Warning: iMac 17" LCD single vertical line issue

Discussion in 'iMac' started by booblanco, Feb 19, 2008.

  1. tatin23@

    tatin23@ Member

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    hi! half of my imac's screen is already black. what's the best option to solve the problem? should i buy a new one (and sell the logic board of my imac)? or have it fixed in an apple center? or buy another lcd monitor and have it set up with my imac? i just want the most practical way to solve the problem without wasting a lot of money. TIA.
     
  2. booblanco

    booblanco Active Member

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    use an external monitor. i've heard of reports of a recurring vertical line issue even after lcd and inverter replacement.
     
  3. tatin23@

    tatin23@ Member

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    what will i need to buy if i choose to set up an external monitor (i.e. cable wires)? how much will these cost me? TIA!
     
  4. booblanco

    booblanco Active Member

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    buy a miniDVI-to-whatever port your external monitor has (most likely VGA or DVI). about P1T+ for the adapter.
     
  5. tatin23@

    tatin23@ Member

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    thanks boo! this is a big help for me!
     
  6. mac_kid08

    mac_kid08 New Member

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    cant see anything from my 17" c2d imac. so,


    bought a miniDVI - DVI adapter in digital Hub = 1.5k+
    1080p Full HD 22" = 7.9k

    10k vs. 40k repair... now what? haha ;)
     
  7. arelcee

    arelcee Active Member

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    @mac_kid08: Hi! What brand of monitor did you purchase and where did you get it? Thanks.
     
  8. LadyMary

    LadyMary New Member

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  9. arelcee

    arelcee Active Member

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    Our iMac already has lot's of lines. It's still usable/viewable, but it has become almost painful (it causes my wife to suffer headaches) to use that my wife and I finally decided to get an external monitor a few weeks ago.

    So, yes, attaching an external monitor will work. You'll just need to set the external display to "mirroring" in System Preferences. However, I'm not sure how you can do that if the current iMac display is already blue. Perhaps you can try reading back through the posts of this thread to see if someone has done it already.
     
  10. Salaryman Ryan

    Salaryman Ryan PhilMUG Addict Member

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    Man, can Apple "own up" with the iMac 17 like what they did with the Macbook Pros with faulty Nvidia GPU?
     
  11. gidnitacs

    gidnitacs Member

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    For those who will be going the external monitor route, make sure that the video adapter that you buy will fit your iMac. My 1.9Ghz 17" iSight uses the mini VGA to VGA adapter. Found this out when I tried using the mini DVI to DVI adapter from my Powerbook. Check your specs to be sure.

    Also, as booblanco mentioned earlier, there are a lot of cases where the lines reoccur even after replacement. I myself had lines appear within a month of replacement of the LCD.
     
  12. booblanco

    booblanco Active Member

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    update:

    Apple Not Liable For Plagued iMac Screen

     
  13. jessec

    jessec Active Member

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    my imac 17" developed vertical lines just a week before my app expires, now my question is after apple repaired my imac will my imac be warrantied for the lcd repaired? what if the vertical lines appeared a week after they release my imac? tia
     
  14. mac_kid09

    mac_kid09 New Member

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    Heya guys! Had my iMac 17 c2d's LCD replaced for FREE. We've been using an external display for the iMac for two years. Technically, my iMac is out of warranty for more than two years already. We were even just using it for just simply browsing the internet. But hey, Apple indeed replaced the LCD for free! Thank you Apple! Happy now! :)
     
  15. loungeroomlizard

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    Apple replaced lcd for free?

    This is the miracle we've been waiting for! Well that we've actually already given up! For sure all of the units that has been affected by this LCD vertical line issue are all way beyond the warranty/applecare period.:slanted: So we have been in the same boat for yes, over two years now. What happened between now and then mac_kid? I mean, how were you able to get Apple to REPLACE the LCD for FREE when as we know APPLE wasn't owning up to this plague and even reached the federal courts for their very gross action! Please share details of this best news ever! :Very happy for you:D Am sure a whole lot of others like me will be as happy ;) Thanks! Will await for details
     
  16. RC

    RC Active Member

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    Yup adding to @loungeroomlizard care to share where the unit was bought and if you sent it to the same place that you bought it from?
     
  17. booblanco

    booblanco Active Member

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    @ loungeroomlizard

    great news! please post more information here. apple should have posted a bulletin to announce free repairs of factory defective off-warranty units by now.
     
  18. Odysseus

    Odysseus Active Member

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    And so the dreaded thing eventually happened to my iMac =(

    6 vertical lines appeared on the monitor.
     
  19. mac_kid09

    mac_kid09 New Member

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    Sorry for not replying right away guys. Been busy the past days. So here's the deal... lol

    My brother works for Apple's CS. And he didn't really know what happened to my iMac until he gave me a visit. He told me then that this is a confirmed issue by Apple but it has only been "internal". And just to make things clear, I was able to get the repair for FREE not because my bro works for Apple's CS. I went through the process just like a normal customer. ;)

    So I called their CS hotline and went through the usual troubleshooting. Tell them that you see vertical lines on your iMac's display. Questions like "Do you see the lines from top to bottom?", "Have you tried restarting the computer?", "Have you tried resetting the pram?" "How many lines do you see on the screen? (this made me laugh like s**t, really lol)" "When you do a screen shot and view it on a diff computer, do you see still see the lines?" yada yada will be asked.

    After those steps they'll contact their T2 for support/CS code. Tier1 will then give it to you (CS code or a customer satisfaction code). Note: If the Tier1 tries to tell you that your iMac has been out of warranty and they can't offer any support, insist on talking to a Tier2. Tier2 people are from the US.

    Then bring your iMac to ANY AUTHORIZED SERVICE PROVIDER of Apple. They will have to diagnose which part of the iMac is really defective.

    NOTE: According to my brother, they'll only provide support/repair if the LCD is found out to be defective. If it is a logic board or video card issue then you'll have to carry the cost.

    But the service center people annoyed me though. They sent us an email that we will have to pay for the LCD. They were asking us to pay for P40k!! Ridiculous! If in case this happens to you, too. Tell them that you already have a CS code for this and that you'll escalate this to Apple and let them know that they're asking you to pay for the parts and the labor. After a few days, they sent us an email again that they were just waiting for the LCD to be shipped and that we won't have to pay for anything. The iMac's iSight has been found out to be defective too but I didn't bother to have it repaired.

    I have been comfortable with using an external display for my iMac. But this is my first Apple computer! I thought that it would really be cool to use my iMac with it's internal display workin fine again. Haha. So… good luck with you guys! :)
     
  20. Salaryman Ryan

    Salaryman Ryan PhilMUG Addict Member

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    May I know which local service center is this?
     

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