i have had my MBP since last feb. i am a design student and work in the field and use it EVERY day. a few minutes ago, out of nowhere, i got these vertical lines going from the bottom of the screen to the top. it looks like spotlights or a curtain or something. what the hell can i do about this? will apple give me a new comp? let me get one at the apple store? i dont have the time to deal with my machine not working. i have heard about yellow screens and failing graphics chips but never seen/heard of anything like this. help?
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Vertical lines suddenly appeared on screen (was: holy **** please help me)
- Thread starter saeglopur
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1. Make your title something appropriate and helpful.
2. Ah, the backlight lines... common problem. Or maybe not. Is it graphical? Can you take a screenshot of it?
3. No, you won't get a new computer. Take it to Apple and AppleCare will probably cover it.
2. Ah, the backlight lines... common problem. Or maybe not. Is it graphical? Can you take a screenshot of it?
3. No, you won't get a new computer. Take it to Apple and AppleCare will probably cover it.
take it to your local APPLE STORE, not anything else, and have the genius take a look at it for ya.
restart the computer or power it off. When you power it back on, hold command, option, P, and R. You will hear the chime and see the apple logo again if you have done it correctly. This resets the PRAM. This happened with my macbook awhile ago and when I spoke with someone at Applecare on the phone they instructed me to do this.
Apple Support Article Link: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379
Apple Support Article Link: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379
Remember to hold the button combination for/through three chimes, not just the first one!
Actually, the second chime should be sufficient. If you click the link in my previous post, the Apple article affirms that.
We trust you're actually having the problem. You don't need a date.
Looks like the backlighting stripes to me.
im sorry to sound like im freaking out but its because i am. my maxtor hard drive is not mac formatted and i was going to give myself a time capusule for christmas in a few days. but i dont have anything backed up on this computer otherwise. so yea im worried about the screen going blank and months of work being lost. can i change the dramatic thread title? haha
Well, if that ended up happening, you still have the functioning hard drive. And there's always the possibility of an external display. I don't think you're in danger of losing any data.
Copy, my experience has always taught me to wait for three. But you are of course right, according to the article that I also linked too.
That would make sense. Granted, I haven't had much experience with this. The only time I've really had to reset my PRAM is when I was on the phone with the representative from AppleCare going insane because there were vertical colored lines on my computer. So, it's all a blur for me
Yeah man, just chill and take it easy. Remember, if your screen goes black, you've always got Target Disk Mode, which transforms your machine into one big, expensive external firewire drive... and you can use any other Mac to read/copy/back up your data.
We trust you're actually having the problem. You don't need a date.
Looks like the backlighting stripes to me.
You will at least need today's newspaper.
Ah, common issue. If it persists, the only fix is a hardware replacement for the LED control board - which means the entire LCD panel assembly. A short term fix is to reinitiate the backlight by pressing ctrl-shift-eject.
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1258
I swear there was once something about sending it in for repair (which is what Apple did for me when I reported it). Hmmm.
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1258
I swear there was once something about sending it in for repair (which is what Apple did for me when I reported it). Hmmm.
thanks for all your help so far. i have spent the last few hours researching this. i didnt realize it was such a widespread problem. resetting the monitor worked for me but im concerned about it being an ongoing problem. would you guys suggest me taking it in to an apple store anyway or should i just deal with it. does anybody know what apple has been doing for people with these problems now that the new versions have come out?
Sorry bud, Apple will take 4-5 days to repair your machine (at least that's the turn around time in big metro areas). Assuming your machine is still under warranty or have AppleCare and ProCare, you can get it back 2-3 days.
No loaner machines are available and Apple will not replace your machine unless they can't fix the same problem a few times in a roll or they end up making your machine worse from the repairs (which happened to me).
Your best scenario is to backup everything you have to an external using SuperDuper and run it off another Mac. Another alternative is to back it up w/ SuperDuper and access those files via MacDrive on a PC.
Random and intermittent problems won't help your case w/ the Geniuses since you can't duplciate the problem on the spot.
No loaner machines are available and Apple will not replace your machine unless they can't fix the same problem a few times in a roll or they end up making your machine worse from the repairs (which happened to me).
Your best scenario is to backup everything you have to an external using SuperDuper and run it off another Mac. Another alternative is to back it up w/ SuperDuper and access those files via MacDrive on a PC.
Random and intermittent problems won't help your case w/ the Geniuses since you can't duplciate the problem on the spot.
I guess it's up to you whether you can handle pressing ctrl-shift-escape every time it happens. For me, it was very rare, but I just didn't like the idea of a new computer with such a hardware fault, so I had mine replaced under warranty (I got a different screen out of it, which is better in general, but a slight yellowing at the bottom edge that is 99% unnoticeable (even when I'm looking, sometimes I can't tell). So it will depend on:
1) How long you can live without your computer for any potential repair time.
2) How much you can put up with a keystroke combination (and how often you have to do it) vs your happiness with your current screen (there may be other issues that come out of a replacement).
My first MBP did that too, except it was many vertical lines. The mouse cursor woudl be one vertical black line. I took it to the Apple Store, and they gave me a free replacement and brought all my information over from the old one. The process took about a week.(The fact that the store was crowded when we took it in and everyone's head turned when I told the manager I'd had it only a week probably helped ^_^)
Take it to an Apple Store to have them look at it if your under warranty. They'll determine what the problem is..