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Glitchy Graphics

SelfMadeCelo

SelfMadeCelo

macrumors regular
Original poster
I tried searching but couldn't find much about this problem.

I have a unibody MB 2.4GHz.

Every once in a while, usually after a few days of going in and out of standby, I'll get some weird glitches. If I'm scrolling a list of files or long pages, instead of it scrolling smoothly I get these random white boxes. I've also noticed at times when using TextEdit and scrolling, some lines will get messed up, sort of like two lines combine. Also I noticed today when it goes to the screensaver it also does some weird glitches.

After I reboot it'll be fine until a few days later when it'll start up again. Any ideas?
 
I have the same model MB and I have never seen what you describe. It sounds like abnormal behavior.
 
Hmmm...Maybe I should take it in then lol it just started happening a couple weeks ago. It's not bad but it's a little annoying.
 
yeah actually if u look around on google, people are having the same issue. i have that too once in a while. It seems to be an issue with the OS. They have some discussions on the apple forums.
The reason i didn't contact applecare is because it sounds pretty common and I don't know how they would fix it. But I'm pretty sure apple knows about this issue and they're looking into it.
If you do contact applecare or go to a genius, tell me how it goes. I don't know what they would replace or if they could even really fix it.

For everyone else:
You can easily check if the issue is happening by going to
finder->applications(tile view)-> and scroll using two-finger scroll(not keyboard arrows).
Then youd be able to see if it the graphics are glitching.
Doesn't happen all the time though. A simple restart will temporarily fix it.
 
When artefacts appear, it's usually the first signs of a failing video chip. I'd contact Apple if I were you.. Though it could be related to software glitches..

There's one way to tell.. If the artefact appears due to hardware failure, then it'll be impossible to screen grab it. If it's software related.. there's every chance you can grab it.
 
Hey OP, I made a thread on this two weeks ago, no one was really of help hehe. But yeah I have the same issues, only w/ two finger scrolling. Happens every so often, but fixes itself after a restart. The thing is, I restart a lot, for Bootcamp and back into OSX so I don't see it a whole lot, but I have had the issue probably 4-5 times now.. I had a screen shot of it I'll find and post up here to make sure we're talking about the same thing.
 
Wow tons of replies that I haven't read...

@ UltraNEO*: Ah I'll definitely have to try that next time it starts to happen. Thanks =)

@ aznguyen316: For me, it only looks like the picture when I'm using TextEdit. When I stop scrolling it'll end up like that and I'll have to scroll up or down again it fix it. Next time it starts I'll try to capture it and post it.

@ Heimlich: Hopefully Apple does know and gets it fixed. It's not a major issue but it is annoying. I think I'll wait a little while and see if anything gets fixed then see someone about fixing it.

Thanks all for the input =)
 
If it looks like the text is tearing then its normal. applecare has known about it for a while and it doesn't look like anything is being done to fix it.
 
impreza98 said:
If it looks like the text is tearing then its normal. applecare has known about it for a while and it doesn't look like anything is being done to fix it.
Click to expand...

oh wow, yeah the screen tearing.. so it's a known issue? Hmm okay I guess that makes me feel a bit better it's not my machine or something. It happens on all screens for me, safari, mail, etc.
 
Do you have Safari 4?

I had the same issues after I installed Safari 4, I re-format my macbook because the format I had it on was Journaled Case-Sensitive (stupid me) and after that, the glitchy white boxes were gone.
 
John01021988 said:
Do you have Safari 4?

I had the same issues after I installed Safari 4, I re-format my macbook because the format I had it on was Journaled Case-Sensitive (stupid me) and after that, the glitchy white boxes were gone.
Click to expand...

Now that I think about it, before I had Safari 4 it never happened...I'll try running Safari and then seeing if the boxes show up. After my last restart I've only been using Firefox and there hasn't been a problem.
 
trying to think if it happened before or after Safari 4. But either way I've removed Safari 4 and I believe it occurred still after but not sure since I restart very often to not allow this to occur yet.
 
I had this problem on my MBP. When I took it in, they replaced the MLB (probably because of the gpu issue with early 2008 MBPs) and it hasn't happened since. However, my brother in law, who also has an early 2008 MBP, took his in and they said it was a driver issue and he should re-install OSX. He did and hasn't seen the problem since. He actually said it was easy to do since he just installed OSX and then used Time Machine to put his documents and settings back. I want to say 10.5.5 is the one that fixed this problem for a lot of people. It couldn't hurt to re-install OSX and then let software update get you back up to 10.5.5 and see if it goes away.
 
sclough said:
I had this problem on my MBP. When I took it in, they replaced the MLB (probably because of the gpu issue with early 2008 MBPs) and it hasn't happened since. However, my brother in law, who also has an early 2008 MBP, took his in and they said it was a driver issue and he should re-install OSX. He did and hasn't seen the problem since. He actually said it was easy to do since he just installed OSX and then used Time Machine to put his documents and settings back. I want to say 10.5.5 is the one that fixed this problem for a lot of people. It couldn't hurt to re-install OSX and then let software update get you back up to 10.5.5 and see if it goes away.
Click to expand...

What I'm trying to say is that this appears to be a driver issue and not a hardware issue if you read through the official Apple forums.
 
this has been happening with me too. and it happens on firefox (thats what i use) and when i am watching a video and scroll white blocks appear where the video is playing. Also when i try to play spore it crashes. is my chip messed up?
 
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