Q: MacBook Pro 2011 17" hard freeze

Well, don't get me wrong: Mine wasn't working, too, at the beginning. Here is how it worked:

You need:

- A mac (or another computer that can read HFS+ file systems) with a firewire or thunderbolt port.

- A firewire or thunderbolt cable

- A USB device with >= 6 GB memory.

- Ubuntu 13.10 as dmg file (can be downloaded for free)

- About 25 minutes time

I used my new Mac Pro 6,1. With the aid of this device I got my completely dead MacBook Pro working again.

1. First start your MacBook Pro (referred to as MBP from now on) and hold down "T" while it boots up (press this button until you see the firewire/thunderbolt mode). This mode is something your MBP doesn't need the AMD GPU for.

2. Navigate with your other Mac to Systems/Library/Extensions and delete all Kernel Extensions (*.kext files) that have "AMD" within their name.

3. Boot up your MBP. It will work now as your MBP doesn't know how to get the AMD GPU working again. It will use a fallback driver. The graphics won't look pretty but that isn't of any interest for us since we are not going to use OS X any longer.

4. Install rEFInd on your MBP and copy the ext4_x64 drivers into the appropriate location and use your second mac (the working one) in order to make a bootable ubuntu USB memory stick. These steps are explained in detail here: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2157775

If you have any questions, just ask :-)

Two days and the error was back again after the repair was done. Those people also used solder with lead - didn't help either.

Hi everyone.. I just wanted to share my experience:

My macbook started to have GPU failures yesterday (April 1st) and it got completed crazy... not booting anymore, crazy lines on the screen, etc, etc.

I work at a big international investments bank (IT) and, here in the bank, we have thousands of Apple products everywhere. All the  meeting rooms with Ipads, Apple tvs for each TV, ipods and also worldwide. I'm one person that is usually reference for technology choices (family, work, etc), probably like many people here. So I'm feeling really bad about this macbook, again, like everyone here, and I contacted Apple yesterday through media.help@apple.com

I wrote all this history on an email to Apple: How started, how I found all these threads, people with the problems, thousands of websites talking abt this, petition,  everything.

16 hours later, an Executive Relations from Apple USA called me, directly on my mobile phone (in Brazil). I got surprised with tnat, and actually I got very happy on the beginning, but the end of this story is sad.

He said that Apple is reading all of these threads and websites, and they did some researchs with many of the laptops sent to Apple Care. He said that their conclusion is that this is not a project problem and It could occour  with any component of the macbook (harddrive, motherboard, keyboard, etc) like any PC and, at this time, it was the GPU.

I told him about thousands of people having the problem at the same time and how this is possible on an such expensive notebook. I asked him: and if it was your macbook, costing 2200 USD, having this problem with only 2,5 years of use. Would you accept or would you be happy? He said: I would be sad too but this can happens with any notebook, any brand... So, we stayed on an infinite conversation loop I asked him the same thing 5 more times, he answered the same thing all the times.

I asked him to send everything that he was saying by e-mail, so I could have it written. He denied to do that and said that Apple feel sorry for my (our) GPU problem ( )  but they cannot do anything else than offering the local assistance address to me.

I insisted and asked him many times abt the GPU free replace. He said, no, your 1 year warranty does not cover that (and he also sent by email the link of my macbook warranty contract )

So,

1) they know the problem;

2) they are seeing and reading all these people here talking and making this mess;

3) they already did the researchs and the conclusion is: ok, this is not a problem, this could happen with any macbook.

4) if you dont have apple care, they will not help you.

We spent 25 minutes on the phone and I didnt get anything more than this. He said that "maybe the price at the Apple Authorized Service Provider" would not be so expensive as you said. Go there and take your macbook to check that.

I asked him: but how can I keep buying apple macbooks now after this? He answered: the macbooks are getting improved.

Great! Thanks Apple for making and selling a Ferrari except for the fact that it can be used only for 2,5~3 years.

Good!

But actually, there is no need for step 1, or the part of step 4 involving reFind.

You can access single user mode directly from your failing Macbook, it doesn't use the discrete graphics, and Unetbootin can create bootable Ubuntu USB without the need to use reFind.

i have the same problem! It is disspointed !

I had the same issue start mid last year, had the logic board replaced late last year (out of my own pocket - no apple care).

As expected it happened again - however I was travelling at the time with no access to an apple store/apple auth repairer. Took it in to my local Apple Store quite a few weeks past the 90 day warranty (8 weeks?). To my surprise they offered to do the repair again totally gratis.

I didn't have to push my point - they just offered it. The computer wouldn't boot at all into osx however they did manage to run the diagnostic tool which seemed to show all green ticks (was hard to see on the mangled screen).

It's been in for over a week - supposedly they have replaced the board but during the previous repair they forgot to replace a "plastic shield" which has been ordered in and they are waiting for it to arrive.

If you are experiencing this issue take it to an apple store if you have one locally - they may treat you better than you expect.

Hi Wojzo,

Thanks for your reply! But i live in brest (France), there is no appel store here! How much did you cost for the first time? My actuel situation does n't let me to pay expensive! !

appel must do some thing for us! It is not fare! !!!

hi ppxb,

Thanks for your comment! I have some more questions! where do you install ubuntu?on the Macintosh HD or other volumes?  is it permanent on your mac or just as USB OS? the other mac os x volumme could be read and modified via Ubuntu? 

I am sorry if my questions are funny but i am such a confused since my macbook8,2 early 2011, has this troubel!

You should install it on your internal HDD/SSD. The Macintosh HD needs to be formatted in order to do this. It's not permanent. You can install OS X at any point in the future. But why should you? Your device is dead with OS X, isn't it? So there is absolutely no good in using your MBP with OS X...

Mac OS X uses HFS+ as far as I know. If Ubuntu can read this special format it shouldn't be a problem (I don't know if it does, do some research on the official ubuntu site or in ubuntu forums please).

Whatever you do: Please realize your MacBook is dead. Even bringing it to an Apple Store will be a short time fix. If you want to spend money on this, do it. I wouldn't. The only satisfactory solution I found was using the device with a truly open OS like Ubuntu where you can change boot parameters.

Good luck in any case.

I have also been an Apple client for years. I have always bought computers and laptops from them. It is with great sadness that my 2011 Mac Book Pro  stopped working. The symptoms happened yesterday, Wednesday, April 23,2014 when I was using the program Base Camp to install a map on my Garmin Watch. When suddenly my screen started to blur and horizontal lines started to appear on my screen and the computer restarted. When I tried to turn on the computer again, the LCD was completly red and the temperature on the aluminum got really hot, something abnormal. After the fact, I researched that various other owners of the same Mac Book Pro 2011 were having the same problems as the posted pictures on the forum. I hope that Apple and its team will contact me, because in Brazil they are charging $2500 reais (Brazilian money). Something around $1400 dollars. I ask that I receive an answer, because this is a hardware defect and the values of the Mac Book Pro in Brazil is too expensive to invest $1400. If I do not reach an agreement with Apple I will be using the law to solve the problem. The clients from Apple can not simply be abbandoned and ignored. Sincerely Cristofer F. Costa

I'm sitting outside the apple store at Yorkdale mall right now waiting to speak to the third person and second manager today about an issue that has been plaguing me for almost 2 years. My MacBook Pro late 2011 was a sour grape straight off the vine. Straight from the start it would freeze about once a month to once a week, beep in 3 beep intervals and the screen would get all shuttery, deleting all the most recent work I had done in pro tools or sibelius. I also had to replace the battery within a month. I work in music and this is incredibly frustrating when you are either recording or writing music. It takes an hour just to figure out how much was deleted. I have had a few really bad temper tantrums due to this issue but thankfully restrained myself from smashing the thing into pieces. Losing a good take or pages of a score you are working on is like living a special kind of ****. I've probably spent about 50 additional hours at work because of the issue. I could never bring the thing in to get repaired because between school and work I needed it on a day to day basis. Now that my music needs are getting more demanding I have purchased a new Mac Pro for about $4600. I figured I could finally get my MacBook Pro repaired and lay all my past frustrations to rest; I still need it for when I am out of the studio or at my day job. I brought it in and they replaced the logic board and the HD. I was so happy to be free from the issue. But I wasn't. It happened again. Freezing. Deleting. Frustration....I came back to the apple store and the "genius" simply repeated to me everything I had already heard and suggested running a diagnostic. My third party ram raised some concerns for him so he had me leave it there again. I wasn't the least bit surprised that my ram passed the test because, as I had already told him, I had tried other ram and still had the same issue. Upon receiving that phone call, the technician suggested replacing the logic board again. OK. Deep breath...."we just want to rule it out as an issue"....What the $&@$?! You just replaced it!! To date I've been to this apple store 6 times for this computer. I've lost hours and hours of work. I have had endless frustration. How much can one man endure? I suggested that they replace my computer and they told me it was a technical issue that they could resolve if I left my computer there. Well, how am I supposed to go to work without my laptop at my tech start up job?! At this point it is no longer a technical issue. It is a customer service issue. I simply have endured too much frustration and lost too much time due to this sour grape and I truly feel I deserve a replacement....and just for the record I've never even sent food back at a restaurant. Anyway, upon suggesting that solution the genius insisted they could fix it and truly didn't understand or empathize with my situation. You sold me a bad computer and you should replace it! Simple. I asked him what was better...selling one computer to someone or 10 to him over the course of his life?? His response was that apple doesn't actually rely on repeat business. Haha,  what a jerk....perhaps he didn't realize that I personally have spent close to $15,000 on apple product over the last 4 years or that I am solely responsible for the 2 iPads, 6 iPhones, iMac, and THREE other laptops that were sold to my household at my behest. I really don't think I'm asking for much when I say I want this piece of crap replaced. I don't mean that apple comps are crap. Just this particular machine. Seriously, am I crazy? By the way, still waiting for that manager to talk to me. Been about an hour. He was supposed to call me.

Maxwell68, I paid the $310 in for depot repair, and Apple replaced the logic board 3 times.  The third time Apple refunded the $310, and suggested I use it toward another computer because they recognize I need to get work done.  I bought an 11" macbook air.

My 2011 MBP was a lemon.  The 4th logic board seems to keep working for more than 8 months now.  I gave the MBP to my brother to surf with because I couldn't handle the risk of my work stopping and it is heavy.  I don't expect Apple is going to admit a problem with the 2011 MBP.  Since computers depreciate in value 40% per year, the longer they wait, the more economic sense it is for people to upgrade. 

In my opinion getting a macbook air (which has no GPU) is the most efficient way to get back to work.  You can keep putting the MBP through 90 day warrantey repairs until Apple gets it right.  Outside cycling the MBP through 90 repair warrantees until Apple truly fixes it, Linux is an option, if you can do your work on Linux.

I like the MB Air because it has no GPU, runs a lot cooler, is easier to carry, has much longer battery life, and a flash drive.  I also think the air is a better deal than Dell's Linux alternative.  Most importantly, the Air has no GPU!

For what it's worth, Karl, the MacBook Air does indeed have a GPU, it's simply integrated into the logic board.

Your old MacBook Pro had 2 GPUs. A dedicated, discrete GPU (the troublesome one) for more intense tasks, like gaming, video editing, etc. and an integrated one (like your MacBook Air) for basic tasks that don't require as much graphical horsepower.

The MacBook Air is definitely the way to go if you need portability. However, most people that require actual performance should definitely consider the larger MacBook Pros.

Side_Step_Society, yes you are correct.  I should have said the MB Air doesn't have a discrete GPU.  Since the the solder joints of the ball grid array (BGA) of the GPU appears to be problematic, and OS X doesn't give the option to disable the discrete GPU, a discrete GPU is a risk. The GPU switching on laptops also dings performance with pauses.

It is possible to do intense tasks, like genome wide association study data analsyis on an i7, without a GPU.  Repeated failures and repairs have caused months of delays in my work.  The GPU has caused me months of harm and no benefit

Maxwell86 is using it for music rather than video editing.  I have seen a DJ begging for a power supply for a MBP at a gig before a battery dies.  The longer battery life could be a real asset to a music user.

It can be a risk, sure, but it can be a bigger hinderance to not have one at all.

I have never noticed any "pauses" (assuming you meant actual pauses while it switches between GPUs) with my early 2011 17" MBP. While I don't deny there's a good chance it may eventually crap out, it hasn't skipped a beat yet and have had 0 downtime with mine. Knock on wood!

I also don't deny that in your situation, an 11" MBA is a great fit! Sounds like your usage doesn't require much for graphics processing and is likely more CPU intensive, so the additional GPU in your MacBook Pro obviously wouldn't have much benefit for you.

Personally, I enjoy gaming on my MacBook Pro. An 11" Air would definitely be unable to meet my needs in that department because of the lack of a dedicated GPU.

My post was meant to inform those that aren't as educated as yourself on the matter that if they need to do any serious graphical rendering, a MacBook Air isn't likely to meet their needs and should consider a unit with a discrete graphics card.

Not knocking the Air, by any means. They're great for what they are, and can probably handle most things like data and music processing without a problem. But dedicated graphics chips still exist in computers for a reason.

Also, if a DJ is working an event, one would hope he's thought enough ahead to bring a Magsafe along. I'm sure most places that have DJ's have a spare outlet to plug a computer into. Seems silly to do a show and rely on a battery.