2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card

Hi

Are there updates on this situation yet?

I am experiencing ALL of the symptons described in this thread, mainly these

1. System hangs with graphics distortion

2. Hard power off and on, but unable to get past grey screen

My Apple Care is estimated to expire on 24 March 2014. It is just bizarre that so many users of the early 2011 MBPs are suffereing the same symptons as well, but no response from Apple as yet.

Just before a crash, the following message is occasionally logged in system.log

$ zgrep -C12 "GPU hang" system*gz | tail -n12 | sed 's/G.*\-Macbook\-Pro/Macbook\-Pro/g'

Feb 23 19:06:09 Macbook-Pro kernel[0]: Trying restart GPU ...

Feb 23 19:06:09 Macbook-Pro KiesViaWiFiAgent[295]: CPU Usage = 0.0

Feb 23 19:19:25 localhost bootlog[0]: BOOT_TIME 1393145365 0

Feb 23 19:19:42 localhost syslogd[22]: Configuration Notice:

ASL Module "com.apple.appstore" claims selected messages.

Those messages may not appear in standard system log files or in the ASL database.

Feb 23 19:19:42 localhost syslogd[22]: Configuration Notice:

ASL Module "com.apple.authd" sharing output destination "/var/log/system.log" with ASL Module "com.apple.asl".

Output parameters from ASL Module "com.apple.asl" override any specified in ASL Module "com.apple.authd".

Feb 23 19:19:42 localhost syslogd[22]: Configuration Notice:

ASL Module "com.apple.authd" claims selected messages.

Those messages may not appear in standard system log files or in the ASL database.

My system info for reference

Hey guys, just wanted to update you on my experiences again:

February 23rd: MBP started showing signs of the GPU failing. Attempted a reflow. Everything worked great until this fell out.

February 24th: Took the MBP to the Apple Store here in Phoenix, AZ (Arrowhead). They sent it off for flat rate repair. Ships overnight.

February 25th: Repair Depot reports repairs are complete, overnights it back to Phoenix.

February 26th: Apple sends me an email to come pick up my Macbook Pro. Here I am at home typing this up.

So despite having taken a heat gun to my own board and frying it, Apple still replaced the logic board for $329 ($310 + Tax). So far so good, though later tonight I'll still take it apart and look at it. I want to replace the thermal paste.

Early Macbook Pro 2011 w' matte screen. Original OS, only updates have been RAM to 16GB.

Replaced Ram back to original 4GB, ran all trials - same problem.

Daily Photoshop & After Effects work.

Same Kernalling Issues varying levels of broken displays (a few attached).

Out of Warranty.

This has happened to three of my machines now, 2 Tower G5's (2005 & 2008), each 1-4 months out of old apple care warranty, each one's HD or boot disk failed, the second Tower, apple technician couldn't even diagonose what the problem was, each one had to be recycled due to the expense of the parts to replace and not be guaranteed a fully working machine)

I've already switched to an Android Phone, but the actual work machine isn't quite as easy to do with Software etc.

Purchased: Bondi Apple Store, 2011.

Another Failed Apple Product...!

Sad to say that I have also joined the growing number of individuals with MBP's plagued with this issue.

The machine I have now is the MBP (15", early 2011, i7, discrete AMD 1GB). The laptop worked great for the first year or so but in the past year I noticed that there were times when I would get the dreaded "spinning beachball" lockup which required me to do manually power-down and restart. I didn't think much of it at the time but after doing some research online, it seems like it might be related to the issues I am seeing with the laptop today.

Just to give you a little background, I use OSX as my primary OS and maybe use Bootcamp to run Windows 7 Professional maybe about 10-15% of the time. When I run Windows 7 using Bootcamp, I would notice that the machine runs a bit warmer, the fan is on more frequently, and the battery life is shorter. I figured this was due to how Bootcamp works (defaulting to the discrete GPU and not allowing the switch to the integrated GPU). When I use the machine, it is typically elevated on a computer stand to allow for adequate ventilation.

Here is where I am now seeing issues. I recently tried to run Windows 7 using Bootcamp and saw the screen show (as I can best describe it) discoloration and distortion. I thought that there may have been something wrong with Windows 7 and shutdown to restart using OSX. When I booted with OSX, I saw (as I can best describe it) banding, distortion, flickering, and screen shifting. I also noticed a few times where the screen would go completely dark during use, or where the display would remain dark during start-up even though I could hear the laptop running. This was a few days ago. As of yesterday, my machine is stalling at a grey screen (for OSX) and a complete black screen (for Windows 7 via Bootcammp).

No Applecare for me--did not expect a pro/premium laptop to die out in less than 3 years. With the growing number of incidents, I hope that Apple does the right thing as a company to stand behind its products and offer repairs or replacement.

I mentioned before that I initiated an online support chat with Apple. The advisor I worked with indicated to me that this is a known issue but that I would need to bring in my MBP to the Apple Store so that they can run a specific diagnostic test to see if it is indeed the GPU issue.

When I got to the store, they said they would run a diagnostic--you can see the picture I took below. As far as I can tell, it is a generic diagnostic--the only thing they told me was that I have 3rd party RAM installed but that there were no issues with it. They said the test didn't mention anything about the GPU issue (even though the "genius" indicated he could see there was clearly an issue). I asked them to look at the transcript from my online support chat which says there is a specific diagnostic for this known issue, but the "genius" said he knew of no such thing for the 2011 MBP.

Had same problem 6 months back !! had to pay for the repair.. then i asked my friends to not to buy crappy macbook's as the quality is very cheap and the cost of repar is too high.. gave my friends enough proofs and 2 of them bought a Dell !! I saved them from cheaters like apple !! I think you guys should stop people from buying such expensive laptops with so poor life !

My MacBook Pro (15-inch Late 2011) was broken 2 days ago.

Boot in Recovery mode:

The authorized service provider in Thailand called me today.

They told me that I need to change the logic board which cost about 30,000 THB ($924)

I am worried that after logic board replacement, I will run into the same issue, and need to change the logic board again. Any one got better idea or suggestions?

Hi friends,

Call me crazy but yesterday, I switched on the laptop and It appeared the grey screen. The computer was totally frozen like always. I put it inside a blanket totally covered for 5-10min and it was really very hot after. I left it got back cool for 10-15min (ambient temperature) and I switched on later...It worked..¡¡¡¡¡. I remembered that I´ve got the smcFanControl so I switched on it and put the fans to 5000rpm. The temperature initially was on 25° Celsius. After I ran some apps like Safari or iPhoto, it raised to 30°-32° but it still works. After I ran Photoshop CS5, It raised to 45°C-48°C but still works. I´m going to try with Final Cut and some apps like DaVinci Resolte which needs a lot of RAM and GPU resources. The Mac runs slow but I think that if you need to recover information or files from your Mac, It can works. I´m doubting it can help us to do anything else but at least I can access to OX. Next steep will be replace the thermal paste on the CPU. Some users told something about reballing. Maybe reballing and one of this cheap tables with fans working together it can delay the problem again until Apple decides to launch a worldwide repair programme. I hope it helps. I keep on fighting to let Apple know they can´t ignore us and the issue.

Same problem here with a MacBook Pro early 2011 but I am only facing this problem using bootcamp runing windows 8.1

My system is a Windows 8.1 x64 Pro with Boot Camp 5.1 running on a 2011 17 Macbook Pro. I'm experiencing Windows crashes and distorted screen images with artifacts almost every time I start programs that require heavy video-processing (e.g.: games). The problem also happens, even if rarely, at random without doing anything particular.

Any fix ?

Well Yes you are right I got same problem in OS X today and after few sec screen was normal again but system was stuck or freezed and I restarted by pressing and Holding power button and got following screen.

Its a MacBook Pro 17 inch Purchased in June 2011.

Same here. MacBookPro8,3, late 2011 17" i7 with a Radeon 6770M, it's under two years old.

As of about two days ago, I have intermittent graphics glitches/crashes, Windows 7 has more issues and Mavericks so far only in discrete graphics mode. Anything that uses the GPU pretty much guarantees a crash and an exciting new stripy pattern.

I have insurance but on past experience I'd expect them to say this is a manufacturing defect, I doubt Apple will agree but they can't both be right. I'm also in the UK so there's the Sales of Goods Act, £2,500 for a laptop that lasts under two years sounds fairly unfit for purpose to me.

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/problem/what-do-i-do-if-i-have-a-faulty-p roduct

I guess then if Apple don't even recognise you can reball the GPU, they can't really refuse a subsequent replacement logic board when they admit this is a design flaw.

I mean, I'd only be doing it 'cos it's the only option left if I want to use this £2,500, supposedly premium grade, PC beating, audio/graphics professional laptop I bought only two years ago for anything more strenuous than keeping up with this thread or stopping some very impoerant papers from blowing away.

Sometimes.

Interesting conversation with a "Genius" at the Apple Store. When I mentioned that the 2011 iMac had a recall due to a faulty GPU, he said that Apple does not do recalls, and that it was not on the official list, which he quickly pointed to on his iPad.

https://www.apple.com/support/exchange_repair/

That's funny Mr. Genius. I found it here.

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS5167

For those heading to the Apple store--print these out for reference if they act as if they are not aware that there could be such a thing as a widespread issue for Apple products.

Hey guys,

I have a Macbook Pro 15 inch Intel Core i7 2.2 GHz late 2011 Memory: 10 GB

2 x HD 750.16 GB 5400 rpm and 1 x 250 SSD

Bought my Macbook Pro in 28/06/2012. I have no Apple Care.

Yesterday 10th of May 2014 my screen went to white with vertical lines after restart my screen got vertical lines or horizontal lines. I was working with Premiere Pro editing software with a blackmagic intensity extreme capture box connected via HDMI to my Dell 2701 screen.

Reboot several times in safe mode then my screen turned into Blue with Vertical Lines.

Did several reboot but with no succes my Macbook screen start with Apple Logo and end with white screen.

Top left keyboard got hot and fans are working hard.

I did a hardware test starting up with keyboard key D result was no trouble found.

Reading this forum and checked some screenshots It looks like that I have the same problem as a lot of other users.

Tomorrow I have a meeting with an Apple Repair centre.

Do you guys have some tips for me to resolve this problem ?

Thank you,

AndyGee

So far this week i'm not experiencing hanging anymore (only after fresh OSX 10.9.2 install)...

1. Settings > Energy Saver > tick OFF Automatic graphic switching...

Note: Delete gfxCardStatus if you have installed it. (because with gfxCardStatus it will tick ON Automatic graphic switching everytime you reboot/restart)