Cant see light gray on monitor; bad graphics card?

ohucan2 · 01-10-2013, 08:16 AM

We have a Mac Pro 2010 (dont know exact model) and we can see light gray on an Apple 30" Cinema, tried switch screens, calibrate, etc. Any ideas, bad graphics board?

thx

DeltaMac · 01-10-2013, 09:45 AM

Do other colors and shades appear correct, and the only issue is "light gray"?

If your issue is that the light gray is tinted some other color, then darker shades of gray would be tinted with the same color. Is that what you see?

ohucan2 · 01-10-2013, 09:48 AM

No, it does not display light gray at all. The background of on this post become a little gray it would appear to be white. Other colors appear to be fine

DeltaMac · 01-10-2013, 10:15 AM

What does this chart look like, to you? http://www.coroprint.com/ColorChart.aspx
How does "light gray" appear? is it too dark/light? or is it tinted (what color)

You mean that "light gray" does not display at all, and is blank, or completely white or black?
If you log out, then log back in to another user account, does the color on your screen appear to be better?
If you don't have another user, create one just for this purpose.

benwiggy · 01-10-2013, 11:21 AM

You say you've tried calibrating the monitor, and also using other monitors?

It is unusual for a graphics card problem to manifest itself in this manner -- constant pixel-wide stripes, overall lack of Red (or Green, or Blue), weird irregular, disjointed screen activity, stuck pixels -- these are more usual signs of a bad GPU.

The easiest way to pinpoint the problem would be to install another GPU. Admittedly, not the cheapest test.

ohucan2 · 01-11-2013, 06:35 AM

it has a NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT 512 MB, is that what I should swap out? Sounds like you're saying that's rarely the issue but swap it out anyway.

DeltaMac · 01-11-2013, 08:50 AM

Reseating the graphics card won't hurt.
Did you try some of the other suggestions?

Does that color chart appear too dark, or too light, or something else?
Did you try a different user account (probably the most important)

ohucan2 · 01-11-2013, 03:07 PM

I tell ya, DeltaMac, lo and behold we can see the gray when logged in as a different user. What next?

DeltaMac · 01-11-2013, 04:24 PM

Now you know that it's not a hardware issue.

Log back in to your normal user. Make sure that "enhance contrast" is set to "normal", in your System Preference/Universal Access prefs. The contrast control is under the Seeing tab.
Is your Displays/Color tab set correctly for the display that you are using?
Try the display calibration (in the Displays pref pane) again. You should make sure that your ambient lighting is normal when you do that calibration.

Your ColorSync Utility (in your Applications/Utilities folder) can be helpful, too. Newer OS X versions allow that utility to repair the various color profiles that might exist on your system.

ohucan2 · 01-11-2013, 04:27 PM

Bingo, it was a few notches off 'normal'.

THANK YOU!

DeltaMac · 01-11-2013, 04:37 PM

Aha!
You're very welcome.
I'm glad when my pitiful knowledge produces a good result...

01-10-2013, 08:16 AM	#1
ohucan2 Triple-A Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 238	Cant see light gray on monitor; bad graphics card? We have a Mac Pro 2010 (dont know exact model) and we can see light gray on an Apple 30" Cinema, tried switch screens, calibrate, etc. Any ideas, bad graphics board? thx

01-10-2013, 11:21 AM	#5
benwiggy League Commissioner Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 5,040	You say you've tried calibrating the monitor, and also using other monitors? It is unusual for a graphics card problem to manifest itself in this manner -- constant pixel-wide stripes, overall lack of Red (or Green, or Blue), weird irregular, disjointed screen activity, stuck pixels -- these are more usual signs of a bad GPU. The easiest way to pinpoint the problem would be to install another GPU. Admittedly, not the cheapest test. Last edited by benwiggy; 01-10-2013 at 11:25 AM.

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01-10-2013, 09:45 AM	#2
DeltaMac League Commissioner Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 7,962	Do other colors and shades appear correct, and the only issue is "light gray"? If your issue is that the light gray is tinted some other color, then darker shades of gray would be tinted with the same color. Is that what you see?

01-10-2013, 09:48 AM	#3
ohucan2 Triple-A Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 238	No, it does not display light gray at all. The background of on this post become a little gray it would appear to be white. Other colors appear to be fine

01-10-2013, 10:15 AM	#4
DeltaMac League Commissioner Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 7,962	What does this chart look like, to you? http://www.coroprint.com/ColorChart.aspx How does "light gray" appear? is it too dark/light? or is it tinted (what color) You mean that "light gray" does not display at all, and is blank, or completely white or black? If you log out, then log back in to another user account, does the color on your screen appear to be better? If you don't have another user, create one just for this purpose.

01-11-2013, 06:35 AM	#6
ohucan2 Triple-A Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 238	it has a NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT 512 MB, is that what I should swap out? Sounds like you're saying that's rarely the issue but swap it out anyway.

01-11-2013, 08:50 AM	#7
DeltaMac League Commissioner Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 7,962	Reseating the graphics card won't hurt. Did you try some of the other suggestions? Does that color chart appear too dark, or too light, or something else? Did you try a different user account (probably the most important)

01-11-2013, 03:07 PM	#8
ohucan2 Triple-A Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 238	I tell ya, DeltaMac, lo and behold we can see the gray when logged in as a different user. What next?

01-11-2013, 04:24 PM	#9
DeltaMac League Commissioner Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 7,962	Now you know that it's not a hardware issue. Log back in to your normal user. Make sure that "enhance contrast" is set to "normal", in your System Preference/Universal Access prefs. The contrast control is under the Seeing tab. Is your Displays/Color tab set correctly for the display that you are using? Try the display calibration (in the Displays pref pane) again. You should make sure that your ambient lighting is normal when you do that calibration. Your ColorSync Utility (in your Applications/Utilities folder) can be helpful, too. Newer OS X versions allow that utility to repair the various color profiles that might exist on your system.

01-11-2013, 04:27 PM	#10
ohucan2 Triple-A Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 238	Bingo, it was a few notches off 'normal'. THANK YOU!

01-11-2013, 04:37 PM	#11
DeltaMac League Commissioner Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 7,962	Aha! You're very welcome. I'm glad when my pitiful knowledge produces a good result...