Contrast madness
Totally stumped on this one so would really appreciate some help.
I start up my iMac (G5 17" 2Ghz) and the screen looks normal at Log in, so I log in and it still looks fine for about a second then the screen contrast suddenly goes really high. I can see everything just in totally screwed-up over saturated, very high contrast (and that's on the whole screen. Menu bar and dock included). It's had this problem for about a fortnight now.
I can get it back to normal by launching any game that goes full screen and then quitting it and the screen goes back to normal. This isn't a problem on other accounts. If I log out and log back in I have the same problem.
This started when I spilt coffee on my Apple BT keyboard. I only spilt a small amount but it managed to get wicked into the printed circuits and that caused it to start blasting the iMac with keystrokes. OS bogged down and became really unresponsive until I switched the k/brd off (which was within seconds of spilling the drink). That's when I noticed the screen problem. Just for the record, I had System prefs open at the time.
What I've tried:
-Repair permissions.. some slightly odd notes consistently come up
-I have verified and repaired the disk using install DVD.. no probs reported there.
-I tried switching colour profiles and repairing colour profile.. no difference.
-Thought it might be a problem with a start up item so disabled them all but that didn't work.
So .. any Genius suggestions out there? Thanks
PS.. took BT keyboard apart (how many screws!!) and cleaned the printed plastic circuits, let it dry and it worked perfectly.
I start up my iMac (G5 17" 2Ghz) and the screen looks normal at Log in, so I log in and it still looks fine for about a second then the screen contrast suddenly goes really high. I can see everything just in totally screwed-up over saturated, very high contrast (and that's on the whole screen. Menu bar and dock included). It's had this problem for about a fortnight now.
I can get it back to normal by launching any game that goes full screen and then quitting it and the screen goes back to normal. This isn't a problem on other accounts. If I log out and log back in I have the same problem.
This started when I spilt coffee on my Apple BT keyboard. I only spilt a small amount but it managed to get wicked into the printed circuits and that caused it to start blasting the iMac with keystrokes. OS bogged down and became really unresponsive until I switched the k/brd off (which was within seconds of spilling the drink). That's when I noticed the screen problem. Just for the record, I had System prefs open at the time.
What I've tried:
-Repair permissions.. some slightly odd notes consistently come up
Quote:
Repairing permissions for ?Macintosh HD?
Determining correct file permissions.
We are using special permissions for the file or directory ./Library/Widgets. New permissions are 16877
We are using special permissions for the file or directory ./usr/lib/php/build/acinclude.m4. New permissions are 33060
The privileges have been verified or repaired on the selected volume
Permissions repair complete
Repairing permissions for ?Macintosh HD?
Determining correct file permissions.
We are using special permissions for the file or directory ./Library/Widgets. New permissions are 16877
We are using special permissions for the file or directory ./usr/lib/php/build/acinclude.m4. New permissions are 33060
The privileges have been verified or repaired on the selected volume
Permissions repair complete
-I have verified and repaired the disk using install DVD.. no probs reported there.
-I tried switching colour profiles and repairing colour profile.. no difference.
-Thought it might be a problem with a start up item so disabled them all but that didn't work.
So .. any Genius suggestions out there? Thanks
PS.. took BT keyboard apart (how many screws!!) and cleaned the printed plastic circuits, let it dry and it worked perfectly.
Comments
The most likely thing is that you accidentally turned on a feature in Universal Access. Launch System Preferences, and go to the "Universal Access" panel. It should open on the "seeing" tab, which has settings for turning the screen to black on white, and for increasing contrast. There are key-combinations for both settings, so it's possible that those key-combinations were activated during the spillage.
The second most likely thing is that the display calibration went screwy. If the universal access thing didn't work, go to the "displays" pane of system preferences, and then the "color" tab, click on the calibrate button, and the display calibrator will launch. Make sure that the expert mode is engaged (don't worry, you don't really need to be an expert), then just follow the on-screen instructions. Even if the Universal Access stuff was to blame for your crazy contrast, you may find you benefit from doing a screen calibration anyway. (Make sure the monitor has been on for a few minutes before doing the calibration)
If neither of those work, come back here.
Let us know how it goes.
Good luck.