abelliveau

Q: 2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card

I have an early 2011 MacBook Pro (2.2 GHz Intel Core i7, 8 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 memory) running OS 10.8.2.  It has two graphics components: an AMD Radeon HD 6750M and a built-in Intel HD Graphics 3000. Since I've had the computer, the screen would get a blue tint when the computer switched between them.

 

However, as of two days ago, the problem has become substantially more severe.  The computer was working fine, when all of a suddent the screen when completely blue.  I had to force restart the computer.  Since then, the screen has gone awry on numerous occassions - each time necessitating a hard reset.

 

I installed gfxCardStatus, and have discovered that the computer runs fine using the integrated card, but as soon as I switch to the discrete card - the screen goes .

 

I am just wondering what my options are (any input on any of these would be appreciated!):

 

1) Replace the logic board.  Would this necessarily fix the issue?

 

2) Is there any way to "fix" the graphics card? 

 

3) Keep using gfxCardStatus and only use the integrated graphics card.  This is definitely the easiest/cheapest option, but to have such a computer and not be able to use the graphics card seems like a real shame.

 

4) Is there any other alternative?

 


MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2), 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7, 8 GB memory

Posted on Feb 1, 2013 4:45 PM

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Q: 2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card

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  • by sicilianu89,

    sicilianu89 sicilianu89 Mar 6, 2015 2:39 PM in response to jimoase
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 6, 2015 2:39 PM in response to jimoase

    Thank you for your quick response ! I am hearing great news ! Do you think that they will do the same in Europe?

  • by jimoase,

    jimoase jimoase Mar 6, 2015 3:15 PM in response to sicilianu89
    Level 1 (13 points)
    Desktops
    Mar 6, 2015 3:15 PM in response to sicilianu89

    sicilianu89 wrote:

     

    Thank you for your quick response ! I am hearing great news ! Do you think that they will do the same in Europe?

     

    When this discussion started Apple could not hear us.  Those who joined this discussion kept the faith that their days of labor needed to be respected by Apple.  Those people persisted in their effort to be heard.  Apple remained deaf and then begin to feel the heat.  As a community we were able focus our displeasure with Apple's character, to give their word and not keep it. 

     

    If Apple decides to divide their customer base and give special treatment to some and not others with the expectation of starting some kind of infighting with the intention of breaking the community, we, the community, will need to continue Apple's character improvement lessons.

     

    As customers deserving fair treatment South Dakota, where I live, is no different than Italy or Argentina.

  • by Richard Liu,

    Richard Liu Richard Liu Mar 6, 2015 4:27 PM in response to jimoase
    Level 1 (58 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 6, 2015 4:27 PM in response to jimoase

    If Apple decides to divide their customer base and give special treatment to some and not others with the expectation of starting some kind of infighting with the intention of breaking the community, we, the community, will need to continue Apple's character improvement lessons.

     

    As customers deserving fair treatment South Dakota, where I live, is no different than Italy or Argentina.

    ???  In an effort to keep the focus on the MacBook Pro Repair Extension Program for Video Issues (https://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro-videoissues/) I would point out that the program is worldwide (i.e., excludes no region of the world) and machines suspected of qualifying for the program can either be brought to a "participating provider" or mailed to Apple.  Additionally, Apple will refund the cost of repairs carried out before the start of the program.

     

    I find no documentation in this thread of Apple discriminating against customers on the basis of geography -- or for any other reason, for that matter -- regarding access to the program.  Yes, some machines have been rejected for failing to fail a diagnostic test, while in other cases it is unclear whether machines that were brought in or mailed in were even tested before their motherboards were replaced, and, if so, whether they failed as expected.  If I recall correctly, one customer reported that pictures that he took of screwed up displays were sufficient for the technician to accept his machine, and another described how things that have nothing to do with  the video system were replaced.  All this has nothing to do with discrimination.  It's what inevitably happens in a large organization when written instructions must be interpreted.  Some employees abide by the words; others, by the spirit.  Some are motivated to protect Apple from people who spare no effort to get something for free, while others evidently take to heart the company's professed dedication to pleasing customers.  Unfortunate, but human.  There are bad apples in every company, even in Apple.  I suppose anyone whose machine has been rejected can still opt to mail it in.  In the end, that just costs (more) nerves, but no money.

     

    I understand that those who have been p***ing against the wind for months or years are inclined to mistrust Apple's motives for instituting the present program, while those lucky to have just recently experienced the problem are grateful to the same company.  However, what concerns me now that Apple has a repair program in place is not the past, i.e., why did it take so long, but the future, i.e., how well are the new motherboards holding up, and what can be done to ensure that the next engineering flaw doesn't take so long to be discovered, acknowledged and fixed?   Perhaps Apple should invest fewer resources in shaving off a few grams and a few millimeters from the next MacBook Pro and more in quality control and quality assurance.

  • by Charles Houghton-Webb,

    Charles Houghton-Webb Charles Houghton-Webb Mar 6, 2015 6:44 PM in response to abelliveau
    Level 1 (33 points)
    Mar 6, 2015 6:44 PM in response to abelliveau

    Got my 2011 17" MBP i7 back from repair this PM from a french AppleStore.

    Everything seems as before, but without the pyjama stripes

    Same serial No., disk, memory…

    It seems to run quiet and cool. Time will tell…

  • by kraziekoala,

    kraziekoala kraziekoala Mar 6, 2015 10:14 PM in response to abelliveau
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 6, 2015 10:14 PM in response to abelliveau

    Just got my Macbook back from Apple. Glad to have this machine working after it bricked out back in August.

     

    Only problem is that I noticed that i can see evenly spaced lights protrude on the bottom of my screen. More noticeable on a white page, less noticeable on colored. Anyone else have the same issues?

  • by jimoase,

    jimoase jimoase Mar 6, 2015 10:33 PM in response to Richard Liu
    Level 1 (13 points)
    Desktops
    Mar 6, 2015 10:33 PM in response to Richard Liu

    Richard Liu wrote:

     

    If Apple decides to divide their customer base and give special treatment to some and not others with the expectation of starting some kind of infighting with the intention of breaking the community, we, the community, will need to continue Apple's character improvement lessons.

     

    As customers deserving fair treatment South Dakota, where I live, is no different than Italy or Argentina.

    ???  In an effort to keep the focus on the MacBook Pro Repair Extension Program for Video Issues (https://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro-videoissues/) I would point out that the program is worldwide (i.e., excludes no region of the world) and machines suspected of qualifying for the program can either be brought to a "participating provider" or mailed to Apple.  Additionally, Apple will refund the cost of repairs carried out before the start of the program.

     

    I find no documentation in this thread of Apple discriminating against customers on the basis of geography -- or for any other reason, for that matter -- regarding access to the program.  Yes, some machines have been rejected for failing to fail a diagnostic test, while in other cases it is unclear whether machines that were brought in or mailed in were even tested before their motherboards were replaced, and, if so, whether they failed as expected.  If I recall correctly, one customer reported that pictures that he took of screwed up displays were sufficient for the technician to accept his machine, and another described how things that have nothing to do with  the video system were replaced.  All this has nothing to do with discrimination.  It's what inevitably happens in a large organization when written instructions must be interpreted.  Some employees abide by the words; others, by the spirit.  Some are motivated to protect Apple from people who spare no effort to get something for free, while others evidently take to heart the company's professed dedication to pleasing customers.  Unfortunate, but human.  There are bad apples in every company, even in Apple.  I suppose anyone whose machine has been rejected can still opt to mail it in.  In the end, that just costs (more) nerves, but no money.

     

    I understand that those who have been p***ing against the wind for months or years are inclined to mistrust Apple's motives for instituting the present program, while those lucky to have just recently experienced the problem are grateful to the same company.  However, what concerns me now that Apple has a repair program in place is not the past, i.e., why did it take so long, but the future, i.e., how well are the new motherboards holding up, and what can be done to ensure that the next engineering flaw doesn't take so long to be discovered, acknowledged and fixed?   Perhaps Apple should invest fewer resources in shaving off a few grams and a few millimeters from the next MacBook Pro and more in quality control and quality assurance.

     

    Discrimination is such a charged word these days.  Not what I was thinking about as I was thinking about fair treatment in various parts of the world.  My thoughts were fresh from reading about one person taking his machine in and even though it was observed to fail proper operation there was some serious question whether it would be repaired as part of this program.  Another person talked about taking his machine in, being reject for repair and taking it someplace else and getting it repaired.

     

    Prior to the announcement of repair program there were reports of some country's having basically lemon laws that were intended to repair expensive items several years after purchase.  Like the person who needed to select a friendlier place to take his machine to get it repaired since the free repair program came to be, the administration of repairs under the lemon law has its questionable administrators.

     

    There have been reports of people needing to get past the first level customer service before getting satisfactory results.  So while that may or may not  fit the popular definition of discrimination, it certainly is unfair treatment.   Such variations in the level of administration of this repair program, while minimal, have been reported.  Casting light, such as discussion like this can do, does a lot to stimulate good character.

  • by MGSH,

    MGSH MGSH Mar 7, 2015 4:25 AM in response to Charles Houghton-Webb
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mar 7, 2015 4:25 AM in response to Charles Houghton-Webb

    Out of interest, what temperature do you consider to be cool? My machine's temperature ranges between 62ºc - 85ºc and mostly hovers around 72ºc - I don't know if that's normal?

     

    I've got it running through an external display now, at pretty much the same temperatures, though the fans seem be working harder. I'm watching 720p video, with Chrome and Safari running several tabs. I'm not trying to cook the MBP, but this is pretty much normal use for me, and I'd expect to able to do so across all my machines.

  • by Richard Liu,

    Richard Liu Richard Liu Mar 7, 2015 10:19 AM in response to jimoase
    Level 1 (58 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 7, 2015 10:19 AM in response to jimoase

    So while that may or may not  fit the popular definition of discrimination, it certainly is unfair treatment.   Such variations in the level of administration of this repair program, while minimal, have been reported.  Casting light, such as discussion like this can do, does a lot to stimulate good character.

    I don't mean to split hairs.  I personally would not say that anybody has been treated unfairly, but rather, that the program is not being administered uniformly.  Any instructions to Apple employees and "participating providers" regarding administering the program seem to lack the details that would have prevented the examples that you, I and others describe.  In particular, the role of the diagnostic test in determining the eligibility of a machine seems not to have been specified.  Is a machine eligible if, and only if, it fails the test?  What role does any evidence provided by the machine's owner play in determining eligibility, especially if the machine passes the diagnostic test?  Is the test predictive, i.e., if a machine passes the test, does that mean that Apple does not expect it to develop the problems that machines that fail it have?  It seems that Apple, intentionally or not, has left it up to each agent who is confronted with a candidate for the repair program to decide these things.  Some decide themselves, and some escalate.  Sometimes the decision pleases the customer, and sometimes it doesn't.

     

    Regarding the stimulation of good character, I would formulate the potential of using this forum to call attention to inconsistencies in the administration of the program much more modestly.  Doing so can certainly help to eliminate them.  One problem with documenting them here is, nothing written here is guaranteed to be read by the Powers that Be in Cupertino.  The other is, the thread is 839 pages long and still growing, and it is difficult to find those examples when one is searching for them.  Finally, instructions to ensure a more uniform administration of the program might well have eliminated exactly those positive examples that we tend to have in mind when we demand consistency.

  • by anyce201252,

    anyce201252 anyce201252 Mar 7, 2015 10:21 AM in response to abelliveau
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 7, 2015 10:21 AM in response to abelliveau

    my macbook was denied after being sent to the repair center in memphis they said i tampered with it and they can't fix it which doesn't make any sense to me because even if i changed something the logicboard still was bad and is apples fault

  • by Richard Liu,

    Richard Liu Richard Liu Mar 7, 2015 10:30 AM in response to anyce201252
    Level 1 (58 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 7, 2015 10:30 AM in response to anyce201252

    they said i tampered with it

    In what was the alleged tampering supposed to have consisted?  Did you temper with it?

  • by anyce201252,

    anyce201252 anyce201252 Mar 7, 2015 10:37 AM in response to Richard Liu
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 7, 2015 10:37 AM in response to Richard Liu

    they said the battery and airport card

  • by Richard Liu,

    Richard Liu Richard Liu Mar 7, 2015 10:50 AM in response to anyce201252
    Level 1 (58 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 7, 2015 10:50 AM in response to anyce201252

    they said i tampered with it

    In what was the alleged tampering supposed to have consisted?  Did you tamper with it?

    they said the battery and airport card

    Did you?

     

    I'm not playing Perry Mason (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perry_Mason) .  We already have read that user installed RAM, HDD and SDD generally have not prevented Apple from repairing a machine.  If you did install a new battery and/or another Airport card, can you replace it/them with the original equipment, and does the MBP then still have the video issues?

  • by anyce201252,

    anyce201252 anyce201252 Mar 7, 2015 11:16 AM in response to Richard Liu
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 7, 2015 11:16 AM in response to Richard Liu

    no  i don't have them anymore.... yeah i still have the video issues they didn't do anything and that was after i got a call telling me i should still be ok

  • by Richard Liu,

    Richard Liu Richard Liu Mar 7, 2015 12:23 PM in response to anyce201252
    Level 1 (58 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 7, 2015 12:23 PM in response to anyce201252

    anyce201252 wrote:

     

    no  i don't have them anymore.... yeah i still have the video issues they didn't do anything and that was after i got a call telling me i should still be ok

    I'm having a hard time following you.

    1.  You replaced the Airport card and the battery in your MBP and don't have the original of either.  Is that correct?

    2.  You told Apple when informing them that you would like to mail in your MBP that you had replaced them, and Apple said that was OK and sent you the packing materials for mailing them your MBP.  Is that correct?

    3.  Later Apple informed your that your MBP was not eligible for repair under the program because you had replaced the Airport card and the battery.  Is that correct?

    4.  You say you received a call from the Memphis repair center telling you that you "should be OK".  Since the issue is not your health, please be more specific about what the caller said.  Did he/she simply confirm that your machine had failed the diagnostic tests and that he/she was proceeding to the next step, i.e., opening the machine to check that the machine met other conditions for eligibility before repairing it?

    By the way, the tests do not require that the MBP be opened, so if you did not tell them about replacing the Airport card and the battery, they would have no way of knowing until they opened it up to replace the motherboard.

     

    Thanks.

  • by anyce201252,

    anyce201252 anyce201252 Mar 7, 2015 2:00 PM in response to Richard Liu
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 7, 2015 2:00 PM in response to Richard Liu

    1. yes

    2. no i dropped it off to an apple store on a monday feb 23  they told it would take  3-5 days i then got a call on saturday feb 28 the person i spoke told me that there were parts in the macbook that should not be there  put that i should be ok because of a quality issue with logic board and it failing the vst test and that it should be another 3-5 days

    3. i received a call yesterday march 6 saying that my macbook will not be repaired because of the replacement parts void the warranty i picked it up today  the apple care document they gave me says your product is beyond economic repair

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