Intel iMac 27″ developing dirty, dark spots and patches on the screen : The zombie problem that just won’t die!

Like one of those nightmare zombies that never stays dead, the dreaded screen dirty dark patch screen problem has recurred….

Started with this:

My Intel ‘Aluminium’ iMac 24″ roasting with dark spots on screen

Admittedly, it did come  back from repairs in record time.

But that was only the beginning, Since this battle for a replacment continued for over a year!!

Then, my new iMac 27″ started to develop dark patches on the screen too.

FFS Apple, fix it.. I just had a new screen for my replacement iMac  in November!

I’m running it in a cool, clean dry environment.

As usual, the discolouration appears to be behind the glass. Or even behind the pixels themselves, in the underlying lighting panel. So there’s no way it could be dirt from regular use.

This time, the discolouration looks somewhat like hand prints…

Or, forget trying to describe it. Let me show you some pics…

Photos taken with an old D70, so vignetting and sensor dirt is a little bit of a problem.

Please note, that these marks only appeared last week so I’ve upped the contrast of the pictures. But I can assure you that within a month they will be quite visible without tweakage.

Ignore the yellow piss-like tinge at the bottom of the screen, although it’s there, it’s hardly noticeable at honest contrasts.

Here is a closeup of the left hand side. Note that I had to intentionally blur the picture when taking it since the moire effect of the pixels made the final image unviewable. What a mess of dots and a fine patina of blobs! Yuck!

Now for the right hand side:

This looks a little bit like the heel of someone’s hand, perhaps…?!?

What more can I add?… This is my second iMac 27″ screen and my 7th (or 8th) iMac screen in total. Grrrr Arrgh! As the phrase goes.

Apple’s quality control has not improved over the last three years.

I’ll keep you posted.

iMac 27″ screen repair complete

The new iMac 27" with LCD backlit screen.

 

My iMac 27″ came back from Apple after it developed dark patches on the screen and has had its screen repaired. It is now as good as new (well, technically better because I only actually bought a 24″ iMac, and this one was a replacement).

In any case, the machine is back and has been restored to its former glory.

My real worry is that, since it took 8 months for the patches manifest and suddenly, over the course of a month, spread to cover the whole screen, will I be in for another replacement in nine month’s time? I hope not because my guarantee runs out in March of 2011…. I think I’m going to have to get Apple Care, Again!

Fingers crossed.

Mac OS X 10.5.6 Update Goes Smoothly

The Register (http://www.theregister.co.uk) and other sites such as Macfixit, Mac in touch and others are showing a number of problems.

I’d like to report updating five systems without problem:

• Mac Mini (Intel 1.83GHz Core 2 Duo) – Mac OS 10.5 Server – 10 client edition
  • Server version of Mac OS X
  • External Firewire storage
  • USB Memory Card Reader
  Combo Update without issue. ~ 10 minutes
  　
• iMac 24″ (Intel 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo)
  • Vista under Boot Camp
  • Various large video and graphical editing packages.
  • MS Office
  • Firewire 800 RAID storage
  • USB Card Reader
  • Firewire Scanner
  • Graphical Pen Tablet 
  Software Update (Delta) without issue. ~ 5 minutes
  　
• 12″ Powerbook (PPC 1.5GHz)
  • MS Office
  Software Update (Delta) without issue. ~ 15 minutes
  　
• Power Mac G4 Cube (PPC 1.4GHz) 
  • MS Office
  • Zend Studio for Eclipse
  • Entropy PHP on Apache Package
  • Scanner
  • Printer
  • Graphical Tablet
  Combo Update without issue. ~ 15 minutes
  　
• iMac 15″ (PPC 700MHz, dome shaped effort)
  • MS Office

Combo Update without issue. ~25 minutes

 

Of course I have yet to use the systems in anger, so I will report if I notice any further developments.

I’ve been especially hacked off at 10.5 server which dispite having some of the finest administrative tools in the business has so many bugs that I really can’t recommend it over a standard linux server unless your company really DOESN’T have any IT knowledgeable staff.

It is without doubt the buggiest ¥40,000 I’ve ever spent.

Here’s looking at 10.5.6 server… (sigh)…

How to fix the ARD toolbar buttons/functions missing from Screen Sharing under OS X 10.5.5

I’d like to thank a couple of my readers for telling me how to remedy the problem of the ARD Screen Sharing toolbar function hack that can no longer be applied once one upgrades to OS X 10.5.5.

The solution is glaringly obvious and I’m a bit annoyed I didn’t spot it myself.

Just use Time Machine and search for the Screen Sharing application, located in /System/Library/CoreServices/Screen Sharing.app and return to an older version of the app!

You gotta love Apple for handing you the solution on a plate.

Alternatively, dig out your Leopard DVD and pull it off there.

You’ll apparently get bugged by an upgrade screen.

I had read that Apple were trying to cut down on “Frankenbuilds” using software from different versions of the OS, but I guess this is still OK.

I’d like to try this, but since I have a nice, fully functional ARD 3.2 installed there’s not much point for me!

Still, I may try it one day. Let me know how you get on with these tips.

My Intel ‘Aluminium’ iMac 24″ roasting with dark spots on screen

My gorgeous iMac 24″ has started getting VERY HOT over the summer, with my room reaching just over 30C in the day time, this can lead to the thing reaching 80 degrees or more internally.

I’ve installed a fan controller to boost fan speed and this has helped reduce the temperature down to the low/mid 60’s

More worrying, the screen has started developing dark patches here and there. At first, there was just one or two, down the left hand side, towards the bottom of the screen about two-thirds of the way down, but now they have multiplied to about ten and a new patch has sprung up on the right hand side.

I hope it’s nothing to do with the heat.

Luckily, I have my three year Apple Care, otherwise I’d have been panicking, since the one year guarantee is almost up (I bought the thing in September, last year).

Anyway, here’s a couple of photos I took: I won’t insult your intelligence by circling the black patches with red or pointing at them with flashing arrows. Instead, I’ll leave it to your keep observation to see if you can make out what I’m talking about.

 

I fixed the focus about 1cm in front of the screen to try to minimise the moire effect.

 

Here’s a slightly darker one, with regular focus. The strange banding is moire, due to the camera and the screen pixels interfering.

 

What’s important in the above pictures are the two clusters of round, blackened circles appearing and the general blotchiness of the screen. Not to mention the fact that the left is brighter than the right and strange, colour shifts occure in patches here and there.

Makes me glad I splashed out on the Apple Care.

Come on Apple, you can do better than this!