fuzzy vertical lines (graphics glitch)?

The first time I saw this, I thought it was just a graphic glitch in Metroid Prime 3, as it was the first game I ever noticed it on. Now I've seen it pop up in both RE4 and Zack and Wiki. I went through some of Nintendo's trouble shooting steps which told me to check if the problem occurs on the Wii menu and in the Mii Plaza. While very easy to miss, I do see the problem in those places.

What it looks like is fuzzy vertical bars, usually showing up in little patches on the screen. Some times, during high graphical stuff like FMV, it gets more dramatic. I don't really know how to describe it... it reminds me of those old emergency broadcast system warnings with the multi colored bars that are spread across the screen, except these are kinda transparent and fuzzy/pixely.

I know it's not my TV, as I just recently moved my Wii over to the spare TV to free up the living room TV for my wife and the same issue shows up on both.

Does any one have this problem or seen anything remotely close to this?

I had my Wii the second day that it came out and I've never had graphical problems...

Maybe something is wrong with your video card, but I would hope not...

Probably should call Nintendo, you might have to send it in for repairs...but I've never seen this happen so I can't help you too much

Can you post a pic of this? Cuz on my system I've seen verticle bars but only on certain bright colors, like in Wii Sports (Blue Sky in Wii Baseball) Zelda (Blue sky outside desert temple) and they are also visible on the wii menu too. I never noticed this until I bought an HDTV and Nintendo brand Component cables. By the way I've had my Wii since launch.

It's kinda weird cuz when I called Nintendo about this they didn't know what it was and said that it probably was nothing that if I sent it they would more than likely just send it back. I'm guessing its just a graphical flaw that appears w/ HDTV's and Component cables...

Are the bars that appear on your wii like this?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xwT5hasrVf4

Are the bars that appear on your wii like this?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xwT5hasrVf4

j03yAsunder

I have that as well, It also started on Metori Prime 3 for me as well and then I noiced it on Mario Strikers but not on games like Sonic and the secret ringd though.

Can you post a pic of this? Cuz on my system I've seen verticle bars but only on certain bright colors, like in Wii Sports (Blue Sky in Wii Baseball) Zelda (Blue sky outside desert temple) and they are also visible on the wii menu too. I never noticed this until I bought an HDTV and Nintendo brand Component cables. By the way I've had my Wii since launch.

It's kinda weird cuz when I called Nintendo about this they didn't know what it was and said that it probably was nothing that if I sent it they would more than likely just send it back. I'm guessing its just a graphical flaw that appears w/ HDTV's and Component cables...

j03yAsunder

Same bright colours like ones in Mario strikers, I think it was maybe because of one of their updates because it's seems like to many are having this problem, thank god I'm not the only one lol.

Are the bars that appear on your wii like this?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xwT5hasrVf4

j03yAsunder

I have a similar problem, but instead of lines, it looks more like sporadic clouds of greenish pixels. They only pop up at certain times during certain games, often during fog effects and fmv. I'll be calling Nintendo soon because from what I've been reading, it sounds like a failing gpu.

Anyone remember how long the warranty lasts?

Are the bars that appear on your wii like this?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xwT5hasrVf4

j03yAsunder

That's EXACTLY what is happening on my Wii. I'm happy to know mine isn't a unique case.

I had this problem and called Nintendo about it. They sent me a shipping label and had my wii back in about 2 weeks.. didnt spend a dime. They ask you to write a description of the problem and send it along with the wii. When I got it back there was a note saying "We didn't find anything wrong with your Wii." I was about to go apesh!t but then it said "... so we replaced everything that could cause such a problem" which included the main circuit board and fan which is just about everything. Really top-shelf service from Nintendo.

Give them a call. They will handle it.

[QUOTE="j03yAsunder"]

Are the bars that appear on your wii like this?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xwT5hasrVf4

Mike1978Smith

That's EXACTLY what is happening on my Wii. I'm happy to know mine isn't a unique case.

Yeah in this video they said it was a fried GPU. This however wasn't the case w/ my Wii though cuz I didn't get the weird green and red pixels. I just got those faint vertical stripes in the menu and on bright colors like I said. Just call Nintendo and explain the problem w/ the pixels and all cuz I think it might be a fried GPU problem w/ your Wii. They should be able to tell you whether or not it needs repairs being that there are alot of complaints about this.

[QUOTE="j03yAsunder"]

Are the bars that appear on your wii like this?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xwT5hasrVf4

Mike1978Smith

That's EXACTLY what is happening on my Wii. I'm happy to know mine isn't a unique case.

you are not the only one my Wii also has a broken merory card slot a

I think I'm seeing the same lines as most of you - if you've played Super Paper Mario, you'll see that the lines are really evident in the dialogue screens, and they're also visible in the saving screens in Super Mario Galaxy. You can see them when you press the "Home" button (in the highlights of the buttons that display onscreen) and there are small rectangles of lines visible in the "Message" screen.

I called Nintendo the other day and they told me to try a different set of cables, so I got my hands on some (different brand, even), and the problem's still there. I've also tried two different HDTVs, and the problem's visible on both, so it's not my TV that's the problem (my XBOX360 works fine via component on both).

The weird thing is this - if I press "Home" on the remote, I can see the lines in the highlights of the two buttons that display (the lightest blue area). But when you select the "Wii Menu" button that displays onscreen, and then select "No" on the "Return to menu?" screen that pops up, the lines disappear! This seems to suggest that it's a GPU problem.

I'll call Nintendo again this afternoon, but if anyone has any insight or has had the problem solved somehow, I'd love to hear it.

does anyone know if nintendo only covers the charge of this problem if your warranty is still good or do you think they will still cover it even if my warranty is up?

I've never seen this before and if my wii does have it I haven't noticed. Is it really like a big deal? Does it mess with the game or hinder the visuals so bad you can't play, or is this just some minor annoying thing?

I find it pretty annoying, but having said that, it is only visible in certain places (the ones I mentioned earlier are the places I've seen, but I'm sure there are others). But it's not as though the lines can only be seen when you're staring closely at the screen - they're visible a few metres away or more, and I'm only using a 24 inch LCD. And given the amount of dialogue in Super Paper Mario, it's quite frustrating to see these vertical lines in every single dialogue box.

Besides, if it is a hardware problem of some kind, then why put up with it when you can have it fixed for free?

I just watched the youtube video, ive never seen or heard of that before! :o i hope it gets sorted out!Yo-gan

The Youtube Video is showing the effects of a failing (or overheating) graphics chip in the Wii console. This is an isolated problem that is usually caused byheat generated by the wireless hardware when the machine is off but still connected to the Nintendo online network. Its not caused by video cables.

What I'm seeing is different from the youtube vid. Here are a couple of poor quality pictures of what I'm seeing (click for big):

Just checked my cousin's two-week old Wii yesterday and yup, same vetical lines in the Wii Menu, Super Paper Mario, Mario Galaxy and Metroid. I guess that settles it, it must be natural after all. Maybe some people can see the lines, others can't.Nintenboy01

It's not "natural" it's a hardware problem that Nintendo will fix if you give them a call. The Wii isn't as reliable as Nintendo's past consoles, but their repair service is still top-notch.

it happenes wen using the cables included with the wii, if ur tv supports progressive scan buy the component cables and it will clear upcarnage646

It is not 'natural', it just happens to a lot of people. When I had it, it happened with all of my games, some to a lesser extent. FOR ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE THIS ISSUE CALL NINTENDO AND TELL YOUR FRIENDS THAT HAVE THIS ISSUE TO CALL NINTENDO AS WELL.

I'm on my third Wii just to let everyone know.

Sorry to bump this, but I heard back from Nintendo today. I was told that there was "no fault", and was charged $AU35 for the privilege in addition to the $AU20 I had to pay to ship it myself to Nintendo in the first place. Needless to say, I'm not particularly impressed, especially given that Super Paper Mario at least is virtually unplayable because of the lines.

I was not able to speak to a tech about the problem - I was assured that they had run all diagnostic tests on the cable and the Wii and found no fault. As I said, I find it highly unlikely that both of my TVs and two different sets of component cables would show the same problem, so it seems likely either that I'm being screwed over, or that it's a design issue present in all Wiis (and perhaps not visible on some TVs?).

Just a head's up in case anyone was thinking of sending their Wii in to be repaired.

Well, I recieved my UPS sticker from Nintendo to send my Wii in, so I got it boxed up and I'm dropping it off at the UPS place tomorrow. I typed up a letter with a detailed explanation ofthe problem as well as the link to the youtube video posted earlier in this thread. I don't know if that will do any good or not, but I just wanted to provide as much information as I possibly could for the technicians (being a PC technician myself, I always appreciate that kind of stuff).

Anyways, hope it gets fixed. Wish me luck :)

Are the bars that appear on your wii like this?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xwT5hasrVf4

j03yAsunder

That is almost exactly what is happening to me. Up until now I haven't used my Wii for much other than playing Zelda and noticed it there. I had heard complaints about the graphics for Twilight Princess on Wii with the component cables, and just chalked it up to that. However I started playing Zack and Wiki recently and saw the exact same problem. After trying two televisions and two sets of cables (official Nintendo component and composite cables) the problem persists.

I'm going to call Nintendo to see what can be done about it (the problem has been there for pretty much as long as I've owned it) however I bought mine on launch day, and even with the 90 day extention for registering it I think it is just out of warranty.

When I was playing Brawl's single player I noticed these white lines on these puppet like enemies and I thought my sceen was messing up or something, but I realize those white lines belonged to those puppet like enemies hanging from the trees, whew.