Mac Display Clarity Problem
I just went through troubleshooting a bizarre Mac display problem.
The symptom was that on my LCD monitor, the pixels coming out of the Mac weren’t lining up with teh pixels on the monitor, so it would look clear on the left side of the screen, but fuzzy in two spots across the screen. Seemed like a pixel clock type problem.
But I tried something this morning that ruled that out – I logged in as a different user. The display cleared up. So it was something configured for my user account that was doing this.
I went through ~/Library/Preferences looking for the likely culprit, and eventually just moving all the files that were there to somewhere else. That fixed the problem but of course now all my preferences were gone.
After a bit of trial and error, I narrowed it down to one file: com.apple.universalaccess.plist
Opening this file, I could see a setting called “closeViewZoomFactor” that was set to 1.001250. So my display was zoomed in just a tiny bit, enough to just make the display a little bit fuzzy.
To fix the problem I deleted this file, and that made the display come up clear, but I had no mouse cursor. To fix that, I used Cmd-Opt-F8 to turn on Universal Access, then Cmd-Opt-= to zoom in a bit and Cmd-Opt– to zoom back out. This brought the mouse back, and had me at 1.00 zoom.
The interesting question is, how did I get my system into the 1.001250 zoom state in the first place?
April 29th, 2007 at 9:34 pm
Maybe you pressed the control key while using the scroll wheel on your mouse (or two finger scrolled on your trackpad) ever so slightly.
May 2nd, 2007 at 6:19 am
hey Wayne – I just tried that to see if I could repro it, and I don’t think that’s it – the steps that the zoom happens in are too big. Zooming in as little as I can using ctrl-drag zooms in a lot more than what my system found itself zoomed to.
The whole display was zoomed in about 2 pixels.
May 17th, 2007 at 4:35 am
hello! i had exactly the same problem since two days and went through the same procedure. I took more than 2 hours until I also find the cause in com.apple.universalaccess.plist. I had a zoom factor of 1.0074895189284871 on my 17″ TFT iMac.
It could be pixed by turning off the zoom option in the universal access system preferences or by using the mouse wheel with CTRL pressed.
And I also don’t know how I got this strange zoom factor … but I am happy that it’s not a damage of the TFT or the graphic card …
July 19th, 2007 at 1:03 pm
Universal Access was the culprit for me. Somehow it was turned on and any time the mouse cursor crossed the median of the screen, you could see pixels jump and text/images would have artifacting. Just an FYI, the “Mac Genius” at the “Genius Bar” told me to replace the video card. Trust your instincts and experience, not someone trying to upsell.
Thanks for the posts, they helped me solve my issue.
Mac on…
-dy
October 10th, 2007 at 6:48 pm
Thanks, this post saved the day for me! I want to know how the heck the zoom factor got to such a funky number, I tried to recreate the issue with the mouse and ctrl buttom, but the zoom always snapped back to one.
December 12th, 2007 at 8:32 am
Went searching for a solution to the sudden fuzzy spots on my screen. The control/mouse thing worked for me. You saved a lot of trouble for this completely non-tech person.
Thanks.
December 15th, 2007 at 12:45 am
Thanks much for this tip!! I had gotten the same “fuzzy display” problem after my QuickTime 7.3.1 upgrade. No idea if that was related or something else caused the bizarre zoom effect, but turning off the Universal Access Zoom did the trick.
January 24th, 2008 at 5:16 am
How can i open com.apple.universalaccess.plist
I have the same problem-a totally new I mac- and now green lights are fliqering and the clarity is suddenly gone.
grretings Pim
March 21st, 2008 at 9:23 pm
A year later I’m getting something similar, can’t figure it out, so google the simplest of search terms. I find your post, read the first comment, try hitting control and scrolling the mouse and voila – saving me from a trip to the Apple store with four young kids in tow.
I feel victorious, but must give credit where due. :) I know nothing about macs. :)
April 28th, 2008 at 12:15 am
thanks for the solution, it really worked!! this just started happening after i restarted my computer and as a person with OCD it really bothered me so I had to find a solution, and mac troubleshooting sux, but your post is very straightforward and helpful. thanks a lot again!
June 9th, 2008 at 12:26 am
Thanks, you just fixed my Mac.
June 9th, 2008 at 12:28 am
On my Mac, when i moved the mouse across the screen, it would mess up the pixels and make it more choppy looking, but with what u said on the first post (zooming out) it fixed it!!!
YAY!!!
October 13th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
I had the same problem after using piclens/Cool iris .. Some programs take advantage of using this zoom and sometimes a bug doesnt let it turn off. That was my issue…
February 20th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Thanks! The Universal Access fixed it. The screen was “jumping” slightly every time I moved the mouse. I was getting sea-sick!
May 19th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
hey i have a display problem with the mac book pro too – the display seems to have horizontal lines starting from the top of the screen moving down and it flickers. when i adjust the screen to a different angle, it seems to disappear and comes back again if shut the laptop and start all over again. i am cluess about this kind of problem. please help !