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Ibook G4 Flickering screen

D

Dooffas

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 4, 2008
2
0
I am looking at purchasing an Ibook G4 but the description of the item includes this:
"When you switch it on it begins to load up i.e. the blue screen with the Apple logo, but then the screen goes black or flickers. Said friend has kindly wiped the hard drive for me so now when you switch it on it makes the ‘opening’ noise then you get a blue screen with alternating ‘?’ and the Finder logo."

I have a feeling this may have been a temporary fault with the screen connector being loose and possibly damaged.

But i assume the alternating "?" and the "finder logo" is simply a lack of OS?

Any feedback on this would be greatly appreciated

Cheers
Dooffas
 
FJ218700

FJ218700

macrumors 68000
Mar 8, 2007
1,740
0
Blue Dot, Red State
true, the flashing folder with a quesiton mark signifies the lack of a boot volume, a.k.a. an absent/improperly installed system. That is an easy fix.

the flickering screen may be software or hardware. I'm wary of the blue screen with apple logo part of the description. the screen should be gray with a darker gray apple. Right before getting to the login screen, yes, it may go blue or black for a second and then either go to the list of users or right into the auto login.

Ask if the screen is flickering after login, during use. If so, it would suggest a short in the power to the backlights, or worse, a faulty reed switch which recognizes that the screen is closing and shuts off the backlight. However, I also believe that a faulty reed switch would make the computer go to sleep.

again, find out more info from the seller. If you have access to the computer, let it sit with flashing question mark and shake it a bit and open and close the lid almost to the point where the computer goes to sleep, but not quite. Make sure the screen stays on (the wires to the backlights run through the hinge and could be fraying). If the screen goes dark only when the computer is closed, I bet a proper fresh install is all it needs.
 
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