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Model A1312 / Mid 2010 / 3.2 GHz Core i3 or 2.8 & 3.6 GHz Core i5 or 2.93 GHz Core i7, ID iMac11,3

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Vertical fading lines across entire lcd screen.

I was swapping out the Hard Drive in the iMac. I only released two cables from the LCD (the V-Sync Ribbon and the Data Cable) just so I could tilt the screen out enough to get at the HDD. Everything went fine up until I was installing the new HDD when at some point i got a pretty nasty shock through both arms. I don't know exactly what i touched but I was holding the LCD at a tilted angle in the frame at the time and dropped it about 4 inches down onto the computer.

I plugged everything back in and booted it up. Now the screen shows vertical lines across the entire screen. each line is a solid color, top to bottom. The color of the line resembles an average of all the separate colors that line should be. So when I have the default purple galaxy wallpaper and a finder window open, the screen displays purple bars on the sides and a big white bar in the middle. The strangest thing is when something changes or moves. The display slowly fades to the new colors. For example if I move that finder window to the side of the screen, the white bar in the middle slowly fades out and a white bar on the side slowly fades in. like 10 second fade time.

Everything else seems to be running properly. I'm controlling the computer with Screen Sharing from my laptop. I also pulled the iMac back open to double check my cables and everything appears to be connected properly as far as i can tell.

I'm thinking that Zap that went through my arms also went through the LCD that I was holding and toasted its insides. but I figure I should ask before going out to buy a new LCD.

And yes, I know, I should have unplugged the thing before opening it up. but I didn't have a static discharge bracelet handy and was using the iMac's frame to discharge through the plug.

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any chance you can post an image of your LCD and the stripes?

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This sounds like a faulty LCD panel to me. I haven't seen iMac LCDs with these symptoms but I've seen similar in MacBooks. More than likely either the shock or the trauma from the drop caused the issue.

You can test to make sure it's not something deeper (RAM, video card, etc) by taking a screenshot (command + shift + 3) and checking the screenshot to see if the lines show up in it. If the lines ARE visible then you're likely dealing with a video card or possibly RAM. If the lines are NOT visible, which I suspect they won't be, then you're more than likely dealing with a failed LCD panel.

side note: Definitely unplug that iMac the next time, ESD strap or not. I've been shocked 3 times from the power supplies in these and they're nasty. The pain rivals getting shocked by a CRT. Even had a power supply, removed from the Mac 30~ minutes earlier, shock me while I was tossing it into an ESD bag.

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Yup, you're right about the shock not being very nice for sure. I did the screenshot and it looks clean. So it doesn't sound like it could be any kind of problem with connectors then? Most likely something unfixable within the panel itself?

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@tyler mackenzie - I doubt it's the cables/connections. Whenever I've seen slow fading in LCDs (either part of the display or the entire display) it has been resolved by replacing the LCD panel. Obviously without swapping the cables for known good ones I can't say with 100% certainty but if this was my Mac I would feel pretty comfortable replacing the LCD panel.

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alrighty. that's pretty much much what I had figured. thanks for the help.

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tyler mackenzie will be eternally grateful.
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