how to diagnose failing graphics card

Hi,

I got the same issue including that the MBP (2011) stoped booting at one point all the time. After a few month starting it again out of the blue it was kind of back to normal. But sometimes it is working sometimes not. In the end I managed to erase the HD and reinstall the OS and for now it looks pretty stable. Also the Hardware check reports no Errors.

I have been to a several shop before and actually all confirmed that the GPU had to be replaced. Kind of weird. might be a software problem?

All the problems you guys mentioned above are related to a faulty graphic card. Full stop. I have done all sort of tests and reboots and I managed to restart the machine in verbose mode after many attempts (google the instructions, I cannot remember what I did precisely) even when the screen was just blue/grey or whatever colour just to save the latest files. The diagnostic test I run was positive so despite the result I booked an appointment to the genius bar and they confirmed the graphic card was gone. Unfortunately the GC is welded to the mother board so they replaced the whole logic board for free as it was part of a scheme related to a wrong batch of 2011 MBP.

It happened again more recently in December and they replace it again telling me the scheme was active till the end of 2016.

So don't be surprised if it happened to you recently because if it didn't happen earlier you've been very lucky!

It has been a painful process but after the ram (16gb) and drive (SSD) hacks I am still using it and I can say I got the best out it even if I know its lifespan is limited one more year.

I hope it helps.

Apple hardware test form recovery boot, hold command R on reboot

or

New MacBooks can access HardWareTest by rebooting holding the D key, no disk required.

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1509

The key combination varies between systems, but should be one of the following on your Mac:

- Option + D (Early 2011 and newer; Mountain Lion tested)

- Command + D

- D

Could be, likely because the dust hasn't been cleaned out of the machine and the vents are clogged causing the overheating.

Take it into a Apple Store and have them run a check, unfortuntly I don't think they will open it up there to clean the fans.

Quick way to tell if the problem is with the gpu (graphics card) or the display panel itself - connect an external display to your MBP.

If the problem also occurs on the external display, the gpu is probably at fault.

If the external display is fine but your MBP display gets fuzzy, the MBPdisplay panel is probably at fault.

How old is your MBP (what model), and is it still under warranty or AppleCare?

Any of the following apply to your model MBP?

MacBook Pro: Distorted video or no video issues. The affected computers were manufactured between approximately May 2007 and September 2008.

MacBook Pro (Early 2008): Dark bands showing intermittently on built-in display

MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2010): Intermittent black screen or loss of video. Affected computers were manufactured between April 2010 and February 2011.

I think my graphics card is failing but I'm not 100% sure.

I'm using a MacBook Pro 15" late 2011 running 10.10.5 and in all of a sudden my screen is acting weird. Blue and red line in overlay.

After a while I could use my MBP again, but yesterday it stopped working completely.

Since then I tried to reboot but every time it cuts of the boot and the screen goes completely blank.

I used the Apple Hardware Test to identify what might be the problem but with the normal as the advanced test results say there no issue with the hardware.

I recently started using an external monitor directly through the mDP. It's a fairly heavy screen running at full resolution of 2560x1440 but that's completely supported by Apple. The issues mentioned above started when I was using the monitor, but I had the same issues when I disconnected any external devices or peripherals later on.

So what could it be? Is it software or hardware based?

Someone that could help me?

Pïctures:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/c5taedkvp2e8gy3/20160518_135612.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/w9jvgyslpugwksw/20160510_171143.jpg?dl=0

Did you ever get this issue resolved? My MBP is following the exact same path as yours.

Great answer. Thank you.