Suddenly pink flickering screen on my iBook

[linoox]

Hi guys!

I'm new to this forum and sensed that maybe someone could give me an advice about my damaged LCD screen of my old iBook.

A few days ago I opened my iBook and the screen suddenly couldn't portrait any white color properly. Everything was flickering and moving. Darker areas have a green flickering as well. I'm not a absolute tech expert, but I tried already a few things. I hooked it up to an external monitor and the picture was fine! So it must be hardware related right?

Now the weird thing. Sometimes the panel suddenly works properly for a few hours. I don't know what could trigger it, I tried everything. What should I do? I took some pictures and uploaded them to Flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31291750@N03/sets/72157623630430475/

I know the machine is old, but I originally planned to get a new MBP this summer. I can't afford a new machine right now🙁 and the current MBP are just overpriced compared to similar old products on the market.
I have to be mobile, so I need a laptop.

Any tips how I could solve this problem or what I could try to fix the screen?
Your help would be greatly appreciated🙂!!

 

[pricej636]

Sounds like the GPU (graphics chip) is flaking out, which would require a logic board replacement.

 

[linoox]

Thank you for the information! So I guess there's no software related way to fix the problem.
Do you think the problem could also occur when I connect the iBook with an external monitor or does the system not adress the GPU in this case?
An external monitor seems for me the cheapest way to at least watch my mails and everything properly without already buying a new machine.

 

[pricej636]

I didn't think about that, but if the GPU is going it should show up on the external monitor as well. Most of the time when the screen goes pink like this its due to the GPU overheating. Since this just started, it could be that the GPU symptoms are fairly random and will get worse and more consistent over time. It could also be the connection between the LCD and the board, or it could be the LCD itself. From my experience when its the screen or the connection, the screen will just be black, or it flickers off and on.

I'd probably open the machine up if you are comfortable doing so and check connections between the screen and the board. If that doesn't solve anything I'd either take it in somewhere and have it looked at, or look at buying a different machine. Unless there is a sentimental value to your current machine its probably more cost efficient to replace the machine rather than mess with replacing the board or LCD in it.

 

[linoox]

Thank you alot🙂! You helped me already, because now I know that despite hooking the thing up to an external monitor my iBook will slowly die.
I'm not especially attached to it but I'm living on a budget. I'll give it a try over the weekend and opening it up with a friend of mine, who is experienced with such tasks.

Well, seems like I'll get a new Mac sooner than I thought🙂! I just hope the refresh is in April instead of June or even later...