2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card

nisrak wrote:

Also, has anyone tried repairing the loose solder manually? I'd assume its very intricate micro-solder, but I'm just curious if anyone out there has had any luck...

If you can do this And then solder it back on to the logic board.:

(This is from a macbook pro 2008, only reballed to test something. Put a new chip on it instead of this one)

Looks like I'm one of the unlucky few Late 2011 MacBook Pro owners with this problem--just like the Early 2011 2.2GHz model, it has an AMD Radeon 6750M inside. There were always minor graphic blips in my experience, but none of them were anything moving the mouse or clicking the window to "wake up" the Mac wouldn't fix (it usually occurred after coming out of sleep mode). For the past 1 1/2 years I've been more focused on hard drive issues (my lemon of a laptop has been in for repairs 7+ times; eventually the hard drive and cable were replaced which temporarily fixed the problem for a few months).

However, last night my mac started having more serious graphic issues and hard freezing which required hard shutdowns to temporarily alleviate the problem...only for it to return even worse a few minutes later. Artefacts, grey screens, split/shifted screens, extreme blur, banding, etc. when performing even the most simple tasks, such as web browsing...

Now, OS X won't boot. I tried to recover my files through Bootcamp, but the graphics issue soon spread to that partition as well, and Windows won't boot either. Within an hour, the problem escalated to the point I'm convinced the graphics card is toast. Aside from the Recovery HD and Windows's Safe Mode (discovered this when I decided to run the usual disk tests, which came up clean), my MBP is brick'd, which means I can't used the gfxCardStatues workaround. Lovely.

At least I can say for certain it's not OS X Mavericks at fault, because I still have OS X Lion.

I have booked a Genius Bar appointment for this weekend, but...thinking back to how many times the "genius's" advice for my hard drive woes was just a band-aid tactic and didn't actually solve the problem, I have my doubts as to whether or not they'll actually help with the graphics card/GPU. I am so, so glad I bought AppleCare so I haven't spent a fortune repairing my MBP yet, but lately I wonder if the beautiful hardware is really worth having to bring it in for repairs so often. I do a lot of heavy graphics work (Photoshop, After Effects, Maya, 3DSMax, etc.) so I want a portable computer that can handle these tasks somewhat smoothly, and now since I've read that sometimes getting the logic board replaced won't help, I just want a computer with graphics that work.

This is my first experience with OS X, and I'm feeling inclined to switch back to Windows. At least I can fix the problems that OS has by myself...

Mi caso Nº 56****187:

MacBook Pro 15 Early 2001

Comprado en Apple Reseller de Oviedo (España) en Marzo 2011.

Primeros fallos de pantalla en Noviembre 2013
Primer contacto appelsupport en Enero 2014

Intentos *** formatear el HD, Reinstalar OS, Recuperar Datos… Tiempo perdido.

Diagnostico en Servicio Técnico de Apple: Fallo del dispositivo Gráfico.

Propuesta: Cambiar placa. Presupuesto 595€

Apple no acepta responsabilidad.

Mi opinión: Han fallado por envejecimiento las soldaduras del chip.

APPLE DEBE HACER ALGO. QUIEN RECLAMA CONMIGO? EXISTE ALGUNA LISTA? DONDE? GRACIAS

My case No. 56****187:
MacBook Pro 15 Early 2001
Bought at Apple Reseller of Oviedo (Spain) in March 2011.
First screen failures in November 2013
First contact appelsupport January 2014
Attempts to format the HD, reinstall OS, Data Recovery ... Lost time.
Diagnostics Apple Technical Services: Graphic device failure.
Proposal: Change board. Budget € 595
Apple accepts no responsibility.
My opinion: They missed chip aging welds.
APPLE TO DO SOMETHING. DOES A COMPLAINT LIST EXIST? WHERE?

THANKS

<Personal Information Edited By Host>

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.