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Model A1311 / Mid 2010 / 3.06 & 3.2 GHz Core i3 or 3.6 GHz Core i5 Processor

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Colored vertical lines on monitor

Hi.

I already read a post about a similar problem, but my case is slightly different...

My monitor suddenly shows colored vertical stripes, going from top to bottom (only half of the top Menu Bar is correctly displayed). The stripes are not fixed, they vary in width and colour depending on what is displayed. An attached monitor set as primary works fine.

I have been told it could be either the display or the graphic card (or hopefully just something concerning the connection between the two).

I would like to open my iMac with the help of one of the great guides I found here, but I don't really know what I am looking for... can you help me? Is it really a problem I can fix myself?

I add a pic of my monitor, maybe it can help...

http://cl.ly/L5TY

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Send me an email. it's in my profile. Might have something that can help you clarify those answers.

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Since you say that an external monitor works fine, there is no problem with your graphics card.

This narrows it down to either the display or the display data cable. I would recommend changing the cable first, as it costs quite a bit less. Here is a site that sells it: link. The picture on your screen actually reminds me of the TiBook G4 displays. The hinges would break, crush the display data cables, and cause the display to show random vertical stripes.

If that doesn't work, then change the display.

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Forgive the stupid question...but I am reading the guide explaining how to remove the GPU card: the cable I should replace is the one mentioned in Step 12, right? (GPU guide) Do I have to follow the whole guide in order to replace it, or is it possible to disconnect the cable without having to take the logic board out?

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Andrew, Jacks answer was correct you don't have a Graphics Processor Unit (GPU) problem.

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You don't need to take out the logic board.

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I would start here with running Apple Hardware Test to test things out. If you had a GPU problem it would tell you. AHT can't test the entire display system so if it passes don't fret.

I agree with Jack here, you likely have a cable or LCD display unit issue. So I'm not sure why you're pulling the GPU out? All I would do here is pull the Sync & data cables out and reseat them back to see if just reseating them fixed things. Then I would replace the vertical sync cable then the data to see if they were bad. If I saw no improvement its got to be the display it's self.

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Thank you for your answer, but the reason I am referring to that guide is that I do not know which cable I should replace!

I do not want to pull the GPU out if I do not have to! but then please tell me which guide I should follow

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hey AndrewB I'm having the same issue on my iMac, I connected it to an external monitor and it worked, I see your post is from 2012 so I wan to ask if you could fixed it and what was the problem..thank you!

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I have a very similar issue as well…

27” iMac 2011

Everything was normal until exactly half of the screen started looking darker. Then, vertical lines started appearing on exactly half of the screen. When I plug it into an external monitor, everything looks fine on the second display (TV in this case).

I’m thinking of replacing the LCD LVDS Cable to see if that fixes it.

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Sorry your LVDS cable is not cause of this. Your display has a small logic board on the backside called a T-CON. It converts the LVDS signal to the horizontal and vertical scans the enable the discreet pixel. This is where your issue is as you have a sharp demarcation between the two areas. If this was a LVDS issue you would have chroma defects around the brighter areas.

So you'll need to find a new display assembly to replace yours.

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