Hallo! I got a second hand iMac late 2009 21 with some minor issues (previous owner said it didn’t always switch on - never updated to SSD, old CPU and GPU etc etc), thinking that I might boost it a bit, with some help. i clearly got way beyond my skills. Disassembled it all right, hard disk removed, SSD installed, then my friend messed up with the connectors and partly put out of place the lcd connector on the motherboard. We tried to put it back in place but it was still misplaced Result: iMac display didn’t work, but I could use an external monitor foro the usb OS installation and all rebooted all right. I then had the brilliant idea of disessembling the iMac again to see the extent of the damage and I thought you that I managed to put the LDG connette back in place but… now the iMac starts but is basically unusable: it chimes, than (only if connected to an external monitor) a faded image of the main page appears, the cursor moves, but nothing happens. No icons, no log in option. Nothing. I know I know- I messed up. But can someone explain we what failure is this?
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Help! Faded desk image at booting no account log in no action allowed
- Thread starter Frances s
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The iMac thinks its internal LCD is working and displays the login window there, with the external monitor just showing a blurred version of the login wallpaper. This is normal behaviour with multiple monitors: the primary one shows the login window, the others just show a blurred wallpaper. Can you type your user name and password "blindly" and login to macOS?
Update: I managed to access the command ‘duplicate the screen’ and now I can use it! Thanks for your help. As for the mess inside the mac…. Any suggestion on how to proceed? That this weird reaction mean that I made the mess even worse, or that I improved it a bit, but not quite solved it?
Try the following: using the Apple menu on the external display, bring up System Preferences > Displays. You should get a window on the external display. Click "Gather Windows". The settings window for the iMac's display will appear on the external display. It has an Arrangement tab. Click this tab and move the thin white bar that indicates the main display over to the rectangle that symbolises the external display. Your icons, Dock etc. should now appear.
Here's what my Arrangement tab looks like with three displays; the thin white bar indicates the main display and can be dragged to any of them.
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Fantastic, thanks. Should I give up completely any hope to restore the monitor to its old integrated display and simply choose better friends, or is there any *easy* way of repairing the connector? I felt already a hero because I managed to put it back into place, but I fear that I would have no idea what to do from now on.
Update: I managed to make some minor mantainance to the LCD connector and also the backlight connector (i noticed that it was a bit scrambled because of previous pluggining-unplugging).
I keep using the screen duplicator and modified the set up as to have voice commands (=accessibility options) and still be able to dialogue if the screen goes blank. I also runned some terminal-driven checks and I received a lot of errors concerning the display that i am not really able to read: again, way beyond my expertise. Any suggestion on how to revive the LCD, that are indeed within my league and that I might have forgotten about?
I keep using the screen duplicator and modified the set up as to have voice commands (=accessibility options) and still be able to dialogue if the screen goes blank. I also runned some terminal-driven checks and I received a lot of errors concerning the display that i am not really able to read: again, way beyond my expertise. Any suggestion on how to revive the LCD, that are indeed within my league and that I might have forgotten about?
Maybe I'm just really thick, but could you explain more how the connectors are "scrambled" and "put out of place"? I get the impression that both the backlight connector is physically damaged and the LCD data cable connector has been torn off of the motherboard. If that's indeed the case then I'd imagine you'd have to replace the motherboard.
... totally legitimate question! i was indeed very sloppy in explaining the issue. Long story short, I broke the Lcd connector. Indeed, i will have to either replace the motherboard - as you suggested -, or sold a new one on the motherboard - but i do not feel confident enought to do it...