[Ti] display madness

[cheshirekat]

On Sat, Dec 27, 2003, the following words from Scott Smith
scottinma at mac.com, emerged from a plethora of SPAM ...

>> Has the list run across a screen problem that is best described as the 
>> display becomes fuzzy do to what appears as a break-up of the 
>> characters into tiny dots.  At times these dots comprise the entire 
>> display a appear horizontally in little millimeter groupings and other 
>> times it occurs on a section of the display (like an open document).   
>> If I sleep  it and then wake it the display clears and may remain 
>> "normal" again for a day or two before exhibiting the problem again.  
>> I have a Ti 1 GHz with 1 Gig of ram and the superdrive.  I also 
>> performed a clean install of Panther that didn't resolve it.  I'm 
>> about to call Apple and thought I'd run it by our group first.  
>> Thoughts?
>>
>> Thanks List
>>
>
>In follow-up, the problem with the display continued and became 
>consistent awakening from sleep (at which time the only way I could see 
>was to restart the computer which consistently resolved the problem 
>until in slept again).  So I sent screen shots (pics) of the problem to 
>apple and they sent the box yesterday.  Well today for some reason the 
>problem has completely disappeared.   Go figure.   Not a trace of the 
>"Matrix-like" screen display problem at all.  So I'm thinking that the 
>video card must be lose or something like that.  I should mention that 
>at one point I even initialized the HD and reinstalled all the software 
>the hard way just to rule out a software issue but the problem was 
>still evident after sleeping it.  So, if you were me..would you send it 
>in and hope they can figure it out or wait until the problem returns?

I had a similar problem with my Ti 867 back in May (I think.) and Apple
ended up replacing the logic board. I hesitated to call Apple about it
because it was an intermittent annoyance. In my situation, I could not
determine any action that would trigger or clear it up. But, it did seem
to gradually become more frequent to the extent that I had about 2 days
straight where the screen did not remain clear long enough to select any
menus. So, instead of calling Apple and waiting for them to send it back
if the problem didn't present itself while my Ti was in their hands, I
rushed it to the nearest Apple store when the intermittent problem
remained for more than just a few moments. Fortunately, the problem did
not disappear at the hands of the tech at the genius bar and it was
agreed that a repair order was required.

I'm not sure if I had responded to your earlier post, but I do have a
couple suggestions if you decide to send it in. First, backup your
documents. If you have ample space to back up your preferences and
system, do that. Secondly, if you have bought any music from the iTunes
Music Store, deauthorize your computer before sending it in. If they have
to replace the logic board, your Ti will no longer be authorized for your
purchased music. Since so many of my preferences had been altered when I
received my Ti back, it wasn't until I contacted Apple about my
authorization that they told me that the repair had deauthorized my computer.

If I were in your shoes, I would send the Ti in for repair if there isn't
a nearby Apple Store. If you are concerned that they won't be able to
observe the problem, then enclose a copy of the screen shots you mention
above along with any other written correspondence you have had with Apple
describing the problem as well as the fact that it has been intermittent.
Hopefully, this will encourage them to perform more than a cursory and
brief exam for a proper diagnosis.

-- 
Sometimes even to live is an act of courage.
- Lucius Annaeus Seneca, writer and philosopher

* 867 PowerBook G4 * OS X 10.2.6 * 768 MB Ram *