Macbook Pro screen turns various colors when laptop is moved - anyone know why?

I have a mid-2010, 13" MBP with a 2.4 Ghz Core 2 Duo processor and 4 GB ram. OS is Lion. I've had the computer for three years without any problems--at least until this past week. The laptop will work fine while stationary, but if I pick it up to move it, the screen turns a solid color: sometimes light blue, sometimes pink, sometimes black, sometimes a different color. Every once in a while, I get a kernel panic, too. The computer doesn't shut down when this happens, but I do have to shut it down in order to get it back up and running.

I did some research on this, and some people said it could be the logic board. I went to the Apple store, where they ran a lot of diagnostic tests, including on the logic board as well as for issue TS4088. It passed every single test they ran it through, so they advised doing an erase and reinstall of Lion, thinking it might be a software issue. So I did what they advised, hoping it would solve the problem. After the erase and reinstall, the first time I picked it up to move it, the screen turned solid pink.

Does anyone know what this could be? I'm wondering if (and hoping that) it's just some part of the display going bad, since that's a relatively inexpensive fix, but I don't know how to test for that particular issue.

Does anyone know what this could be? I'm wondering if (and hoping that) it's just some part of the display going bad, since that's a relatively inexpensive fix, but I don't know how to test for that particular issue.

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I'm surprised no one at the Apple store suggested that it could be a loose or pinched video cable or one of the cables that powers the LCD. We've seen those symptoms before and it usually turns out to be a bad or loose cable which is why you get the color change when picking it up or moving the lid back and forth.

To test if it's the LCD itself, attach an external monitor or TV to your MBP and then pick it up or move the lid back and forth to see if the symptom shows up on the external.

chscag said:

I'm surprised no one at the Apple store suggested that it could be a loose or pinched video cable or one of the cables that powers the LCD. We've seen those symptoms before and it usually turns out to be a bad or loose cable which is why you get the color change when picking it up or moving the lid back and forth.

To test if it's the LCD itself, attach an external monitor or TV to your MBP and then pick it up or move the lid back and forth to see if the symptom shows up on the external.

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Thanks for the response. I did as you suggested, and when I picked up the laptop to move it, the external monitor lost its signal as soon as the screen on the laptop went dark.

If it is a bad/loose cable, is there a straightforward way to diagnose which one it is?

volvowagon said:

Thanks for the response. I did as you suggested, and when I picked up the laptop to move it, the external monitor lost its signal as soon as the screen on the laptop went dark.

If it is a bad/loose cable, is there a straightforward way to diagnose which one it is?

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If the external monitor lost video at the same time as the MacBook Pro's built-in display...then this is a much bigger problem! The external video is a port that's built into the logic board...so there is no cable for the external.

The fact that this only happens when you move the computer normally would indicate a bad video cable for the built-in display. But since the external video is effected as well...this is not good.

It's strange that this problem only happens when the computer is moved...since everything for the external video is hard soldered onto the logic board. To me this would indicate that something on the logic board is faulty/loose relating to the video ...and this is not really something that can be replaced or repaired...other than a replacement logic board...which would not be a financially feasible idea for a computer that's probably worth $500.

For something like this to occur...I would have to think that either liquid was spilled on this computer, the computer was dropped, or the computer received some sort of a serious bump/jolt.

Sorry,

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

It's strange that this problem only happens when the computer is moved...since everything for the external video is hard soldered onto the logic board. To me this would indicate that something on the logic board is faulty/loose relating to the video ...and this is not really something that can be replaced or repaired...other than a replacement logic board...which would not be a financially feasible idea for a computer that's probably worth $500.

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If it is something related to the logic board, wouldn't that have showed up in the diagnostics they ran at the Apple store? Or is this issue outside the scope of what they can diagnose?

volvowagon said:

If it is something related to the logic board, wouldn't that have showed up in the diagnostics they ran at the Apple store? Or is this issue outside the scope of what they can diagnose?

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From the description of what's happening...this problem only occurs while the computer is being moved. If the problem doesn't occur when stationary...then it won't show up in a diagnostics program. The problem must occur while the diagnostics program is running...AND the problem must occur when the diagnostics program is testing that particular subsystem. Diagnostic programs usually test by running one test at a time (one subsystem at a time).

Think of an automobile with a loose wheel. If the automobile isn't moving...you would never know that it had a loose wheel. But when the automobile starts to move...you definitely know the automobile has a loose wheel.

With the computer...it seems that something must be mechanically broken on the logic board (a connection of some sort). And this connection is "stable" only while stationary. If moved...this connection becomes unstable...and results in the problems you're seeing.

Again...if this only happened with the internal display...it would probably be the video cable. But since the problem happens simultaneously on both the internal and an external display when the computer is moved....then it's got to be something related to the logic board.

Here's a "million to one" possibility you can try. Try cleaning the inside of the computer (you need to open it up). Maybe there's something (dirt, grit, fuzz, etc.) that somehow is causing a problem. I would recommend using a container of "canned air", to blow the insides clean.

If this idea doesn't help (million to one)...more & more chance something is damaged on the logic board.

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

Here's a "million to one" possibility you can try. Try cleaning the inside of the computer (you need to open it up). Maybe there's something (dirt, grit, fuzz, etc.) that somehow is causing a problem. I would recommend using a container of "canned air", to blow the insides clean.

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Well, it can't hurt to try. I'll give it a shot and see what happens, then post the results. Thanks for all your help (both of you). I really appreciate it.

Macbook Pro screen issue

I know this thread is very old, but I have one of these laptops and figured out the issue. There is a piece of rubber stripping on the inside of the removable back plate that cushions the memory banks. When you pick it up this puts pressure on the memory and if you have banks that are loose it will cause screen distortion and colored lines exactly like mentioned in this thread. All I did was strip away this rubber from the inside of the plate and put it back together. It no longer does it anymore.

I figured it out by removing the back plate, turning it on, and pushing slightly on different cables, pogo pins, etc until it replicated. Top memory module was to blame. And I don't want to replace logic board, so easier to just not put pressure on it if its still working otherwise. The other option is to buy one DIMM equal to both in size and put it on the bottom and not have the top DIMM in use.

Even though this is old, I wanted to post in case others like me came here looking for answers. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the solution even if the thread is old. Maybe someone else can benefit. And welcome to our forums!