Q: 2011 MacBook Pro and Discrete Graphics Card

Atheryl wrote:

 

You should learn what you are talking about. Find a Sata 2 hard drive now it's almost impossible ! Or super expansive ! How could you be so arrogant ?!?

 

I have the right to buy a Sata 3 JUSTE BECAUSE IT'S THE ONLY INTERFACE AVAILABLE NOW, even if it's running in Sata 1 mod !!!! It's compatible for everyone except apple.

 

I don't give a **** of the speed.

 

Please learn a little bit about the topics you post on.

Sata3 drives work at Sata, Sata 2 and Sata 3 speeds (there is no Sata1).

They are backwards compatible.

Another victim here.

I use bootcamp on my MacBook Pro 15" and had seen similar problems in both Mac OS and Windows 7. Finally today while in Windows I received a Blue Screen after a message that the video had become unstable (this had happened before). But after rebooting (first in safe made and then regular) the system simply boots to darker blue screen with white horizontal lines (I saw a similar picture from someone else with the same problem on the internet).

When I try to boot to Mac OS, it goes to a grey screen and just sits there (and the fans spin up to a  high speed but the system never boots).

Back in Windows I uninstall and delete the AMD driver and let Windows install the standard video driver (low res horrible). But that allows the system to boot to Windows. I can't get it to boot to Mac OS at all.

With all these complaints and even someone starting a change.org petition that has reached over 7000 signatures, how does apple continue to ignore this?

The problem started a year ago ( 14 months after purchase). It is now 28 months old and this? I had a 6 year old HP laptop that saw no issues and a have a 5 year old hp desktop that is still cranking away. Far less expensive yet they both are workhorses. Come on apple. Please help us!

That is exactly what I'm complaining, the computer run it at sata3, but can't. I would be happy that he just make the hard drive use it backward compatibility, it's totally what I say

All Sata drives are backwards compatible, I use several Sata 3 drives on Sat 2 buses. If yours won't run you have a defect of some kind, in either the drive (so try a different drive), in your Mac (very likely to be the drive cable) or on the logic board (hopefully not)

Replace the cable before trying anything else.

And now you should stop posting your unrelated issue in this thread.

Start your own, label it correctly.

Csound1 wrote:

 

All Sata drives are backwards compatible, I use several Sata 3 drives on Sat 2 buses. If yours won't run you have a defect of some kind, in either the drive (so try a different drive), in your Mac (very likely to be the drive cable) or on the logic board (hopefully not)

 

Replace the cable before trying anything else.

 

And now you should stop posting your unrelated issue in this thread.

 

Start your own, label it correctly.

If you've ever done any upgrades/taken these early 2011 models apart you would know that is just plain wrong.  Then again I fix Mac's for a living - if I had thousands of points from staying on these forums I would be destitute! Change the handshake of the hard drive from SATA3 to SATA2 is the first thing to do.

Topic over - back to duff solder joints and too much heat!

Really, so although there are hundreds of posts on this site that had this problem and solved it with a cable change you somehow know better?

Whatever.

if I had thousands of points from staying on these forums

Points aren't awarded for 'staying on these forums'. So you would have even less than you currently have.

They are awarded by the original poster to the people who solved, or help solve the problem, they are for result, not effort.

Csound1 wrote:

 

Really, so although there are hundreds of posts on this site that had this problem and solved it with a cable change you somehow know better?

 

Whatever.

 

if I had thousands of points from staying on these forums

Points aren't awarded for 'staying on these forums'. So you would have even less than you currently have.

 

They are awarded by the original poster to the people who solved, or help solve the problem, they are for result, not effort.

You said the first step was to change the cable.  Order one from Apple and wait a few days instead of just downgrading the SATA handshake first which takes 10 minutes not the first step then?

How many 2011 models have you torn down?

How many have you redone the thermal paste on to cool these chips down more efficently?

How many optibays have you fitted personally?

I use advice from peers such as here (and for more in depth macrumors is great with component repair on logic boards for example) to aid my job and my clients so I can fix their 2011 MBP's properly and I don't see them boomeringing back to me soon after.  Which I why I send out of warranty 2011's with failed GPU's to get a new GPU reballed with lead solder.  It's called experience in the field - something a pseudo engineer lacks.

Csound1 wrote:

 

DMC440 wrote:

 

Can you guys take your SATA Wars to another galaxy, please? One far, far away. Like, another thread?

You do not get to choose who posts what, or where they post it. This is a public forum. If you don't like it the answer is obvious.

And you are stating the obvious.  Of course I don't get to choose.  I made a request to keep the thread more or less on topic.

mensb wrote:

 

Another victim here.

 

 

Welcome and commiserations. This thread is for you, so try not to be confused by the bizarre off-topic SATA discussions and the prowling trolls like CSound1 and Carl Wolf and the whines of PS3Specialist, although the latter may be able to help you if you just pay your money and ignore his rationale.

Why are you still rabbiting on about everything but the subject of this thread.

DMC440 wrote:

 

mensb wrote:

 

Another victim here.

 

 

Welcome and commiserations. This thread is for you, so try not to be confused by the bizarre off-topic SATA discussions and the prowling trolls like CSound1 and Carl Wolf and the whines of PS3Specialist, although the latter may be able to help you if you just pay your money and ignore his rationale.

Apologies for my part in this matter. I just get sick to death of so called experts who have never struggled fixing Macintosh kit on their bench giving out what I know is bad advice.  Apple's official engineering guidelines for these 2011 models are wrong in the first place I have found through experience, not by following the party line/flow chart out of the engineers manual.

Csound1 wrote:

 

Why are you still rabbiting on about everything but the subject of this thread.

Only the first paragraph and perhaps the optibay line wasnt relevant to our dodgy GPU's in our 2011's. The rest which you've completely avoided answering is most likely cos you've hardly torn a Macbook Pro down to fix one in your life! I have torn down all of them, modded Mac Pro systems from single to dual sockets and twin hex upgrades. This is what I do for a living not a pastime.

I may disagree with others such as ps3specialist but that's mostly over lead/lead free solder but at least he's got a large amount of hands on experience working on them - which I can respect as someone I can listen to and not laugh at.

Disagree about what. Lead free solder is required by law, it's not a debate.

That's very true. Meanwhile thousands of others device also follow this law and works great. I think the solder type is a wrong debate. I mean, solder type induct other way to deal with constraints ... What is our problem.

You don't need to apologies to a stupid guy that doesn't understand anything and argue to be right , The main problem in this thread is the graphics problem and I am showing with pictures that no one can argue their reality why it happens and how to fix it and I am showing that probably for the tenth time, the first picture show the area of the logic board under the graphics chip that show clearly the reason for the graphics failure  the second picture show the same logic board after removing the solder, clean the dirt and refresh all the soldering pads , only the blinds don't see the reality and understand that it is not a design or manufacturing issue or a defective graphics chip, you can deny it but that doesn't put you in the right side of the problem, I am showing this for the people who wants to know what is the reason for the graphics problem and how to fix it right not to argue with any one. This logic board is now working as good as new.