How could I safely fix my walking "dead pixel" bug?

I need suggestions.

I've got a live little bug inside my macbook pro screen for 2 days now.

I've tried to film it using my iPhone, but it ain't that good. :(

Should I try to open it? o_O

C'mon, looking for ideas here! :)

edit: Here's an alike video.

It's not moving anymore for now... I hope it isn't dead! Right when I've found a possible solution along with many ideas on that link: suction cup; monitor off and lamp on to attract it out; scratching the screen (made it move a little); and got to know there's no warranty for this "feature" (also known as bad design in a jargon).

edit2: It's been "fixed" on its own. Just check the answer.

cregox

Posted 2010-02-24T15:44:26.400

Reputation: 5 119

15An... an actual little bug? Can you coax it out with food? – Phoshi – 2010-02-24T15:54:04.757

4Voting this for the best question ever(!!) :) – Rook – 2010-02-24T16:08:50.620

I really wonder if he/she was born inside your Mac :) – Mehper C. Palavuzlar – 2010-02-24T17:56:35.010

@Phoshi I could try, but I don't know what it eats. That is, if it's still breathing... – cregox – 2010-02-24T20:10:00.363

You could stick a vaccuum on low power at your case, see if you can suck it out? – Phoshi – 2010-02-24T20:35:29.013

7@Phoshi - does that constitutes as debugging ? – Rook – 2010-02-26T00:42:58.203

@Idigas: Yes! You do know the original computer bug was a moth that was found in an early computer, right? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_bug#Etymology

– GreenMatt – 2010-02-26T16:33:22.440

bugs like apples – kokbira – 2010-08-05T11:41:50.677

– Mr.Wizard – 2013-06-14T06:58:41.843

Answers

I've had the exact same problem for around a week, and while this question may be amusing, it could end in disaster if you squish a bug and need to dismantle expensive equipment.

What I noticed was after a couple of days, it appeared to be dead, but I lightly tapped around it and it didn't move.

The key is, if it doesn't move when you tap around it, it's still alive because it still has a grip.

A couple more days passed, and I noticed it was stationary again. With one light flick around an inch beside it, the bug fell right to the bottom of the display, out of sight and out of mind.

Happy screen-flicking!

rybo111

Posted 2010-02-24T15:44:26.400

Reputation: 555

That's some awesome insight! – cregox – 2013-08-22T13:24:21.187

Leave it alone. It'll eventually die and find its way to the bottom of the LCD.

yanokwa

Posted 2010-02-24T15:44:26.400

Reputation: 2 156

actually I was going today or tomorrow on applecare, but this happened before! I left it alone, it died (when I edited the question) and now it disappeared! Probably to the bottom. It did stood still as a respectable dead pixel for another couple days, tho. – cregox – 2010-02-26T19:27:15.457

1Pretty much every bug in an LCD I've seen so far didn't go to the bottom. It just got stuck where it died. – Joey – 2010-03-22T20:45:01.440

@Johannes then I guess yanokwa and I were very lucky! ^_^ Maybe in my case, since it's a notebook, moving it around daily could have helped with that. – cregox – 2010-03-26T19:55:45.740

Check for an Apple Store nearby. In or out of warranty, they may be willing to remove it for free due to the novelty.

If you don't mind cracking the case open, grab a nice set of small tools and head over to iFixit and find the Teardown guide to your model. Here's the 13" Macbook Pro unibody LCD teardown. Pluck the guy out and blow out some dust while you're there, and put it back together.

Keck

Posted 2010-02-24T15:44:26.400

Reputation: 2 048

-1

Are you serious?! If yes, is this one of the most curios things I've ever heard!

Do you still have warranty on it? If yes, turn it in.

Bobby

Posted 2010-02-24T15:44:26.400

Reputation: 8 534

Yes, it's about 2 pixels big. I'll post the little video as soon as I can take it off my iphone 3G, which supposedly have no video, you know. :P I didn't thought of using warranty... Maybe... But only if I can get another one right away. I'm using this heavily at work. – cregox – 2010-02-24T18:05:11.620