I have strange black boxes appearing at times on my desktop.
I'm not sure why these are appearing. But this is my system and most relevant information.
Model Name: iMac
Model Identifier: iMac5,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.16 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 4 MB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 667 MHz
Boot ROM Version: IM51.0090.B09
SMC Version (system): 1.9f4
I've found in my little bit of research that the graphics card may be dying. Here is that info from System Profiler.
Chipset Model: ATY,RadeonX1600
Type: GPU
Bus: PCIe
PCIe Lane Width: x16
VRAM (Total): 128 MB
Vendor: ATI (0x1002)
Device ID: 0x71c5
Revision ID: 0x0000
ROM Revision: 113-xxxxxx-139
EFI Driver Version: 01.00.139
Displays:
iMac:
Resolution: 1680 x 1050
Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Built-In: Yes
Display Connector:
Status: No Display Connected
Any help is much appreciated.
Thank you!
You may be correct about your graphics card but:
As old as your iMac is, have you cleaned out the dust? Dust buildup can lead to over heating issues. Remove any and all things plugged into it including the power cord, Remove the RAM access grille. Vacuum all openings starting with the RAM access area (air intake). Vacuum all ports and plugs, DVD slot and the opening across the top of the rear of the body. Blow compressed air through all your openings and vacuum again to remove any dust you loosend. Reinstall the RAM grille. Plug in the keyboard and mouse if not blue tooth. Insert power cord...
You are now in a perfect position to do a
SMC RESET
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
Shut down the computer.
Unplug the computer's power cord and ALL peripherals.
Wait 15 seconds.
Attach the computers power cable.
Wait another 5 seconds and press the power button to turn on the computer.
Here is a Widget to monitor your temps and other operations:
http://islayer.com/apps/istatpro/
Similar Messages
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We recently have had these black boxes appearing on our desktops. They appear on all of our software and even around the icons on our desktop. Mainly they appear where there is a box already but they're black. Sometimes they will fall in the correct area (directly over the box) or floating off but close to the boxes.
This isn't the best explanation but does anyone have any idea? We have tried rebooting and they are still appearing.You're welcome.
Please mark your thread as Answered (Green Star). Also could you consider the awarding of a star using the Helpful/Solved buttons next to the Reply button in the appropriate post.
This is totally voluntary, but would be appreciated.
Green star = 10 points
Yellow star = 5 points
Steve -
I just upgraded to iPhoto '11. When it was finished many pictures do not appear. I have a black box but the information for the picture is still there. Some are raw and some are jpeg. Also lost all albums. Can anyone offer assistance? Using iOS 10.7.5
Apply the two fixes below in order as needed:
Fix #1
1 - launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys held down and rebuild the library.
2 - run Option #4 to rebuild the database.
Fix #2
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
1 - download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.
2 - click on the Add Library button and select the library you want to add in the selection window..
3 - Now that the library is listed in the left hand pane of iPLM, click on your library and go to the Library ➙ Rebuild Library menu option.
4 - In the next window name the new library and select the location you want it to be placed.
5 - Click on the Create button.
Note: This creates a new library based on the LIbraryData.xml file in the library and will recover Events, Albums, keywords, titles and comments. However, books, calendars, cards and slideshows will be lost. The original library will be left untouched for further attempts at fixing the problem or in case the rebuilt library is not satisfactory.
OT -
I cant download anything including Updates, when i try to download a black box appears saying in 4 different languages that i have to power off the laptop using the button, and it freezes, so i have no option but to power off. Please HELP
Well, at least it's good that there are no hardware issues - that's a relief and one problem area that you can check off.
OK, so let's summarize so I can get a clear picture of what's going on. If you try to download something from your web browser, what happens? What if you try to download a small utility such as "EasyFind" from the App Store? Or is the problem specifically linked to downloading updates?
I'm just trying to get a feel for if anything really means anything?
Usually what you download from, say, a website, goes into your Downloads folder. It's the default folder for things like that. Apps from the App Store are downloaded to your Applications folder. And software updates are generally, I believe, held in a temporary folder so that they can be installed (in many cases) when you're asked to restart.
It could be something as simple as repairing permissions on your start-up disk. You're running Snow Leopard, right? (That's what your profile says.) Try opening Disk Utility from your Utilities folder, selecting your boot disk and try verifying permissions. If you come up with some errors, try repairing permissions. After that, go ahead and verify your boot disk - you won't be able to repair it at this point, but at least you can see if you have any errors.
Let me know about the anything and get back to me after you've verified and repaired permissions and verified your boot drive.
Good luck,
Clinton -
There is a bright flashing light over my tool bar and sometimes a flashing black box appears over the Yahoo news. I tried Reset Firefox and that didn't work. I then uninstalled and re-installed Firefox and I still have the seizure inducing flashing lights.
When I switch to Internet Explorer I do NOT have this problem. Please help me because I do not want to go back to IE.
ThanksIn case this is caused by Firefox 33 being incompatible with your graphics card/chipset driver software, could you test for a while in Firefox's Safe Mode? That's a standard diagnostic tool to deactivate extensions, hardware acceleration, and some other advanced features of Firefox. More info: [[Troubleshoot Firefox issues using Safe Mode]].
You can restart Firefox in Safe Mode using either:
* "3-bar" menu button > "?" button > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
* Help menu > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
Not all add-ons are disabled: Flash and other plugins still run
After Firefox shuts down, a small dialog should appear. Click "Start in Safe Mode" (''not'' Reset).
Any difference?
You can disable hardware acceleration for all modes in the Options dialog.
"3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Options > Advanced
On the "General" mini-tab, uncheck the box for "Use hardware acceleration when available"
This takes effect the next time you exit Firefox and start it up again. -
I have these black boxes around my active pages, I looked online for pointers but they all pointed to me disabling my voice-over in the universal access option on system preferences. My voice-over wasn't enabled and the boxes are still here, any help?
Please read this whole message before doing anything.
This procedure is a test, not a solution. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.
Step 1
The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account.
Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. For instructions, launch the System Preferences application, select Help from the menu bar, and enter “Set up a guest account” (without the quotes) in the search box.
While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your personal files or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.
Test while logged in as Guest. Same problem(s)?
After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.
*Note: If you’ve activated “Find My Mac” or FileVault in Mac OS X 10.7 or later, then you can’t enable the Guest account. The Guest login created by “Find My Mac” is not the same. Create a new account in which to test, and delete it, including its home folder, after testing.
Step 2
The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party system modifications that load automatically at startup or login.
Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Boot in safe mode* and log in to the account with the problem. The instructions provided by Apple are as follows:
Be sure your Mac is shut down.
Press the power button.
Immediately after you hear the startup tone, hold the Shift key. The Shift key should be held as soon as possible after the startup tone, but not before the tone.
Release the Shift key when you see the gray Apple icon and the progress indicator (looks like a spinning gear).
Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including wireless networking on certain Macs.
The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
*Note: If FileVault is enabled under Mac OS X 10.7 or later, you can’t boot in safe mode.
Test while in safe mode. Same problem(s)?
After testing, reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of steps 1 and 2. -
A week ago, with no real specific event that I can remember that triggered it, my G4 computer OS 10.4.10 started to act weird. In all my programs, a black box started to show up. For example, right now I am typing in Apple Mail. the body copy box is rimmed all the way around with a thin black line. If I go to the desktop, and click on a folder, it will have a black box around it. If I open up a Word doc, there is a long vertical black box around the scrolling bar on the right. On and on.
Also, iTunes is strange in that I can be listening to an online radio like KCRW, and each time I click on an application, the computer voice starts talking. I.E if I starting typing right now, the voice is enunciating the individual letters. If I click on the Word doc I mentioned, the voice will say the name of the Word doc, then say "window scroll bar." Anyone have any thoughts on what is happening?Thanks Malcolm. That did it. I didn't even know about that feature, or how I managed to turn it on. Much appreciated.
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Hi - I'm not only having trouble waking up my MBP from sleep and having to restart repeatedly which is a pain in itself, but now when it restarted, I have these black boxes surrounding things, e.g., there is a black box around the red "close" button on the upper left corner of this page. There is also an oblong resizable black box sitting on top of anything. The content changes depending on the actions I take. Right now it says, "You are currently on a close button. To click this button, which closes the current window, press Control-Option-Space." Right now I'm open in Firefox, but it doesn't matter if only Finder is open, it's still there. I've tried closing all my applications and restarting and I also reset the PRAM. It won't go away. It's probably something simple, but I don't know how to get rid of it. Any suggestions are welcome.
Thanks,
JanetThanks so much. I saw this on "desktop strangeness" immediately after I posted and tried to retract my question. It worked perfectly. I'm not sure how VoiceOver got turned on unless something happened when I was trying to wake up the computer. I open the lid and it flashes whatever is open and then the screen goes black and I can't wake it up. Still looking for the resolution to this.
-
In Adobe Flash CS6, I have a blue box appearing around lines drawn with the line tool (and other tools like brush etc). Whenever I try to use a tool, a blue box appears around the line and I have to double click it to manipulate it, which opens just that line in a semi burred screen where all the other objects are semi-grey in the background. I can manipulate this line in this screen but nothing else at that time which I could do about 5 minutes ago. For exampe, I no longer can join up 2 lines drawn by the line tool together. For some reason this started randomly (probably due to a accidental shortcut combination) and I just can't put it back to what it used to be. I have inserted a video hopefully showing what I mean. Any help would be appreciated.
Thank you - Just what I needed
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Strange Black Box around every prompt I am given...
This is very strange. I started up iChat for the first time on MBP and am now having a very strange occurance. At every prompt there is a strange black box around it. For example, right now there is a black box around the back arrow in my safari browser. When I open the finder there is a black box around my hard drive. I just opened system preferences and there is a black box around the back arrow in system preferences box...
Can anybody help me?
MacBook Pro 2GHz, PowerBook G4, PowerMac G4 Mac OS X (10.4.5)heheh ya it's funny when you look at the people who just hear the mac talking and they don't know wat to do.. but ya.. universal access is only for that.. for the F8 key is exposè, which is nothing related to Universal Access at all, so you can keep Universal Access options off and exposè will still running
Anyway, you can configure both from the System Preferences. -
How can I stop the black box appearing round a movie?
So I've created a PDF with quicktime movies embedded in it on indesign, and I've taken the black outline off and have the movie automatically playing when you open the page. The problem is when it plays another black box appears round the movie and you have to click off it to make it disappear - it looks unprofessional and if you're in full screen mode this makes it turn to the next page, and we don't want that, do we.
Does anyone know how to get rid of this black box so that it stays without a border when it's playing? I guess it happens because the movie is selected, but I can't seem to find anywhere in the edit movie dialogue box that says anything about it.
Thanks.Thanks Steve, we'll look into buying Acrobat X because it would look so much better.
One question though - If I was to sort out the settings on Acrobat X, would the black box still appear when viewed on Acrobat 8? -
When importing photos from my iPhone black boxes appear in place of random photos in the iPhoto library and in Photostream. It has no apparent pattern, the photos are just blank. It's not just icons, when I go to edit the photos externally in Photoshop it opens an image filled with nothing but black.
This is more than annoying. It's effectively deleting photos I'm taking on vacation and so forth.
Anyone?The ! turns up when iPhoto loses the connection between the thumbnail in the iPhoto Window and the file it represents.
Option 1
Back Up and try rebuild the library: hold down the command and option (or alt) keys while launching iPhoto. Use the resulting dialogue to rebuild. Choose to Repair Database. If that doesn't help, then try again, this time using Rebuild Database.
If that fails:
Option 2
Download iPhoto Library Manager and use its rebuild function. (In Library Manager it's the FIle -> Rebuild command)
This will create an entirely new library. It will then copy (or try to) your photos and all the associated metadata and versions to this new Library, and arrange it as close as it can to what you had in the damaged Library. It does this based on information it finds in the iPhoto sharing mechanism - but that means that things not shared won't be there, so no slideshows, books or calendars, for instance - but it should get all your events, albums and keywords, faces and places back.
Because this process creates an entirely new library and leaves your old one untouched, it is non-destructive, and if you're not happy with the results you can simply return to your old one.
Regards
TD -
i have a black box always coming on my desk top , telling me every command that i am doing , it happened when i pressed all the keys on my keyboard.
Hi Josh,
Thanks for taking the time to contact us here a Novation for technical support. Lets continue to correspond via email so we can get your issue resolved.
Thanks.
Mike Towns -
No matter where I click a black box appears and on the left side a black box is telling me where the cursor is at the moment. How do I get rid of it?
▹ System Preferences ▹ Universal Access ▹ Seeing ▹ VoiceOver: Off
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My kids have been playing on my iMac and I now have a black box on the screen that describes where the cursor is or what I am typing etc.
Can anyone help me with removing this box
I thought it might be subtitles but not sure?How about asking your kids?
Care to share which OS you are using?
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