Q: 2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card
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Oct 20, 2013 5:37 PMby SamCity123,Does anyone have any idea if I will get a repaired, replaced MBP 2011 or a newer model because they don't have those anymore...?
This is doing it the way I plan, going to Apple, getting them to print out what the problem is, taking that to Currys and using consumer law to get a free repair or replacement...
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Oct 20, 2013 7:21 PMby Peej Manabat,a few months back. they replaced it with another AMD chip, same type. i still think it's the best way to go. they offered reballing/reflow but i insisted getting it replaced. it's not through apple though there's a small shop offering repairs here. how they got a replacement chip, that i don't know.
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Oct 20, 2013 7:27 PMby Peej Manabat,the hologram sticker on the chip says AMD 6750m (same as the last one) they said they couldn't upgrade though to prevent hardware conflicts. these guys did the repair http://hottoyztech.com/index.php/contacts hope it goes well for you guys too. for me, this is still the best way to deal with the problem because most of us did not bother getting extended warranty. haha.
they gave me 50/50 chance it would work but i took it before spending more than 1000USD for repairs from apple.
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Oct 20, 2013 9:38 PMby Gadget Doctor,I also had the GPU replaced and I opted for re-flow. It was done by a repair house my company works with (we import and sell thousands of refurbished PC desktops). They warned me it could result in complete destruction of the machine but if I didn't do it the chances were it would fail soon. I paid around $75 but I have a commercial relationship with the company that did it.
4 months later the machine is now my wife's primary machine and she kills the thing with 40 open Safari windows. It's fine so far.
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Oct 20, 2013 9:42 PMby Peej Manabat,same case with me. they gave me a fair idea of the risk involved and it paid off. i've got so little to lose anyway. they also said it could be "stronger" than the previous installation. they said the previous connection of the GPU could be at fault.
as added bonus, they also replaced the thermal paste of the processor so my mac doesn't heat up as much as it used to. good luck to everyone!
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Oct 21, 2013 3:09 AMby aussieguyinnyc,Same problem here on a 15" Early 2011 MBP. "Luckily" I have Apple Care so they replaced the logic board free - unfortunately less than a day later the graphics card was failing again. I'm using gfxCardStatus to force the system to only use the integrated graphics and so far that's keeping the system from crashing, but that's not a proper solution. Am back to the Genius Bar in a couple of days to see what their solution will be...I have a nasty feeling they're just going to leave me without a laptop for another 5 days while they put another instance of the same failing hardware back into my laptop in the hope that the result might be different this time. Who was it that said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different result?...
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Oct 21, 2013 7:20 AMby wrg_,I am having the same problem with my 15" Early 2011 MBP. I am currently using gfxCardStatus to manually force the MBP to only use the Intel GPU. Spoke to an Apple Rep and he stated that Apple does not currently offer any programs to address this issue. It is obvious that this is a wide spread issue and it effects a large number of 2011 15" MBP owners. I will not pay Apple to fix this issue, they should take resposiblilty and address this issue. It appears that Apple is not what it use to be. The failure of the Iphone 5c is a perfect Example!!!! (I only use apple because I am a computer science major and I can run Windows and Mac on one computer). If if was the other way around I would not be a Apple user.
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Oct 21, 2013 7:23 AMby dawson203,*If you reading this, please help*
Dear fellow apple users,
Same problem as well, Macbook pro early 2011 15' 2.2ghz. Long story short, my macbook wouldn't load lion and got stuck on a "white screen". I got the blue screen when I tried to load window, safe mode, or recovery. I am currently in a carribean medical school and wouldn't have access to any resource that can help me fix it. I use the computer everyday for school and I am in dire need of help. Any help would be useful. Thank.
What is a reballing/reflowand how do you do it?
Is there any way I can load Lion? This is because after my video started having problem I used the gfx program and "force" my mac to use the "Intel HD" graphic card only and It worked for a day. But once i turned my mac off I couldn't load lion again. Is there any way I can disable the AMD graphic card without being in OX lion?
Thank for reading
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Oct 21, 2013 7:47 AMby Orcinus,Those of you who *haven't* replaced your GPU, can you do a little experiment?
If you *can* get your machine to boot without glitching, after you boot, fire up gfxCardStatus. Try switching to Integrated Only. If you can do that without freezing, go back to Dynamic Switching, open Energy Saver and untick Automatic graphics switching.
This will do the opposite of what everyone's been doing - it will force your machine to *always* use discrete GPU instead of integrated. If it hasn't glitched at this point, double check if gfxCardStatus says Discrete Only. If it does, leave everything as is and continue working. Let us know if/when it glitches again and under what conditions.
Note: if you can't get your machine to boot without glitching, try the following - let it boot until the point where you're only staring at the blank gray screen (it goes from gray, to glitched Apple, then to gray). At that point, wait until the fans kick in. When they do, yank the power plug, force shutdown (long press on power button), then power up again with the cord unplugged. If it's still glitched, try this one more time. Let us know if you manage to get it into a glitch-free boot.
