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safari top sites looks scrambled!

namethisfile

namethisfile

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jan 17, 2008
1,190
176
hey,

i just got the new 15" mbp and noticed that safari top sites would scramble itself at times. i've looked around the net and seems like a normal occurrence for people with the new mbp's. my question is, what is causing it? and how do you get rid of it? is it just a matter of turning off "automatic graphic switching" so it's running on the discrete nvidia card? is it a software issue with flash or safari? or is it more serious? like a hardware problem?

thanks in advance for any insights.
 
This happens on mine when Flash has been running for an hour or so (radio shows, etc).

However, it does not happen in any other browser.

Take that for what it's worth in regards to conspiracies :D
 
so... what you're saying is to not watch flash videos and listen to internet radios?

and/or use a different browser? if so, which one?
 
namethisfile said:
so... what you're saying is to not watch flash videos and listen to internet radios?

and/or use a different browser? if so, which one?
Click to expand...

I personally use Chrome, but Firefox can be used as well.

Hydrocity said:
Does it look like this:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1012329/

If so, I also had the problem. Apparently its because of the intel/nvidia switching. I installed gfxcardstatus and I just keep my graphics card on nvidia. Has not happened since.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's exactly what it looked like on mine. That's interesting though that it doesn't happen on any other browser.
 
Hydrocity said:
Does it look like this:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1012329/

If so, I also had the problem. Apparently its because of the intel/nvidia switching. I installed gfxcardstatus and I just keep my graphics card on nvidia. Has not happened since.
Click to expand...

Yep! Looks exactly like that. It's so strange... i haven't switched to nvidia card extensively or long enough yet to see if it can happen with the nvidia card, too.

but, still disconcerting regardless. so, is it software or a hardware issue? or both?
 
RRmalvado said:
I personally use Chrome, but Firefox can be used as well.

Yeah, that's exactly what it looked like on mine. That's interesting though that it doesn't happen on any other browser.
Click to expand...

ok. just downloaded firefox to try out your theory.
 
namethisfile said:
Yep! Looks exactly like that. It's so strange... i haven't switched to nvidia card extensively or long enough yet to see if it can happen with the nvidia card, too.

but, still disconcerting regardless. so, is it software or a hardware issue? or both?
Click to expand...

From what I have heard, its the drivers fault.

I also switched the FF but still have the graphics card switching off. Please report back if you find that it doesnt happen anymore on FF.
 
ok. so far, i have been using firefox for 3 hrs and no scrambles, yet. but! but, check this out... i can't watch netflix in fullscreen mode using firefox... when i press the option to go fullscreen, the video goes blank but the audio continues. i have to reload the webpage to see the video again. strange, huh? does anyone have the same problem?
 
No problem here for me with FF... Have you tried repairing your disk permissions? Maybe try Chrome? No browser will have full foolproof support, so you can always try another. :)
 
RRmalvado said:
I would definitely try Chrome "namethisfile"
Click to expand...

I don't think netflix intstant watch works on chrome, yet, though. anyway, it seems like a flash problem with firefox not being able to watch the videos in fullscreen mode from what i am finding out.
 
UPDATE: I turned off "Automatic Graphics Switching" which defaults to the discrete nvidia card and wallah! netflix can be seen in fullscreen mode in firefox. it's strange because safari can play netflix in fullscreen mode with the intel integrated gpu but for some reason, firefox can't or won't?....
 
UPDATE 2: Ok. So, after over a full day of using firefox with "automatic graphics switching" on (defaulting to the integrated intel gpu), I did not experience any scrambling. i watched youtube videos one after the other and tried to be busy with the internet and firefox did not scramble, even with multiple tabs opened. But, then again, firefox doesn't have safari's top site feature, which is where the scrambling occurs with safari it seems. in firefox, when you hit the plus tab icon, a new tab window appears but the window is blank. unlike safari, where a bunch of your previously visited web pages appear as windows on the screen. anyway, the only downside to firefox from my experience is that i can't watch netflix in fullscreen mode with the intel integrated gpu. i have to turn off "automatic graphics switching" which defaults to the discrete nvidia card for me to watch netflix in fullscreen mode using firefox. in comparison, safari did not have this problem. Maybe, safari was able to activate the nvidia card without me knowing it?

so, the lesson, i guess, is... if you wanna save battery and don't want to experience any scrambling while browsing the web, then firefox works. with safari, it seems that you have to use the nvidia card which you can activate by unchecking "automatic graphics switching" in the energy saver preference pane to eliminate safari top sites from scrambling itself. but, doing so would sacrifice battery power if you are not plugged in to an outlet....

hope this makes sense.... over and out....
 
Thanks for your report. I usually operate on a power cord so I guess turning the graphics switching off will work for me.
 
UPDATE 3: ok. so, today, i decided to go mobile and use the nvidia card and see how long the battery can last just for fun. i also wanted to see if i can duplicate the scrambling in safari with the nvidia card on. well, after a few hours of heavy web browsing, safari didn't scramble, but a slow grey translucent tint descended from the top of the screen like a garage door closing and then a window with the instruction to hold and press the power button to turn the computer off and then press it again to turn it back on.

not sure if the problem is related but just thought i'd report this too. it seems like i just had my first kernel panic.
 
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