Macbook Pro 2011 Freezes / Locks when Using iTunes & Discrete Graphics

I just got a Macbook Pro 2011 17" 2.2Ghz i7. I have not run into any overheating issues (as addressed in other topics). However, I have isolated a very odd conflict with iTunes and the discrete video card. I can play games such as Starcraft 2 using the discrete graphics card without incident, so the card itself seems to be working fine. Somehow iTunes brings it to it's knees, though.

If I am using dynamic video card switching or have the discrete card selected and open iTunes, the entire OS locks up for about 10 seconds at a time, with about 1 second in between each lockup where things process. My mouse is free, but other applications are also locked up. If I quit iTunes, the problem goes away within 10 seconds or so. If I switch to using the integrated graphics, I can open iTunes and use it without a problem, no lockups at all.

I have tried completely removing iTunes (including all applicable plists, etc), then re-installing. No change. I have also tried re-installing Snow Leopard entirely and opening iTunes immediately after install. No change, still locks up. The Console app does not report anything relating to the issue that I can see.

I have the problem isolated and repeatable. There is some conflict between iTunes and the AMD Radeon HD 6750 discrete video card. It is extremely annoying but manageable at the moment. I've been forced to use an iTunes alternative when playing music and doing other tasks, but I switch to integrated graphics mode when syncing devices with iTunes.

Is this happening to anyone else? Does anyone have any ideas to try? Or is this just something that will be fixed by a new video card driver released by Apple in the near term?

MBP, iMac, Mac Mini, Mac OS X (10.6.6)

Posted on Mar 15, 2011 11:54 AM

23 replies

Apr 20, 2011 4:50 AM in response to JakeCarlson

I've had the 2011 15" MBP for two days and whenver I run itunes after about two minutes of playing music the machine completely freezes and makes a repeating sound like a scratched cd skipping. No use of mouse or keyboard and a hard reboot has been required everytime. I'm running the most current software. Not sure what to do...

Gerrall

Level 1

8 points

Apr 20, 2011 8:33 PM in response to JakeCarlson

I've had almost the same symptoms except that iTunes will eventually open and if it feels like playing nice it will work normally. It will, however, re-freeze the machine for a minute or two at a time if I do something like try to plug in an iPhone. I've been working with an Apple rep and I've tried everything short of completely reformatting my machine (which I'm refusing because in the couple of times it was working I downloaded a couple movies that the files are corrupted on and can't be copied and I have not been guaranteed to be able to redownload those, not surprisingly the last time I heard from the rep was before I asked for said guarantee). I haven't been able to figure out how to isolate the graphic's card to test if it works fine on the integrated graphics. Does anyone know how to go about that?

Apr 21, 2011 2:06 PM in response to Gerrall

Hi All, thanks for all the helpful posts.

I'm a motion graphics designer and so having this kind of bug is pretty *****y for my line of work. I've been having freezes I think during the swap between integrated and discrete, not exactly sure though. Just all the freezes have been video related, watching quicktimes or rendering or anything to do with video really.

I discovered this gem:

http://codykrieger.com/gfxCardStatus - this allows you to see which card it's using and lock it in place, even customize switching types.

Could you guys try it out and see if you can replicate the freezes when locked into integrated gpu? I'm very interested to see if it's anything to do with the AMD card.

Luke

gldb

Level 1

4 points

May 7, 2011 1:04 AM in response to lukeharrisgraphics

Hi Luke, thanks for your advise. My Mac freezes only if I run discrete or dynamic switching. With integrated card everything is rock solid (not one crash). This is before and after Update and EFI update (this week).

Aug 4, 2011 8:54 PM in response to JakeCarlson

I've been having this same issue since April with my 2011 15" i7 MBP. The only solution Apple has come up with so far has been telling me to run Disk Utility to verify my hard drive and repair permissions which isn't really a solution. Has anyone else resolved this and if so how?

Sep 20, 2011 8:21 AM in response to Jonathan Kull

I had the same issues after installing Lion. Apparently the latest EFI update fixed the issue I have been running for a few days without any freeze.

Oct 5, 2011 7:49 AM in response to Pierre Frisch

I'm still freezing. Latest updates have been no help. Neither has Apple.

Oct 11, 2011 9:15 PM in response to lukeharrisgraphics

I can also confirm that iTunes freezes my 2011 15" MBP unless I force it to integrated graphics. I get roughly 30 seconds before freezing begins with descrete.

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Macbook Pro 2011 Freezes / Locks when Using iTunes & Discrete Graphics