the bottom of the apple tv 1 to keep it cool. you could also ssh in and see if there are any errors in the xorg.log.0 file. i forget where its located but a quick search on these forums will tell you where to find that log file. also look at /root/.xbmc/temp/xbmc.log as well. not sure what else to suggest. It doesn't matter what TV I plug it into I get the same white dots covering the screen .. the white dots are in the same places every boot as well. This was the XBMC machine for the bedroom, in the living room I run an Xtreamer Ultra2 which is a great device and handles anything thrown at it. I think i'll part it out and sell the bits .. really liked it as a machine as well, wish the new AppleTVs were based on this design, just don't feel the ATV2 I have works that great with XBMC (not very snappy performance) Just need to find a replacement HTPC that can do component output I suppose. I'll second what sam says, had all sorts of problems with my ATV, turned out the internal hdd was failing (quickly followed by the usb stick I replaced it with), bought a new usb stick, modified the CB install it so would boot with no internal hdd and its now been up for well over a month.