scharff@ucunix.san.uc.edu (Guillermo Scharffenorth) (03/23/91)
My Mac+ has recently developed a hardware problem which causes the screen to blacken temporarily. I know that it is a hardware problem because it happens when I boot from an external hard drive, and also when I boot from a floppy drive with the external HD disconnected. The screen does not go black entirely; instead, there are always at least a few white pixels, and they seem to be drawn where "on" pixels should appear. I know that the Mac+ is still functioning when this happens because it still responds to command keys, macros, etc., and because the few pixels which remain "on" are in correct places. Sometimes the screen goes almost entirely black, and sometimes there is a quarter inch of the left part of the screen drawn correctly. The problem invariably gets better after about ten minutes of waiting with the computer left on. It happens every few days. The Mac runs well besides this problem. If you know what might be causing this, or have had the same problem, please let me know. I am a poor graduate student and cannot afford to take my Mac to an Apple dealer if it can be avoided. I may be able to carry out some SMALL repairs if anyone knows what needs to be done. Plese email any answers directly to my email address in addition to posting the reply here. (scharff@ucunix.san.uc.edu) Thank you. Guillermo Scharffenorth.