iMac 27" Late 2009 - Screen Issue at Login & Kernal Panics

[The Samurai]

Hey everyone

Got the iMac 27" Late 2009 (bought it when it came out). Its always had the 'pixelated' issue (see attachment) just before the login screen appears but ive never bothered too much as its not been a problem... until recently where im getting a lot of 'Kernal Panics' (screen wipes down and locks done entirely, have to restart to get the system up and running again).

Im starting to think that the screen issue is finally starting to shows its true colours... any advice? Yes, i've done the PRAM resets, disk repairs, up-to-date with all the software etc. No joy ;(

Cheers

 

[Teqnilogik]

If the pixelation goes away when the login screen comes up then it's likely not a screen issue. Screen issues will tend to stay consistent regardless what is displaying on the screen. I'm thinking this has something to do with it initializing the graphics driver or something. Kernel panics also suggest driver or operating system issues. Also, screen problems do not cause kernel panics. You may want to consider backing up your data and re-installing Mac OS X and see if that helps your problem.

 

[The Samurai]

Hmmmm

Will try and format it again - will be resorting from a time machine backup once its installed though. This shouldnt make a diff though right?

 

[The Samurai]

Done a zero-day format thingy and reinstalled OSx. Went fine for 2-3 days and it showed its true colours today once again.

Will be taking this beast in to the Apple store for getting checked.

In the meantime, anyone had any similar issues?

 

[The Samurai]

Genius bar said it was a GPU issue and looks faulty. They're gonna replace it.

 

[kevmmmk]

I have the exact same screen. Did replacing the GPU fix the problem?