2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card

i had the same problem last year when I made an update to mavericks to yosemite ..

I made the cheaper method as said above, they re-sold the ATI processor, I could use the mac for 2 days after crash the video again, when i was going to use Photoshop again.

I Send to Apple and expand more the 1.700,00 USD to put a new logic board.

Now I made the Sierra update and again problems with the graphic ATI RADEON.

My config:

MacBook Pro (17-inch, Late 2011)

Processor: 2.4 GHz Intel Core i7

Memory: 16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3

Startup Disk: MAC OSX 120 GB Solid State SATA Drive

AMD Radeon HD 6770M:

Chipset Model: AMD Radeon HD 6770M

Type: GPU

Bus: PCIe

PCIe Lane Width: x8

VRAM (Total): 1024 MB

Vendor: ATI (0x1002)

Device ID: 0x6740

Revision ID: 0x0000

ROM Revision: 113-C0170L-573

gMux Version: 1.9.24

EFI Driver Version: 01.00.57

That's good news, although the fact you were initially given excuses is pretty bad. They probably reset your password to gain root access to run some tests. I always create a 'test_repair' account that has full admin right, so they don't have to touch my accounts, but I wouldn't worry about it.

I've resolved this problem…after reading loads and loads of other threads. It was a problem with the dedicated AMD GPU. The solution was to force the computer to use the Intel graphics processor rather than the dedicated AMD graphics processor. I can't tell exactly why my AMD processor stopped working but from what others have said it appears the problem could lie with the lead free solder used to attach the AMD processor to the motherboard i.e. it wasn't ideal and tends to fail.

The solution that worked for me, and it appears that different people with roughly the same problem have found slightly different solutions, was to move the AMD AND ATI processor extensions out of the System/Library/Extensions folder and place them in a newly created DisabledExtensions folder. This is done using the Single User mode (with your computer off, hold the command and s buttons and press the power key to turn the computer on. You have to be very careful doing this because you're editing code and to would be easy to screw things up.

The discovery I made, which made my particular solution work, was that apparently identical MacBook Pros (Early 2011) can use different AMD processors. So the first solution I found, which looked to be perfect for me, wasn't because I didn't have the exactly the same extensions - the solution required me to type in four named extension.

On first try I managed to progress as far as the instruction which asked for the extensions to be moved, but I got a response saying "file does not exist". On further investigation I found another thread which suggested using a slightly different command which moved any extensions which started with AMD, but didn't need to precise extension name.

To put this all into context, my MacBook Pro is as follows:

MackBook Pro 15" Early 2001

Processor 2 GHz Intel Core i7

AMD Radeon HD 6490M 256 MB

Serial Number beginning: C02F…...

The first set of instructions I found was a YouTube video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyDu-Y_G1D8

This contained the following Single User mode instructions:

fsck -fy [once this file check has run and come back saying "The volume Mac HD appears to be OK" move to the next instruction]

mount -uw / [return]

mkdir /DisabledExtensions [return - this creates the folder the extensions will be placed in]

cd /System/Library/Extensions [return - this takes you to where the extensions to me moved reside]

The next command is were is stopped working for me. The next command wants to move specific named extensions, which I clearly didn't have in my Extensions folder. This fix I found was, as stated above, in a command which simply moves all extensions starting with AMD. This fix is here:

2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card

The next command I used was:

sudo mv AMD* / DisabledExtensions/ [return]

However, there's a bit of a contentious issue in the Discussion Forum page listed above. There are some post saying that you have to move the AMD extensions AND the ATI extensions. There are also some posts rubbishing this, saying that you don't need to move the ATI extensions. I certainly needed to move the ATI extensions, because I got to the end of the original instructions - which I'll detail below - rebooted and it hadn't fixed the problem.

So I found another web page which listed the precise extensions that needed to be moved for my particular AMD Radeon HD 6490M processor, and it listed the ATI extensions. So I went back in to Single User mode and added:

sudo mv ATI* / DisabledExtensions/ [return]

I then came back out with the remaining commands from the original video instructions:

cd /

sudo touch /System/Library/Extensions

ls /DisabledExtensions [return - this lists the moved extensions but it's l as in lima, not a cap i:]

reboot

And it worked. As various people have stated, this is a workaround and not a fix. You're now using the onboard graphics processor, which is OK but doesn't run video very well at all, has trouble with certain web pages and means you can't adjust the screen brightness. And you can't use an external monitor…although I haven't been able to verify this.

So if, like me,you have an AMD Radeon HD 6490M processor, try this in Single User mode:

fsck -fy [once this file check has run and come back saying "The volume Mac HD appears to be OK" move to the next instruction]

mount -uw / [return]

mkdir /DisabledExtensions [return - this creates the folder the extensions will be placed in]

cd /System/Library/Extensions [return - this takes you to where the extensions to me moved reside]

sudo mv AMD* / DisabledExtensions/ [return]

sudo mv ATI* / DisabledExtensions/ [return]

cd /

sudo touch /System/Library/Extensions

ls /DisabledExtensions [return - this lists the moved extensions but it's l as in lima, not a cap i:]

reboot

I hope this helps. I'm off to the local Apple store now to see if I can get a permeant fix under Apple's MacBook Pro Early 2011 AMD Replacement programme.

Regards

Like you stated yourself, that does not fix the problem but is merely a workaround. And no, the internal GPU will not let you use an external display. With graphics intensive programs your mileage may vary as well. So this is just a temporary workaround.

And you can use gfxCardStatus ( https://gfx.io/ ) to achieve this as well without resorting to the command line, should the computer be in a usable condition.

Thanks for your information! I have given it a try but been stuck in the line "sudo mv AMD* /DisabledExtensions/", for which "... Operation not permitted" was displayed. Sorry for I'm not so familiar with those UNIX commands & stuff. What should I do in order to make that operation permissable?

Hi zodicko

I'm not a coder but copied the code form others religiously. There is one slight difference between the video code and the sudo mv AMD* fix code, and that's the forward slash at the end. Try without it. If that works I'll amend the instructions.

Regards

Thanks for your advice, but I believe the forward slash is not the cause of the "Operation not allowed" problem. I've found the trick from another guy of using "csrutil disable" in Recovery Mode to make this operation possible. However, the problem is, when I trigger the Recovery Mode and have seen a little globe turning for a while, the screen turns into pale grey and gets frozen since then. What a wonderful world.

I've had my macbook's logic board replaced twice and I started to suspect that it's beginning to fail again. I tried running one of the benchmarking programs and this is what it looks like:

http://imgur.com/a/wd5Wv

Outside of that my graphics seem to be working fine. But since that's how my graphics look while running the program, does that mean that there are issues with my GPU? Would I be able to show this to the Genius bar or does it have to actually be an issue with the system and not the benchmarking tool?

Thanks

A benchmark tool shouldn't cause the system to fail, more likely to be the onset of another failing graphics card. I'd take it back to the Genius Bar- there isn't that much time left before the repair program ends.

ok thanks, I'll bring it back and show them the benchmarking tool with these graphical errors. The system does not fail though, it just doesn't render correctly.

It renders it at 4x MSAA but when I try the 8x MSAA that's all I see in the program.

Your GPU is something wrong, I guess.

Yea, I made an appointment for the Genius Bar hopefully they can fix it 😟 worried it'll die by dec 2016 anyways and won't be covered after 😟

Hello. Is there any method to see if a logic board is refurbished or new? Thanks.

Kanimies, I subsequently tested the external display and you're right, you can't run one. I did look at the gfxCardStatus solution, the trouble is I couldn't boot up the lapdog to download the application and run it, so the command line solution was the only one available to me. If your lapdog is showing early signs of the problem and you can still boot it up, then I agree gfxCardStatus is a far easier solution.

Hi! I had the same issue as yours but now I have some trick to share and hope it would temporarily help.

Unscrew and take off the bottom shell, then use some fan to blow towards the mainboard. If it works, may be you should consider buying a laptop cooler for the time being.