Random black screen pauses in games

Hi,
So I recently built a brand new machine with all new parts.
The relevant specs:
1 MSI Twin Frozr III GTX 570
Asus p8z68-v pro/gren3
Corsair Vengeance 8GB
The only thing I was able to recycle from my old machine was my Corsair 520HX power supply.
So anyways, the new machine has been great, but I'm noticing in quite a few games I get random flashes to a black screen, I hear the fan on the video card shut off, and then about 1 second later it comes back on as if nothing happened.
I'm noticing this most frequently in both Batman: Arkham City, and Witcher 2.
With Arkham City it also sometimes simply crashes when this happens. Most of the time in both games, it seems to be when its loading new textures on the card, like streaming sections on Arkham City, or cutscenes on Witcher 2.
In both I can see it after the reload stream back in the textures when it recovers.
The video card is running at stock settings, and I've seen this with or without my CPU being overclocked (44x multiplier no voltage increase).
I've looked at the temps and the video card never gets over 45-50, and the CPU 45 so I don't think its pure temperature.
In other games instead of a hard crash, I infrequently seem to just be forcibly alt-tabbed to windows. The game will still be running, but I can't get back into it.
A couple of games where I've seen this: Battlefield 3 and Shattered Horizons.
Any ideas? These parts are brand new, so I'm a little skittish that something is defective but I have no idea what. Also from what I've read the Corsair HX520 power supply SHOULD be enough, but I'm not so sure.
I really don't want to spaz and buy a new power supply, any ideas? Can I diagnose this? I can swap to an old 8800GTS, but I won't be running at NEARLY the same settings in these games so I'm not sure how relevant it will be?
P.S. Am I hurting my system by playing? I'm on vacation at the moment, and would like to continue to enjoy my new system. If I have to replace something I'd like to wait until next week, but I'm a little worried I'm killing a component?

Quote from: Toth29 on 29-December-11, 05:29:49
Thats quite difficult for me to do, but I can try. Best guess though, does this seem more like a faulty GPU or a power supply thats not big enough. I mean I read online that a 520HX ought to be enough, but my supply is 4 years old. If it is my power supply, have I already damaged my components?
Quote
If it is my power supply, have I already damaged my components?
Don't think so, if its your PSU, the VGA should work just fine with another decent one PSU

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R9 290 randomly black screens

Hi,
I've been having issues with my R9 290. Every once in awhile it likes to black screen and lock up the entire system. I'm currently running the latest beta drivers (14.2) but the problem has been taking place even on the current non beta drivers.
I'm running Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit and I have a ThermalTake 850w power supply. The card seems to run perfectly other than just the random black screen crashes.
Any help would be appreciated.

The black screen and crashes are being discussed in the AMD forum as well. http://forums.amd.com/game/messageview.cfm?catid=488&threadid=170363 and http://forums.amd.com/game/messageview.cfm?catid=440&threadid=169203 Although it started off with the 270 it seems that the 280 and 290 are affected as well.
For some a VBIOS upgrade has solved the problems.

Random black screen freezes - GPU or PSU issue?

Relevant specs:
Gigabyte Z87
MSI GTX 770 (N770 TF 2GD5/OC) - stock speeds, 335.23 WHQL drivers
i7 4771
750w Antec High Current Gamer
Windows 8.1 Pro 64 bit
For the past three weeks, this setup has been very stable. I then went on vacation for 3 days and then came back. All of a sudden, I then started getting random black screens (which occured in the middle two consecutive LOL matches, I'm quite sure I'm in the tribunal now...). If I'm in the middle of a game, the sound will stutter, and the game/system might appear that it's still playing for a few more seconds even though I can't see anything. I either have to manually reboot, or it'll just restart itself. I don't notice any error message when my system restarts. I tried doing a 3DMARK run to stress-test it, and it black-screened during Fire Strike. Sometimes I'll get a black screen at the Windows desktop doing nothing in particular to stress the card; I even got one in my BIOS setup screen!
This morning, I did a fresh boot and ran GPU-Z. The VDDC graph doesn't look quite right to me, given all the hiccups. Oh, and 5 minutes after that screenshot, another black screen.
The reason I mention the PSU is 1) I noticed that that particular PSU is rated 40A on the 12V rail, and yet the GPU requires at least 42A. but there are two 12V rails on that PSU, for 80A, which should be more than sufficient, and 2) I didn't notice any artifacts prior to any black screen. It's just weird that these would happening out of the blue - it sounds like the kind of issue that would've been present on day 1.
Any thoughts?

I have the same issues.
Specs:
I7-4771
ASRock B85M Pro4
MSI GeForce GTX 750 [N750 TF 1GD5/OC]
Super Flower Golden King SF-550P14PE 550W
Windows 8.1 Pro 64bit
Same thing on Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit
Tried both WHQL and beta drivers. This is the second GTX 750 with the same issues, my first card was replaced.

Random black screen using R4870-T2D1G-OC

Hello,
First post here and I hope to provide as much info as I can as I did a search and couldn't find an answer for my issue, sorry for the long read.
I am using the 4870 1GB OC card and have random black screen that forces me to do a hard reset on my pc to recover when using 3d games, or if the pc enters standby or hibernation enabled (have that cut off now). The problem has happened in every game in my collection, 3d mark vantage (paid version), Bioshock, the witcher, Call of Duty 4, Flight Sim X, Warhammer Online, World of Warcraft, Crysis, and Crysis Warhead. It happens at random times can be from 2 minutes to 1 hour of playtime or benchmark time.
What I have done to attempt to fix the problem:
-tried another card from the store
-Monitored temps and they are fine idle is around 45c max load recorded during partial benchmark was 68c.
-removed all current drivers and used the ones from ati from 8.6 to every driver up to 8.10 with the hotfix, went back to MSI drivers.
-thought the problem may have been vista 64, so I did a fresh install of windows xp home 32bit same problem.
-reseated the card double checked connections.
-used an enermax psu but replaced it back with my PC power cooling.
-removed 2gb of memory from my system.
-removed my x-fi sound card, and tried onboard instead
-removed my raid 0 setup and used a single 500gb drive
-Tried the setup on a media series DP35 Intel board using a q6600 and 2gb of mushkin memory.
-researched the issue online more so then ever, found many posts of the problem but no solution
-gave up hope, put my system back to how it was and reinstalled crummy ol' 8800gt and have no issues.
Please help out with any advice or suggestions that may work, I'm just sick of reinstalling windows and importing my data back, and I have replaced everything troubleshooting myself except for the monitor, I only have this one.
My system is:
-GA-P35-DQ6
-Core2Quad QX6850
-4x1GB KingstonHyperX 1066 DDR2
-Sound Blaster X-Fi xtreme gamer
-PC Power Cooling 750w
-2x seagate 500gb 32mb 7200.11 drives
-Vista 64 Home-Premium SP1
-ViewEra 20.1" monitor at 1680x1050 resolution
Thank You
-edit: I also am using the latest drivers for all components and am sticking with the MSI drivers now, the event viewer has never shown any error log except that it had an unexpected shutdown (from me having to reset the pc)

Yes, they are two different pcs, only parts that are the same of those two pc's is the case (antec 900) and the monitor (ViewEra 20.1" at 1680x1050)
PC #1
MB: GA-P35-DQ6 (F9b bios, although I have tried stable ones up till I got the Beta bios.
CPU: INTEL QX6850
RAM: KingstonHyperX 1066 4x1GB DDR2 2.2v (manufacture's spec for that memory)
PSU: PC Power Cooling 750w PPCS750QBL
Sound Card: X-fi XtremeGamer
Hard Drive: Seagate 7200.11 500gb drive
Operating System: Windows Vista 64bit Home-Premium SP1
PC #2
MB: Asus P5B-E (I had originally said that it was an Intel DP35, after double checking it was an Asus board)
CPU: Intel Core2Quad Q6600
RAM: Mushkin DDR2 1.8v 800mhz
PSU: Enermax 620w
Sound Card: On board
Hard Drive: Seagate 7200.11 500gb drive (same model as PC #1 but it is a different drive)
Operating System: Windows XP Home SP2 (also tried SP3)
Both machines honestly have ran memtest86 for many loops, I have ran SeaTools on the hard drives, and prime95 with a program ATI Tool running as well stressing the video. With HardwareMonitor enabled temps are fine, pc runs good still can browse the internet, run it overnight without any crashes.
Usually the moment the Futuremark Vantage gets to GPU test #2 the monitor goes blank, pc is still running in the background. Within an hour of playing any DX10 or DX9.0c video game the same problem happens. Both of these pc's will function fine unless 3d apps are running, or if the pc is put into standby it will not recover.
Both of these two pc's using an Nvidia 8800GT 512mb OC card the pc's function fine, play games fine, go into standby fine.
What I am wondering is what is the next step, RMA the card again? The problem has happened on PC #1 with both cards, only did this troubleshooting when the second card had same problem as first one. Could there be any possibility that it is the monitor? (I have only been able to test what I have on hand to test with, don't have a second LCD but can get one if needed). Or could it be something software? I have tried virtually every combination of driver with or without the ATI Console, and used MSI's Aug 08 release of their driver, and I have never seen any errors in event viewer either.
Hope that helps clear it up some.

Apple IMac 27 has a problem. Random black screen. Over 1 year without any fix

Apple IMac 27 has a problem.
Random black screen.
Over 1 year without any successful fix.
IMac 27 10.8.4 (12E55) - bought in 2010
3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB 1067 Mhz RAM
Graphics ATI Radeon HD 4670 256 MB
The IMac computer screen goes black randomly but the machine still running beyond.
In order to go back to normal i need to awake the computer by hitting with the pointer a hot corner previously created " sleep mode" ( top left ).
..the black screen would come back after one second again..and then again and then again and then again..with different intervals..sometime 2 seconds after the other, sometime as soon as appears the user login screen.
I took the machine to an Apple Store two times over one year, they opened, cleaned it but they didn't replace anything has they could not understand what they real problem was. I was happy for that because they didn't try to make me spend money on something which was not going to solve my issue for sure.
Last time i kindly asked them to inspect everything meticulously, part by part, i left the machine with them for over 2 months. They couldn't understand why this was happening..after couple of weeks, 5 more machines came in with the same problem.
On some of them., upon request of the client they changed the graphic card but apparently this was not the fix, the problem come back again. Apparently changing the graphic card or the screen or else it didn't solve any problem to anyone. I'm almost thinking to "trough it out of the window"..we all spend money for this machines and i think we need to know if Apple is looking in to this or not.
Lately i tried to do an SMS RESET and PRAM RESET, it feels it got better a little but problem still coming back.
Also, all usb devices are disconnected and the problem still there
Below you will see a copy of the console report. I honestly don't understand much of it as i'm not a computer guy.
27/07/2013 11:03:39.837 WindowServer[119]: Created shield window 0xb3 for display 0x04272d40
27/07/2013 11:03:39.837 WindowServer[119]: device_generate_desktop_screenshot: authw 0x7fad92c79dc0(2000), shield 0x7fad92c34370(2001)
27/07/2013 11:03:39.906 WindowServer[119]: device_generate_lock_screen_screenshot: authw 0x7fad92c79dc0(2000), shield 0x7fad92c34370(2001)
27/07/2013 11:03:41.701 WindowServer[119]: handle_will_sleep_auth_and_shield_windows: releasing authw 0x7fad92c79dc0(2000), shield 0x7fad92c34370(2001), lock state 3
27/07/2013 11:03:41.702 WindowServer[119]: handle_will_sleep_auth_and_shield_windows: err 0x0
27/07/2013 11:03:41.704 WindowServer[119]: Created shield window 0xb4 for display 0x003f003d
27/07/2013 11:03:41.704 WindowServer[119]: handle_will_sleep_auth_and_shield_windows: releasing authw 0x7fad92c79dc0(2002), shield 0x7fad92c34370(2001), lock state 3
27/07/2013 11:03:41.704 WindowServer[119]: handle_will_sleep_auth_and_shield_windows: err 0x0
27/07/2013 11:03:45.186 com.apple.launchd.peruser.502[163]: (com.akamai.client.plist[740]) Bug: 12E55: launchd + 95444 [7DCC9489-2DF5-3807-83FA-EF5666EE8078]: 0xd
27/07/2013 11:03:45.208 com.apple.launchd.peruser.502[163]: (com.akamai.client.plist) Throttling respawn: Will start in 10 seconds
27/07/2013 11:03:52.117 WindowServer[119]: CGXSetWindowBackgroundBlurRadius: Invalid window 0xffffffff
27/07/2013 11:03:52.118 loginwindow[43]: find_shared_window: WID -1
27/07/2013 11:03:52.118 loginwindow[43]: CGSGetWindowTags: Invalid window 0xffffffff
27/07/2013 11:03:52.118 loginwindow[43]: find_shared_window: WID -1
27/07/2013 11:03:52.118 loginwindow[43]: CGSSetWindowTags: Invalid window 0xffffffff
27/07/2013 11:03:53.763 WindowServer[119]: Created shield window 0xba for display 0x04272d40
27/07/2013 11:03:53.763 WindowServer[119]: device_generate_desktop_screenshot: authw 0x7fad92c87490(2000), shield 0x7fad92e6eef0(2001)
27/07/2013 11:03:53.838 WindowServer[119]: device_generate_lock_screen_screenshot: authw 0x7fad92c87490(2000), shield 0x7fad92e6eef0(2001)
27/07/2013 11:03:53.880 WindowServer[119]: handle_will_sleep_auth_and_shield_windows: releasing authw 0x7fad92c87490(2000), shield 0x7fad92e6eef0(2001), lock state 3
27/07/2013 11:03:53.880 WindowServer[119]: handle_will_sleep_auth_and_shield_windows: err 0x0
27/07/2013 11:03:53.883 WindowServer[119]: Created shield window 0xbb for display 0x003f003d
27/07/2013 11:03:53.883 WindowServer[119]: handle_will_sleep_auth_and_shield_windows: releasing authw 0x7fad92c87490(2002), shield 0x7fad92e6eef0(2001), lock state 3
27/07/2013 11:03:53.883 WindowServer[119]: handle_will_sleep_auth_and_shield_windows: err 0x0
27/07/2013 11:03:55.209 com.apple.launchd.peruser.502[163]: (com.akamai.client.plist[742]) Bug: 12E55: launchd + 95444 [7DCC9489-2DF5-3807-83FA-EF5666EE8078]: 0xd
27/07/2013 11:03:55.252 com.apple.launchd.peruser.502[163]: (com.akamai.client.plist) Throttling respawn: Will start in 10 seconds
27/07/2013 11:04:04.482 WindowServer[119]: CGXSetWindowBackgroundBlurRadius: Invalid window 0xffffffff
27/07/2013 11:04:04.482 loginwindow[43]: find_shared_window: WID -1
27/07/2013 11:04:04.483 loginwindow[43]: CGSGetWindowTags: Invalid window 0xffffffff
27/07/2013 11:04:04.483 loginwindow[43]: find_shared_window: WID -1
27/07/2013 11:04:04.483 loginwindow[43]: CGSSetWindowTags: Invalid window 0xffffffff
27/07/2013 11:04:04.704 WindowServer[119]: Created shield window 0xbf for display 0x04272d40
27/07/2013 11:04:04.726 WindowServer[119]: device_generate_desktop_screenshot: authw 0x7fad92ebdb20(2000), shield 0x7fad92e6eef0(2001)
27/07/2013 11:04:04.795 WindowServer[119]: device_generate_lock_screen_screenshot: authw 0x7fad92ebdb20(2000), shield 0x7fad92e6eef0(2001)
27/07/2013 11:04:05.245 WindowServer[119]: handle_will_sleep_auth_and_shield_windows: releasing authw 0x7fad92ebdb20(2000), shield 0x7fad92e6eef0(2001), lock state 3
27/07/2013 11:04:05.246 WindowServer[119]: handle_will_sleep_auth_and_shield_windows: err 0x0
27/07/2013 11:04:05.253 com.apple.launchd.peruser.502[163]: (com.akamai.client.plist[744]) Bug: 12E55: launchd + 95444 [7DCC9489-2DF5-3807-83FA-EF5666EE8078]: 0xd
27/07/2013 11:04:05.249 WindowServer[119]: Created shield window 0xc0 for display 0x003f003d
27/07/2013 11:04:05.249 WindowServer[119]: handle_will_sleep_auth_and_shield_windows: releasing authw 0x7fad92ebdb20(2002), shield 0x7fad92e6eef0(2001), lock state 3
27/07/2013 11:04:05.249 WindowServer[119]: handle_will_sleep_auth_and_shield_windows: err 0x0
I'm now thinking to try to take the machine to its original firmware and see if it still does it, does anyone have any sugestion?
I use a lot photoshop and other image software, this computer is essential for my work. For more then one year this issue caused me problems.
Luckly i have a Macbook Pro too and i managed to do some of my work there. At last I was thinking to buy an external screen and attach it to the Macbook pro in order to work on my big images. But who wants to spend money again!!!???? This is not a fixture, this is silly. I wish to have my IMAc working again.
The warranty it's obviously over and this problem happened right after the warranty was over...
I write this post because i'm so tired of this issue and online nothing can be found apart from posts from so many people that have the same problem and no fixture has been found.
The only fixture seams to be to buy a new computer... Ole'!!!..new money flowing in in the cashier!! forget it!!! i would rather change company if apple doesn't respond to this.
For over 10 years i have been a Apple owner..
When this problem appears it's like someone it's playing a joke at you...
Comments welcome..
Thanks

Hi, I've seem to have found out the source of the problem.
The issue is related to heat, and an iMac 27" gets hot pretty fast.
If I boot the iMac straight after first start into Windows 7 I seem to get a lit built-in display at all times. I can also boot OS X first and then into Windows 7 and the built-in screen get lit every time as long as the iMac isn't hot.
Strange thing is that the monitor connected to the display port gets lit every time. So I can only assume that the heat only interfere with output to the built-in LED screen.
So this iMac is going to an Apple premium reseller for service, and I'll tell you guys how it went.

IMac 27 Late 2009 with Random black screen at startup of Windows 7!

Hi, I'll try to explain the my random black screen issue as best I can.
I have a boot camp partition with Windows 7 x64 Ultimate installed.
I used the USB method to install, all goes well and Windows 7 gets installed, I update drivers, install boot camp etc. all is good, right!
My problem is that everything seems to be in working order, but the built in LED screen will only get lit/active in 1 out of 5 times at startup of Windows, eg. the built in screen stays black/off (black screen issue), like the install issue on iMac 27 I7 w/ATI 4850.
NOTE! When booting OS X the built in LED screen gets lit/active on every startup.
So what I did was connect a second LCD monitor via Display port to DVI, this monitor/screen has no issues, it gets lit/active on every startup of Windows, even if the built in screen/monitor stays black/off (black screen issue).
NOTE! I have tested both the latest drivers from Apple (10.4 19/MAR/2010, found on the USB install method) and AMD ATI Catalyst Driver (10.8 25/AUG/2010). The issue remains on both Apple released drivers and AMD ATI released drives.
1. So to me it seems like there are some detection/communication issues between the built in monitor and the video card on Windows 7, as there is no issue detecting and activating a monitor connected to the display port.
Are we missing a monitor driver in Windows that OS X has, or is this a hardware issue that Apple knows about and compensates for in OS X with on load firmware, driver or a kernel fix?
2. Does anyone else have this issue on their 27" iMac Late 2009 I7, ATI HD 4850 machine?
If yes, did you manage to solve it?
Thanks for any help on this issue.
Cheers,
Kevin

Hi, I've seem to have found out the source of the problem.
The issue is related to heat, and an iMac 27" gets hot pretty fast.
If I boot the iMac straight after first start into Windows 7 I seem to get a lit built-in display at all times. I can also boot OS X first and then into Windows 7 and the built-in screen get lit every time as long as the iMac isn't hot.
Strange thing is that the monitor connected to the display port gets lit every time. So I can only assume that the heat only interfere with output to the built-in LED screen.
So this iMac is going to an Apple premium reseller for service, and I'll tell you guys how it went.

How do I find out what is causing a random black screen on iMac?

Hello I get random black screen on a iMac and I haven't made any hardware changes. How can I find out what is causing this?
Thanks
Jer
iMac 2.66 core 2 duo with Snow Leopard 10.6.8

You can do an SMC and PRAM reset. These won't hurt anything and 'might,' maybe help the screen issue. If it doesn't, then take it into an Apple store or AASP for their guidance and advance testing diagnostics.
SMC:
Shut down the computer.
Unplug the computer's power cord.
Wait fifteen seconds.
Attach the computer's power cord.
Wait five seconds, then press the power button to turn on the computer.
PRAM:
Shut down the computer.
Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
Turn on the computer.
Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
Release the keys.

Re: MSI N750Ti TF 2GD5/OC, random black screen from hdmi output

Hi i have the same problem but i have MSI GTX 760 and have random black screens and i try 2 different HDMI cables.
i have geforce experience program on updates drivers and i have Win 7 64 bit and it is doing on wow/Diablo 3/BF 4/BF bad company .... PLS help

You're welcome. Though I don't work for MSI, I am just a user like you
Even though I don't work for MSI, I admit that this forum is part of my boring life

MSI N750Ti TF 2GD5/OC, random black screen from hdmi output

Hi,
Bought a MSI N750Ti TF 2GD5/OC and connected it to two monitors. My main monitor is connected to the hdmi port, and the other to the DVI one. I get random black screens on my main monitor. They last about 3-4 seconds, and my secondary screen just runs on happily. Unfortunately the latter screen doesn't support hdmi, otherwise I'd simply switch the outputs to see if it's the monitor or the card. However, I do suspect the card because I can 'break' or trigger the black screen by manipulating the hdmi cable at the card's output.
Anyway, is this a known issue or should I experiment a bit more? If it is know, what's a good solution?
I did update my drivers, btw.
Cheers!

Quote from: Svet on 05-December-14, 18:36:37
Quote from: didi_volente on 05-December-14, 17:55:49
Unfortunately the latter screen doesn't support hdmi
what do you mean by this?
That I only have one monitor with an hdmi input.
Quote
have you tried different HDMI cable? or/and different display with HDMI?
Will try a different cable, and see above.

IPod Screen Randomly Blacks Out, Pauses/Resumes Music

The short of it:
My iPod (80 GB, 5th generation) randomly pauses and resumes playing music; screen also randomly goes completely black (not dimmed, but black) though iPod still appears fully operational (can still hear the digital "clicking/turning" sound of the wheel if I scroll).
The details:
A few weeks ago I did something I very frequently do - plugged in my iPod to my PC, synced it up via iTunes, and ejected it from iTunes. Only thing the least bit different was that this was the first time for me to hook my iPod up to iTunes since adding an iPhone to my collection and having synced that iPhone up via iTunes. Not sure that would matter, but just some additional info.
I then proceeded on a several week long vacation. I pulled out my iPod, hooked it up via the AUX jack in my car to the car's audio system, and immediately noticed problems. Songs would just randomly pause and then resume play. I confirmed this wasn't an issue with the earphone jack (since I know the iPod was designed to pause music when the earphones come unplugged). I looked at the device itself and began noticing that the screen was randomly blacking out though the iPod was clearly still "working" - this was happening whether I was invoking the wheel on the iPod or just holding the device.
Since I was on vacation, with hope of easily getting this resolved, I stopped by an Apple store. A tech there did a Restore of the device via iTunes through their Mac setups, and that made no difference. The Apple tech said my hard drive had gone bad, though I'm not sure I completely believe that. (I've heard stories before of people being given that diagnosis when really that wasn't the case.) I'm willing to replace the hard drive myself, but I don't want to go through all that just to find out that's not really the problem.
I got home, hooked the iPod back up to my PC via iTunes. iTunes immediately recognized that the iPod was previous formatted by a Mac and so proceeded with doing a format/restore for the PC. Still, problems persist with iPod.
I've run the automatic diagnostics on it (M25 Diagnostic 0.7) and it completed with no errors, green screen.
I didn't drop it, damage it, nothing. It's in practically new condition. Apple tech said that something people with the iPods that operate on hard drive storage (as opposed to memory storage) more frequently experience are problems with the hard drive because they wear the iPod when they exercise, and those hard drives don't take the rigorous running movement well at all. Not the case with me. Most "exercise" my iPod's gotten is a leisurely walk. Its usage (in order of frequency): flat beside me as I listen to music; hooked up via the AUX jack to my car's audio system as it sits in a cup holder; hooked into an external speaker via USB out.
Any help you all can offer to confirm the problem or resolve it would be greatly appreciated. I'm willing to fix it on my own (assuming repairs are not cost prohibitive), but just want to be sure I'm not wasting money buying the wrong parts or trying to fix something that simply can't be fixed.
Thanks gurus!!!

Someone? Anyone? Help, please...

EMac random black screen - advice needed

I have an eMac G4 1GB, max RAM, OS10.5 Leopard. I have recently had the black screen problem. It randomly turns black, with everything running in the background. The screen then returns to normal a few minutes later. It sometimes runs for hours without a problem, other times it will happen several times a day. The machine runs perfectly otherwise... would be great to fix it if possible.
So far I have tried the following:
- Opened the eMac and cleaned the interior of dust
- PRAM reset
- Replaced the battery (which was dying because the date would reset on unplugging).
Are there any other straightforward things I can try, or is this most probably a hardware failure and ultimately a write-off?
Any ideas appreciated.

For the Fetcher to show in Activity Monitor, you need to change AM's "Show" setting from its default of "My Processes" to "All Processes." The setting is in the top bar of the AM window:
Thus set, some other bandits might show up, too.
To neuter Top Sites so the Fetcher is not activated, go to Safari > Preferences and:
1) on the General tab, make sure no "open with" option is set to "Top Sites."
2) uncheck anything mentioning Top Sites in the Bookmarks tab.
3) go to "Reset Safari..." in the Safari menu and select the two boxes shown here:
then reset.
That procedure gets rid of a nuisance background process without deleting anything. You can restore Top Sites with a few mousclicks should you need it. On a PPC with limited RAM, I find Top Sites is not my friend.
Even when I upgraded to a hot quad-core i7 iMac, I still turned it off. It;s eye candy I don;t need.
Camino is more respectful of system resources than Safari in my experience.

Boot camp gets black screen when open games

Hi apple support.
I recently installed windows 7 ultimate 64 bit on my MBP (using boot camp) and i also downloaded all the drivers from the boot camp assistant.
After the installation i run in to these problems. Everytime im trying to play games (even the standard chess games in windows 7 ultimate), the screen goes totally black, but there is still light on the keyboard and the computer is still running. Then i need to shut down the computer and start it again.
MBP specs:
2,8 GHz intel core i7
4GB 1067 MHz DDR3
Intel HD Graphics 288 MB (nvidia geforce gt330m)
Software: OS X 10.8.2
I really tried everything, like downloading drivers for my graphic-card, updated newest updates from Windows Update.
HELP

I too have had this issue occur on one of my MBPs (early 2009 15" 2.4 A1286).
I would launch steam in windows bootcamp environment and temps would go to mid/upper 60s. Playing simple game such as AOE III (circa 2006 game) and after 10 minutes of gaming the screen goes black. Game sound is still on with the screen black. Requires hard reboot. I installed Lubbos Fan Control to occaisionally monitor temps while in game (using windowed game mode or via alt+tab to see the temps). Temps would be at mid to upper 80s. So I reasoned that it was a thermal efficiency issue.
The laptop is about 4 years old so I bought replacement fans incase they were struggling to spin/cool efficiently. I also did an SMC reset since some of the thermal charateristics of the Mac are controlled by SMC. Ordered new thermal grease too.
Since installing the new fans, SMC reset, applying the thermal grease to the GPUs and to the CPU... temps in OS X at idle are low to mid 40s (30s at startup in OS X). Temps in windows bootcamp environment are at about 62c at startup but settle to mid/high 40s at after a few minutes at idle (startup in windows has alot of services restarting, etc which accounts for the 60s temps at startup). SImple IE browsing is at low 50s (currently at 52c as I type this).
Now when I launch Steam, the temps while in windows climb to 60s. When in AOE III, temps can still climb to mid/uper 70s but never over 80c. I haven't had the black screen appear again, but I'll continue to test and monitor to be certain it doesn't return. One thing is certain, the temps are alot better now.
Macs running windows via bootcamp just simply run hotter than in OS X when doing similar things (Just launching steam in wondows, without running a game causes a 10c increase), but you can do a few things as noted above to try to keep the temps down.
Hope that helps.
Ben

PS3 stays in black screen after choosing game or PS store

Hi! My playstation stays in black screen when ever i try to run a game, demo or even the Playstation Store! it boots the playstation to the "Home screen" but when i launch a game or the Playstation Store it goes to black screen!

The problem once happened to me. Launching games was fine, both disc and downloads but launching apps such as netflix or the store resulted in a black screen. Initially I thought it was the internet service but by the morning the problem sorted itself out.
Today, about 2-3 weeks later the same thing is happening. All games still play fine but the store and netflix both result in a black screen.
It may be trouble with the PS3 to TV via HDMI but I have never had trouble with the same set up for years.
I think it might be a problem with the firmware.
Here are something that might help people narrow down my problem:
- I have the time and date automatically updated
- I haven't fiddled with any DNS codes to obtain a different regions netflix
- My TV supports full 1080p picture.
- My HDMI is in perfect working order, as is the TV
If anyone knows anything that might help let me know.
Thanks.

Random black screen os x 10.8.4

I have a mid 2009 MacBook 13 inch.
Has been working 100% until I upgraded to OS x 10.8.4
Now at completely random times, when I am working on the machine - the screen just goes black for now apparent reason.
The strange thing is that the machine is usually still running, and the keyboard remains live.
But, of course completely unuseable in the conventional sense.
I can hear the fan, and if I touch esc - I can hear the click.
Have tried various things to clear this from happening.
The one that works (sometimes), is if I hold ALT + CMD + R + P and hit the Power button.
I get the Start up tone, and the Apple etc, and then it restarts in the normal way.
On occasions this sequence doesn't seem to work.
In which case I find that I take the power off the machine, remove battery pack, leave it alone completely (overnight), or a good while, then start again!
The machine works perfectly well 95% of the time, but then for no reason is goes black screen again.
This is really starting to annoy me, and beginning to destroy my previous good faith in Apple products and support etc.
Question: 1) Is anyone else also experiencing this problem? I believe the answer to that is yes, as there are lots of comments & fix suggestions floating around on the net.
2) Has anyone (Apple?) found a permanent fix for this problem - which I believe is related to OS x 10.8.4 or have we got to wait patiently for an upgrade to OS x 10.8.4 from the good folks at Apple?
Only one further comment, this used to be the "normal" sort of problem that we often suffered with in the early days of our friends Microsoft XP, hopefully that stuff is all behind us. But, it makes me wonder if this is Intel related.
Appreciate all comments, and hopefully some useful suggestions would be very welcome indeed.
Power to the people ...

I am experiencing the same phenomena as barnhouse21 except that I am using an older MacBook running 10.6.8. My MacBook is a an Intel Core 2 Duo 667MHz with 2GB DDR2 SDRAM.
There is no pattern with respect to when the screen black out occurs - it is most frequent within the first 5 to 10 minutes of use after boot up but it has occurred much later. I have not noted any particular combination of applications running when this occurs (but I always have a browser going...)
The black out period lasts only a few seconds (about 3 - 5).
I get the fact this is a (more than) six year old unit but this problem started very recently - within the last 4 - 6 weeks. Everything else on this unit works fine.
I respectfully disagree with Carolyn's POV on the expectation of a power issue or logic board issue. It seems a good number of people are posting about this problem with MacBooks of widely different vintages - wouldn't that suggest some other source?

Random Black Screen Flash Macbook Air and Apple LED display

So I have started to see an issue with the new Macbook Air and my Apple LED 24" display. Randomly only maybe 2-3 times a day the screen will go black and then quickly come right back, like a blink. Anyone else see this behavior? This does not happen with the internal built-in screen on the MBA. Feels like a driver or software issue to me.

Hi Steve,
I have the same model you've mentioned. Although my issue is not the same, at times when I open my laptop up, I have a black screen, and have to manually power-down. I can tell the keys still work, as I use the brightness buttons and can tell the contrast is getting higher.
Also last night my keyboard/trackpad stopped working, however the power button did bring up the shutdown options but the trackpad still did not work.

Random black screen pauses in games

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