove that plastic hold down post as removing it does not do anything vital to screw up the machine. That will make it easier to close the keyboard top of the case.

    If there are any tech's out there I would really like to hear some feedback on this. I am trying to order a replacement cable now to put my original machine back together (you have to completely remove the LCD from the top of the case to get the cable out!!) and confirm the removal of the lines. I also need that cable!!

    I hope that this helps everyone who has this problem with what is otherwise a great machine! (Attention Apple folks, you can email me for confirmation of this fix).
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