# Weird Pixelation on iMac g5



## baudrillardo (Jul 8, 2008)

Hi everybody, thanks god i found this forum. Im having a major issue with an iMac g5 monitor. All of the sudden it has started doing this crazy pixelation thingy all over the screen. whenever i place the mouse cursor over it shows this thing that i can hardly describe, but for lack of a better term i'd like to say that's as if some small blocks of pixels keep showing off. please help me!!
Im attaching a couple of pictures i took with a MotoRCKR cuz i wasnt able to do the screen capture thing. 
i hope it's nothing grave...


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## Qion (Jul 8, 2008)

I doubt it's a monitor problem... I don't remember precisely, but I believe a certain series of iMac G5 have a leaking capacitor issue, which is fairly catastrophic. It could also be a dying graphics card. I'd check apple.com for issues with your model of iMac.

Calling wouldn't hurt either. If your capacitors are actually bulging and leaking, it should be fixed immediately.


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## baudrillardo (Jul 8, 2008)

i dont live in the US, i live in Venezuela, im not sure if the 800line could be of any help. excuse my ignorance but what are capacitors and how do i know if they bulging or leaking? u mean leaking as in liquid coming from them? 
i already looked for that issue on the apple page but i didnt find anything that resembled my problem.


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## Qion (Jul 8, 2008)

baudrillardo said:


> i dont live in the US, i live in Venezuela, im not sure if the 800line could be of any help. excuse my ignorance but what are capacitors and how do i know if they bulging or leaking? u mean leaking as in liquid coming from them?
> i already looked for that issue on the apple page but i didnt find anything that resembled my problem.



Capacitors are like very simple batteries. They're electronic parts of your motherboard that hold a charge. You know if they're bulging or leaking by taking the back of your iMac off and looking for them.

http://images.google.com/images?cli...capacitors&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&um=1&sa=N&tab=wi

One of the symptoms of the issue is graphical anomalies like the ones you are having. Unfortunately, fixing this issue yourself is a bit tricky. Since you're in South America, I'm not sure what else to tell you.


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## nixgeek (Jul 8, 2008)

My 2nd generation iMac G5 fell victim to the capacitor problem twice within this year (mine is just shy of 3 years old).  If yours is a 1st gen, then for sure you should be covered.  Mine is a second gen and I proved to them that it wasn't only the first generation models that were affected.  As a matter of fact, the iMac G5 section of Macintouch has listed many people with all three generations of the iMac G5 plagued with the capacitor problems.  Apple will replace the logic board and the PSU (as usually both parts are affected by this problem) at no charge so long as the iMac G5 is within the three years of its purchase (regardless of which warranty you have).  Contact Apple and let them know your problem.


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## AuRaven (Jul 10, 2010)

I also have a G5 which has developed a pixelation problem identical to the one shown in your images.

The artifact pattern attached to the mouse is exactly the same as the one you show and move with the mouse as though it were part of the actual cursor graphic.  Artifacts also occur on desktop icons, the dock, the menu bar and the shadowing behind windows.  The content in active windows is not affected.  The patterning is consistent and was not affected by sleep, restart, screen saver or an extended period of shutdown.

The pixelation occurred about the same time as the update to OSX 10.5.8, which happened while a flash-based program was running also.  I have re-installed the update to no effect.  I have not yet tried re-installing the OS, but probably will when I find the disk again...

The computer was purchased 5 years ago, so no hope of warranty.


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## stansav (Aug 13, 2010)

AuRaven: I have exactly the same problem, and mine started about 3 days ago. Unlike you, I didn't attempt an upgrade to 10.5 though...

...but like you, I purchased my Mac 5 years ago - so no warranty.

Have you have yours looked at? I'm assuming with the "au" you're in Australia? I'm in Sydney... thinking of taking mine to get looked at tomorrow... don't really want to have to buy another Mac yet :s

Let me know if you've found a cause or solution.

Thanks!


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## AuRaven (Sep 30, 2010)

stansav,

I have been really lazy about trying to get my computer looked at or try some fixes that friends have suggested.  However, the problem is now solved!  Unfortunately I don't know exactly what fixed it.  It has come good after running two updates on 30 Sep 2010 (iTunes and Safari).  If one of these programs caused settings or compatibility issues in an earlier version that has now been fixed, I don't know.  My suggestion is to run all currently available updates through software update.

Good luck!


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## AuRaven (Sep 30, 2010)

Arrrgh!  I spoke too soon!  The screen was clear, but as I finished replying and moved on to other web browsing, it all came back again.

So sorry, it isn't fixed.  No idea what caused it to clear up temporarily, but clearly my speculation in the last post was completely off the mark.


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## DeltaMac (Sep 30, 2010)

Not a software problem, as you have now seen.
Hardware, and intermittent.
I've seen lots of iMac G5s with those video problems. With past history, the video chip begins to fail, or can be the typical swelling capacitor issue, which is very common on the iMac G5. The video issue that have might come and go as the system temp changes. Some shops can repair the logic board for these issues, or can at least give you a quote for the repair.


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## sarastereo (May 26, 2011)

Worked like a charm, thank you!


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