Help! Crazy pixel mess!!!

H

HydroMac

Registered
Hi I hope someone can help. A while ago I installed some stupid screensaver from Mac downloads page, and ever since, my Mac has these dots all over the place, especially the desktop. I have attached a screenshot of a section of my desktop.

How can I get rid of this?



Any help much appreciated....

Thanks
Hydro
 
Forgot to mention, I have deleted the saver, ran repair permissions, disk first aid, but to no avail.

I have G4 Quicksilver with Apple Cinema Display (the old glass looking type).
OSX 10.4.10

Thanks
 
Have you rebooted since?
Have you changed the desktop picture?
Have you checked Login Items whether something's still automatically loaded on login?
Have you created a test user to check whether it's connected to user settings or system wide?
Have you reinstalled the system?

(If you say no to a question consider doing it.) :)
 
Hi, thanx for the reply, I have done all of the above, and even did an 'erase and re-install with my new copy of Leopard....its great, but looks so lousy due to this pixels problem...have another look....another pic...



Ive also zapped the pramm to reset the VRAM...no change. Is it that the monitor has gone on the blink? I dont think so, as the pixels move about so cant be burnt into the display..

I am sooo stumped..
 
Cheers CJ, but as I mentioned, Ive already tried 'zapping the pramm'.

Anyone else got any idea's?

I'm borrowing another monitor tomorrow to eliminate either the Macs disc or if its the LCD.

Cheers
Hydro
 
The only thing I acn think of is reseting the pmu as follows :

Here is Apple's instructions (http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=95037) for the procedure:

Resetting the PMU Chip Procedure

1. Disconnect the power cord and check the battery in the battery holder (BT1). The battery should read 3.3 V to 3.7 V. If the battery is bad, replace the battery, wait ten seconds, and then reset the PMU (refer to the next step). If the battery is good, go to the next step.

2. Press the PMU reset switch (S1) once on the logic board. Do not press the PMU reset switch a second time because it could stop the PMU chip from responding.

3. Wait ten seconds before connecting the power cord and turning the computer on. If the computer turns on, go to the next step. If the computer does not turn on, there is something else wrong with the computer.

If memory serves me the pmu switch in a Quicksilver is near the battery.
 
Hey Tommo, thanks for that. Before I do it, are there any complications I can cause by doing so, as documentations suggests only qualified technicians attemt this process?

Also, is the battery likely to cause this? I have no signals suggesting this. i.e. time and date are always correct?

Thanks for the help, Im just a bit precautious.

cheers
Hydro
 
Right. I remember having a problem with my iMac screen similar to this during bootup. It may be your graphics card or screen. sorry to say. is that picture of it a screenshot? if it is then its a software issue.if not then try it.

Come to think of it. have you uninstalled that screensaver. and it sounds like a .plist error. try trashing some of them. such as finder...

Try Tech Tool?

God im a geek :P
 
It should be no problem, I have done it a couple of times. Just make sure you only press it once as per the instructions. If you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself look around for an Apple authorised repair centre or Apple store in your area and take it there.
 
thanks, for the notes. It cant be .plist error nor software as I have erased the disc and installed a new OS aswell.

I think it must be the monitor (Apple Studio Display), so will know once I borrow another this weekend. I went into an Apple store and spoke to a 'Mac Genius' he has since emailed me back saying he is going to look into it. So lets see what he comes up with.

I've tried the pmu reset too Tommo, but yet the little buggers are still here.

i will post if I have any progress. Cheers for the help.

p.s. ive just nticed the screenshot is only really visible if you open with Photoshop not Preview. doh!


Cheers.
 
It sounds like it might be a video card problem. If you still have applecare try to get it fixed. If not it may cost a fair bit.
 
chance is just re-seeting you videocard could help.
and are you sure it's that screen-saver? i've had some issues with old cards that seem just related to tired capacitors..

at the same time, i screwed-up the video-card of my old powerbook once just by writing bad openGL code.. but that was gone after a reboot:
http://78.47.95.84/screenart/
 
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