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Model A1224 / Mid 2007 and Early 2008 / 2, 2.4, or 2.66 GHz Core 2 Duo processor

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Flickering display that eventually turned all white. Inverter?

Hi,

My 2007 20" iMac started having issues where the brightness/contrast was flickering/dimming randomly throughout the day.

It has now come to the point where the display has gone completely white with very very faint bits of image (I can see some text if I press my face up near the screen at a certain angle) and just stays like that no matter what (SMC Reset/PRAM etc).

Is this the inverter or some loose cables connecting to the inverter/graphics card?

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Update:

I've connected the iMac to my TV with a mini-DVI to HDMI cable. The display on the TV is perfect thus leading me to believe the graphics card is fine (and definitely not hard drive like mayer suggested). The inverter or LCD is definitely in question but from what I gather the inverter controls the brightness/contrast which is what has gone wonky. If anyone could suggest where I pick up a cheap inverter (in Canada preferably) that would be great.

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Actually the inverter is the part that supplies power to your CCFL's. White screen means that power gets to the CCFL no images with a white screen means that your backlight turns on but no image signal is received.

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I've seen both the inverter (usual symptom is picture flashes on and off), and the video card ( usual symptoms - artifacts on screen and/or black screen) fail. With a white screen I would suspect the hard drive. I would disconnect it and try to boot from the installation DVD by inserting the disk and holding down the "C" key on restart.

You may also have a combination of issues of the card and the hard drive.

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Alex M, you said that the "display has gone completely white" that would mean that your backlight is on/working. that is the function of the inverter. So, if your backlight is working, your inverter is working. "(I can see some text if I press my face up near the screen at a certain angle)" I would focus on the graphics card as the culprit.

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Yes, the backlight system has a problem here and its likely the inverter is the problem given your diagnoses. Heres the IFIXIT guide on the needed steps to get to it: iMac Intel 20" EMC 2133 and 2210 Inverter Replacement.

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