Q: 2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card

I add another user with the same problem. Started with lines, splitted screen and now the MBP can no longer start and I lost all my programs for academic work...

I have been told at the genius bar that apple does not acknowledge this problem yet, and during my stay (1h30) another user with the same problem came in (how is the probability, in one single relatively small french city if the problem was not that widespread among MBP 2011 users !!!)

How is the problem evolving ? Plus apple launched a quality program for 27 inches iMac with a similar problem provided the notice from the user was made within 4 years following the purchase date. What is going to happen for us if they wait too long to ackowledge the problem ?

I'll only address the 'lost' programs issue. It is unlikely that you have lost them, but they may not be accessible currently. It would be wise to backup your hard drive now, the future is unclear.

I wasn't referring to you, Darrell Stall, as being one of the antagonizers. :-)

Persevere - Apple replaced my machine after the 4 replacement board, i.e. 5th board overall. The 5th board hadn't yet failed but was bound to fail rather quickly.

There are several cases like this.

Charlotte — I see you got a usual unhelpful information about how your apps are still there, but nothing to really help you understand what that means. I found (after my MBPro'11 wouldn't boot to login screen) that when I booted in Single User mode and ran fs_chk (disk check), my hard drive showed to be fine, but you don't even need to do that if you have access to another Mac. If so, start up the other Mac, then connect your Mac to it with Firewire cable (or Ethernet, but I think Firewire is better - faster), then boot your Mac in Target Mode by holding down T key when your Mac boots. Release as soon as you see Target Mode graphics floating around on screen, and shortly you should see your Macs HD mount on the desktop of the other Mac like an external drive. Can't remember, but I think my display still showed the Tmode graphics even though I couldn't boot to a login screen. Any way, my files were all accessible from Target Mode, and I was able to run backup from my other Mac, even though it's an old PowerBook G4 1.5GHz. I have free version of Carbon Copy Cloner on it which I prefer to Time Machine. Not sure if Time machine can make a backup of just an external drive which is basically what a Mac in Target Mode is. Check online Apple Support docs for that. Or get a copy of Carbon Copy Clone ($40) or ChronoSync which costs the same but can do more. Am thinking of getting ChronoSync because if I get my MBPro running again, I need to sync everything between it and the new Mac Mini I just had to fork out $800 for in order to salvage this mess Apple created for me. Can't use same Time Machine backup with both machines because Sr. Tech Support's told me it won't work with both hard drives. In other words Time Machine backup is specific to the hard drive OS from which backup was made, so be careful. Making a T_M backup from another machine may mean you'll have to restore your machine while in Target Mode connected to it, because the T_M backup is specific to that machines HD OS and yours is just treated as an external drive.  More of the crAPPLE mess that's come to be. CCC and ChronoSync don't have such limitations as crAPPLE stuff has come to have ever since the iTunes Store, Ap Store, Internet Recovery, etc. Can't get Mountain Lion on my brand new Mac Mini like it's advertised to come with (false advertising and tech specs) because IR will only put Mavericks on it, which somehow was put on there from the get go, and to install Mavericks from IR takes 12 hours with a 1mbps internet connection. Apple seems to think of nothing but itself, of its shareholders as someone else has pointed out, not its customers. Apple just keeps taking and taking our $$$ and giving little in return, just creating more aggravation and frustration, the way Adobe became. "Too big to care" seems to be the new multi-national corporate PR (propaganda) m.o.

@fitzpat3 — I didn't think you were referring to me, but standing up for me. Thanks for speaking out against this thread nonsense and the police "profiling" that seems to be going on.

The rules were stated before you agreed to them, why did you agree to them if you object to their application.

Charlotte — regarding Carbon Copy Cloner, there's older free version that I think are available up to Lion, but not for Mountain Lion. So if you find access to another Mac running Lion or earlier OS down to 10.4, you can use CCC for free, or check and see if latest version has a free trial period. If you have to buy backup software, be sure to do your homework. As with everything else "high tech", you have to invest a freakin' bunch of time to figure out how you're going to be hoodwinked, and if there's a way around it, the lesser of evils; how to not get screwed any more than you have to be.

NOTE: the last free version of CCC was 3.4.7 but it doesn't run on Mountain Lion or later.

There is a 30 day free trial for either version.

Okay good Darrell ... after I sent it I thought maybe I should've been clearer in my message.  :-)

By the way, who is the moderator of this thread?  This is all very new to me and this is just my opinion, but the way these threads are displayed does not make it easy to follow who is saying what to whom. 

Charlotte — Be sure to eject your HD properly from the desktop of the other Mac if you connect to one in Target Mode. Click on you HD icon on the other Mac desktop and then hit Command E to eject it, then press the power button on your Mac to shut it down. If you don't eject your HD properly when in Target Mode and the directory on your Mac's HD gets corrupted, then you won't be able to access the files even though there still there, and I haven't as yet found a program that will then be able to make a backup for you.

@kfitzpat3 - look for 4th line under name of your post and it should say "in response to" whoever's post for which you clicked the Reply button. I don't think the name or alias of any Apple Support Communities moderator, or "host" as they're called, is published anywhere. Sr. Tech Support told me they're volunteers, and they've always been helpful for years until this thread. Some more crApple mess. Let a loose cannon loose on Apple customers in the Apple Support Communities when they're in their most vulnerable state of having hardware failure. What a way to show "support" and how much you care about your customers! I don't know where the Apple powers that be have their heads, but it's sure not in the room where "user friendly" environments are being created. Nowhere is there any documentation for appeal of being banned from ASC, yet that's just what the Apple Police in this thread have threatened to do to me twice, the second time telling me it's my last warning, if I "do it again", they'll block my internet address, notify my ISP (like they're going to cancel my account because Apple says I'm "bad" or what), block me if I change my Apple ID, etc. etc. More of the same crAPPLE I've come to expect, just like Adobe, Microsoft, etc. etc.

freddy from de haan wrote:

Same problem (Belgium). Logic board replaced 2 weeks ago (709€), and after 2 days of 'normal' working ... same problem. So got again a new logic board (for free!). How long will this on last? What to do if it happens again -after 3 months, because that the time of warranty here.

Any other Belgians on board here?

Hi Freddy,

Sorry to hear you're also experiencing problems. I'm situated in Belgium too. My machine died completely last year end november. At the Apple Service point they told me to form over €700 for a new board (as it was out of warranty already). Didn't feel right, so I tried the alternative solution (reflow) and I'm still very happy I did. As this is not the place to suggest alternatives to the default Apple ways, feel free to hover my ID (when logged in) and send me a message if you want details.

CineBug wrote:

Can anyone tell me which stress tests to run to check the replaced logic board? I tried googling it but came up with online tests. Are there any specific softwares that can be downloaded and the tests run?

Hi CineBug,

Google "GpuTest 0.7.0". I found it to do a good job stress testing. And it's free

After multiple logic board swaps and many trips to the Apple Store Geniuses, I was told a few weeks back that "my MBP was not fixable and that I should consider buying a new one and recycling my 17" 2011 MBP"

I was not going to stand for this nonsense and asked how they determined that my machine was different from all the rest and *what* made it unrepairable.

After a few days, I was called (always on the phone so no written documentation is available) and told that an external device was causing the MBP to fail. Again, in their words, "Apple would no longer repair this machine."

Again, I questioned their assertion and asked for some log file or evidence as to how Apple was able to determine that "some external device" was causing the damage.

After a few more phone calls, Apple has now somewhat reversed course and has asked that I send my MBP directly to California (not Depot or a store) for testing. I have agreed, hoping that they will put the machine in front of their senior engineers and take a real look at the machine.

Time will tell.