Macbook pro - thick vertical bar appeared on my screen

4

the last few days, a vertical bar (about 300 pixels wide) has been plaguing my macbook pro screen. sometimes it's solid white, sometimes it flickers in colors, sometimes it disappears! i'm pretty sure it's not a software issue because it's permanently there even right after startup....anybody have any idea what could be going on here ?

Sherif Omar

Posted 2010-10-02T02:33:23.837

Reputation: 41

Answers

4

that sounds like a broken display to me. I don´t know Mac that well (windows user...) but are you able to test the grafics with an external monitor? I am pretty sure, this is caused by a broken lcd display. Does it look like the picture below? If so, it definitely is a broken display.

http://img.skitch.com/20100108-q7hrgc4btr2kgxju6bdwgweepb.jpg

Image source: http://ask.metafilter.com/tags/screen

Diskilla

Posted 2010-10-02T02:33:23.837

Reputation: 1 516

yes looks exactly like that :) i don't have the proper cables to check external display but will do that today – Sherif Omar – 2010-10-02T10:19:10.743

0

The problem magically went away, I was away for a few days and now back and it's gone. Very strange. I will still take it to get checked.

Sherif Omar

Posted 2010-10-02T02:33:23.837

Reputation: 41

1It could've simply been a loose connection somewhere. Either way, not a good sign :( – Darth Android – 2010-10-05T22:08:39.783

If you're still in warranty, better go to apple store and show them that picture above posted by Diskilla. Better do that while in warranty than outside warranty – Enrico Susatyo – 2011-02-03T03:48:06.017

0

I don't know if this will work for you, but the problem seems to be temperature-related for me.

My macbook (5,1) has been having the same flicker issue for a year or so now. I've been having my furnace repaired this week, so my house has been getting really cold at night. When I woke up this morning, my macbook didn't flicker anymore.

After the computer warmed up, the flickering came back. Then, I tried sticking it in front of a desk fan. Lo and behold, the screen no longer flickers. I know it isn't an ideal solution, but it fixes the problem as long as you have a desk fan on hand.

user246588

Posted 2010-10-02T02:33:23.837

Reputation: 1