Q: 2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card

Same problem here. Bought my Macbook from the Apple store in America. Now I have shift to the Netherlands, suddenly my screen crashed just like yours.

Last week, I brought it to the repair center. They said the Logic Board crashed, the repair costs 630 Euros!

MBP: Early 2012, OS X Yosemite, 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7, 4 GB Memory

I am now experiencing the "worst-case" scenario of this discrete GPU issue. My early 2011 15" MacBook Pro was completely unaffected by this problem until early this morning. Then, when the unit was just a couple months past its 3-year AppleCare period, I suddenly got a solid blue screen and then it powered off -- after which my computer could no longer boot. The discrete GPU is completely nonfunctional. I used another MacBook Pro (different year, and not affected) to find this thread.

I tried FSCK. I tried resetting the PRAM. I tried booting in safe mode. Still unable to boot (cannot get past the gray screen where it is trying to switch on the discrete GPU).

I tried to reinstall OS X from an installer on a thumb drive. The OS X installer itself cannot get past the gray screen where it is trying to switch on the discrete GPU.

Finally I used Command+S to boot into terminal / command line interface and used hand-typed commands to disable the drivers for the discrete GPU, and then the machine was able to boot into a crippled manner of using only the on-board GPU. However, this mode is nearly useless. Unacceptable.

I just made an appointment to drive nearly 2 hours to the nearest Apple Store to visit the Genius Bar. Must hurry to make the appointment.

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I have an early model 2011 MBP…I started getting constant restarts and kernel panics…my only temp. fix is to disable/move the AMDRadeonX3000.kext file. I loose some features but right now that's the only way for me to use my laptop. I'm going to try the Flat Rate Repair and maybe that'll stretch out the life of the machine.

akamyself wrote:

many thanks to D3us for the wondeful job, patience and explanations.

of course I highly recommend hiring him to anybody who can bring its computer/logic board to him in Belgium or sending it.

kayazuki explained perfectly his overall and same experience so I won't do it again.

my advise to everybody in the same situation, register your problem with Apple so it counts (or whatever) but unless you want to try and get a computer replacement, don't waste time, money or energy but simply send it to a good technician.

D3us told me last night you were making a long international trip to get to his place and have the reflow done.

I have much confidence that this solution is at LEAST as good as when it would have been produced in the right way by Apple.

If transportation of yourself or your logic board isn't a problem, you should REALLY suggest D3us folks!

fsck! wrote:

I removed my logic board last night, getting ready to ship it.

Did you already send it out? If you have good references, go ahead and send it there and keep your fellow Americans posted .

If you're strongly doubting, consider shipping the board to Belgium and have it fixed by D3us... It can't be treated better, only the same...

Good luck anyway!

SFMahmood wrote:

Same problem here. Bought my Macbook from the Apple store in America. Now I have shift to the Netherlands, suddenly my screen crashed just like yours. Last week, I brought it to the repair center. They said the Logic Board crashed, the repair costs 630 Euros!

Are you still in the Netherlands or did you go back to the States already? Same advice to you; Consider D3us, he's right next to Antwerp, well reachable by train, also from the Netherlands. You can find a post of D3us on forum page 706...

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kayazuki wrote:

 

akamyself wrote:

many thanks to D3us for the wondeful job, patience and explanations.

of course I highly recommend hiring him to anybody who can bring its computer/logic board to him in Belgium or sending it.

kayazuki explained perfectly his overall and same experience so I won't do it again.

my advise to everybody in the same situation, register your problem with Apple so it counts (or whatever) but unless you want to try and get a computer replacement, don't waste time, money or energy but simply send it to a good technician.

D3us told me last night you were making a long international trip to get to his place and have the reflow done.

I have much confidence that this solution is at LEAST as good as when it would have been produced in the right way by Apple.

If transportation of yourself or your logic board isn't a problem, you should REALLY suggest D3us folks!

well, international sounds like a big deal but paris-antwerpen is a simple 2h train trip...

I hope it is as close to it as can be, I mean, it probably would have been better to have this soldering done correctly during production than finishing the job more than 3 years later (in my case) but whatever goes now, it's a definitely better solution than what Apple offers (for mad price as always).

and you have the opportunity to learn things about your computer vs. you have no idea what they've done with it at the store.

I think Apple, if not making any recall, since they most likely won't, should I least acknowledge the problem and for charging 500€ or $600 should replace the 2011 computer right away for a 2014 model, instead of making customers loosing time and money going back & forth until the 4th replacement fails.

would at least be something, an half-way thing.

slowly but surely, will gently get used using other OS and hardware because I personally hate the idea of being too Apple dependent, especially after such a disastrous customer-user-support (+ forum) experience.

DougGJoseph wrote:
I just made an appointment to drive nearly 2 hours to the nearest Apple Store to visit the Genius Bar. Must hurry to make the appointment.

Hi Doug,

I think plenty of us are convinced that you're going to waste a few precious hours of your time there..

I don't know where you're situated, but I surely hope you'll manage to find some 3rd party expert asap to reflow your GPU, so your Mac may turn into the great machine it was supposed to be..

After driving nearly 2 hours (one way, in heavy holiday traffic) to the nearest Apple Store, I got to my appointment on time. Haley, the expert who diagnosed my system, tested the unit and soon agreed with my assessment. She tried in vain to find a "quality" based decision by Apple to cover the repair cost. Whereas my 2011 MBP (15") is a couple of months past its 3-years of AppleCare, I was offered that I could pay for a logic board replacement using the "flat rate" method. For $310 (US) including shipping both ways, they will fix whatever needs fixed. As I also needed the keyboard's backlight fixed and a couple of rubber feet replaced on the bottom, I opted to do this. I will have to manage without the unit for a few days. (Not easy as I use it extensively for all manner of work-related tasks.) When it comes back, the new logic board will have a 90-day warranty. During that time I will decide whether to keep the unit or sell it. My first ever visit to a Genius Bar was not a success, as Apple did not admit to an obvious manufacturing defect and compelled me to pay for the needed repair. However, I was thankful that at least the price of the repairs was not more costly. Will update on this when I get the unit back.

Just got my macBook Pro 15 inch late 2011 back from the iCentre (Holland).

I was running it with Gfxcardstatus for almost 2 months, but in the end too many freezes and fuzzy display, so I brought it to the Authorized repair Center after I contacted the Dutch Apple store.

And now it is repaired (new logic board) for 26 euros!

I don't know how they did this for this money, but I just payed and took it home, and all works fine again, regular switching to the 2 videocards, and all seems fine!

In Dutch we say: 'Vraag niet hoe het kan, maar profiteer ervan!' (Don't ask how it's done, but accept your luck!)

I am starting to feel that I am in the same boat here ...here is the info about my problem that I posted earlier today on another thread.  Grrr ...new logic board??  Gimme a break ...

"I have a Macbook Pro that I recently put a new larger hard drive in as well as extra memory.  I put a 1 TB hard drive 7200 RPM (it haD A 500 GB 7200 RPM previously)  in it and upgraded to 8 gb of memory.  This is a Macbook Pro 8,2.  I am running Lion and reinstalled it completely on the new hard drive.  All was well for a while.  But now all of a sudden I am having intermitent problems.  It crashes, then I get the wavy looking lines on the startup screen …then it goes to a gray screen with no mouse pointer and never boots.  I have tried all the solutions I could find here ….Internet Recovery, Hardware diagnosis, Safe mode and then tried to use the HD Recovery partition option.  Nothing worked.  I then put in the old RAM in.  Still nothing.  I tried all the different fix options again and did not get any results. I then tried rebooting it several times the regular way and nothing.  I tried swapping out the old hard drive and got nothing.  Hardware tests indicate nothing is wrong.  I tried those again.  Again they indicated nothing wrong.  I was about to just give up and tried rebooting again and all of a sudden, no squiggly lines and it booted.  But I don't feel secure here.  Any suggestions would be welcome.  I do have a backup with Time machine.  But if I have a dead machine that does me no good except for the purchase of a new computer. "

Headrc -- I'm sure I speak for our blighted 'community' when I offer my sincere sympathy, especially as you've just invested in an upgrade. It hardly seems appropriate to say 'welcome' under the cicumstances.

On the face of it -- and we have to be very wary of making casual assumptions here -- it does sound as if your machine is displaying the classic symptoms. The abrupt onset is perhaps a little unusual, but it's in the nature of this problem that the effects are somewhat variable. Sadly, the end result is all too predictable -- gradual or rapid deterioration to the point where -- if you're lucky -- the machine will be good for email and not much else.

If you haven't read Kayazuki's admirable summing up of current theory (in the absence of anything official from Apple) it's on page 701.

The choices from here are rather stark: a) pay Apple to replace the logic board with a (new? recond? who knows?) unit that this thread anecdotally suggests will fail with the same fault after a short period, replace again with the same result... etc: a vast waste of productive time to add insult to injury; b) track down a reputable re-baller / re-flower (beware -- these processes requires a good deal of expertise and some specialised equipment) and get your board fixed at your own (lesser) expense. While not 100% guaranteed, this appears -- again anecdotally from this thread -- to have been pretty successful so far; and lastly c) wait Apple out for a general recall (as this thread has been running for 2 years and 3 million hits without a word from Apple you might draw your own conclusions on that one... Whistlin' Dixie comes to mind). One way or another, expense in time and bullion to you.

You weren't expecting that when you invested in your MacBook Pro were you?

Yes…after many hours yesterday I have concluded I am in this category.  And of course my Applecare expired in the early part of this year.  Has anyone ben able to get Apple to do a untying about this?  Is it even worth my time trying to purse that.  Right now I cleaned the fans etc .  and the Macbook seems to be running ok but I am certainly not confident with learning this information.  What is the best fix if you have to foot the bill yourself?  Anyone recommend someone in the U.S. that will fix the board and has a history of very good success?

Oh …and has there been a petition/group effort of some sort to try and get Apple to do a recall?  I love Apple over the Windows environment, but this does put a negative on Apple.  Especially since you pay a premium for their product.

headrc wrote:

1) What is the best fix if you have to foot the bill yourself?
2) Anyone recommend someone in the U.S. that will fix the board and has a history of very good success?

3) Oh …and has there been a petition/group effort of some sort to try and get Apple to do a recall?
4) I love Apple over the Windows environment, but this does put a negative on Apple.  Especially since you pay a premium for their product.

1) Reflowing your GPU has an extremely high chance of turning your paperweight into the machine it was designed to be.

2) In case he's not checking this forum at this moment, I'll ask user D3us if he has some 'colleague' in the US of whom he knows for sure that the best method is being used.

3) Yea, there has been one, 30.000+ hancocks already, no result.

4) Hear hear....

http://www.wbmllp.com/news/class-action-filed-against-apple-for-defective-2011-m acbook-pro-laptops

I too am in the U.S. would definitely like to know if there in anyone in the States that could reflow my 2011 17" MBP.  I purchased it in in 2011 specifically for my Masters degree program, and it has been acting as many have described the past two months.  Genius people say nothing is wrong last month, offered the flat rate fix which is interesting if  "nothing is wrong" with it.  However, I am starting a post-graduate program in a couple weeks and don't know what to do.  I haven't used a PC in years, and just want my 2011 MCP back in working order.