Screen Flicker/Freezing

Hey Everyone!
You all have bailed me out of quite a few jams in the past and I'm hoping for another now!
I have an iBook G3 that runs OSX 10.4. Within the past four months I have installed a new hard drive and an additional 256 RAM to the existing 128. Two days ago, my screen started to flicker (not on and off, but more of a distortion of pixels), and my system froze up preventing me from doing anything. I shut it down as it had been running all day, hoping it was just an overheating issue. However, even after letting it sit for an entire 24 hours, I experienced the same symptoms (although it took sometime for them to resurface).
I've asked a few people (with knowledge of PCs but not Macs) and they said it could be an overheating issue or a board failure. Is this a problem that occurs frequently with older models, is it something that can be easily fixed without sending for repair (like rebooting from the OS disc), or is it likely that I will have to spring for a repair? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Hi, Anthony. Welcome to Apple Discussions.
It sounds like you may be having logic board problems. Enough dual USB G3 iBooks suffered from this problem that Apple began the iBook Logic Board Repair Extension Program in January of 2004. Check out the FAQ page and if the symptoms look familiar, give Apple a call. If your iBook qualifies, it's a free fix.
If you are past the three-year time limit, ask to speak to Customer Relations and ask them to please make an exception to the three-year limit in your case.
Good luck!

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HELP?!? - iMac 2011 i7 Screen Flicker issue (OSX 10.8.3)

I have a Mid 2011 27" iMac with i7
Since the latest OSX update (OS X 10.8.3 (12D78)) I am getting a very concerning issue where my secondary monitors and my iMac screen 'flicker' and show horizontal bars (green in colour) the audio then seems to stutter and crash before eventually the computer freezes and I have to hold the power button to shut down.
This happens once or twice a day, however a related issue that happens every few minutes is that just my secondary monitors flicker white in places and go completely black for a few seconds at times too.
I have run the Apple Hardware Test and it reported no issues, I also reinstalled OSX from recovery and it is still happening.
I am hoping (praying) this is an issue with OSX and not my hardware. Can anyone shed any light on this - I'm seeing reports of 'similar' sorts of issues with the latest OSX update. But nothing like the issue I mentioned first (the one that forces me to shut down)
I have a Time Machine backup, is it possible to use Time Machine to revert my OSX to 10.8.2 to see if it is indeed the OS that has the issue?
Thanks for any help you can give!!!
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Hi, I'd try the 10.8.2 restore.
I never use it, I use cloning myself, but...
Have you looked through Pondini's extensive TM help site?
http://Pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html
http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
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2013 11" MB Air Flicker/Freeze every 10 seconds

I just upgraded from a 2011 to 2013 MB Air, high end specs on both. I migrated over using SuperDuper, and everything went well as expected. However, I now have a brief (1/4 second) flicker/freeze of screen about every 10 seconds. In troubleshooting, I have discovered that if I reboot in safe mode, the flicker does NOT happen. I do have a lot of apps/ utilities install on startup. I've tried quitting these apps and processes (using Activity Monitor), but the flicker continues. If I'm typing during this brief flicker, input is not recognized.
I did NOT have this problem on previous MB Air. Obviously I can go to the Apple Store and talk to the "geniuses," but I know the mac pretty well and would rather not if possible. I think this is NOT a hardware issue, since safe mode reboot resolves the issue, it's some software issue on my system.... any help/thoughts most apprecated!

The next time you have the problem, note the exact time: hour, minute, second.
If you have more than one user account, these instructions must be carried out as an administrator.
Launch the Console application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Console in the icon grid.
Make sure the title of the Console window is All Messages. If it isn't, select All Messages from the SYSTEM LOG QUERIES menu on the left. If you don't see that menu, select
View ▹ Show Log List
from the menu bar.
Scroll back in the log to the time you noted above. Select any messages timestamped from then until the end of the episode, or until they start to repeat. Copy them to the Clipboard (command-C). Paste into a reply to this message (command-V).
When posting a log extract, be selective. In most cases, a few dozen lines are more than enough.
Please do not indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.
Important: Some private information, such as your name, may appear in the log. Anonymize before posting.

Picture Included. Mid 2012 13 inch Macbook Pro green/purple lines on screen. Freezes. Sometimes 3 beeps.

Alright I have a Mid 2012 13 inch Macbook Pro purchased in June 2012. For about the last month, I have this issue where as I am using it random colored lines will show up on the screen (lines usually green, purple, but occasionally the issue occurs while booting and lines are black on white background). As soon as the lines appear, everything freezes. Sometimes the computer automatically reboots. Other times, it will just turn off and start beeping 3 times in a row. AT first, I thought this may be a video card error because it happened a lot when I was watching videos. However, it also happens randomly when I am just using safari/chrome with no other programs runnings. The most annoying part of this issue is that it is completely random. Computer won't act up for maybe 2 days straight during all activities (videos, surfing the web, etc). Then I will have a day where the problem is consistent.
Also, although I think this is just a correlation, all problems started after upgrading to Yosemite.
Picture below:
Does anyone else with a Macbook Pro (especially 2012) have this issue? These two discussions seem to be describing this very situation:
Screen froze, purple lines, three beeps. Help!
Macbook Pro screen glitches, 3 beeps, NOT THE RAM

thanks alex. I'm going to the genius bar later this week for them to get a look at the issue.
in the meantime, do you have any idea why the problem occurs when I apply a little pressure to the bottom of the computer (under the command screen). here is a video of the situation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88C34bHZAd8&feature=youtu.be
also, i found this thread describing my exact situation: Field of vertical lines all over Macbook Pro screen? (+ freezes, beeps)
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13" MacBook Pro - Screen Flicker / Windows 7 Bootcamp

I have a 13" MackBook Pro with Retina display that I purchased last December (8 months old). I am running Windows 7 in Bootcamp and the last few months the screen flickers on occasion (becoming more frequent). I launched the Mac OS to ensure I have the latest updates and I believe I do (nothing new to install within the Mac OS). Majority of the time I'm hooked up to an external monitor / lid is closed, but obviously that is a challenge when traveling.
I did do some searches and see other posts around screen flicker issues, but those appear to be on the Mac OS side. What is odd about my scenario is that it only seems to appear on the Windows 7 side. I can't seem to find a fix for this / really would hate to have to reload the machine.

Running Windows 7 Ultimate x64 on my brand new 15" MBP right now.
The only problem I'm having is the USB controller issue that is reported in the following thread:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2411685&start=30&tstart=0
I ran the Boot Camp assistant, made the partition, rebooted with my 7 DVD, formatted the partition, performed a clean installation, & then installed the drivers from the OSX DVD when Windows booted the first time.
Replaced the NVIDIA drivers with the latest Verde release. 258.96notebook_winvista_win7_64bit_internationalwhql.exe
Everything seems to be running just fine at this point.
Message was edited by: jdamien75

HT201335 What causes the TV screen to freeze but sound continue on TV when using Air Play from I Phone?

What causes TV screen to freeze but sound continue on TV when using Air Play from I Phone 4?

First try rebooting ATV and router. Beyond that, it's probably something within the network, typically interference.
To get a report of the network go to istumbler (Mac) or netstumbler (PC). Look for signal strength and noise.
If on wifi try ethernet.

My screen continually freezes up. I've tried closing all apps that are openfreezby double clicking on the home button and closing them. I have held down on the home button and start button simultaneously and it still freezes. Can someone out the help me?

MY screen continually freezes up. I've tried closing all apps that are open and have held down the home button and start button simultaneously but neither helped. Can someone out there help me?

Well the next couple of things to try would be to reset all settings, and if that doesn't help, it's probably time to restore the iOS software.
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You can read about restoring the software here.
iTunes: Restoring iOS software - Support - Apple
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If you do not sync with iTunes, then I assume that you backup with iCloud. In that case you can erase the device in Settings>General>Reset>Erase all content and settings. Once again, backing up with I loud is I,operative before you do this so that you can restore from the iCloud backup after you erase the iPad and start over again with activation.
You should read this first before you restore from either backup.
How to backup and restore from a backup
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1766
This is a must read before you erase the iPad should you decide to go that route.
iOS: Understanding 'Erase All Content and Settings' - Support - Apple

Macbook Pro 13 Early 2011 ocasional screen flicker...

I bought a MBP 13 early 2011 i5 new about 2 weeks ago. Over the last week or so I get an occasional screen flicker. I lasts about a second and that is it. I had a MBP 13 2010 for a year before this one and never experienced this problem with that one. I am running Lion and all the software is up to date. I guess I am wondering if anyone else with this model has experienced this, is normal, or should it be something I should be concerned about. Thanks in advance for any answers on this. Also not related to heating either, temp is running the 40's, and just web browsing.

Call Apple Care. You have 14 days from the date of purchase to return your computer with no questions asked. Otherwise, you have the standard 1 year warranty and 3 years if you purchased Apple Care.
Take FULL advantage of your warranty. Posting on a message board should be done as a last resort and if you are out of warranty or Apple Care has expired.

My macbook pro keeps flashing green lines across the screen then freezing, can anyone help?

Back in December my macbook started doing this thing quite regularly where it would flash black or green lines all across the screen, for maybe half a second, then the screen would freeze, so I would power it down manually then back on again. I took it into a store and paid a lot of money for them to "fix" it, but when I got it back it was still doing it. I just recently took it in to a different store and the guy said he couldn't reproduce the problem, but replaced the RAM and gave it back to me. Within a day of having it back the same thing happened, twice. At this point I'm not sure what to do, the money I spent on "fixing" it could almost have bought me a new one. The most recent time I shut it off, when it was turning back on it stopped on the grey screen with the apple and started making a continuous beeping sound, which I took a video of. Does anybody know why any of this is happening??

Hi Were you using the apple store for the repairs you had done? As to the point of taking in to a store to have it repaired and getting it back with the same problem. It should have been taken back to the same store as they have to stand behind what they do. You do not say what they repaired. The store replacing ram without knowing what the problem is ,is questionable. If you are going to change ram for the original apple installed ram, you need to make sure it is compatible with your MBP. One of the best sources for this is Macsales.com. As to the Beeping sounds here is a link on it. You do not say if this is one continuing beep or more than one repeating itself.http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202768

Iphone 6 -- iOS 8.1.3 -- screen constantly freezing, Apps instantly crashing, Photos not deleting, iMessages disappearing, iCloud not reflecting correct backups

Ever since downloading iOS 8.1.3 on my iPhone 6, I've been experiencing quite a few issues (I am assuming all are related to the update, but not sure)
I apologize in advance for the lengthy post! Here goes:
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**Adding to the final photo in my original post... When I select the 'Kendall Anderson's...This iPhone' using 324.2MB, Photo Library is turned 'On', but has 'No Data'....I know this is not possible because my photos that were previously backed up used up ~3.5GB of storage.
Either I am doing something wrong here, or my iPhone just has a mind of its own with this new update!

How can I reproduce my screen flicker so they'll believe me?

The intermittent nature of the annoying screen flicker on my Macbook makes it difficult to show a tech that it is a real problem and not some figment of my imagination. Does anybody know of a "sure fire" way of reproducing it? I have been able to recreate the rapid dimming and brightening of my Macbook screen by moving the brightness indicator all the way to the left and then bumping it up one click. This only works sometimes and it only works when I do it by clicking and dragging on the ball on the display screen in system prefs. It doesn't work by using f1 and f2. I made a video of my screen while it was flickering and put the video on the desktop. I'm sending it in as soon as my box arrives on Tuesday. They're also replacing my stained top case. I hope they will look at the video and at least test the inverter and cable to see if they're the problem. Any help with how to encourage them would be greatly appreciated.
macbook Mac OS X (10.4.9)

I am the victim of this problem also. The screen flickering & brightness of the screen suddenly fade to low intensity. The screen flickering happened everytime I use my MacBook.
May MacBook was the initial Jun 2006 version.
I already get those problems (a) sudden shutdown (replace the logic board), (b) palm rest area discoloration (change the bottom case), (c) power adaptor pin contact problem (replace the new one), (d) poor performance of battery life (awaiting confirmation from local Apple support, 180cycle max. charge only 50% of initial capacity) & (e) screen flicker issue (today just send in my MacBook for them to do diagnostic).
I really lost confident with my MacBook.
Should I request a replacement of entire MacBook?
My warranty period will be expired mid of next month & the are asking me to purchase the apple protection plan. But, I claim that the unit is poor in initial build quality & why I should considered the plan. It is unfair to me.
If the MacBook is in good condition then I will consider the plan for support another 2 years (fair), not in this reverse way.
Anybody please guide me how to pursue this matter.
I previously own an iBook G4 & PowerBook G4 TI don't have these problem at all.
CK Lim (Penang, MALAYSIA)

Any solution for having daily screen flicker on my 2.13GHz 13" 2011 Macbook Air (running 10.6.8)???

well, the title says it all...I see on the Macbook Pro support threads that this is a continuing issue for that model and people seem frustrated that repeated replacements of motherboard and/or displays are not solving the problem.
I can still use the computer but it is a little disconcerting to have the screen flicker and it seems to be happening almost daily now whereas it used to be more of an occasional thing...
I run Onyx and fix disk permissions and clean out various caches at least once a month...but other than that, I just use the computer for low-intensity tasks of word-processing and web browsing mostly...
just wondering what people have done with this problem?
Thanks,
Eric

I finally found a solution. In about:config, under browser.sessionhistory.max_entries, I changed 5 to 20. End of problem.

Mac mini Late 2014 screen flicking

Just got the Mac mini Late 2014 a week ago. It serves me well except the screen flicks randomly.
I have connected Mac mini to two BenQ monitors, one via mini-display port HDMI adaptor (lets said this is port A), another one via mini-display port to HDMI or HDMI cable directly (tried both) (lets say this is port B or HDMI).
The issue is, screen from port B or HDMI flicks randomly, sometimes 1 or two times within a minute, sometimes even half hour or an hour without issue.
Connection with port A is always good, no flicking, I even switched two monitors, the problem still there, so it shouldn't relate to the monitor.
I also tried different mini-display to HDMI adaptor on port B, also tried different HDMI cable, the problem still exists.
I have no idea what happened here.
Maybe something not related, but I want to mention, When setting up the new Mac mini, I tried to migrate my old account on Macbook Pro (Mavericks) to Mac mini, but It was interrupted, (the user accunt was created, but then I manually migrated some other stuff manually), not sure if this interruption plays a part in this screen flicking issue.
Any idea? Thanks for any helps in advance.

Hi there bluemoonj,
I would recommend taking a look at the video troubleshooting steps found in the article below.
Apple computers: Troubleshooting issues with video on internal or external displays
-Griff W.

Qosmio F10-124 - Pixelated screen, flicks into blank, then comes back to normal

It looks like the graphics hardware has failed on a pc bought in April 2005.
This occurred in stages, starting from around the time when I received
1) An automatic download of windows updates and
2) And Adobe upgrade.
In Sept 07. Do not know if this is at all related with the screen malfunctioning.
The screen has at best operated intermittently, with only access being possible using the external VGA port.
The latest Toshiba screen drivers for the WMD operating system did not rectify the problem.
In the last couple of days pixilation has occurred in various parts of the External monitor screen, whilst the laptop was just blank, up to that point the external screen was displaying my work just fine. Occasionally the laptop screen flicked into life and the pixilation has become more prevalent recently. The occurrences of the laptop screen working were random.
I need to have the screen settings such that the external monitor is a mirror of the Laptop screen to do anything on the laptop.
Rebooting the PC has no effect.
The latest symptoms are that the external screen shows that the OS has booted, but there is an alignment problem causing a pattern to appear across the screen, and this is "ghosted" ?? with several iterations of all screen events across the width of the screen output. The Laptop screen is not working at all at present.
Anyone have any ideas what could have caused this, and/or how to fix it??

The graphic card chip seems to malfunction. Your described issue sounds really like a chip fault
But please note that this is only my personal assumption and if you want to be 100% sure whats wrong then you will have to contact the service provider in your country for a detailed check.
In worst case the motherboard must be replaced because the GPU chip is fixed on the motherboard and cannot be removed.

Screen flicker when copying to desktop

I am experiencing a sudden screen flicker when I copy files or folders to my desktop? Doesn't seem to affect the system in any way, just very annoying. Anyone else having this issue? Is there a fix for this?
Thanks, Rick

Step one is to log into a newly created admin user account and see if the problem persists.

Screen Flicker/Freezing

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