Screen Pixalation when using Sleep and Auto Logout problems. OS bug?

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Original Thread here: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1295058
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Dec 21, 2011, 01:01 PM
  #1
gswilder
macrumors regular
Join Date: Oct 2007
iMac Sleep Problem Waking - Screen Black & Pixelization
Have a new BTO 27" iMac I received a couple of weeks ago. Of course it is running Lion 10.7....
I am having a screen problem "waking" my iMac. (I also have this problem randomly on my MB Air - mid 2011 model)
After the iMac is in true sleep mode
(I have it set to enter a password after sleep mode)
Screen is blank/off
I "wiggle" my mouse or trackpad
Screen is still blank (sometimes it may display my screen saver, but the screensaver is frozen)
If I start moving the mouse or trackpad, it starts "un painting" the black screen. You can see whatever is supposed to be on the screen, such as the logon "button".
It is really wierd. Like a black "overlay" is painted on the resume from sleep screen. As I move my mouse or trackpad, it is basically erasing the black, to show what is underneath. Each movement of the mouse, erases a small black square.
I usually move my mouse around the middle of the screen to uncover the logon button. Press the logon button. The screen magically reappears as normal. I enter my password and system logs back on normally.
It only seems to be when the iMac is in really deep sleep mode. If the screen is just blank for an hour or so. I move the mouse/trackpad, and the logon screen is immediately displayed normally.
Any thoughts or recommendations?
Thanks to all in advance.
Greg
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Dec 23, 2011, 12:17 AM
  #2
gswilder
Thread Starter
macrumors regular
Join Date: Oct 2007
UPdate
Still experimenting.
If certain programs are running (ie Firefox), then I don't have a problem coming out of deep sleep. It gives me a message when I reenter my password, that Firefox prevented the system from logging off.
Does that additional information help? It is a really annoying problem. And since I have it on my MBA, I am concerned it is more widespread. Does anyone else have this issue?
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Dec 24, 2011, 09:18 PM
  #3
UNCHeelYeah
macrumors newbie
Join Date: Dec 2011
Black Screen and "Erasure" with Mouse.
I am having this same problem. I am using the Mac OS X Lion 10.7.2, not using a screen saver, and it happens sporadically upon trying to wake my iMac from sleep mode. The screen is black, and as you move the mouse over the screen, it "erases" the black, like the opposite of a blackboard, to reveal the login name and picture underneath. After that everything works fine. There is no pattern to this that I can discern (e.g. - happens every fifth time, only happens when a program isn't running etc.). It appears random, but is uber annoying, and behaves like a virus. I have Norton Antivirus, and it updates daily, and upon scanning states no virus is found. I also do system scan with MacKeeper, and it scans, says system is excellent. Something is definitely going on, I just wish I knew what it was. If anyone has any knowledge of this, any solution or insight would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
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Dec 25, 2011, 12:29 PM
  #4
GGJstudios
macrumors G4
Join Date: May 2008
Quote:
Originally Posted by UNCHeelYeah
It appears random, but is uber annoying, and behaves like a virus. I have Norton Antivirus, and it updates daily, and upon scanning states no virus is found.
That's because there are no Mac OS X viruses. You should uninstall Norton. You don't need 3rd party antivirus apps to protect your Mac from malware. Macs are not immune to malware, but no true viruses exist in the wild that can run on Mac OS X, and there never have been any since it was released 10 years ago. The only malware in the wild that can affect Mac OS X is a handful of trojans, which can be easily avoided with some basic education, common sense and care in what software you install. Also, Mac OS X Snow Leopard and Lion have anti-malware protection built in, further reducing the need for 3rd party antivirus apps.
Mac Virus/Malware Info
Quote:
Originally Posted by UNCHeelYeah
I also do system scan with MacKeeper, and it scans, says system is excellent.
You don't need MacKeeper, either. You really don't need "cleaner" or "maintenance" apps to keep your Mac running well, and some of these apps can do more harm than good. Most only remove files/folders or unused languages or architectures, which does nothing more than free up some drive space. It will not make your Mac run faster or more efficiently, since having stuff stored on a drive does not impact performance, unless you're running out of drive space.
Mac OS X does a good job of taking care of itself, without the need for 3rd party software.
Your problem, and the OP's is a graphics problem, likely having to do with the screensaver, not a malware problem.
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Dec 26, 2011, 08:13 AM
  #5
UNCHeelYeah
macrumors newbie
Join Date: Dec 2011
Norton Antivirus, and what does it mean?
I suppose one reason I developed a concern that there was more here than meets the proverbial eye, so to speak was a message that I have received through Norton on multiple occasions. The last message of similar stated messages reads as follows (Norton Antivirus 2.2.1 (5) ): "Vulnerability blocked, December 13th, 2011, 8:57 P.M. When I click on "View Recent Activities", a window is opened that is titled "Activity Log." There, four columns are listed, titled from left to right "Date", "Event Type", "Result", and "Details." Under the December 13th episode, It lists "Portscan" under Event type, "Result" gives an IP Address (192.168.x.xxx), and "Incoming" under details.
I am admittedly a neophyte in the Mac world, having switched over from Windows 7 to Mac recently, but am intent on educating myself to the not-so-subtle differences. The above information that Norton displayed would lead one to believe that their antivirus software is protecting my iMac, and that its subsequent removal would have perhaps disastrous results ( i.e. - my iMac would be susceptible to said "Vulnerability", whatever it is, and that "Incoming would NOT be blocked). I had a conversation with Norton because previously, every time the stated "Vulnerability" attempted access, I was interrupted by a pop-up screen informing me of this. The Norton representative was able to turn off the pop-up screen notification, but stated that it would continue to log episodes of the "Vulnerability" when it attempted to portscan and access. So am I to understand that uninstalling Norton would leave my computer no less vulnerable to this vulnerability? It is confusing to me.
Furthermore, I suppose I did wonder if this vulnerability threat had anything to do with the issue of the black screen erasure with the mouse. I will attempt to post a picture of the screen as it was being erased with the mouse, and perhaps a short movie as well. As previously stated, I do not have a screen saver enabled. Thank you for your input, any information is helpful to me! _
~Marc
http://forums.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=317412&d=1324905189
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Dec 26, 2011, 11:19 AM
  #6
gswilder
Thread Starter
macrumors regular
Join Date: Oct 2007
Ditto & FYI Workaround
UncHeel...
Thanks for posting the picture. It is same as my iMac problem. On my iMac, it happens 100% of the time. On my MBA, it happens randomly like yours.
I began to notice if certain programs were running, when it went into screen saver and sleep mode, this didn't happen. And when I woke it up, I got a message that said "could not be logged off due to Firefox or Sketchbook Pro, etc. So that got me to thinking. So....
Over the weekend, I disabled "logoff after xx minutes of activity" in system preferences. That seems to fix the issue. I still have it set to require a password after the screen saver/sleep mode kicks it. But I disabled the logoff toggle.
Still not sure what this is an issue, but seems to be a work around. I just want to make sure my iMac is still going into sleep with these new settings. Including the monitor sleep.
Any thoughts based on this new information?
Thanks again
Greg
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Dec 26, 2011, 11:52 AM
  #7
GGJstudios
macrumors G4
Join Date: May 2008
Quote:
Originally Posted by UNCHeelYeah
The above information that Norton displayed would lead one to believe that their antivirus software is protecting my iMac, and that its subsequent removal would have perhaps disastrous results
You have to remember that many antivirus apps consider cookies to be a "vulnerability" or "threat", when they're not. The only malware in the wild that can affect Mac OS X requires the user to actively install it. As long as a user is reasonably careful about where they get software, there is no need for 3rd party antivirus apps to protect Mac OS X from malware. Just make sure your firewall is enabled (System Preferences > Security > Firewall), and disable Java in your browser (Safari > Preferences > Security > Enable Java (uncheck))
Quote:
Originally Posted by gswilder
I just want to make sure my iMac is still going into sleep with these new settings. Including the monitor sleep.
You can let it sleep without logging off. That way, your apps/documents are still open when you wake it up, rather than having to relaunch apps and reopen documents. Recovery from sleep is much faster than from logging off.
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Dec 27, 2011, 03:02 PM
  #8
rda2w
macrumors newbie
Join Date: Oct 2011
Quote:
Originally Posted by gswilder
UncHeel...
Thanks for posting the picture. It is same as my iMac problem. On my iMac, it happens 100% of the time. On my MBA, it happens randomly like yours.
I began to notice if certain programs were running, when it went into screen saver and sleep mode, this didn't happen. And when I woke it up, I got a message that said "could not be logged off due to Firefox or Sketchbook Pro, etc. So that got me to thinking. So....
Over the weekend, I disabled "logoff after xx minutes of activity" in system preferences. That seems to fix the issue. I still have it set to require a password after the screen saver/sleep mode kicks it. But I disabled the logoff toggle.
Still not sure what this is an issue, but seems to be a work around. I just want to make sure my iMac is still going into sleep with these new settings. Including the monitor sleep.
Any thoughts based on this new information?
Thanks again
Greg
I have had the same problem on my mid-2010 iMac since upgrading to Lion and it's been driving me nuts. The relation to automatic Logoff makes sense to me now that I look at my settings. The logoff was occurring after sleep and it's the only thing I haven't tried yet. I had previously thought it was related to Sleep but it never occurs if I force it to sleep. It only occurs after the system was left unattended and went through it's normal steps of screensaver then sleep. I'll try disabling the automatic Logoff and see if it fixes the problem for me too.
-BA
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Dec 29, 2011, 10:58 AM
  #9
rda2w
macrumors newbie
Join Date: Oct 2011
Quote:
Originally Posted by rda2w
I have had the same problem on my mid-2010 iMac since upgrading to Lion and it's been driving me nuts. The relation to automatic Logoff makes sense to me now that I look at my settings. The logoff was occurring after sleep and it's the only thing I haven't tried yet. I had previously thought it was related to Sleep but it never occurs if I force it to sleep. It only occurs after the system was left unattended and went through it's normal steps of screensaver then sleep. I'll try disabling the automatic Logoff and see if it fixes the problem for me too.
-BA
I can only declare partial success with unpicking "logoff after xx". It solved the pixelated screen issue but now the computer is not sleeping. I guess I'll have to uncheck file sharing now.
-BA
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Feb 6, 2012, 06:26 PM
  #10
ougrad1764
macrumors newbie
Join Date: Apr 2010
Any updates?
Just wanted to see if there had been any changes since the last posting in this thread. I'm experiencing the same issue as OP on my 2011 13" MacBook Air w/ OS X 10.7.3, as well as on my parents' mid-2010 iMac (running OS X 10.7.2).
I can't seem to pin down the cause and have tried the steps suggested previously. Thanks!
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Feb 21, 2012, 10:03 PM
  #11
wchp
macrumors newbie
Join Date: Feb 2012
Still having the same issue here as well.
Have any of you tried a clean install of OSX?
Before I try a full reinstall I did an install on a external drive with no aps, just the bare install and I could not replicate the issue.
I continue to question if this is a graphics card firmware issue or and OS issue.
A reinstall (overlay) of the OS did not resolve the issue.
I have screen shots as follows:
1) Paint pixels on screen
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p227/wchp/iMac27%20Graphics%20Problem/photo1. jpg
2) Click Icon
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p227/wchp/iMac27%20Graphics%20Problem/photo2. jpg
3) Type in PWD
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p227/wchp/iMac27%20Graphics%20Problem/photo3. jpg
4) Logged in:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p227/wchp/iMac27%20Graphics%20Problem/photo4. jpg
Last edited by grapes911; Feb 21, 2012 at 10:12 PM. Reason: replaced img with timg
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Yesterday, 12:21 AM
  #12
jrobin
macrumors newbie
Join Date: Feb 2012
Having the same issue
I have four MacBooks and a MacBook Air. I am seeing this issue on two MacBooks both running Lion 10.7.3. One is a newer i5 MacBook the other is an early 2010. The only common denominator I can think of is they are both set up with Parental Controls and they are set to logoff after X amount of time. The other MacBooks don't have this "pixel painting to revel the login screen issue" I also don't see it on our iMacs or the MacMini. Only the two with the issue are set to auto logoff. So the above poster is most likely on to something. I will give it a try by turning off the auto logoff on the two MacBooks in question. If that solves the problem then I will assume its a bug that needs to be addressed.
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Yesterday, 12:30 AM
  #13
ougrad1764
macrumors newbie
Join Date: Apr 2010
reinstall (overlay) of the OS did not resolve the issue
wchp - Thank you for following up and posting the screenshots. They match exactly what I was experiencing (and what UNCHeelYeah reported previously). I can confirm that I experienced the issue even following a clean reinstall of Snow Leopard on my MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2011).
jrobin - "I will give it a try by turning off the auto logoff on the two MacBooks in question. If that solves the problem then I will assume its a bug that needs to be addressed."
Good thinking! Thanks for taking the time to test with your machines. This will help provide further validation of what gswilder (OP) tried as well in reply #6. Interesting about Parental Controls, too.
Side note:
Since I recently joined the Apple Developers program, I did a clean install of SL on my MBA then upgraded via the App Store to Mountain Lion to "kick-the-tires" if you will. Interestingly, I've not yet experienced any issue related to waking from sleep with a black screen and pixilation, even while running all the same apps I had previously. I'll report here (and file a bug report with Apple) if I do see this issue pop-up in ML. I'll be reinstalling SL in a few weeks and will report back if/when the black screen and pixelation issue reappears. I'll be sure to note the applications left running at the time the computer went to sleep.
Last edited by ougrad1764; Yesterday at 12:44 AM. Reason: Follow-up to jrobin (reply came in while I was typing mine)
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Yesterday, 09:04 AM
  #14
evillanueva
macrumors newbie
Join Date: Feb 2012
I have experienced the same issue with my brand new MBA Late 2011.
I recently found out that this only happens when DISPLAY is set to go to sleep minutes before the "Log out after X minutes of inactivity". I had "Display sleep" option set to 5 minutes and "Log out after 10 minutes of inactivity" and this causes the display to go to sleep first (screen goes black) and then, 5 minutes later, it logs out.
If "Display sleep" is off and "Log out after X minutes of inactivity" is on, the issue does not replicate. So Im thinking it has something to do with the screen being black at the moment it logs out. Can you try and replicate that?
Thanks
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Yesterday, 01:39 PM
  #15
wchp
macrumors newbie
Join Date: Feb 2012
Quote:
Originally Posted by evillanueva
I have experienced the same issue with my brand new MBA Late 2011.
I recently found out that this only happens when DISPLAY is set to go to sleep minutes before the "Log out after X minutes of inactivity". I had "Display sleep" option set to 5 minutes and "Log out after 10 minutes of inactivity" and this causes the display to go to sleep first (screen goes black) and then, 5 minutes later, it logs out.
If "Display sleep" is off and "Log out after X minutes of inactivity" is on, the issue does not replicate. So Im thinking it has something to do with the screen being black at the moment it logs out. Can you try and replicate that?
Thanks
Just tested this premise and yes, you are correct.
IF: Screen saver ON after 5m AND require password immediately AND Sleep (Display) after 30m AND Logout after 60m I am able to reproduce the problem.
IF: Screen Saver ON after 5m AND require password immediately AND Sleep (Display) after 30m AND Logut after xx NOT enabled, problem goes away
IF: Screen Saver ON after 5m AND require password immediately AND Sleep (Display) OFF AND Logut after 60M enabled, problem goes away
So on my machine (iMac 27, 3.4/i7, 16GB/1333, Radeon 6970m/2048MB, OSX 10.7.3
It would appear that if I am running Monitor Sleep and it kicks in prior to LogOff then I am able to reproduce this artifact. Only Display sleep with immediate login OR Loguot should be used but not both.
The only other thing to test is is I leave display sleep on, and screen saver on but with NO immediate password and enable logoff if the problem goes away.
Testing for another day.
I have linked this entire thread to a Apple support ticket and will report back on Apples response

Answer 1

Thank you so much wchp, this is brilliant. I have had this annoying problem for a long time. I eventually rang Mac support, they did not know how to fix the problem as you have suggested so they instigated many hardware replacements which eventually left my iMac severely crippled. They eventually replaced it with the latest model. But I spent two months working with a disabled computer which really interfere with my work.
Your solution appears to have solved my problem, at least so far, but I am hopeful that it is a permanent fix. I hope that your suggestions are taken up by Apple support. This may solve many users problems and avoid Apple making expensive fixes that don't actually work.
I thought that the new iMac would not have the 'Wake up from sleep by painting in the login window' problem but it did, this really annoyed me. Anyway now the problem appears to be solved, it's not I will repost and keep working on it. Thanks again.