A black and white display, or negative screen resolution, is an issue which can occur within the various Mac OS X system versions ranging from Mac OS X 10.3 to Mac OS X 10.6.
It can appear as an anomaly which can leave a Mac User dumbfounded, not sure what is going on.
At one time your screen is normal like this, but then somehow,

the screen changes into this strange negative, inverted screen.

So how does this occur?
The answer is more simple than you think.
An inverted screen like the one you see in the screen shot above, is not actually an anomaly, or the result of some sudden strange happenstance. What's more, chances are, this occurred because of what you did.
Its an easy fix however, because the only way your Mac OS X desktop screen can turn into a negative or black and white resolution, from its normal color resolution, is if a setting within your Mac OS X system has been modified.
To return your screen back to the normal color resolution, follow these steps:
* Click on the Apple menu icon, located on the upper left corner of your Mac OS X desktop screen.
* From the drop down menu, select
System Preferences.
* Within System Preferences, select the pane (in System Preferences, Apple references all icons as "panes") entitled "
Universal Access".

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Quick Note About Universal Access:
The reason this System Preferences pane is known as"Universal Access", is due to the purposes Apple designed it for. If you notice the image for this pane above, this symbol for this feature, is similar to a placard or sign you would see on a car license plate, parking space, door or building, for an individual who has a disability or is handicapped.
Universal Access was designed to enhance features like Voice-over speech (your Mac talks to you), screen size, display settings, keyboard and mouse settings for those Mac users who are vision impaired, hearing impaired and /or physically disabled.
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* For the next steps in the process:
Click on the Universal Access pane.
If you look in the screen shot, under
Display, you will see that the current setting is "White on Black".

Click on the radio button entitled "
Black on White"
and this is the window you will see:
Back to normal!
That is all it takes, to return your desktop screen resolution back to normal.
This is why you were suggested as the probable cause" for your desktop screen to go into Inverted mode. Chances are you may have been in System Preferences, clicked on the Universal Access pane, and in exploring settings, may have clicked the Display setting and the
White on Black radio button, causing the screen to go into
the inverted mode or change in gray scale.
Another theory could be that you may have
accidentally pressed
the Ctrl-Alt-Apple Command keys on your keyboard
, combined with either < > keys, depending on if you were in process of' increasing or decreasing contrast on your Mac's screen or display.
The true purpose of the inverted screen mode or change in gray scale, is to aid Mac Users who may be sensitive to the bright normal colors, that you and I see on the standard Mac OS X display screen, due to poor or failing vision.
So now that your screen is back to normal, if you should see an inverted display, or screen that resembles a negative resolution, like that of a photo negative, you know how to correct this issue.
For more information on Universal Access, click
here.
Regards,
- Mactechtrainer
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