Q: Lion randomly crashes - black screen

Alright guys, just want to let you know that their "video firmware update" that they made on my MacBook Pro 15 Inch Mid 2010 (already replaced LB once in mid 2011) hasn't the desired effect because I just got a black screen of death with a panic report like this:

Kernel Extensions in backtrace:

         com.apple.iokit.IOGraphicsFamily(2.3.2)[FE536983-1897-3D6B-965E-24B5A67080DA]@0 xffffff7f808e2000->0xffffff7f80919fff

Therefore, don't let you talk into a "firmware update" like me - I think the only solution is another LB replacement.

Cheers!

Same problem here.

MacBook Pro mid 2010 (6,2)

Went to Genius bar, they kept it to run thorough diagnostics.

Answer back from them: nothing wrong, the SSD is 3rd-party, therefore it must be the SSD...

So, I'll change the SSD for fun, I'm somehow 80% sure the issue will happen again, then I'll go back and ask for new motherboard... Godawful painful... Just fess up to it Apple, there is an issue with these models, whether it's the video card (NVidia 330M) or the motherboard...

As I read the discussion boards about these "black screen" crashes, and my own experiences, I am inclined to believe that it may be a "Lion" software issue.

   Frederick,

   come back to genius bar and try to start VST test (not common genius bar test).

    Once again, it's called VST test. This test will shown FAIL and Replace LB recommendation for "Genius".

   Good luck.

   Denis.

Like most people in here, I've faced the same problem and it was driving me nuts. I've reinstalled my MacBook Pro a couple of times and it would happen again and again. I've done the PRAM-reset, updated drivers according to what has been suggested on various websites.

I didn't experience the problem with Snow Leopard, however, with Lion my MacBook Pro would continue to crash. Finally, I installed gfx CardStatus and forced my MacBook Pro to just use the integrated intel graphics. However, obviously I would want my MacBook Pro to be 100% perfect, so I turned it in literally five days before the 2-year warranty expired. After some days I got my MacBook Pro back with a new logicboard - no questions asked. Thanks to Apple for this service.

Buttomline: I don't think there is any software update out there that can fix the problem. Maybe the coming OS Mountain Lion will, however, I just didn't want to take the chance and I'm glad I had the logicboard replaced.

I've been having the same problem as everyone else on here with Snow Leopard.  Problem is, my screen has totally blacked out and will not appear again at all.  I've taken it to the Genius Bar and they said it would cost $400USD to replace the screen!!!! Apparently it is 6 months out of warranty.  Has anyone been able to get a repair/replacement out of warranty since this seems to be a hardware issue?!  I just purchased the computer Dec of 2010.  Frankly, I don't want to spend $400 on a new screen if this is just going to happen again. 

Hi Milly147

I had a black screen too, but it was not the monitor

Check this: https://discussions.apple.com/message/18148895#18148895

That's exactly why I'm scared to fork over $400 for a new screen only to have it black out two months later and have them demand more money for a logicboard or something else. 

Hi Guys -

I took my Macbook Pro mid-2010 i7 to Genius Bar in November of last year when the VST passed. The black screen freeze problem however never went away ...... I took it in again to genius bar this last weekend and genius tried to do the MRI test first followed by VST test, however the VST test was taking too long to finish .... it did not finish in over 35-40 minutes, at that time the genius talked to the manager and arranged for a logic board swap for free for me. I got the macbook pro back yesterday.

Since then I haven't had "black screen freeze", however, I had 2 instances within a day. In the first instance, the screen froze completely while everything was displayed, had to hard boot. In the 2nd instance, it seemed like I had a "black screen coming out of the sleep mode" and had to press the power button to reboot again.

I will monitor performance over next few days but I am getting a bad feeling after this new logic board as well, did anyone figure out a way to find if the logic board is the newest part number, how can i find that out in system information etc.?

Now it is becoming quite annoying, I wonder if the new logic board does not help, can I demand for a macbook replacement, anyone tried that?

I have same as you ,mac book pro i7....I just sent to genius bar yesterday. I don't think they will fix this problem ,because my chinese website said : the apple doesn't know what is this problem ..... they just try to find it .....

I don't think they will give me a new mac book pro to us

they just said ,if you have black screen  , they will change logic board .....that is it .....( that sounds no good ....)

I'd just like to add that when my MacBook Pro was in for repair they ran a software check for hours that DIDN'T show any problems....?!? I had feared that that would happen (Murphy's Law), so I had written my contact info in a text file and placed it on the desktop telling the repair center to call me if they couldn't replicate the problem. When I spoke to the technician  I told him to do this and that and within a few seconds BUM the screen went black. That convinced him.

After logic board swap on my MacBook pro mid 2010 --- things have become worse! I now have random black screens coming from sleep, previously I only had black screens while I was working (not at sleep). Also I have a new problem where the screen freezes with everything visible (no black). Both of these events are happening almost every hour, sometimes the first one or the second one.

I wonder if I should ask for a Mbp replacement rather than a logic board replacement, this is super annoying!

I took my 2010 MBP in today.  I have been getting the black screen of death since I updated to Lion 10.7.3.  The apple employee ran the tests and my logic board failed.  They are going to replace the logic board for free.  I made sure to go prepared.  I would recommend printing out your most recent error report, some pages from this forum, the Apple related article promising free out-of-warranty repair, and any other articles on the topic.  I also printed a history of the problem and documentation of my prior genius bar visits regarding the issue.  Lastly, I took a look at the local municipal court's fees for filing a Small Claims case and was prepared to put that on the table if they were reluctant to replace my logic board for free.

I was afraid going in today that they would try and pull a fast one on me, but I was pleasantly surprised.  If you are having the black screen of death problem, GO TO THE APPLE STORE, but go prepared!  I will reply to this post when I get my MBP back with the new logic board.  Good luck to all!  Thanks Apple!

I am at my second logic board replacement after I was having continued problems after getting my logic board replaced the first time. I have the macbbok pro mid-2010 core i7 back with second logic board replacement, see my posts above. I will post if this helps.

guys, is there any way to confirm if logic board is new and has a new part number?

My mbpro also gets the black screen after upgrading to Lion... I just press one of the brightness buttons on the keyboard and it pops back on.