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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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What is the solution for my display problem? see the pictures!

My son was playing some online games on my iMac 2007 and suddenly it freezes.

I turned it off with the button and when I turned it on again, the display shows some lines. Please help me find a solution for my Mac!

The pictures are shown in the following link: http://www.macusergroup.com.ar/foro/show...

Thank in advance and kind regards.

Alejandra.

UPDATE

You are right, Dan, the external monitor shows the same problem. See the pictures below.

On the other hand, before doing the following, the screen showed lines everywhere and it was impossible to see anything. So I read a post somewhere (don't remember where) that deleting the following files, may solve the problem. So I did it: I deleted the following:

- ATIRadeonX2000.kext

- ATIRadeonX2000GA.PLUGIN

- ATIRadeonX2000GLDRIVER.BUNDLE

- ATIRadeonX2000VADRIVER.BUNDLE

After that, it got better and I could see some lines but the imac is fully working! The first picture shows the Hardware Test I did and it says "no se han detectado problems" ("no problems have been detected). It surprised me because I thought I would find something about damage on the video card!

My question is: is there any possibility that it is a software matter? Could it be possible to try re-installing the video card drivers or something like this? How to do that?

Thank you very much again for you great help!

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Thank you, Dan.

The serial number is SX86.

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Sorry, No its not a software issue. While altering the drivers may appear to make it better it does not fix the root issue here.

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The question still is: Is it a heat issue or a bad card? If the system does better in a cool room when you start it up (after cooling down) then its a heat issue which maybe fixable with cleaning and re-applying the thermal paste and cleaning out the dust within the system. IF it makes no difference then the graphics card is gone.

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Ok, thank you very much again for all your answers. They were all VERY useful. Evidently it is not a thermal issue as I turned on the iMac after a lot of days. And my question is still: what caused the problem? was the game Crash Car 2 that my little son was playing on line?

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Looks like your graphics board is bad here.

I would first try letting the system cool down and try using it were its cooler (air conditioned room).

Does it work then? If it does then it maybe just a good cleaning and a fresh coat of thermal paste on the CPU & GPU chips.

If not its time for a new MXX Graphics board.

Update

Here's the IFIXIT guide to get to the Graphics card: iMac Intel 20" EMC 2133 and 2210 Video Card Replacement. Review it to see if its something you're up to doing. It's a bit of work and you'll need to buy the needed tools and a Anti-static mat (ESD protection) as you'll be taking the logic board out of the system.

If you jump down to Step 40 you can see the thermal paste. This will need to be cleaned off the heat sink and GPU and its VRAM chips if your testing I had you do made a difference. If the system still looks like your pictures you'll need to replace the GPU card.

Video Card - Apple P/N's

661-4436 - ATI Radeon HD 2600XT (256MB VRAM) << This is what your system came with

661-4440 - ATI Radeon HD 2600XT (128MB VRAM)

Follow this guide on cleaning & applying new paste: Technique: Applying Thermal Paste. You'll need the following: Arctic Silver ArctiClean & Arctic Silver Thermal Paste (2 tubes) You'll need to use the second tube for the VRAM chips.

Arctic Silver ArctiClean Image

Product

Arctic Silver ArctiClean

$9.99

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Guide

How to Apply Thermal Paste

Difficulty:

Moderate

—

5 - 20 minutes
iMac Intel 20" EMC 2133 and 2210 Video Card Image

Guide

iMac Intel 20" EMC 2133 and 2210 Video Card Replacement

Difficulty:

Moderate

—

1 - 2 hours

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2 Comments:

Thank you for the great explanation. I don't think I can find the thermal paste and the other products you mentioned here in Argentina. So I will take my imac to be repaired by a technician I believe. In the meantime, I will try connecting it to an external display (my LED TV) in order to see what happens. Do you think I will see both screens with the same lines? Thanks again for you answer.

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I would say it most likely show the same problem as the graphics card is pushing both displays.

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alejandrardecajal will be eternally grateful.
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