An update to this: I am a technical journalist covering this issue. My own MacBook Pro is affected by the problem, and like everyone else I have been waiting for a solution to the issue from Apple.
I now strongly suspect that the issue is hardware related, because after contacting Apple's media relations department I was asked to bring my MacBook Pro into the Apple Store Sydney for repair and lent a loan-pool MacBook Pro. The loan MacBook Pro does not have the problem at all... neither the scrolling graphics corruption nor the flickering/flashing animation/video problem.
The notebook they've lent me is almost exactly the same config as the one I had problems with too -- a 2.6GHz Core 2 Duo with the 512MB NVIDIA 8600M GT graphics chip. The only difference with theirs is it only has 2GB of RAM, whereas I had mine upgraded to 4GB.
Looking at the System Profiler info, I can see the NVIDIA chip has the following device info:
Chipset ModeltGeForce 8600M GT
TypetDisplay
BustPCIe
PCIe Lane Widthtx16
VRAM (Total)t512 MB
VendortNVIDIA (0x10de)
Device IDt0x0407
Revision IDt0x00a1
ROM Revisiont3212
Can someone with a faulty machine look at their System Profiler > Graphics info and see if their ROM revision or Revision ID is different?
Ok.. it appears that the Leopard Graphics Card update was bogus and caused this headache.
Refreshing the PRAM and other things just DONT get it done.
Here is the fix.
Load the Leopard install disk and reload Leopard onto your mac. You need to be careful not to reformat your hard drive. Choose the second options which creates a folder and places your old operating system files into that folder and reinstalls Leopard onto your computer.
Then update the system. This time the software update will not include the graphics card update.
This fixed everything for me.
Chow.
Clint Harris
Clint, I'd be curious to know if the problem remains fixed or if it has crept back in. If, as others are say, it is a hardware problem, then it would seem that the problem will return. But if it's as simple as reinstalling Leopard, then this is encouraging. Please give us an update.
Macbook user here too and I have tearing only in some PDF files heavy in graphics and color and in relatively high resolution. Scrolling again slowly refreshes the page and the tearing dissappears.
I had a similar problem with my (much) older Powerbook when scrolling in Mail. Sometimes tearing appeared if scrolling while the computer paged out. This makes me think that it must be software related. Or this is what I want to believe.
I have a July 2007 MBP and I have the tearing issue. Only happens when running on batteries just like the original poster. Also began happening after upgrading from 10.5.1 to 10.5.2 and still occurs in 10.5.3 and 10.5.4. I got sick of the issue so I removed Leopard and went back to Tiger 10.4.11. No issues and runs great.
I've been marking up PDF files almost everyday for over a year and don't know why I only saw it once.
It is probably the file. In my case at least it seems file-related. Not all files produce display corruption and the ones that do, usually are heavy in color. Probably there is some other hidden parameter in the file that affects the way it is displayed on screen.
MBP...same problem Pieman, did PRAM reset, OK 2 weeks, starting to creep back in. danwarne : my ROM Revision 3175
My wife's Pro still has this problem - I've been waiting for a software fix but it sure doesn't seem like it is coming (or is a priority if it was). We're expecting another child towards the end of this month so it looks like that's when her machine will go in for repairs.
The sad thing is I've got a 2008 alu 24" iMac which just started tearing today. Wonder if this thing has a shoddy GPU as well.
More recently, developers were treated to build 9F29. That build tacked on a pair of fixes, one of which tackles an issue between Macs and previously joined AirPort networks, people familiar with the software say. The second fix was related to a graphics framework.
Yeah I saw that. I'm really not sure what to think. My iMac is now showing the same symptoms, although not nearly as frequently or noticeably. Thinking back, I actually cloned this iMac onto her machine at one point and the problem wasn't there. After reverting back to her install it started again immediately. That sure seems to point to a problem with software.
OK, so 10.5.5 is finally out and it reportedly addresses many graphical glitches. Has anyone tried it? Has the graphics tearing finally disappeared? I am not going to install before October since I do work of critical importance these days.
OK, so 10.5.5 is finally out and it reportedly addresses many graphical glitches. Has anyone tried it? Has the graphics tearing finally disappeared? I am not going to install before October since I do work of critical importance these days.
So 10.5.5 sure looks like it has fixed the problem on my wife's MacBook Pro. I just did a quick couple of scrolling tests unplugged, and there was no tearing at all. I'm amazed - I was just about to call Applecare to repair the machine. We'll see if it pops up again, but it looks good out of the gate.
Comments
I now strongly suspect that the issue is hardware related, because after contacting Apple's media relations department I was asked to bring my MacBook Pro into the Apple Store Sydney for repair and lent a loan-pool MacBook Pro. The loan MacBook Pro does not have the problem at all... neither the scrolling graphics corruption nor the flickering/flashing animation/video problem.
The notebook they've lent me is almost exactly the same config as the one I had problems with too -- a 2.6GHz Core 2 Duo with the 512MB NVIDIA 8600M GT graphics chip. The only difference with theirs is it only has 2GB of RAM, whereas I had mine upgraded to 4GB.
Looking at the System Profiler info, I can see the NVIDIA chip has the following device info:
Chipset Model
Type
Bus
PCIe Lane Width
VRAM (Total)
Vendor
Device ID
Revision ID
ROM Revision
Can someone with a faulty machine look at their System Profiler > Graphics info and see if their ROM revision or Revision ID is different?
Ok.. it appears that the Leopard Graphics Card update was bogus and caused this headache.
Refreshing the PRAM and other things just DONT get it done.
Here is the fix.
Load the Leopard install disk and reload Leopard onto your mac. You need to be careful not to reformat your hard drive. Choose the second options which creates a folder and places your old operating system files into that folder and reinstalls Leopard onto your computer.
Then update the system. This time the software update will not include the graphics card update.
This fixed everything for me.
Chow.
Clint Harris
Clint, I'd be curious to know if the problem remains fixed or if it has crept back in. If, as others are say, it is a hardware problem, then it would seem that the problem will return. But if it's as simple as reinstalling Leopard, then this is encouraging. Please give us an update.
This happens to my own MacBook (not the Pro one)
Macbook user here too and I have tearing only in some PDF files heavy in graphics and color and in relatively high resolution. Scrolling again slowly refreshes the page and the tearing dissappears.
I had a similar problem with my (much) older Powerbook when scrolling in Mail. Sometimes tearing appeared if scrolling while the computer paged out. This makes me think that it must be software related. Or this is what I want to believe.
I've been marking up PDF files almost everyday for over a year and don't know why I only saw it once.
I've been marking up PDF files almost everyday for over a year and don't know why I only saw it once.
It is probably the file. In my case at least it seems file-related. Not all files produce display corruption and the ones that do, usually are heavy in color. Probably there is some other hidden parameter in the file that affects the way it is displayed on screen.
MBP...same problem Pieman, did PRAM reset, OK 2 weeks, starting to creep back in. danwarne : my ROM Revision 3175
My wife's Pro still has this problem - I've been waiting for a software fix but it sure doesn't seem like it is coming (or is a priority if it was). We're expecting another child towards the end of this month so it looks like that's when her machine will go in for repairs.
The sad thing is I've got a 2008 alu 24" iMac which just started tearing today. Wonder if this thing has a shoddy GPU as well.
My wife's Pro still has this problem - I've been waiting for a software fix but it sure doesn't seem like it is coming (or is a priority if it was).
Well, there is still hope. From this thread:
More recently, developers were treated to build 9F29. That build tacked on a pair of fixes, one of which tackles an issue between Macs and previously joined AirPort networks, people familiar with the software say. The second fix was related to a graphics framework.
So... better be the one we expect here.
OK, so 10.5.5 is finally out and it reportedly addresses many graphical glitches.
So 10.5.5 sure looks like it has fixed the problem on my wife's MacBook Pro. I just did a quick couple of scrolling tests unplugged, and there was no tearing at all. I'm amazed - I was just about to call Applecare to repair the machine. We'll see if it pops up again, but it looks good out of the gate.
Anyone else fixed/not fixed with 10.5.5?