Q: 2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card

Thanks for you answer  Richard Liu. So we just HOPE that problem will not come again in the future, but another way maybe I must to think about buy a new one macbook pro.

btw, I got my repar macbook pro back about 1 month but until today I see that my macbook pro have problem with microphone. Microphone work so terrible now. Have been contact with Apple Support and they said talk with AASP. Will bring back my Macbook pro to them tomorrow.

Regarding your RAM, I would recommend testing it extensively with Memtest86 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memtest86) and if no problem is detect, re-installing it. Several Linux Live DVDs come with the program, so booting your Macbook pro with one of those would be an easy way to accomplish this. Good luck!

I just received a really strange response from my local authorised Apple repair centre over this (I live in Brussels where there's no official app store, so went to a third-party recommended by Apple). I had the same glitchy screen problem as everyone else in this thread, so I took my laptop to the third party, cited Apple's program covering the repair (I'm out of warranty) and expected them to just replace the graphics card as standard. They sent the laptop to Apple's repair centre, and today I got this response from the third party:

Thank you for your mail. Our technicians have made a diagnosis on your Macbook Pro and the problem seems to be situated in the motherboard. In this case we can replace the motherboard under warranty, so free of charge. The materials have been ordered from Apple already and will be installed when we receive them. I cannot give you an exact estimate when the repair will be done at this time, but it would seem realistic to get positive feedback later this week. I will contact you personally when i receive more information. Regards, etc.

Is this strange? For one, I'm out of the standard warranty, so I presume they mean it's covered by Apple program here. Is it a good or bad thing that they're replacing the motherboard, and presumably leaving the graphics card as it is? I'm not very au fait on this sort of thing, but the motherboard is a much more central part of the laptop, and it'd be quite nice to have a new one, right? Very puzzled by this response, is there anything I should be asking them?

Edit: I've just realised that a motherboard and a logicboard are the same thing, D'oh. Ignore that last post!

In any case, I've emailed the technician and asked him specifically what parts are going to be put into the laptop, whether they're 'new', etc. Given that they're being shipped from Apple, I presume they are. Will post any details if I get them.

Piecing all pertinent reports in this thread together, the motherboards that are being used to repair systems that qualify for the extended repair program are revised motherboards, meaning that they are not the same as the original ones.  But some components on some of those boards have been recycled, i.e., are not brand new.

Thanks for that, Richard. Really helpful. If I get any useful info from my repair, I'll post it in here.

Hey everyone,

So I've been following this thread since November, and I just wanted to share my experience and see if anyone has any insight into my peculiar situation.

MacBook Pro 15" early 2011, lines across the screen, restarts... yada yada.

I work remotely and was traveling Europe at the time my laptop was affected. Specifically, I was in Croatia where there are no Apple stores or authorized repair centers. As this was before the eligibility program, and I needed to do my work, I took it to get a reflow from a computer shop. Sort of a last-ditch effort before I caved and bought a crappy PC.

Anyway, the shop botched the reflow/reball, and it actually ended up making the situation worse. The logic board was so fragile at that point that it made it so the computer can't even turn on.

Big question: Do you think this will render me ineligible for the program? So frustrating, because if I had just waited (for the seemingly never-gonna-happen replacement program), Apple would be able to test the logic board and see that it is the exact problem the program is intended to fix.

What are your thoughts?

If that computer shop touched something on your logic board so that mean that you out of this program. I have some friend who had been repair logic board from another computer shop (not AASP) and when this program run so they came to AASP to repair but they got deny from AASP.

P.S: Croatia don't have Apple Store but they have AASP there. 

In which country do you intend to have the repair done?  Do you at least have a receipt for the botched reflow?

If you have a receipt, Apple refunds the price you paid for such repairs, regardless of whether the repair was done by Apple and/or was successful.  If I recall correctly, there are reports in this thread of people having been reimbursed for a repair that eventually turned out not to solve the problem, and then qualifying for the extended repair program.  So, if you have a receipt, you should at least be able to get your money back.

Whether your machine qualifies for the extended repair program in its botched up state is another question, but it is probably no use trying to sneak it by an Apple technician.  I would explain the situation to an Apple Store, an Apple Authorized Service Provider, or Apple Support.  They may surprise you.  If not, ask how much they charge to do the repair.  Perhaps the reimbursement will cover it.

Good luck!

Hi Nailer6245 and all,

I'm having the same problem since a day, especially when I open graphic programs. Lines all over my screen and when I swap windows the black bar gets stuck on the screen. I'm also out of warranty and just installed a new SSD drive and RAM because my hard disk failed and speed was lacking after the update to the latest OS. I'm from Belgium so I would very much like to know to which shop in Brussels you brought your macbook pro? Because paying for another replacement would be a bit to much.

Thank you!

You can try to boot your macbook with extern hard disk before contact apple service.

Hi all ! Just to say my late 2011 15" mbp just got hit by this problem. I'm in France. I called apple care. They said that my machine was admissible to the repair program. I gave it to a certified repair center, and 24 h later, i got it back, with a brand new mother card, working perfectly ! Same spec, same AMD RADEON card thought, so it might occur again, but let's hope it will be in a few years !  Yeah !!

Hello again! I wanted to report back with my results and experience.

I set up another appointment at the apple store to have my machine looked at as it got so bad that it wouldn't even turn on. I went to the store with pictures and video of the display problems to support my claim but didn't need them in the end.

They took my machine and found that it was eligible for the replacement program and replaced the logic board free of charge. Apparently the power issue was also related to the logic board. I haven't opened the machine up to verify if the board was new or not.

I've been working on the machine since then and it appears to be stable. I haven't had any glitches or OS issues yet. The system also became more responsive after few power cycles.

My machine had a few new scratches when I got it back so I'm skeptical of how they take care of the machines in the repair shop but at least my machine is up and running again without me having to pay an absurd amount of money.

I would like to thank everyone for their views and advice on these issues! I might have ended up selling it if I couldn't have gotten it fixed.

I'm hoping this fix lasts!

Regarding the scratches, check the work order that you signed authorizing that Apple repair your machine.  The condition of the machine when Apple received it should have been documented.  My work order mentions scratches.  If yours doesn't, ask about it.  Apple takes justifiable pride in the design of their products.  They shouldn't be surprised if you do too.  Perhaps one of the photos that you ended up not needing can provide a clue about the origin of some of the scratches.

Thanks for the reply, Richard. The lines did appear before my computer stopped working last year, except they're much more frequent and common now. I suppose the logic board they put in machine has the same/worse soldering issue. My MBP has also started to restart itself again, something that happened before and something I've read other users experiencing. Last night, the computer running but the screen was black and I couldn't even force it to shut down and restart. I think it's time for another Genius Bar appointment.

I installed an app that tracks the computer's CPU/memory/etc and even when I have only 1 application running (like a browser), the "kernel_task" process will be using 600% of the CPU power, causing my MBP to lag to the point that typing a URL in the address bar is a 2-3 minute long process. Does anyone with more knowledge of the inner workings of a computer know if this excess use the GPU processing power by kernel_task could be related to the logic board? I read multiple happy users who got back their early 15" MBPs and said it runs like a brand new machine. Mine came back worse than before so I'm wondering if it's my machine or if it's because of whatever the Apple Store put in it that's causing worse problems than before.