Problems with screen distortion

[Weirdwolf]

I've got a friend that just purchased an older iMac DV SE, and installed Jaguar on it. This problem was occurring even before he installed the new OS on it, but every time he either puts his screensaver on or tries to view a DVD, the screen has all kinds of lines and distortions in it with a green tint. Otherwise, the display is fine. I tried looking into his display preferences thinking that maybe something was amiss there, but no dice. He doesn't have internet and is a recent "switcher" from PC to Mac, I certainly hope this problem doesn't turn him from Macs as he is kinda annoyed by it. I tried looking it up on the Apple Support page but the only results I kept getting were totally unrelated to the problem.

Thanks in advance! :)

[scan300]

I'm not sure what you checked in the display preferences so I'll go ahead anyway and make a checklist.

Check that the monitor is running in a mode recommended by the display, ( a checkbox in the displays preference panel will help determine this). The video card can run modes which aren't supported by the display.

Check refresh rate, if allowed, set it to another setting and test.

Is the problem isolated to full screen situations and do other full screen scenarios (eg games, present movie mode in quicktime) create the same problems?

Check that you have installed the latest firmware updates.

Run the iMac hardware test CD that should have come with the iMac. This will check for hardware issues including the graphics card.

If you don't get any new info then it's time for the Apple service centre.

[Weirdwolf]

Originally posted by scan300
Is the problem isolated to full screen situations and do other full screen scenarios (eg games, present movie mode in quicktime) create the same problems?

Yes, when he uses it to view anything full it distorts. I have checked all the things you listed above, so I'm going to research for any firmware updates.

Thanks for the help! :)