Advice appreciated & more info on ACD line problem

[prymsnap]

Below is a thumbnail of a screen shot of the line at the top of my ACD. Sorry -- I haven't yet figured out how to include an image in a post without using this thumbnail/hosting scheme. I'm embarrassed to admit my ignorance, knowing that so many of you include images on a regular basis.

[img=http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/1313/picture1hoq.th.png]

The line is very faint, running horizontally and can be best seen just to the right of the middle of the word "Help" on the Finder bar. I've tried attaching the ACD to two different computers, changing resolution, and leaving a fully white screen on overnight. No joy. Oddly, the line was least visible when the fully white screen was on.

I have an appointment with a Genius (we'll see about that) on Monday. But I'd love to go there armed with additional wisdom from this board.

Thanks.

[hal]

I don't see a faint white line - are you running a 'theme'? But your menu bar DOES look different than mine. My apple icon (left) is black under leopard default.

[prymsnap]

hal wrote:
I don't see a faint white line - are you running a 'theme'? But your menu bar DOES look different than mine. My apple icon (left) is black under leopard default.

I'm still running Tiger.

The line is really faint and sort of gray. I wish I could take a screen shot when the line is over something other than white, for example, during a screen saver cycle. Of course, moving the mouse in order to take the screen shot would disable the screen saver.

[Gareth]

The line appears when you take a screenshot using command-shift-3? If so, I don't think the monitor is at fault, though it does seem odd to happen on two computers.

If you have Photoshop, you can eliminate the menu bar to take a screenshot against anything you want. Create and image, press 'F' to cycle through the display modes, and 'Tab' to get rid of the Photoshop palettes, and command -/+ to zoom in/out until you've filled the screen.

[prymsnap]

Gareth wrote:
The line appears when you take a screenshot using command-shift-3? If so, I don't think the monitor is at fault, though it does seem odd to happen on two computers.

If you have Photoshop, you can eliminate the menu bar to take a screenshot against anything you want. Create and image, press 'F' to cycle through the display modes, and 'Tab' to get rid of the Photoshop palettes, and command -/+ to zoom in/out until you've filled the screen.

Great idea! I followed your instructions but, unfortunately, zooming fills the entire screen EXCEPT for the Finder bar at the very top, which is where the line resides.

And yes, the line does appear in the same place when I take a screen shot with command-shift-3 or command-shift-4.

[Gareth]

Press 'F' to cycle through all the Photoshop display modes. There is a mode that eliminates the menu bar (unless you're using Elements, which may not have this mode).

[OWC Jamie]

you've tried a different cable (I have an (clear plastic) ACD at home and can't recall if the cable is removable or not)
and of course
whacking it. (which could make it worse) :-)

[prymsnap]

billb wrote:
you've tried a different cable (I have an (clear plastic) ACD at home and can't recall if the cable is removable or not)
and of course
whacking it. (which could make it worse) :-)

The cable is hardwired in, so it's not swappable. However, there's a separate power supply that is swappable. I'll ask to try this at the Apple store if another is available.

I'm not adverse to the whacking thing...

[prymsnap]

Finally figured out how to post an image. Here it is:



Can you see the gray horizontal line in to the left of the word "Help"?

By the way, people, this newfound knowledge may prove dangerous.

I'm going to try the earlier Photoshop suggestion again.

[prymsnap]

I think my head's going to explode.

Did Gareth's Photoshop thing. I could easily see the line in an orange full-screen image. Took a screenshot of the area where the line is and....I can't see the line on the resulting image.

But I can see it when the actual Photoshop image is on screen, and I can see it while the screen saver is active, and I can see it in the Finder bar. And it shows up on a screen shot image of the Finder bar.

Do any of you remember a Three Stooges episode in which a painter goes crazy trying to paint out a spot on a canvas, and it turns out that the spot is a shadow? I'm starting to wonder.