Q: 2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card

<<<find someone like this guy (bga repairs) who does the same service. if you have any questions you can reach me @peyjas on twitter. my laptop has been worry-free a few months after the gfx card replacement.

final tips:

1. get a gfx card chip replacement/ reballing.

2. have them replace the thermal paste on the processor too. it will help keep the laptop working in lower temperatures.

3. get a fan for the laptop to keep things cool.

i'm unfollowing this thread already so i hope you guys could find a resolution on your macs. i won't mind having a brand new unit from apple though. let me know if that happens. cheers!

well it may be true that some or even most of the people on this list may need a new GPU to replace their current one. But even though I too suffered for nearly 75 days of constant bluescreen/blackscreen/greyscreen/etc. (i.e. the exact same symptoms reported by everyone on this list), as soon as I did a complete and thorough software rebuild from scratch (note that I removed every piece of software and/or plugin that was not absolutely necessary and upgraded everything to the latest versions) my 2011 MBP has been problem free for three weeks now. I can once again use my GPU-heavy apps without fear and am starting to come to the conclusion that "some" of the machines out there might not need such drastic work.

YMMV

Michael

I think I might be in this boat too, though not 100% sure.

Here are my symptoms

- Can get into apple boot menu

http://i44.tinypic.com/rihfs7.jpg

- Booting into OSX goes into gray screen after apple logo, hangs, fan revs up

- Booting into recovery goes into blue screen

- Boot camp Windows 7, BSOD after windows logo, fans rev up after a few seconds

http://i42.tinypic.com/2cctmit.jpg

http://i39.tinypic.com/19v1io.jpg

- Boot camp safe mode works perfectly

- Booting from CD to attempt reinstall goes into black screen

Going to take it into apple and see what they can do.

So, update.  I took the MBP e2011 to Apple today and the clerk there ran an HDD failure test, since everything was checking out as good to go.  The HDD failed in less than 30 seconds.  I was told that could very well be the issue, since the HDD failed that fast with bad sector reads.  So, back in for repairs and he suggested a few other high stress tests to be conducted, inlcuding RAM.  Best news, I do not need to pay for any of it since they should have caught that in the first place.

So, could a faulty or failing HDD cause the sort of split screen/grey screen/blue screen issues we are all seeing?  Would a system lock up potentially cause inadverdant damage to the logic board and set off a chain reaction?

Okay, so after my second logic board replacemente everything seems to be OK, but I opened my Macbook Pro 17'' Early 2011 and this is what I found:

Thanks for giving me a rusty logic board Apple.

This is what Apple calls a 486€ repair.

Cheers.

My faulty computer specs:

That my friend is complete and utter bs!!!!!! Tweet Tim on that one.

Ain't you supposed to use a scuba diving weight belt when you go scuba diving,

When I had my logic board first replaced for hard freezing with a black screen and fans full blast, after upgrading my ram, I too noticed my logic board looked "rusty". It bothered me but considering it worked (at that time anyway) and it was under warranty, I didn't bother addressing it. They are definitely replacing parts with junky parts. My original board was bad but at least it wasn't visibly rusty or burnt-looking.

And how it fails:

I've already lost so much time on this issue -and still don't know if I'll lose even more in the near future- that I didn't update my status here, nor took any other action since my repair was complete.

In short :

1. For my early 2011' 17" 2.3Ghz MBP, the repairs cost me a flat-rate 320€ and took about 3 weeks. Keep in mind I got my computer back about a week ago.

2. I really didn't (and still don't) want to lose 3 more weeks in the future, so I wanted to know exactly what they had diagnosed during that time, and what appropriate actions they took.

Answer from a "genius" manager : they "replaced the logic board", "without any particular treatment".

The manager apparently didn't have an "advanced" understanding of how computer work (which can be a bit problematic for the job he's supposed to do), and even if he had, he probably would have make it sound like an isolated and random event. So, in the end, I don't know if we can give credit to this.

3. The same "genius" manager told me they can't repair with "new" logic boards, they only use refurbished ones. Now that sounds more like a hard fact.

4. Even if I'm sure it was "just" an error : when I went to the genius bar to take my computer back, they presented me a 650€ bill with a huge smile, which I refused to pay since I signed for a flat-rate repair. It took about 20 minutes and few genius + a manager to finally have the "real" 320€ bill.

So yeah. Things like that can happen sometimes, but all of it adds up. They really, really, really don't give the impression of acting professionnaly, so beware.

Extremely expensive computer, non-existent troubleshooting, non-qualified "geniuses", non-qualified "genius managers", no information during the repair (not even a time estimation from the repair center), and a huge fail when asking me to pay for the service..

All in all, this is a huge let down.

Folks,

All in all...I'm having the same issue with my late 2011 MBP which is 15" and I have been trying to rectify the same issue as you all have.

I have tried resetting all that is there, but to no avail.

Then I updated the SMC and my MBP worked well for a day  after that its the same story all over again. I would be happy to go to an Apple store.

But sadly, I live in India and in my town's Apple Store, where I bought this MBP, I think I'm much more updated and have more knowledge than the Store "Geniuses" there.

Suggestions and advice please.

SamCity123 wrote:

 

I have a feeling Apple might do something about this soon. The senior advisor I spoke to today seemed to know that it was a 'batch' of this version of MacBook Pros.

"Batch" is certainly an interesting word.  It would have to be plural since we'd be talking about at least one problematic "batch" in both the early and late 2011 production runs.

Has anyone gathered data around the build dates of these failures?  I wonder if we'd see clumping around certain dates? 

You can go to one of these sites and find the build week by entering your serial number:

http://www.appleserialnumberinfo.com/Desktop/index.php

http://www.chipmunk.nl/klantenservice/applemodel.html

If you post the results here, omit your serial number.  IIRC, if yours is a BTO or Apple Refurbished, the build week shown will not be correct.

I'll post mine as an example even though it's not relevant to this discussion (I'm not experiencing this problem and mine is a refurb, so it shows 2012):

Funny thing I noticed just now..I rebooted my MBP and I pressed Command+R and the Recovery Options window opens up ALL IN ITS CLEAR VIEW. NO FLICKERING NO BLUE TINT. ITS ALL CLEAR

Wonder whats causing the issue then....

bga_repairs wrote:

 

...This is a Chipset replacement on a Macbook Pro 2011 6490m with GPU Failure we have recently repaired. Here are some pictures if anyone is interested.

 

 

 

Below: New GPU fitted and Logic board cleaned of flux residue.

 

 

This is the repair you need done if you get one. Brand New GPU in lead With picture proof...

Since you did such a beautiful job removing that cornerbond, maybe you can tell us what it actually is?  I've gone back and forth on this.  Is it actually cornerbond in the traditional sense of the term?  I can't tell by looking at mine or looking at the pictures.  (FYI:  There has been some drift in how these terms are used, but cornerbond traditionaly means something that is heat-cured as part of the reflow process and edgebond, even when placed in the corner, means something that is cured post assembly by other means like time, UV light, or lower heat).

The first time that I saw the iFixit teardown, the thing that caught my eye was the lower left corner of the GPU package.  What do you think is going on there?  You can find similar pictures of boards for sale on eBay.  My first impression was that the bonding material was beginning to harden in the middle of the package collapse.  It seems like a weird thing to happen in 2011, but they appear to have used at least two different types of compounds for both early and late assemblies?  Why?  Supply problems?  One not behaving as expected? 

I'd think that switching between two compounds would at least raise the possibility of human error when it comes to storage temperature.  A small mistake there (or a faulty thermostat on a refrigeration unit) would be all that is needed to change the properties of the material just enough.  It's supposed to allow enough movement for self-center and collapse before it cures.  A second or two can mean the difference between perfect joints and opens (fails QC and will not make it out the door).  But somewhere in the middle and you end up with what we're seeing here.  You've got machines that pass QC, but go to market with solder joints under  constant stress.  You start seeing infant mortality spread over a wide timeframe. 

Just a shot in the dark, but I get the feeling that it's going to come down to something mundane like this.  Apple generally does get the math right on the complicated stuff like CTE variables.  Heck, they wrote the book on half that stuff.  It would be nice if we can rule out both a design flaw and a problem with the AMD solder (either on its own or in relation to other variables).  Then the solution would be very simple and straightforward:  A new GPU installed by a competent professional with high-end equipment will put your MBP like it was originall intended.  Would you agree?  If evidence eventually leads in this direction, would you stop reballing with lead and just install the packages like they come?  Actual evidence would also be very handy for people when they send the bills for this repair work to Apple!

Thoughts? 

Also, have you had a chance to do an endoscopic inspection of these joints prior to your rework?

Here is that other picture for reference:

I get that some of what we're seeing here are just stray fibers that got caught before it cured, but it's the thicker lines right at the corner that look like cracks to me.  You can see a few smaller fibers elsewhere on the board, but I guess that actually raises another question.  Why did so many get caught there at that particular time?  Was too much heat invading from another reflow zone?  Was the i7 getting greedy with territory?