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Intermittent "flickering/weird color" screen issue with MacBook Pro 17-Inch Mid 2009 (5,2) (A1297)

I recently picked up an older MacBook Pro 17-Inch Mid 2009 (5,2) (A1297). 


The computer has one issue with it. Most of the time, the computer screen either flickers random colors or the screen casts a weird color hue. 

About 5 percent of the time the screen works the way it should, however most of the time the screen does the strange issue. 

Sometimes a whack to the top of the computer makes it work correctly for a bit, most of the time it does not. 

I was wondering how I could fix this strange problem?


I have attached a YouTube video of the problem. Note, that it is sped up 2x.


https://youtu.be/afyZTunM-XI

Posted on Jun 5, 2021 5:51 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jun 5, 2021 6:05 PM

That appears to be a hardware issue to me. It can be the display itself, the cable that connects to the display or the video/logic board. Take a screenshot of the desktop and see whether the screen issue shows up in the screenshot. If the issue shows up in the screenshot, then it is directly related to the video/logic board. If the issue does not show up in the screenshot, then it is related to the display itself.


Axel F.

3 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jun 5, 2021 6:05 PM in response to BluRose

That appears to be a hardware issue to me. It can be the display itself, the cable that connects to the display or the video/logic board. Take a screenshot of the desktop and see whether the screen issue shows up in the screenshot. If the issue shows up in the screenshot, then it is directly related to the video/logic board. If the issue does not show up in the screenshot, then it is related to the display itself.


Axel F.

Intermittent "flickering/weird color" screen issue with MacBook Pro 17-Inch Mid 2009 (5,2) (A1297)

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