2011 MBP freezing on external display in fullscreen

Question

2011 MBP freezing on external display in fullscreen

Hey all, had my 15" MBP for a few days now, and I'm experiencing a strange issue. When I have it connected to an external display and am playing a game (Starcraft II, EVE Online) or watching a video in fullscreen (Hulu, etc.) it will sometimes freeze and cause the computer to be completely unresponsive, forcing me to shut it down by holding the power button. However, audio will keep playing in the background. I'm using a miniDisplay port to VGA adapter and outputting to an HDTV. Ideas/comments/suggestions? I'm sure with using a new CPU and new GPU there are some driver issues to work out, just want to make sure it isn't more than that.

2011 MacBook Pro 15", Mac OS X (10.6.6), 2.2 GHz i7 Quad Core/4GB 1333 MHz DDR3/Radeon HD 6750M 1GB GDDR5

Posted on Mar 1, 2011 11:58 PM

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Answer 1

Mar 2, 2011 6:31 AM in response to stateofunrest

Hey, I am having a similar issue. It started when I was connected to external display (projector) through mini-display port to VGA. The computer unexpectedly freezes, sound continues, I can still move the mouse around but I after 5-10 minutes I give up and do hard restart.

It occurred using Modul8 (VJ program) that is graphics card intensive. I have a show tonight and need to resolve this so that I don't crash during show. I also got it to freeze without having the projector hooked up, just modul8. Computer is brand new, I restored my old machine (which was stolen) onto the new one using Time Machine.

Hoping for some answers to this one! It would be incredible if it was simply a driver issue.

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Answer 2

Mar 2, 2011 10:35 AM in response to Electropanda

This is exactly the issue I experience. It seems to happen randomly..possibly when the card is switching tasks? (happens more often if I switch between apps) Even if it is a driver issue, I think we'll have to wait for a fix. Apple will have to release the drivers, and they'll probably do that if needed in 10.6.7

Message was edited by: stateofunrest

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Answer 3

doh1231

Level 2

210 points

Mar 4, 2011 10:15 PM in response to stateofunrest

I don't even need to have an external monitor.. just playing some games using the Radeon 6750 and it will randomly freeze the whole machine up with the sound still going... sometimes the mouse cna still move and sometimes it cannot.... its very annoying.

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Answer 4

Mar 7, 2011 8:42 AM in response to stateofunrest

I am also having this problem with my 15" 2011 MBP, but using the built-in screen. Computer freezes during almost every StarCraft II game I play. Also sometimes freezes during other tasks, like viewing Time Machine. The screen freezes but I can still move mouse and sound plays. Force quit does not work - have to do a hard reboot using power button.

Very concerned! Appreciate any advice or anecdotes.

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Answer 5

Mar 7, 2011 9:09 PM in response to brandonlive02

I've been experiencing the same thing. Have to do a hard reboot when it freezes, experienced this on The Sims 3 (don't use external). Also, now when I use YouTube, when I enter full screen, the screen pixelates and freezes before entering full screen.

I'm going to call tomorrow because this is a brand new computer and should not be happening.

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Answer 6

iyacyas

Level 4

1,536 points

Mar 7, 2011 9:33 PM in response to justbumming

I experienced the same type of freeze in the Apple store on there top 15" MBP display model. It actually froze on us 4 times in the 30 minutes that we were testing it. Two of the times we were simply looking at address book fonts, so Address Book was the only app open.

I did not have time to really test it to make any guesses as to why this was happening. But if it were my machine I would be contacting Apple for a replacement not repair, replacement.

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Answer 7

Adam!

Level 1

10 points

Mar 7, 2011 10:23 PM in response to iyacyas

EVERYONE: CALL APPLE AND LET THEM KNOW! THEY WILL RELEASE FIRMWARE UPDATE TO CORRECT THIS ISSUE IF IT IS COMMONPLACE! SO PLEASE CALL!

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Answer 8

SwizzleS

Level 1

0 points

Mar 7, 2011 11:16 PM in response to stateofunrest

Get the same issue, help needed.

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Answer 9

Mar 7, 2011 11:37 PM in response to SwizzleS

Sounds like this wheel will only turn if it squeaks. CONTACT APPLE, FOLKS.

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Answer 10

Mar 8, 2011 12:44 AM in response to stateofunrest

After doing some more tests of my own, I'm convinced that this is a driver issue. This kind of thing is common when a company releases a new GPU and CPU in the same model. (In this case the 6750M and Sandy Bridge i7) Correct me if I'm wrong, but each of you have either the top spec 15" or the 17" model, yes? By now, I guarantee Apple is aware of the issue, and I would expect to see a driver update by, if not before, 10.6.7 is released. Hold tight, my friends. Returning your computer or getting it replaced isn't going to fix this, and neither is complaining to Apple Tech Support (other than that it will make them more aware of the issue). The tech people you talk to have no direct interaction with the software engineers, and aren't going to be able to do anything. They may even recommend useless troubleshooting steps like an OS reinstall. I think we'll see resolution of this once they release a software update, and not before. I've given a link to this thread to a senior level tech advisor at AppleCare, so continue posting your reports here and they will be forwarded to the engineers. Being specific about situation, peripherals, programs, and timing will help them immensely, comments such as "THIS IS BROKEN, FIX IT" are less helpful. Cheers.

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Answer 11

BapFX

Level 1

5 points

Mar 10, 2011 9:59 PM in response to stateofunrest

Im having issues with Photoshop CS 5 and I suspect that its a driver issue. After about 30 mins of photoshop use my system bogs down and begins lagging. Scrolling in safari slows down immensely and the general speed of the osx interface feels laggy. My brush tools in photoshop describe it all. I did a short 1min video capture of the issue in photoshop where simple brush scribbles (30px no effects) cant keep up with my cursor. Photoshop causes this slowdown but I believe its the result of its interaction with openGL. This is what I believe after hours of troubleshooting and reading every document adobe provided about optimizing performance in CS5.

http://vimeo.com/20843618

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Answer 12

Mar 16, 2011 12:14 PM in response to BapFX

Same issue here. 2011 15" MBP top spec'd. Seems whenever the high end graphics card is in use the display freezes up. Audio continues in the back ground as do other tasks that were running.

The computer is still doing its thing, the display is just not there. Takes a hard reset to get around it.

FWIW I am not running on an external display.

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Answer 13

Mar 16, 2011 3:54 PM in response to tstephenson

I am having the exact same issue here and I am on a Macbook Pro 17" with SSD drive.

Do I need to take this into the Mac store or is it just wait for a firmware update?

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Answer 14

Mar 16, 2011 9:58 PM in response to ryandeean

I had the same issues with 4 MBP 13" top models. I bought 3 i5s and 1 i7. I had a screen freeze on all 4 machines. I was running MS Office Powerpoint and during presentations... they froze. It seemed to slowly happen, like a bog down, then complete freeze.
I returned all 4 machines and am hoping for a fix so I can purchase the machines again. I have been a Mac user for over 20 years and never experienced this issue. This kind of stuff doesnt happen to Macs and that is why I trust them with my presentations.
I am confident that Apple will find the problems and address them.
Thanks in advance.

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Answer 15

Mar 16, 2011 10:50 PM in response to GrooveDaddy

I think this is a different issue that you are experiencing. The issue here is specifically with the graphics card found only in the top spec 15" 2011 mbp and the 17" 2011. Your issue sounds more like a standard freeze, possibly a bug in the Mac version of microsoft's software.

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