Screen Flickers & Hangs

[sumanthm]

This is my first week on Mac. Periodically the screen flickers & hangs for a while after that it's back to normal. It's very annoying 😡

 

[BlueRevolution]

It would help to know a little bit about your Mac. What model is it? New or used?

 

[sumanthm]

It's a used one.

MBP
15"
GeForce 8600M GT
OS X 10.6.3
2.2Ghz 4GB(800 MHz)

 

[BlueRevolution]

Did the previous owner report any hardware problems? Have you reinstalled OS X since you got it?

FYI, sounds like you have a Mid 2007 or Late 2007 model.

 

[Mal]

See if you can get that to an Apple Store or an authorized service center. The 8600M's had fairly common problems, and that symptom could be a result of a failing GPU. There's a fairly easy test they can run on it to find out if the graphics card is at fault.

jW

 

[sumanthm]

Previous owner didn't report any hardware problem. He has upgraded the OS before giving it to me.

 

[Consultant]

Not normal.

If you buy it from Apple or one under warranty, Apple will diagnoise and fix the problem for free.

When did you buy it? Is it under warranty?

 

[sumanthm]

My cousin is buying a new laptop, so he gave it to me. It isn't under warranty

 

[BlueRevolution]

Did he upgrade it or did he erase the hard drive and reinstall?

 

[sumanthm]

he has just upgraded it

 

[BlueRevolution]

I suggest running an erase and install. It's always a good idea to start fresh with a used computer, even when you aren't having problems.