Early 2008 Imac 24" black screen?

NeoCool · Jan 24, 2013

Early 2008 Imac 24" black screen?
Hi all, could I get some feedback.
My early 2008 Imac 2004 is now not displaying anything.
It has the normal startup sounds, fans, chime. but nothing on display.
Also tried a external display adaptor but nothing comes up on external.

Umm
would love some constructive feedback please.

justperry · Jan 24, 2013

First thing to do is to shine a light on the display with a torch, if you see there is the normal OS X GUI you know it's the backlight but I think there is something else going on here since an external display also does not work.

If this is the case then most likely the GPU is faulty.

You might have the nVidea 8800, if that's the case you might have a known defect.

NVIDIA 8800GS Failure Rate

NeoCool · Jan 24, 2013

HI Thanks for quick reply.
I can confirm nothing when light shined on screen.

read linked thread and seems a common problem.
sounds expensive the NVIDIA 8800GS

Did apple do a recal and free replacement on this even though its now out of warrantee?

justperry · Jan 24, 2013

NeoCool said:
HI Thanks for quick reply.
I can confirm nothing when light shined on screen.

read linked thread and seems a common problem.
sounds expensive the NVIDIA 8800GS

Did apple do a recal and free replacement on this even though its now out of warrantee?

Check out https://selfsolve.apple.com/agreementWarrantyDynamic.do

But, it's already old, don't think you'll be able to replace it free of charge, and Logic boards are expensive, not only that, it will get into the same problems later on.

But, you really need to check if you have the 8800GS, they came with two different GPU's.

Graphics Card ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO or NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS

NeoCool · Jan 24, 2013

Thanks.
Ok got lcd out and can see the logic board, power supply, hard drive, optical drive, blutooth, sound,

but no sign of GPU is it behind the logic board?

Ill have a look then to see what model it is.

cheers.

justperry · Jan 24, 2013

NeoCool said:
Thanks.
Ok got lcd out and can see the logic board, power supply, hard drive, optical drive, blutooth, sound,

but no sign of GPU is it behind the logic board?

Ill have a look then to see what model it is.

cheers.

You can see on iFixit.com how to disassemble the iMac, choose guides and enter your model.

It's almost sure to be on the Logic board, you can not remove it, it's unlike most Desktops which come with removable GPU's.

http://www.ifixit.com/Device/iMac_Intel

NeoCool · Jan 24, 2013

cheers i see it know its a nvidia.

many thanks for your help.

Ill try and source a reasonably price one. lol.

FuriousGreg · Jan 24, 2013

NeoCool said:
cheers i see it know its a nvidia.

many thanks for your help.

Ill try and source a reasonably price one. lol.

My 8800 burned out last year but it turned out that it was actually a motherboard issue rather than the card itself (the board shorted the card so both needed to be replaced), I had to go through Apple to find the card, it's a very difficult card to find aftermarket, but because it happened within a month or so of my AppleCare expiring they fixed it for free

.

Another thing to check is the PRAM Battery, it need to be replaced every 5 years or so and it powers stored information on screen resolution and calibration (among other things) which could cause you to get a black screen when it fails. Replace this battery before you commit to buying a new card and see if it makes a difference, it's a long shot but you'll have to replace it eventually anyway so it's worth trying.

Good luck.

NeoCool · Feb 4, 2013

Will It happen again?

Hi thanks for support on the 2008 iMac with gnu failure.

Are we saying here that the design fault causes the gpu to overheat and fail.

So if i replaced it with another it would most likely go the same way.?

just checking as if that is the case it may be worth me investing the monies in a diff Mac.

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