Hardware Issue or Software Bug?

[mikeydlaw]

Just recently my screen on my Macbook Pro has started playing up, see screenshot. Is this likely to be hardware or software related? I did drop my laptop about 2 months ago from a considerable height which left a reasonable dent in the top right corner of the screen, however it has only started playing up in the last few days.

I have a 2010 model, 15 inch, i7 with OSX 10.6.7

 

[r0k]

Looks ok to me. 😕 What are you whining about? 😛

J/K...

Ouch. That does not look good and I tend to think it's a hardware issue because you said you dropped it.

How does it look during the boot screens? If things look goofy during the boot screens then I think you are definitely looking at a hardware problem.

Have you created a separate user account? If the screen looks OK in a brand new user account, well then you got lucky and you can spend some time looking for a software issue.

But judging from the way it looks combined with the fact you dropped it, I'd say give Apple a call and see if they can help you. Do you have Applecare? If yours is a 2010 model, there is nothing stopping you from buying AppleCare before the 1 year anniversary of when you bought your machine. AppleCare isn't cheap but it's a lot cheaper than replacing a motherboard or screen.