Macbook pro screen flickering/tearing

i m having the foll. problem with my mac , see the vids http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jK_SJQ6UOlY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4V6xoJtM8
can any1 tell me what's going on ? what part of my mac has gone bad ?

any1 know abt this ?

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MacBook Pro screen flickers and freezes after Snow Leopard/Safari 5 updates

Hi guys,
I have a silver 120GB 15-inch MacBook Pro from Summer 2007 with 3GB RAM and 25+GB free space which has recently begun to freeze irrecoverably. The first appearance of these symptoms seems to coincide with my installing the Snow Leopard 10.6.6 update via Software Update.
I'm not particularly well versed in computer technology, but will try to describe my problem as detailedly as possible.
What happens is this:
1. I start the computer as per usual, with only a couple of startup items. Everything's fine.
2. I start working. Use a lot of Safari 5 for browsing websites, often with some kind of Flash or "Flash-type" content such as banner ads, videos, even full Flash designs. I may also have programs such as QuickTime, VLC or an image editor open, if not necessarily "actively" doing anything. Everything's still fine - I'm able to both browse websites and watch videos as usual.
3. After a while of active working - say, 1-3 hours - I notice browsing websites gets a little choppy. Display features such as the file list view in Finder may or may not appear properly. The rotating wait cursor may or may not appear from time to time.
4. Immediately after symptom no. 3, the next time I start to watch a video, either via Safari 5 (say for example something on DailyMotion.com) or a file via QuickTime, something goes wrong.
Following no. 4, one of three things invariably happen:
5a) The video freezes and the entire screen flickers from black to the screen view very quickly two or three times, after which the computer or screen appears to freeze. The cursor still moves, but nothing reacts to it - open windows become completely unresponsive, nor does the top or any other menu react in any way to clicking. The "menu row" of application items, which normally appears when I move the cursor to the very bottom of the screen, doesn't appear. Restarting "blindly" by pressing the Off-button once and pressing R doesn't work. I'm forced to do a hard reboot, after which the computer is once again fine until the next two hours of active working. This usually happens ONLY when I try to watch a video in Full Screen-mode.
5b) I notice the video freezing only just in time, and am able to pause it and "esc" out of Full Screen-mode, and the computer remains operational. However, as soon as I again try to play video in Full Screen-mode, everything described in 5a. happens.
5c) The video stops playing, and the screen reverts momentarily to pale blue before switching to the login screen. I login again with my details, and everything appears to be fine again until the next two hours of active working. The computer "starts up" a lot faster than with a hard reboot. This usually happens ONLY when I've tried to watch a video in its original size, i.e. when not in Full Screen-mode.
This happens 1-4 times a day, and it appears to depend directly on how much work I've been doing on the computer. The less I use it in the course of a day, the longer it takes until the next time it freezes.
So, in a way, I'm able to replicate this problem. 95% of the time the screen has frozen while watching or starting to watch (usually already when starting to watch) video footage, but it has also frozen a couple of times just switching between e.g. Safari 5 and an image editor or browsing a website with a Flash banner ad or embedded video content (which however hasn't necessarily been playing); today, the screen froze when I tried to open a website made entirely with Flash.
Although it could be just a coincidence, I believe this issue first appeared when I updated Snow Leopard to 10.6.6 via Software Update alongside some other pending updates, including as far as I recall one for Safari 5. The update process appeared to have gone well at the time, though, and was not interrupted in any way. I have never had this specific problem with the computer/screen before, though.
I've read a couple of threads here regarding very similar issues with newer MBP models than mine, in which it has been suggested that the fault may lie in a malfunctioning NVIDIA GeForce graphics card. Now I've had that replaced already once because my screen went unexpectedly completely blank after a forced reboot 1-2 years ago (I don't remember exactly), but according to my System Profiler info the card still a GeForce 8600M GT. Can it be failing again?
I've also had some kind of a RAM card failure once. As far as I understood it, one of the RAM cards had fried and was preventing the computer from starting up. I replaced the bad 1GB card with a new 2GB one and the problem was resolved. Before the computer died, there were also other symptoms, but they were not similar to these.
I'm also doing the Apple Hardware Test tomorrow. Any other suggestions, though, than the graphics card?
*Could this have to do with Flash or Safari 5?* Just hear me out. Even though my computer has frozen from watching a video in just QuickTime, Safari 5 has always been open in the background at the same time, and more likely than not with websites with "Flash" content open. And come to think of it, before I performed the Snow Leopard and Safari 5 updates, I used to have daily problems viewing Flash video in Safari 5, the video content either suddenly showing up as "Plug-in Failure" or crashing the browser; I've had both Safari 5 and the Safari 5 Flash plug-in "quit unexpectedly" countless times in the past, almost daily. Sometimes the "Plug-in Failure" could be fixed just by refreshing the browser view; at other times, Safari 5 would stop showing Flash content altogether - Flash banner ads (such as Google ads), YouTube and other Flash videos, everything - until I quit and restarted Safari 5. BUT - since the day I updated everything via Software Update, I don't remember this happening; it never gets to "Plug-in Failure" now. Could it be worth trying to use e.g. just Firefox for a while or is there something (e.g. Adobe Flash) that I could try reinstall? Or am I just clutching at straws here?
Thanks for reading this long, long post!

Do you have access to an Apple Store? If so, it may be worth making an appointment at the genius bar and having them run the test for the NVIDIA problem. Since your replacement logic board still has the NVIDIA GeForce 8600 M GT video chip, it could be starting to happen to your replacement logic board.
I also agree with all of CMCSK's suggestions. Freezing is often associated with hard drive problems. You might also want to run SMART Utility:
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/systemdiskutilities/smartutility.html
You can download the demo and run it several times for free. It will give you a very comprehensive view of the physical health of your hard drive. If you still have the original one from 2007, it's getting pretty long in the tooth and may be approaching the end of its average useful life of 3-5 years. I just recently had to replace my original 2007 Fujitsu drive.
If your drive is headed south, and is also too small, it may be time to upgrade to a larger and faster drive.
The software update probably didn't cause the problems, but it may have exposed problems that were already in existence.
Good luck!

Retina MacBook Pro Screen Flickering

I've experienced screen flickering three times in the last week on my month old MacBook Pro with Retina Display. Each time it's happened I've had either Safari or Chrome running flash. The flickering gets worse when trying to jump to a certain time on a YouTube video and when scrolling. The issue disappears after a restart. I've tried to duplicate it on my own, but I can't. I had automatic graphics switching on and off and neither fixed the problem. I'm covered under Apple Care and I'm thinking of paying the Geniuses a visit.
I found a video on YouTube to give a better understanding of the problem. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oq0l-bHmSYE
It's identical to the video. I've not experienced any other problems other than this with my rMBP.
I have a few questions:
Anyone experience this? If so, what did you do?
Could this be a graphics issue? If it is, can it be repaired, or will Apple have to replace the Retina MacBook Pro?
Thank you.

Well i took mine back to Apple Store and got it fixed for free under my warranty. Mine was like 4 months old when the problem occured. If you still have Apple's warranty take it back and let them fix it, because there isn't anything you can do about it or fix yourself.

Macbook pro screen flickering brightness/black screen?

on saturday night I was using my MacBook pro and drinking water when my friend made me laugh so I accidentally spit like 5 drops of water onto my macbook screen. the drops leaking down into the base, not exactly the keyboard but just right under the screen where it would drip down. a instantly got a towel and dried it off but the macbooks screen statted flickering off and on. then it went permanently black but it seemed like it was still on. I tried to hold down the power button and it would make all the on and off noises just the screen wouldn't work. it would maybe flash for a second but then just go dark. I made the mistake of not turning it completely off when it first happened because I didn't know what to do but after maybe 10 minutes I turned it off and opened it up and kept it upside down the whole night to let the water come out if there was any. the next day around 12pm I turned it on and everything was working completely fine. no problems or signs that eer spit the water. then the next day (Monday) half way thru the day I was watching Netflix and I noticed every 5 minutes or so the screen would dim no matter what brightness I had it on and after a couple seconds it would go back to regular brightness. after like an hour it started doing that more frequently and it gave a black screen until I moved the cursor. I paniced and shut it off for the rest of day thinking it would be better the next day. well the next day (today) I turned it on and it was even worse. it's almost like the screen is having spaz attacks every 2 minutes. it'll go dim or bright randomly and then go black until I move the cursor and when it gowa dim there's these weird bright lights things coming from the bottom of the screen. but other then that the macbook works completely fine. iit's still usable, and the screen spasms are annoying but I could live with them. but first I want to make sure it's not going to get worse and worse everyday and just permantly die soon. im only 15 and Ive been dreading telling my parents what happened but if i have to replace something I have to tell them. I've tried researching what I have to replace but no one has my exact symptoms. I think I'd either have to replace the Lcd (whatever that is??) or the inverter. someone please help, thank you!!

on saturday night I was using my MacBook pro and drinking water when my friend made me laugh so I accidentally spit like 5 drops of water onto my macbook screen. the drops leaking down into the base, not exactly the keyboard but just right under the screen where it would drip down. a instantly got a towel and dried it off but the macbooks screen statted flickering off and on. then it went permanently black but it seemed like it was still on. I tried to hold down the power button and it would make all the on and off noises just the screen wouldn't work. it would maybe flash for a second but then just go dark. I made the mistake of not turning it completely off when it first happened because I didn't know what to do but after maybe 10 minutes I turned it off and opened it up and kept it upside down the whole night to let the water come out if there was any. the next day around 12pm I turned it on and everything was working completely fine. no problems or signs that eer spit the water. then the next day (Monday) half way thru the day I was watching Netflix and I noticed every 5 minutes or so the screen would dim no matter what brightness I had it on and after a couple seconds it would go back to regular brightness. after like an hour it started doing that more frequently and it gave a black screen until I moved the cursor. I paniced and shut it off for the rest of day thinking it would be better the next day. well the next day (today) I turned it on and it was even worse. it's almost like the screen is having spaz attacks every 2 minutes. it'll go dim or bright randomly and then go black until I move the cursor and when it gowa dim there's these weird bright lights things coming from the bottom of the screen. but other then that the macbook works completely fine. iit's still usable, and the screen spasms are annoying but I could live with them. but first I want to make sure it's not going to get worse and worse everyday and just permantly die soon. im only 15 and Ive been dreading telling my parents what happened but if i have to replace something I have to tell them. I've tried researching what I have to replace but no one has my exact symptoms. I think I'd either have to replace the Lcd (whatever that is??) or the inverter. someone please help, thank you!!

Late 2008 Macbook Pro Screen Flickers?

So I seem to have the problem that many other people have with the late 2008 Unibodies with the 9400m where the screen flickers every once in a while. I didnt pay attention before because it happened like once a week, but this morning it started happening every couple of minutes.
The bad part, my computer is out of apple care =/ How much do you guys think it'll cost me to get this fixed at apple? Also, if I do get it repaired by them, will I have any warranty after the repair so this issue does not happen again? Because from what I've read, when people sent it in for repair, sometimes it didn't get fixed.
Thanks guys.

Gallus.T wrote:
My question is that what i should do right now?? I bought this computer because I thought macbook pro is more reliable than other labtops,
MacBook Pros are the most reliable notebooks on the market today. However, every product line has its' lemons.
but I am so dissapointed with it right now. It already pass the 14 days to return the computer, what if the problem is still there when i get my macbook back?
I would call Apple Customer Relations.
I have noted the number for the US department herein.
Apple Customer Relations (800) 767-2775
Good luck, and let us know!

My macbook pro screen flickers and crashes computer - what is the problem

All of a sudden my macbook pro computer screen started flickering. Once this happens the computer freezes and it needs manual reboothing. Sometimes it comes back, buy it requires several reboothing attempts to get it going. What could be the problem, and how to fix it.

The proper diagnosis and fix will found at an Apple store genius bar. It is a GPU, display or display connection issue.
Ciao.

TS1367 My MacBook Pro screen won't turn on makes a repeating 3 beep sound

The screen to my MacBook Pro screen wont turn on and when I push the power button it just makes a 3 beep sound repeatedly. Is there any way t. Fix this or should I go to the store?

Take it in for service.
Apple Store appointments: http://apple.com/retail/geniusbar.

IMac 21" late 09: Slow, screen flickering/tearing and odd behavior - the problem that puzzles everyone

PLEASE HELP!
My iMac 21" late -09, started acting a bit wierd a year ago. Things got worse rapidly, it got slower, the screen flickers/tears (see link below), short moments of lost internet connection, lost connection whit the keyboard (might be keyboard that is broken), almost overheats when gaming and odd behavior on some webbsites whit galleries and/or videos.
Let's begin whit the screen: it's not vertikal lines or major distortions, just a subtle horisontal line that "wanders" from bottom to topp and some lagging from time to time. Looks like this: http://cl.ly/3i2W2o3S1D2T
The wierd thing is that hi-res does not mean more "tearing". Yes the lagg and risk of tearing increases, but the connection seems to be: lots of movement=tearing. So a pixeld 240p video of people dancing can be way worse than a news debbate in1080p!?!
Lost connection whit internet and keyboard rarely happens and is probably due to something else, but thought that was good to have in mind.
Odd behavior: galleries ex: when browsing images on Facebook in fullscreen, the image sometimes jumps around in the beginning and when clicking on next the same picture might appear again or just nothing at all. When scrolling down overwiewing a gallery, the updating stops and you can't scroll down further. This problem appers mainly on FB, deviantart also acts a bit wierd but there is often small issues whit image sites. Doesn't help to switch browsers either!
Videos: Youtube is horrible to use, stops loading, dosen't start loading, erases everything loaded (grey bar disapears and reloads), refuse to switch ressolution and suddenly stops the video like it was done! "ehh.. wasn't this 2min long? Not anymore, now its 34sec!". Mainly a Youtube problem but many similar sites can be a bit problematic to use.
NO, it's not the HTML-5 problem or any standard flash issue and using a different browser dosen't help!
Worst is the fact that most of these errors are not constant! One day your watching youtube or mabey a movie in VLC, a bit laggy, but almost no problem. Next day **** brakes lose and after 2hours of struggling you are ready to stabb yourself in the face!
What i tried: Most easy buggfixes that might cause the above problems, updating most things, Switched from OS X SL to OS X ML, complete reinstall and some things i probably forgot by now. Then went to MacStore for repair, they didn't find anything wrong and said it worked fine after the standard diagnostic/repair program!?! Went home and everything was the same! Went a second time to MacStore, same result.
So I'v reinstalled a few times and it seems to improve the Mac. But 2-3weeks later every error is back, even if I barely installed or downloaded anything!?!
Any idea what this could be? Or is the graphic card broken and MacStore has a blind, inbred muppet as a technician?

No I didn't. The first time i explained the problem thoroughly and thought that they just couldn't miss such a visual error. I was wrong. The second time the technician wasn't there so i showed the above clip to the salesstaff and explained everything onceagain. Later the technician called me and we talked for 10min.
Btw, the problems always "manifests themselves", just varies between strenght and frequence.
But all other issues aside, what could cause the tearing of the screen as seen int the above clip?

Translucent impromptu possible "hacker" message interrupts current session, locks MacBook Pro screen and demands that I restart by holding down the power button of my LapTop to turn it off first. Any thought? Could this be another way to mess with us?

I was listening to a YouTube video on the history of X15 rocket airplanes. All of sudden, out of the blue a translucent back message drops top down, stops the video, locks up my MacBook Pro screen and demands that I restart my lapTop by first holding down my power switch, then turn the lapTop back on. This has never happened to me before. The message was in black & white, and in about 6 languages: English, French, Spanish, Dutch, Japanese, Chinese. Does any one recognize what this might be?
The Computer turned back on just fine as if nothing had Now I am freeking out that they could be reading my key strokes or something. Could they have used this tactic to install malicious software on my computer by first taking away my ability to do anything about it being that I am not a software engineer? Can any one think of anything simillar? I reported this as a bug to APPLE the regular way, then cleared my Safari cookies, then run software update which returned nothing new as in " your software is up to date at this time."
Can any one please help?
A-NmN.

Hi stedman1,
Thank you so much. This seems to make sense to me now. I was freaking out a bit that some hacker could be messing with my MacBook Pro. I will be monitoring this issue from now on as it has never happened before.
A-NmN.

Cleaning MacBook Pro screens

Does anyone know if it is safe to use Kensington's Screen Guardian to clean a MacBook Pro screen? The product contains: Water, 2-Butoxyethanol and Ethanol. Also can this cleaner be used on an iMac and a iPod Touch screens. Thanks for your help.

Apple recommends against using any cleaner with alcohol or ammonia to clean any LCD screen. Those chemicals may damage the screen coating. The best way to clean a laptop screen is to use a microfiber wipe (such as those sold to clean eyeglasses) or a damp ( not wet) soft lint-free cloth. For more information, see:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3226
Butyl cellusolve, a component of Screen Guardian (according to their material safety data sheet), is neurotoxic among other toxicities, by the way, so I'd avoid it even if it weren't risky on LCDs.
Regards.
Message was edited by: Dave Sawyer

New iMac 27inch screen flickering/tearing/shutoff (continued)

This thread is a continuation of [New iMac 27inch screen flickering/tearing/shutoff|http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=22 12682]. The thread was becoming too long and was causing some browsers to time out. The older thread has been locked.

citrus101 wrote:
Hi Brett L,
thank you for the coordination of this helpful thread. Are you Apple? If yes, please allow me to ask you three questions:
1) The Display Firmware stopped for over 90% the flicker issue, but what has this Firmware changed exactly?
2) Is Apple preparing a fix for the yellow tinge?
3) When will it be save to buy a new iMac?
Thank you for your efforts.
Hello Citrus.
Excellent questions.
I hope that Apple will authorize Brett L. to provide us with some clear, honest answers to them . . . although, as I pointed out before, it would seem by the latest messages that have been posted in this thread -- that is, the *original thread* -- that through their actions, Apple has already provided us with their answer -- and solution -- to the yellow tinge issue; and that is the replacement of the LCD panel.
As to what the most recent display firmware update did, I am doubtful that Apple will allow Brett to reveal that kind of information, but we can be hopeful.
As far as when it will be safe to purchase a new iMac, I seriously doubt that Apple will say anything which would suggest that it is not safe to purchase a new iMac now. What company is going to say "Don't buy our product now. It's not safe"?
For my part, I have now contacted Apple regarding the issues that I am having with my 27" iMac, and I will wait over the next few days to see how things play out. Based on the testimonies of others here, I don't expect Apple to disappoint. I have the confidence that they want to leave me a satisfied customer who will continue to purchase their products in the future.
Message was edited by: Warren Beasley

Comparing MacBook Pro screen with Intel iMac

I'm wondering if anyone here that has a MacBook Pro has had a chance to compare its quality to another mac's screen. I've been working on trying to colour-calibrate my MacBook Pro using SuperCal, and I've noticed that the colour on the MacBook Pro is nowhere near as nice as on the intel iMac.
Obviously expecting a laptop screen to look as good as the larger iMacs is a bit much, but I was still very surprised at the difference in quality.
Anyone else noticed this?

The MacBook Pro screen is not as bright or vibrant as any plug-in type LCD I've compared it to.
However, it is much nicer than any of my previous laptops (including an Aluminum Powerbook G4). It is significantly brighter, with somewhat better color.
It would be nice if the laptop had a better backlight that could turn on when plugged in, but that's probably up there with my wish for a 2nd processor that would turn on during plug-in as well...
Cheers,
Josh

Macbook pro screen dims after waking from sleep?

Does anyone know why my macbook pro screen dims when waking from sleep or waking from my screen saver? I can't get it to stop doing this. Thanks.

It sounds like I have the same thing happening. It's more like the colors are washed out, like there is less contrast. I have a hot corner set up for my screen saver. Once I activate the screen saver for a second and then deactivate it, the Macbook screen goes back to normal. I have a 30" Samsung 305T monitor set up as a second (main) screen for when I'm working at home, which is most of the time. I haven't had it unplugged from the Macbook since this started, so I don't know if it happens by itself. I do know that the Samsung looks fine when waking up from the screen saver at the same time.
I tried to find others with this problem in this forum, but got tired of looking through all the other posts that had nothing to do with this problem.
Can anyone help us?

Macbook Pro Screen wakes up from sleep without any acitvity

I've set my MacBook Pro screen to turn off after two minutes of activity. I've had this setting for all my Macs and I've never had any problems.
Recently though, my MacBook Pro's screen turns on by itself without me touching the computer or any mouse attached to it. What could be the problem?
It's really annoying when the screen turns on at night.
Any help will be appreciated.

I have the same problem. I brought up console and there is nothing at the same time as the screen turning on. My situation is as follows:
I put on a podcast. The only applications running are firefox and iTunes. I turn the screen brightness all the way down with the F1 key, then mouse over the corner of the screen set to turn the monitor off.
After about 6 minutes, the screen comes back on at brightness level 1. If I touch a button or the trackpad the screen turns back off. It stays off for about 6 more minutes and does it again.
Edit: I just checked the logs with all showing and the only thing I see is a Wake Reason = EC LID0.
Any tips?

My MacBook pro screen is broken (awaiting part for repair) can I transfer keynotes pres onto iPad air? Without a home screen to navigate?

I am eagerly awaiting the correct parts to repair my MacBook pro screen (my husband dropped it). I have an iPad air but for some reason iCloud has only stored a very old copy of a keynotes presentation I need? Anyway to transfer with being able to see MacBook screen to guide me?
Cheers

You misunderstand the memory management scheme and misinterpret the display you're seeing.
To start with, free memory is wasted memory. Once some disk contents have been brought in, it is wasteful to discard that data just to make the RAM that it occupied "free." Inactive memory is memory that is not currently used, can be given to an application that needs it without doing any disk I/O (or used as a destination for reading disk content) but which currently holds disk data that might be useful in the future. I.e., it's file content of some sort.
To get a better idea of how Mac OS X manages RAM and how to interpret the Activity Monitory dispaly, see this tech note: Mac OS X: Reading system memory usage in Activity Monitor.
Rosetta is indeed memory hungry, but it's an interim solution. With 2 GB of RAM installed, you can run a lot of applications with alacrity.
Lastly, your Safari, an Intel-native application, is currently using 2 GB. This is a known issue with Safari, though it seems to me that it has gotten better since 2.0.3 was released in 10.4.6. Still, it's a bit of a memory hog, to be sure. Now that Firefox, Camino and Seamonkey are all available in Universal (Intel native) forms, you have alternatives. Firefox seems a lot more parsimonious when it comes to RAM.
Randall Schulz

Macbook pro screen flickering/tearing

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