The black screen of death
I couldn’t believe what happened this past Tuesday. After I woke up I was going to do some work on an assignment for the Advanced Flash night course that I’m taking. When I went to my iMac, the screen was all black, and the little white light was on. I figured that it was just asleep. I moved the mouse around and nothing happened. Then I held the power off button until the white monitor light turned off, then tried to start my computer again, but only the white light turned on (the hard drive whirred a bit) but then nothing else happened.
I tried all the things they suggested in the starter manual, but nothing. I called Apple care and had no wait to connect, but the only thing the support guy could suggest was the old unplug, wait, and replug. When that didn’t work, he said it was a hardware problem and gave me the name of an authorized service place. I went promptly over and dropped off my precious iMac into their hands. It’s still there right now (one day later) and they are not certain what the problem is yet.
Maybe I’m just overly anxious because of recent health issues of my own, but I feel so sad that my iMac is in the shop. I don’t want to doubt the sterling reputation for reliability that Apple has, but I can’t argue with the fact that my own is in the shop. Waiting for a call back from the shop has been like waiting for a call from the hospital. I keep wondering if I would have had the same reaction if this had been my PC rather than my Mac.
Frankly, despite having numerous PC problems over the years, I never had anything like this. I guess that’s the problem with the “closed box” computer: its problems seem much more mysterious. It’s a lot more like the human body: I need to rely on the opinion of an expert because I have no insight into the symptoms. I think if this happened to my PC, I might be tempted to write it off (but if it were still under warranty, I’d probably get it fixed). It might not have been as much of a shock, though. I half expect PCs to fail (especially fail me), but when my iMac stares prettily back at me and refuses to start up, it just seems that much more tragic.
August 2, 2007 at 9:50 pm
i had this problem once after i had my mac on constantly for a few days doing video editing and other heavy harddrive usage things and i completely flipped, i was going to take it in to a apple store but the next day it worked fine and the screen has cut of once (happened when using it, it sounded and looked like the computer just put its self to sleep but couldnt be woekn up)_ since after a lot of use since i have a 24inch imac i dunno maybe its a overheating issue did they tell you what it was if it happenes to mine again ill defo take it in
August 3, 2007 at 3:07 am
24inch iMac? I’m jealous, Jason. They told me that mine needed a replacement logic board. I’m still waiting for the part. I’m going to post again with some updates on my situation. It’s becoming quite a saga.
March 18, 2008 at 1:14 am
Hi, the exact same thing has just happened to me. From reading other posts we thought it may be the RAM. However, this doesn’t seem to be the case. Our next thought was the logic board.
Could you please give an update to the problem? Thanks
March 18, 2008 at 1:18 am
Didn’t see that your post continued. Sorry!
March 18, 2008 at 2:26 am
No problem, Michelle. Have you been able to get some support from Apple Care? Will you be able to get your Mac serviced? I hope your saga has a happy ending as well (though hopefully your turnaround will be quicker than mine was).
March 19, 2008 at 2:51 am
wow…I am having this problem as of today. Never had any issues and just like this guy- I went to my computer today to check email and the screen is black. and the white light is on. Just like he said. I’m sitting here trying not to cry. I’m out of the 90 days of free tech support but am still within my year of hardware repair etc. New logic board…what? I’m not had the thing a year…but you know…It’s on 24 hours a day. Maybe I need to start turning it off. Please keep us posted. I’m stressed.
March 19, 2008 at 2:57 am
Hey stefini200,
I got my iMac back from the shop, but it sure took a while. Read my next two posts for the rest of the story.
Good luck with yours. I suggest you take your computer to the nearest authorized service shop and get it fixed under warranty.
March 19, 2008 at 3:05 am
Oh, plus it’s been 6 months now, and I still leave my computer on all the time. I think it’s OK. It’s working great, but I guess I learned that you never know when things can just go kaput without warning.