G4 /400 Failed Display?

exgiexpcv

Registered
Hi.

Sorry for any trouble, but I've a bit of a sticky problem. Here it is: my aging G4/400 has been relegated to keeping my messaging clients, etc. going while I watch movies or such on my G5 desktop.

Tonight, however, when I woke my G4 up -- possibly 20 minutes after allowing it to sleep -- I got a black screen divided into 3 vertical portions by two approximately 1.5" vertical bands of coloured columns, with each coloured column exactly one pixel wide.

Naturally, this happens after even the extended warranty ran out, and I just lost my job two weeks ago.

My questions are along the lines of what could cause this -- failed display, or something "worse" -- like a $600.00 replacement screen isn't bad enough. It certainly looks like something hardware related, and my G4 has always been treated extremely well. I did notice some time back a "highlighted" area at the base of the display, dead centre, which was always there when the computer was powered on, and that was more or less all the time, save I would sleep it frequently.

I am a bit freaked out by this, and deeply appreciate any help you might be able to offer.

Best wishes, and thank you very much for offering help to us poor buggers with neither clue nor job.

Dave

 
ElDiabloConCaca said:
So... what kind of display is it? What exact model of G4 is it? What kind of graphics card is driving the display?

It's a G4/400 MHz with a 15.2" screen Titanium Powerbook. I honestly don't know what video card is in there, aside from the fact that it's stock, and obviously, with no working display, there's no way to use System Profiler to find out.
 
Ah -- I thought it was a tower machine! ;)

It sounds like you may need to visit an Apple Authorized Reseller, unless you're keen on disassembling your PowerBook. It doesn't sound like there's going to be any magic "repair computer" or magical voodoo you can do to fix this problem. It doesn't sound software-based at all... thought I could be wrong. Does the display look garbled if you boot from the OS X Install CD, or does it only happen when booted from the internal hard drive?

Perhaps someone else here has had a similar problem and knows a fix, but for the time being, I'm going to say it's hardware-related and probably not serviceable by the average home user.
 
ElDiabloConCaca said:
Ah -- I thought it was a tower machine! ;)

It sounds like you may need to visit an Apple Authorized Reseller, unless you're keen on disassembling your PowerBook. It doesn't sound like there's going to be any magic "repair computer" or magical voodoo you can do to fix this problem. It doesn't sound software-based at all... thought I could be wrong. Does the display look garbled if you boot from the OS X Install CD, or does it only happen when booted from the internal hard drive?

Perhaps someone else here has had a similar problem and knows a fix, but for the time being, I'm going to say it's hardware-related and probably not serviceable by the average home user.

Yeah, I read that the Mylar connectors tend to get brittle and fail after a few years, so I was hoping it was that, but it's looking more like a failed logic board, /weep.

Thanks for your prompt response, it's much appreciated. The decision now is to determine whether I drop the money on a new logic board, and just go buy a new laptop at roughly twice the price, but with a warranty. Without a job, it's a tough call. Take care, and thanks.
 
bobw said:
I was just curious to see if it was a software based problem -- using a different boot device may help eliminate that possibility if the display is garbled no matter what boot device is used (and, since most every Mac user should have the install CDs that shipped with their computer, it's a handy and quick alternate boot device to try, as well as a quick way to eliminate or slim down the possibility of a software-related problem).

Is that a weird technique or something, or did I say it in a funny way?
 
ElDiabloConCaca said:
I was just curious to see if it was a software based problem -- using a different boot device may help eliminate that possibility if the display is garbled no matter what boot device is used (and, since most every Mac user should have the install CDs that shipped with their computer, it's a handy and quick alternate boot device to try, as well as a quick way to eliminate or slim down the possibility of a software-related problem).

Is that a weird technique or something, or did I say it in a funny way?

Dang, already took it in to a local repair to have diagnostics done -- now I'm kicking myself for not having at the very least tried the bootable CD route. I read what you wrote, just was distracted by a call from a recruiter -- still looking for a new job, and it's a priority.

In any regard, it's a good idea, and I should've tried it, just got distracted.

My thanks to both of you.

Dave
 
Update to the situation: I had a local service company check it out, and they found nothing wrong initially, and directed me to take it home. The problem resurfaced, and the guy seemed to just want to get rid of me when I brought it back in, which is why I doubt his diagnosis that the display has failed.

What currently happens is that everything boots normally, I get to the login screen, and then if it sits for a while, or if I log in immediately, the screen fades mostly to black.

Any ideas? I'm utterly floored. I tried booting from my Tiger install disk, and it made no difference.
 
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