Q: 2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card

I'm still on Mac OS10.6.8 and have tried the following (not necessarily in sequence):

1. Erased drive with "Don't Erase Data" security option. Restored machine from Time Machine backup.
2. Erased drive with "Don't Erase Data" security option. Installed OS from system DVD. Migrated user accounts from Time Machine backup.
3. Removed one memory stick. This removed all symptoms for a day or two.
4. Replaced Kingston memory with 2GB OEM memory sticks. This removed all symptoms for one day.
5. Reset SMC and NVRAM/PRAM.
6. Become frustrated over the countless hours spent on this.

Symptoms:

1. Split-screen issue where the screen image is shifted off to the left side, and the hidden part appears on the right side.
2. Solid gray screens, with machine locked up, especially when booting up, even on system DVD.
3. Solid black screens that return after a minute or two, only to gray out and display the "black screen of death" message in the center.
4. Strobe/flashing effect, where the image appears to be flashing between the split-screen version and solid white. I couldn't capture the flashing with iPhone video, because it doesn't show up. Evidently it's flashing at the same rate video frames are being recorded.

Here are some photos of various other sypmtoms:

I strongly doubt it's due to the hard drive. I have a SSD and the stock one installed, and booting into windows (which is on the stock one) still produces freezing issues. I have no idea how discrete graphics could be influenced by the HDD.

Well, here's an update. I have been using my MBP since I sent it off to Apple's repair center for a logic board replacement and it's running back to normal still. But I'm short $336 that should have been taken care of due to this being a clear defect in the product. Now that I see MORE AND MORE people chiming in with the same problem consistently, I recommend the new comers follow my last suggestion which I have quoted below this. We need to let Apple know that this product is defective so they can atleast put up a repair/replacement program for us. The glass is only getting more, and more full here.

Hello Everyone!

 

I spoke to an apple care representative. He said that because this issue seems to be affecting so many people, they do not look at the forums, however they do monitor feedback that customers submit.

 

If you would like the possibilities of a recall or repair program to begin I recommend you simply fill out a feedback request which I am providing the link for below.

 

http://www.apple.com/feedback/macbookpro.html

 

Please include the URL for this thread as well!

 

Regards.

Here is what i am doing currently.Hope it helps someone to atleast turn the Mac on

1.If it starts up in grey screen mode.Keep it running for sometime until you can feel the heat near your keyboard

2.Hard restart and you should be able to login

3.Once started quickly make it use inetgrated only using gfxcardstatus.Dont wait as gfxcardstatus has a bug which causes it to shift to discrete even though you have selected Integrated.Note you will have to click Integrated twice as doing once wont keep it in Integrated(bug in app)

4.Keep it runing ,dont shut down.

5.But Mac will start to freeze after a day or two when you use flash if so force shutdown and follow the procedures above

Thanks

Abhi

Whenever my MBP fails to boot, I start in Safe mode (hold shift just after the startup chime), wait for it to boot and restart immediately after the boot. Then, after the restart, I quickly go to gfxCardStatus and change to Integrated only twice. For some reason, gfxCardStatus won't keep it in Integrated Only if you change it only once.

When I do that, the system keeps stable for some time, but every few days it goes to sleep and refuses to wake up, so I have to hard reset it. It's quite a nuisance, but I'm not ready to pay for the logic card replacement (specially if, as some people have reported, it doesn't solve the problem definitively).

Exactly whats happening for me.If it goes to sleep after a few days it refuses to wake up.And yes its true on gfxcard you have to hit twice.

Thanks

Abhi

I removed my HD entirely, and was able to get this screen when attempting to boot up. Nothing was plugged into the machine, and no DVD was in the optical drive:

I got this screen when booting from an external Firewire HD in safe mode. The graphics within the pink bars were moving around rapidly:

I was also able to boot with no symptoms at all, both from the external drive (without gfxCardStatus installed), and Apple's original system DVD.

Update.

Just picked up my MBP from the Apple Store. They replaced the main logic board and the display to the tune of $1,036.73. I have AppleCare so there was no cost for the repair. I asked the genius who brought the MBP out to me what, if anything, caused this, and if it is/was common for my MacBook? Very nice dude, he said that he doesn't see it very often--if anything, it's usually a horizontal bar across the screen. "It's rare to see main logic boards go out but it does happen."

I've been running the MBP almost full-steam for the past hour and haven't seen so much as a blip, either in VMware (GPU intensive) or in anything else.

If past experience is anything, Apple has reimbursed people in the past for repairs performed prior to any announced repair program; I would suggest getting the computer fixed and save the receipt--just in case.

They need to address this NOW. This is a huge problem, and their behavior on this has been completely unacceptable. There must be tens of thousands or more users out there with this problem. There are always an order of magnitude or more more people affected than what shows up on the forum...

I have also had this same problem. It began with a few freezes and screen anomalies and within a week I couldn't get the computer to start up at all. It's an early 2011 15" MacBook Pro. I've seen many of the same screens and weird graphical "glitches" that have been posted here. I completed a MBP feedback form and submitted it to Apple. I implore others to do the same.

Major discovery...

I've been successfully running with gfxCardStatus set to "Integrated Only," but today the machine starting having problems even on this setting. It got to the point where it wouldn't boot at all, on ANY drive, internal or external, or the system DVD. I was at the height of my frustration, because I had made several changes to data and needed to run Time Machine one more time before taking it to the Apple Store.

My wife walked in and noticed I had it sitting on piles of paper on my messy desk. The left side was about 2" lower then the right. She commented "Maybe the problem is because it's sitting at an angle. Try it on a level surface."

This was about the stupidest thing I'd ever heard, but being out of my own ideas, I decided to humor her. Then she'd see how it only boots to a gray screen, and freezes with fans running full speed!

I put something under the left side to make the machine level, booted, and - no way! It worked! Not a single problem. I'm typing on it right now (carefully). Evidently the solder joints make good contact when the machine is level, but break contact when it's angled,  not fully supported, stressed, etc.

This explains a long-time problem it's had with displaying the black screen of death anytime it's moved too quickly, like when it's on my lap and I change positions.

I hope this works for someone else, too.

Bart

P.S. Yes, I thanked my wife. It was one time I actually enjoyed being wrong.

95% of the time I was using my MacBook Pro on perfectly level desk. I fact I never had issues when using it on my lap... only on level surfaces.

Okay, this can be a concidence, bear in mind, but hear me out.

I had my macbook already three times in for resoldering, and each time it started happening again but the last time. The only thing I changed the last time is that I didn't put the laptop on a stand (this one, in fact: http://img.dxcdn.com/productimages/sku_37195_1.jpg). It's been working flawlessly since then.

That could be because of the relatively level tablespace, it could be because of the fact that they soldered stuff three times and it's just solid now or whatever.

@smoKie_eStatic: Are you sure you display the same symptoms we do? I identified about three different symptom variands in this thread, I don't think all of them are connected to the same issue.

@everyone else: Can you experiment with keeping your laptop level?

My mac's symptoms: at first I saw that in the login screen (getting to it from simple boot or by logging out or by switching users) the overall color of the screen would turn blueish for a couple of seconds. Next symptom was a crash on both my mac screen and the attached external monitor - a dark grey screen with faded vertical lines. Next sympotms were random crashes with the dark grey screen but also with blues screens - again with faded vertical white lines. When trying to reboot after these crashes I would get, after the chimes and Apple logo, a light grey screen with very faded vertical white lines (you really need to look closely to see the vertical lines). Only after many reboots I would get to the login screen.

After a couple of days I concluded that what was causing these crashes was the switch to the discrete GPU. Photoshsop, photobooth orattaching an external monitor would all try to get the discrete GPU running - but most of the times my system crashed... right then or after a little while.

An odd thing I experienced, two times already, was very normal behaviour for a day or two. A few days ago I was getting crash after crash than all of a sudden my mac worked perfectly for a day and a half.

Two days ago I went to the local service provider and when I left it over there my mac couldn't boot. I showed this to the service guy - at least 10 tries. I left it there for testing and went home - the next day I went back and the service guy told be that he couldn't find any problems and that my mac was running for more than 24 hours in testing/diagnose mode with no issues. I don't know how that testing/diagnose porgram works but I'm almost 100% sure it's not stressing the discrete GPU - at leat not enough.

My MBP started exhibiting this issue two weeks ago. I took it in to the local apple store, and the tech diagnosed it right away as a graphics chip failure and ordered a new logic board. I received it back on July 4th. When I got it home, the first thing I did was set it to use the discreet graphics and ran some GPU tests. It went to black screen (with backlight still on) immediately. I rebooted, and all was fine. I couldn't reproduce the glitch again for the next two days.

Then, yesterday, I was going about my business, and noticed the graphics switched to the discrete GPU, and it went to a gray striped screen. Rebooted like I always do, and it went away. Then last night, I was watching a movie using VLC (which uses the discrete chip), and loaded a web page in Firefox, and it went to a black screen. Rebooted again, resumed the movie, and opened Firefox (only on googles homepage) and it went to blue screen. Rebooted a third time, did the same again, and it went to gray screen. Rebooted a fourth time, only reopened the movie, and it was fine. The machine got extremely hot during all this, which may have contributed to it. (When the machine is cold I couldn't get it to glitch)

I took it back to the apple store today, and they're going to run more diagnostics on it. Obviously, whatever was fixed the first time wasn't actually fixed. The genius was really apologetic about it, and said they would probably replace the logic board again. If I didn't have AppleCare I would be out over $1000 at this point.

Also, switching to integrated graphics only is not a solution. This MBP was not built to run only on those graphics, and system stability goes down the toilet if you switch to them only. Prior to my first trip I did this, and the end result was having to reboot my system 20-30 times in the span of three days due to hard freezes and system crashes. I would not recommend that anyone do this, especially if you have apps that use the discrete graphics.

Me personally? I need my laptop too much to keep having to take it in, so I'm looking at replacing it with one of the newer Airs and selling the MBP. I don't use all of the power of my current machine, so its not a huge deal. Just ***** to have to replace the machine after two and a half years.