17-inch PowerBooks starting to see new vertical-line screen defects?

We have no idea how widespread the problem is, but there is certainly a group of people trying to raise some hell in their own corner of the internets over some supposed vertical-line issues that later-gen PowerBooks are claimed to experience between 12-24 months into their lives. We understand that not everyone buys a laptop a year like your average (broke-ass) Engadget editor, so if these issues are in fact that common, we hope Apple does see it fit to extend that Display Repair Extension Program to users experiencing this new kind of screen issue.

P.S. -You having the issue yourself? Shout it out in comments.

[aStopperBy @ Jun 2nd 2007 9:51PM]

You can always join in the Zune bashing. Seriously, you can't always please everyone. So why bother?

[Andy @ Jun 3rd 2007 2:01AM]

@Anto

Wow, I take it reading comprehension wasn't your strongest subject. Here's a quote of the FIRST SENTENCE of this article...

"We have no idea how widespread the problem is"

[lame @ Jun 2nd 2007 6:20PM]

I am a sick, sick person in need of spamming: [e-mail]

[Brett @ Jun 2nd 2007 6:23PM]

I had this after about 2.5 years into my 17" PowerBook's life. It got so bad, I couldn't perform daily tasks and had to use an external display. When I finally brought it in, the problem went away. I made them take it and trust me it was broken. I got it back a week later fix'd.

[Threlly @ Jun 2nd 2007 6:23PM]

Methinks they've been a bit rough with the screen.
Absolutely typical of abuse.
I know it seems like the screens can zip up and down in a flash, but you'll have to pay the ferryman sometime....

[Jesse S @ Jun 2nd 2007 6:35PM]

Well, it can't be bad screens Apple used, can it? Because Apple is perfect and amazing and I own 5 17" Macbooks that I use for 7 hours a day each, and I've never had a problem with any of them.

[kingmac @ Aug 12th 2007 9:50AM]

These are PowerBook's we are talking about. They run a lot hotter then the Macbooks and Pro versions. They are also fitted with LG manufactured LCD panels. Several dell laptops also with 17" LG LCD's ended up having the same problem and Dell responded by offering a repair extension program. Most of the defective machines come from the same factory in Shanghi and were manufactured around the first quarter of 2005. Apple are so far ignoring the issue. I am really glad your macs are trouble free, but you can't draw conclusions about the PowerBooks based on your newer hardware. You are comparing Apples with Crapples! Do a little web searching and youll see how widespread this problem is. I hope your trouble free use continues and that this was just a bad batch, but Apple need to pull their head out of the money bag and do good by their customers.

[smilespray @ Jun 2nd 2007 6:23PM]

Addition to own post: I know this is reported as a problem with *1.67GHz* models - maybe it's a coincidence my older model has the same issue. Mine's about three years old.

[smilespray @ Jun 2nd 2007 6:24PM]

I've got it intermittently on my 1.5 GHz 17" Powerbook.

Have to "voodoo" twist the screen grabbing the lower left and top right corners to get the picture back.

[Mike @ Jun 2nd 2007 10:27PM]

My 1.33GHz PB17 is exactly the same. Started just days after the Applecare warranty ran out. Suddenly for no apparent reason the entire screen turns into vertical lines and the fix is to grab the left side about middle and flex the top right corner back.

[Bart Lee @ Jun 2nd 2007 6:35PM]

Man, I've had four Powerbooks now and never had any problems besides damage I caused myself. One tip for you guys that don't want to pony up for AppleCare (though you should): use a gold or platinum card that offers warranty extension to purchase it. That way you're covered for at least two years. I had a G5 tower power supply crap out on me and Amex picked up the tab for the $900 repair, no questions asked.

[barnz2k @ Jun 2nd 2007 11:05PM]

umm.. I have to ask.. Does a single blown powersupply really cost $900??
Ive had PSUs go on various PCs after like $5years.. I go and buy one for $30 and replace it myself.. even $90 sounds rich..

[Bart Lee @ Jun 3rd 2007 11:37AM]

No, but it fried the whole motherboard, requiring a replacement.

[Jesse S @ Jun 2nd 2007 6:36PM]

[/ancedotalsarcasm]

[Raz 4 life @ Jun 2nd 2007 10:33PM]

I don't have anything to add, it's just that my (real) name is Jesse S. too...

[Matt @ Jun 2nd 2007 6:38PM]

This happened to about 45% of the HP laptops that my school passed out. I think the whole batch of screens where defective.

[derek @ Jun 2nd 2007 6:41PM]

who thinks its funny that Engadget has more Mac stuff than TUAW?

(btw, yes i am a mac fan)

[tekdroid @ Jun 2nd 2007 6:42PM]

i once saw vertical yellow lines on a laptop, HP/Compaq, from memory.

[3rdsun @ Jun 2nd 2007 6:57PM]

I thought Apple was the prima donna of computer hardware, choosing only the best and charging expenively. Every Apple fan would praise on how everything just works, but I see more hardware issues related to Apple products than anybody else. Is there a lack of quality control or is just a dream?

[humpty @ Jun 2nd 2007 6:59PM]

My Toshiba A100 runs perfectly 14 months later.. and no Apple tax either.

[wWw @ Jun 2nd 2007 7:03PM]

APPLE'S GOT SOME SERRRRIOUS QUALITY CONTROL ISSUES. Don't give me that "Oh, every computer company has defective products" excuse.

[Johnmazz @ Jun 2nd 2007 7:04PM]

Wow! That looks like some new

[Johnmazz @ Jun 2nd 2007 7:06PM]

Wow, that looks like some cool new Music Rythym Game...

Keep an eye out for the relese of Super Annoying Macbook Screen Hero Revolution Mania!!!

[musanti @ Jun 2nd 2007 7:15PM]

ok i know that this CAN really happen but im just wondering how they made a full screen image have arrows on it that match up to each line perfectly...? even if there were dead pixel lines on their screen i KNOW i would be so frustrated out of my mind trying to see what i was doing behind all those lines to make a pretty picture with text and graphics...?

o well... if you have the time... then why not

[Thomas Gill @ Jun 2nd 2007 7:15PM]

I have a similar problem on my PB 667 DVI. However, it is only one pixel wide, and stops at the Menu Bar, even when there is no menu bar there.

[ITR @ Jun 2nd 2007 7:15PM]

I had a PB for over 4 yrs.
I didn't have a display issue until it hit over 4 yrs old.

It ran 10 hrs a day for the last 3 and half yrs.

It lasted longer then my panasonic toughbook. It's display went out after 12 months.
Toughbook my ass.

[JCD @ Jun 2nd 2007 7:32PM]

Apple products are so overrated. I swear their policy is if it works once, ship it.

[Jim @ Jun 2nd 2007 7:46PM]

Dell had this same problem... they finally copped to it and are now taking care of their customers... But boy did it take some fighting.

For more info on Dell's issue, check out this site:
http://dellverticalline.com/

[yakov chodosh @ Jun 2nd 2007 7:48PM]

remember when everyone told you to get the extended warranty on your expensive laptops?

[Dragod @ Jun 2nd 2007 8:01PM]

Anyone want to disagree that Apple's Customer Service sucks now?

[Andrew @ Jun 2nd 2007 8:11PM]

This is a confirmed problem with some 17" dell computers from ~2 years ago. It happened to my Inspiron 9300. Considering the limited number of panel manufacturers out there, it wouldn't surprise me if these Dells and Apples use the same panels.

Dell's response to the problem:
http://direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2007/04/09/10675.aspx

[wenz @ Jun 2nd 2007 8:17PM]

what is with Engadget bashing Apple. It seems there's an almost "I told you so" glee when there's an anti-Apple article.

[crescentdavid @ Jun 2nd 2007 8:57PM]

Apologies to the applets: it seems to me that the documented censoring and censuring of Apple customers on Apple's own boards would be cause for concern. It would further seem logical for any
Apple afficiando to display worry over what looks like corporate stonewalling-at least in response-to paying Apple customers.

Evidently not. Evidently, as a fanboi-toy, such overbearing corporate control is accepted and defended.

Unless, of course, it's any other company. Then it's roundly condemned in no uncertain terms.

My favorite lines from the article? "As of now, this whole thing turned out quite absurd: Every week another individual posts a thread describing strange vertical lines on his M9689. He or she has of course no idea that the topic was quite widespread because all the posts are gone. As soon as anybody mentions the database, his or her post is deleted."

[Paulie [eatlga] @ Jun 2nd 2007 8:58PM]

Hmmm, I've just seen my first vertical red line show up on my 12" iBook which is now 23-months old.

[Adam @ Jun 2nd 2007 9:09PM]

This is why I will never buy an Apple.

[Rand MacKay @ Jun 3rd 2007 9:25PM]

Apple has broken my heart many times... this is no big surprise to me. Of the 7 Macs I've owned, display issues with 5 of them... some still under warranty, some not.

Shame shame Apple. And, don't give me the line that I should have had warranty... I did... just a pain in the neck when it happens.

[tysoh @ Jun 2nd 2007 9:13PM]

That certainly look and feel bad. Hope that the Mac book pro doesnt have this issue...

[LukeA @ Jun 2nd 2007 9:42PM]

Why aren't the streaks visible in the text?

[Michael @ Jun 2nd 2007 9:46PM]

@Adam: Why, cause there was a hardware defect (if that's what this is in fact... it could just be abuse and we don't have all the details). Heaven forbid that a hardware issue manifest itself somewhere. Happens with every computer manufacturer and no one is immune (Just had a defect with an MSI motherboard... does that mean I'm never buying their stuff.. No, that's silly!)

[Christian Brown @ Jun 2nd 2007 10:18PM]

LukeA: Cause of how LCDs work. Each pixel on an LCD is made up of 3 sub-pixels - red, green, and blue. In these streaks, some of the sub-pixels are stuck at full brightness. So white text is fine - you want those sub-pixels on anyway, and it'll look like the text is in front. But if you drop, say, red text over the cyan stripe, it'll look like it's behind the stripe.

[crescentdavid @ Jun 2nd 2007 10:26PM]

If you check out the article, you'll see it's not just an isolated incident nor related to misuse. My original post highlighted what was a well-documented movement on Apple's part to shut down ANY discussion of this one their forum board- even though numerous posts had received thousands and thousands of hits.

What's important to recognize is this problem of defective components is NOT specific to Apple. Indeed, Dell, for example, has had similar problems. They too, resisted initial efforts to highlight the problem, before addressing it.

I'm at a loss to understand why certain fans of Apple would support such shoddy customer responses. Perhaps someone could enlighten me just exactly how such an unwarranted defense of a corporation serves the end user.

Thanks!

[schlomo @ Jun 2nd 2007 11:04PM]

moral of the story:
buy apple care
OR
use a credit card that extends the warranty

between the two, I have a 5 year warranty on all of my Apple products.

[dan2ktj @ Jun 3rd 2007 1:17AM]

I have a 15" 1.67 1280 x 854 128mb ATI PB that started getting purple & green sparkling on along color bands. It seems to be triggered by video playback but the effect goes all over the screen when triggered. I have 8 months left on my Applecare. I ccan't imaging buying a portable Mac without Applecare.

[Daniel @ Jun 3rd 2007 1:33AM]

that happened to me this spring on my ibook. i woke up one morning and a nice magenta line was on the screen. good thing 'books are designed so you have to take out half the computer to fix the display ribbon.

[some dude @ Jun 3rd 2007 1:48AM]

I just picked up my G5 today from the Apple store. It was purchased in Nov 2004 WITHOUT AppleCare. (Stupid.) My power supply had died, and it cost $261 to replace it. Not $900. I'm sure the part wasn't nearly that expensive, but I'm pretty sure taking apart a G5 is a pretty labor intensive job...so I was mostly paying for a Genius to turn some screws.

While having AppleCare would have made it free, if this is the only problem I have with the machine that warrants a repair (not very likely), I'll have saved $350.

[some dude @ Jun 3rd 2007 1:50AM]

CORRECTION: I'll have saved ~$100.

[Jason Petersen @ Jun 3rd 2007 2:16AM]

Anectodal but here goes:

Mac users are picky. If something's wrong with their machine, they'll bitch about it. So the apparent number of "faulty laptops" is high.

PC users are used to shit. If something's wrong with their machine, they'll put up with it and go on with their lives. So the apparent number is artificially low.

My Powerbook has been kicking for four years. I got the screen replaced (for free) because the backlighting was uneven. Most people I showed it to couldn't even recognize what I was talking about. I see PC users at coffee shops with laptop screens that look as though they keep them in their backpacks with 20 lbs. of books. The screen has a 100% white that is 100% whiter on one side, yet they don't seem to care.

I had a Toshiba user ask me to troubleshoot his machine. He could only run the laptop next to a floor fan because it got too hot. We proved this to be true (it shut down otherwise) and asked Toshiba about it. They said it was normal, and he said, cool whatever.

Another Toshiba using friend of mine won't set his laptop rightside up on a table when it's asleep because it overheats and shuts down, so you'll often see it sleeping upside down. He hasn't cared, and in fact didn't even see it as a shortcoming for the three years I've known him.

If this happened on an Apple, the users would be all over it about how it "hampered their productivity", yadda yadda. It's like any "luxury" brand (though it's not one) in that the users are picky (or historically are, it's changing). BMW, Mercedes get reams of complaints and repairs, though people with faulty Fords generally don't give a shit.

Furthermore, don't bitch at Apple all the time about this stuff. My hard drive died on my laptop after the warranty expired, and I took apart the damn powerbook myself (about 20 screws to get inside the damn "seamless" enclosure). It probably was my fault, I bike with my laptop in a bookbag, and I've dropped it before. I didn't demand that Apple fix it.

In this case, though, the guy should get his screen replaced (for free) if it's under warranty. If not, he should bitch about it. Though I'm not entirely sure he's not at fault.

[Michael @ Jun 3rd 2007 5:58AM]

@Jason Petersen:
"Mac users are picky."
"PC users are used to shit"
Excuse me? Okay, while some of other things you said might seem valid, those quote I just pulled up aren't quite so. Who's to say mac users are always so picky? I know some really hard-headed Apple fanboys (sorry, but it's true) who think that their Mac is invincible, and oh, this little problem (sometimes a big one) come up, and oh, I'll just let it pass, since I love Apple, and I know that it's just a little bug. Sorry, but I've come across people that do things like that.

And about PC users being used to shit? Uh, not all PC brands are as bad as you think they are. Sony Vaios are top notch in quality, and have similiar offerings like Macs. Many of the Samsung lines are quite impressive. Even Toshiba has made some good ones. And sometimes, rarely, HP and Dell has made good ones before. So stop generalizing, and stick with the facts here.

[treetrunk @ Jun 3rd 2007 11:12AM]

@Jason:

How entirely delusional. You "see PC users" who you think "look like" they keep their laptop in a backpack full of books because their screen is screwed up, yet YOU keep your Mac laptop in a bookbag and messed up the screen! And your hard drive died, which you accepted as "probably your fault", and fixed at your own expense?! I'm sorry, where exactly is the Mac advantage here? It sounds like you're the one who's "used to shit"!

I don't believe for a second that Toshiba told anyone that having to run their laptop next to a fan was normal. Neither is having to turn it upside down, but if "your friend" accepts it then good for him.

Your argument really doesn't make sense. You say PC users are less fussy, yet your Mac laptop has been at least as problematic as the PC using "friends" you talk about, and you've put up with it - you even go as far as to actively defend faulty Apple products on the internet! Stop kidding yourself. Mac laptops break, PC laptops break. When they do, people bitch about it, irrespective of brand, and the more expensive the model the louder they shout. As you point out, this applies to anything - expensive cars for example - so is simply due to the higher price giving a higher expectation of quality, not because of laptop users being magically divided into two distinct groups of "Mac users" and "PC users" one of whom is "picky" and the other "used to shit".

[pihrm @ Jun 3rd 2007 12:45PM]

@Jason Petersen:
"PC users are used to shit"

You said it, brother. If you work in a support role, in the business world, you see this phenomenon everywhere, repeatedly. There is an overwhelming "I just live with it, because I expect it to be poor" attitude, from the mailroom all the way up to the executive board room.