iMac 24" dead screen

[dit]

forgive me if not following protocols but never posted before!

iMac 24" 2.16 (2006) suddenly got dead screen in middle of textedit file all power went, completely dead, when finally re-powered up no screen.
All else seems to be working fine and can remote into it but can't run hardware test as it drops connection.
While connected all is working perfectly so presumably screen itself.
Just thought I'd try before junking it!
Data not a problem as all on NAS box, just rather not have to buy new while going through consultation for redundancy (again)

any advice, pointers will be most gratefully accepted
dit

 

[macthefork]

Did the power go out when it first occurred? It's not clear from your post. If it did, you can try resetting the SMC:

Shut down the computer.
Unplug the computer's power cord.
Wait fifteen seconds.
Attach the computer's power cord.
Wait five seconds, then press the power button to turn on the computer.

If this happened without any interruption of power, then it's possible the GPU just died. Do you by any chance have an extra monitor you could connect to the Mini DisplayPort to see if it works?

 

[dit]

Thank you for replying, not got adapter though have 21" cinema display that I can try that is currently connected to my partner's macbook pro. Did a quick search earlier and main advice seemed to be to check adapter compatibility as it's 'an old un'! Just wanted to run it by people with more knowledge than I've got. Did search earlier but couldn't find anything more helpful than starting up using 'd' for hardware test as mentioned.
Surprisingly able to connect with iPad too but not much help there either.

 

[macthefork]

Looks like your model has the mini DVI, rather then the Mini Display Port, if this is your iMac.

 

[dit]

the very same mac. have tried your suggestion resetting SMC but no joy it's going through several motions judging by the disk activity but not a flicker of screen and can't remote into it yet.
Presumably adapter is Mini DVI to DVI Adapter?
sequence of events was - working and everything went at the same time - no power whatsoever. Changed fuse in plug, just in case then tested current in cable and ok. Undid plug and moped for a bit, then finally plugged in again and lo - powered up but no screen, and here I am.
Though not any longer, off to bed now to sulk. Do appreciate your taking time to reply, will get an adapter and try again tomorrow if I can get one, otherwise Monday. and if you need any spares for an early iMac . . .

 

[one1]

Try to observe it in bright sunlight to see if the screen has any indication of life. When the backlight goes out it can be incredibly hard to see anything on the screen under most any circumstance, but very bright sunlight can reveal images on the screen. You may or may not get lucky and see anything with a bright flashlight held at an angle. Try to look where the dock should be and at the top for the apple or clock - things you know will be there. Once you figure out if it is the backlight or the LCD you can go from there. The backlight in your model is CCFL cathode which uses a ballast to fire it like a laptop screen. If the ballast has gone back it's an easy fix compared to what else could be wrong. Inexpensive as well compared to a full LCD replacement.

Now, the main issue I see with your recollection of what went wrong is that generally most times a ballast failure won't cause a complete shutdown of the system. I won't totally rule it out since maybe it shut down into protection mode, but I'd be less prone to believe it. The percentage of chance is low.

So you can VNC in with your iPad? Since you have the ability to get in the computer the mainboard is up and functional. There are only certain parts of the iMac that control the LCD which are separate from the motherboard and therefore if the MOBO is working properly your chances of repair are pretty good. See if you can see anything on the screen using bright lights and if you have an image being decoded onto the LCD it will chance the prognosis.

 

[dit]

I have tried bright torch as can't wait for bright sun
As mouse and keyboard are operative, managed to guess where apple menu is, click on it and - lo, there was light, albeit faint. Can't now VNC in though from macbook pro or iPad using logMeIn, assume that resetting SMC has disabled settings? So, next move is to get an adapter, at least then can control and change settings, and based on the 'faled backlight' diagnosis, what next? Quite happy to take apart as I will anyway if junking it, though if able to get settings changed could buy new and keep this as a headless server, likely to have a lot of free time once redundancy confirmed and have just started looking at MAMP wordpress and html having been in newspapers for past 20years - a bit behind the times!

 

[dit]

I bought an adapter so now have my iMac back - running on an external monitor so my position is clearer, as is my screen!
Looks like backlight so how difficult/expensive to fix? £???

My immediate thoughts are: buy a cheap-ish external screen and carry on as I am, (and return this cinema display to my partner's macbook pro) £???

buy a 27" iMac to completely replace this one and keep this as a headless server to replace old G4 (see below) circa £2000

or buy a 27" cinema display plus 21" iMac and have a bit of flexibility circa £2000

am open to any views, suggestions as to the pros and cons of all options

my complete setup: iMac 24" with dead screen
macbook pro (2006) used as desktop 95% of the time with 20" cinema display
2 old G4s used as music server and local webserver for testing
2 NAS boxes
I've worked in print so mostly used for Creative Suite, Quark, etc
but no real need for photoshop high end processing - will have time on my hands so speed and storage not key factors - flexibility more important, may not be able to afford to replace again :-(