K_Rek

Q: Mid 2011 iMac Graphics Problems with Yosemite

I have a 21.5-inch, Mid 2011 iMac with an AMD Radeon HD 6770M 512 MB that is locking up on me constantly since installing Yosemite.  Every time I reboot (which I have to do by pressing the power button on the back) it says that it has detected a graphics problem and do I want to report it.  I have done that multiple times, but want to find out if anyone else here is having a similar problem.  What appears on the screen are pixelated blocks in random areas and often the machine will work for maybe three or four minutes and then just lock up completely.  It worked like a champ with 10.9.5 and previous, but 10.10 is wreaking havoc on my computer. 

 

I have seen discussion threads about 27-inch iMacs that were recalled due to an AMD graphics chip problem, but haven't seen anything about the 21.5-inch machines.  At the time, this was the highest-end card I could get in the 21.5-inch display.

 

The machine has 8GB of 1333 MHz DDR3 RAM. 

iMac, OS X Yosemite (10.10)

Posted on Oct 21, 2014 5:58 AM

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Q: Mid 2011 iMac Graphics Problems with Yosemite

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  • by CarlosVB,

    CarlosVB CarlosVB Jan 25, 2015 1:03 PM in response to Mudflap
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 25, 2015 1:03 PM in response to Mudflap

    It was really my Mac stable for only two days , now the problem came back again. Apple really needs to do something to fix this.

  • by aushutterbug,

    aushutterbug aushutterbug Jan 28, 2015 12:55 PM in response to K_Rek
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jan 28, 2015 12:55 PM in response to K_Rek

    Have the exact same problem as OP. iMac 21.5 inch, Mid 2011, AMD Radeon HD 6770M 512 MB, red and green pixel boxes on the screen.

     

    Started slowly, only happened occasionally when I was running two monitors and photoshop, along with other randoms like firefox in the background. Progressed to where I can't run a second monitor at all. Now I'm not able to do anything on the computer. It freaks out (kernel panic) within minutes of booting up. I'm not even sure I'll be able to try any of these workarounds because I don't think it will run long enough. It does this even if I don't try to run a single program. I can start it up, log in, leave it sitting, and it will freeze all by itself.

     

    Might give Apple a call and see if I can magically find the nice person who will replace the GPU for free even though it's not covered on the warranty extension according to Apple's own website. I don't know if that's really the problem, but if it's free I'll try it before I spend a whole day wiping and reinstalling my OS.

  • by zoolbond,

    zoolbond zoolbond Jan 29, 2015 5:59 AM in response to K_Rek
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 29, 2015 5:59 AM in response to K_Rek

    I just install the new OS X  update (10.10.2). It seems fix graphic problems with yosemite on my iMac (mi-2010) with ATI Radeon HD 5750

  • by aushutterbug,

    aushutterbug aushutterbug Jan 29, 2015 8:25 AM in response to K_Rek
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jan 29, 2015 8:25 AM in response to K_Rek

    I turned off transparency last night and the pixel blocks vanished immediately. Then I was able to update to 10.10.2 because the computer was stable enough finally. Really hoping this is a permanent fix!

  • by CarlosVB,

    CarlosVB CarlosVB Jan 29, 2015 9:46 AM in response to aushutterbug
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 29, 2015 9:46 AM in response to aushutterbug

    Use the update 10.10.2 since beta , and so far no correction was made ​​for my problem . Today I am working with transparency and offline using Google Chrome. Only then my machine is stable.

  • by antoniokratos,

    antoniokratos antoniokratos Jan 29, 2015 9:50 AM in response to CarlosVB
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 29, 2015 9:50 AM in response to CarlosVB

    You should do a clean install of OS X Yosemite and then update because you're coming from the beta and that may be causing the problem.

  • by sapins,

    sapins sapins Jan 31, 2015 2:50 AM in response to K_Rek
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 31, 2015 2:50 AM in response to K_Rek

    I have had the same problem of "graphics problem" which I have reported to Apple each time it appeared.

    I am now downloading the latest up date 10.10.2 which up to now has taken 90 minutes and still says 57 minutes to go! It actually went backwards at one stage from 263mb to 264mb.

    I just hope this fixes the problem but I'm not holding my breath.

  • by jquebedeaux,

    jquebedeaux jquebedeaux Feb 8, 2015 3:42 AM in response to sapins
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 8, 2015 3:42 AM in response to sapins

    iMac 12,1 (21.5") AMD Radeon HD 6770M 512 MB

     

    10.10.2 didn't solve it. I'm turning off transparency for now to see what happens. I *think* i've been having this since Yosemite, it's been getting worse. :-/

  • by eoren11,

    eoren11 eoren11 Feb 28, 2015 1:18 PM in response to jquebedeaux
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 28, 2015 1:18 PM in response to jquebedeaux

    I think this just happened to me.  Mid-2011 27" iMac on Yosemite 10.10.1.  Had a bunch of open programs and was browsing on Safari when screen started to go in and out.  When 'out' it looked like the old days of TV where you would lose a station and just get that grey snow.  I quickly grabbed the iPhone and made a video.  Ended up turning off the computer for 10 minutes and it seemed fine on rebooting.  I have updated to 10.10.2 and turned on 'reduce transparency' in the accessibility settings.  I had a Genius appt set up for today but wondering if worth doing.  My 3 year Apple Care expired in July 2014...

     

    Ignore the 'play' icon - screen shot from iPhone

    IMG_0902.PNG

     

    If that video doesn't embed, it is here on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/120886033

  • by rmurjani,

    rmurjani rmurjani Mar 3, 2015 10:12 PM in response to K_Rek
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 3, 2015 10:12 PM in response to K_Rek

    I have the same problem and I think it's related to the temperature increase.

     

    I have found that my iMac 27" is getting much hotter after upgrading to Yosemite.

    Even when putting a little extra pressure on the Mac by opening more apps and multi-tasking, the computer (and especially the screen) get extremely hot.

    If I have the a/c blowing straight at the computer, the problem doesn't occur.

     

    My biggest concern is that eventually the graphics card will overheat and blow.

     

    Any thoughts along this line of thinking ?

     

    RM

  • by weijut,

    weijut weijut Mar 5, 2015 3:33 PM in response to rmurjani
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 5, 2015 3:33 PM in response to rmurjani

    I'm having the same issue. Same iMac. It has graphics problems and freezes and needs to reboot almost every day. I went to genius bar last month. The apple guru reloaded the system and it seemed fine for only 3 days. After that the iMac freezes again. The issue have never been solved.


    iMac 21.5-inch Mid 2011

    CPU 2.7GHz Intel Core i45

    RAM 16GB 1333 MHZ DDR3

    Graphic AMD Radeon HD 6770M 512 MB

  • by junior3d,

    junior3d junior3d Mar 6, 2015 6:48 AM in response to K_Rek
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 6, 2015 6:48 AM in response to K_Rek

    Same problem since update to Yosemite. UI Lags!!! Can't use a second monitor anymore. If i back to Mavericks everything works fine, smooth transitions... But with Yosemite

  • by CarlosVB,

    CarlosVB CarlosVB Mar 6, 2015 1:08 PM in response to weijut
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 6, 2015 1:08 PM in response to weijut

    My Mac is in the same situation. I'm using Yosemite 10.10.3 and no solution has been developed so far. I'm using my machine without the Safari and the transparency off , just so I can work .

     

    iMac 21.5 - inch Mid 2011

    CPU 2.7GHz Intel Core i45

    RAM 16GB DDR3 1333 MHz

    AMD Radeon HD 6770M graphic 512 MB

  • by Just want support,

    Just want support Just want support Mar 11, 2015 1:54 PM in response to K_Rek
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 11, 2015 1:54 PM in response to K_Rek

    I have been dealing with this since my upgrade to Yosemite. I have posted to several threads and literally spent hundreds of hours trying to fix this issue.  I have tried everything in this, and other threads.

     

    None of it works.

     

    It is clearly a driver issue. I can recreate it easily and repeatedly.  I can also avoid it with certain techniques that have been touched upon here.  It is NOT a hardware problem and even if it was, my Mid 2010 is out of warranty for the recall and has been since Yosemite came out after the recall expired.  Apple refuses to acknowledge tens of thousands of people who have this problem.

     

    This is why I am not buying another Apple product.

     

    I officially give up trying to solve this problem.  Good-bye apple.  It was a good 4-5 year run but you became unresponsive to your customers and stopped caring about customer service.  I guess it is back to DELL+Windows8.

  • by DaveG_BC,

    DaveG_BC DaveG_BC Mar 13, 2015 10:38 AM in response to K_Rek
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 13, 2015 10:38 AM in response to K_Rek

    This probably isn't going to be a popular post, but the only permanent solution is getting your failing graphics card replaced.  It's not a software issue.  While I sympathize with people that think it's going to be a free software fix, that simply isn't the case, as having my card replaced completely fixed all issues, without any software configuration changes.

     

    I've had the green/purple flashing blocks issue twice now on my Mid-2011 27" iMac 2.7GHz, and the first time it failed (after about 2.5 years without issue) they replaced the graphics card (Radeon 6770M in my case) under AppleCare.  The replacement worked perfectly for about 16 months, then the problem started re-occurring again.  Had to pay around $200 for the replacement this time (out of AppleCare).

     

    Annoying.  I still love Apple products, but in this case, tend to blame ATI for making a graphics card that fails.

     

    Considering if I should cut my losses and just sell the machine and upgrade to a new 5k iMac before it dies again, or risk another replacement down the road (if parts are even still available then).

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