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Level 1

5 points

Major Graphics Glitches in 10.8.3

Hello,

Since upgrading to 10.8.3 (note that none of the below issues happened in 10.8.2, and only started in 10.8.3), I'm seeing the following major graphics glitches every time I attempt to re-start my machine. It also no longer wakes from sleep in 10.8.3; after opening the lid, the machine will turn on, but the display stays black and never comes on again. The only way to recover is a hard restart. Please see the below screenshots (I've edited the third picture to remove my personal information).

When the below graphical glitches are encountered, the only way to recover is a hard restart. The glitches occur about 80% of the time, meaning I need to restart my computer multiple times in order for it to display correctly. I've tried resetting NVRAM/PRAM, which did not help.

MacBook Pro (15-inch Early 2011), OS X Mountain Lion

Posted on May 2, 2013 6:23 AM

27 replies

Aleksdev

Level 1

55 points

May 2, 2013 8:16 AM in response to mende1

@mende1,

I apologize I overlooked that image you are correct that could be a Video card issue. Ignore my last post.

Aleks

Viper320 Author

Level 1

5 points

May 2, 2013 3:21 PM in response to Aleksdev

I haven't tried safe mode yet, but will try later today.

In the meantime, I hope anyone else who may have seen the same issue will let me know what they might have done to fix it.

I also hope 10.8.4 will arrive soon, to see if it fixes the issue, in the same way that 10.8.3 created it.

Viper320 Author

Level 1

5 points

May 3, 2013 10:36 PM in response to Viper320

I have re-installed the OS. So far I have not seen the glitch happen yet again. However, I've been connected to my external monitor the whole time since the re-install, so I will need to disconnect the machine from the monitor, put it to sleep, then attempt to wake it again, to see if the problem is really fixed.

mende1

Level 10

93,538 points

May 3, 2013 10:43 PM in response to Viper320

Graphic card problems appear and disappear, and you don't know when it will appear again. However, glad that it's working now, but if you see flickering again in the display, the graphic card is damaged

Viper320 Author

Level 1

5 points

May 3, 2013 10:48 PM in response to mende1

I am still not convinced this is a hardware issue, since it only started happening after I upgraded to 10.8.3. Also, another bug that started happening only after upgrading to 10.8.3, is that the machine no longer wakes from sleep. The machine will turn on and I hear noise, but the display stays black forever, with the only recovery method being a hard restart. This happens 100% of the time, every time.

Viper320 Author

Level 1

5 points

May 3, 2013 11:52 PM in response to Viper320

I spoke too soon: the glitches are still happening!!

I took a video, but don't know how to post a video to these forums. The "Insert Video" button is grayed out.

mende1

Level 10

93,538 points

May 3, 2013 11:53 PM in response to Viper320

Upload it to YouTube and give us a link. If it's possible, upload a video since when you start your Mac until OS X is loaded

flshan

Level 1

0 points

May 4, 2013 8:57 AM in response to Viper320

Same thing happened to my early 2011 macbook pro. It ended up with a black screen of death. It is out of warranty and I brought it in for repairs. They changed the logic board and the screen. Went back home and right after reinstalling osx 10.8.3 the problem (graphical glitches) was back just as you described.

When I first bought the macbook I had similar problems. Look here: http://techcrunch.com/2011/03/21/is-your-new-macbook-pro-freezing-up-youre-not-t he-only-one/ and here: http://arstechnica.com/apple/2011/03/latest-macbook-pros-suffering-from-gpu-rela ted-freezes/

That update only solved it for some people and you'll be able to find many people still complaining about the early 2011 macbook pro 15" and 17".

There's also a long running discussion here: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2768351?start=0&tstart=0

Personally I've had problems with this MacBook ever since I bought it. And now after 10.8.3 I'm stuck with 2 corrupted logic boards. I've called Apple numerous times for the past 2 years but nothing is being done about it. The laptop costed 2500 euros, and I've been told that the repairs are at least 1500 euros since it's out of warranty.

Please update the thread if you get your MacBook sorted in any way.

Viper320 Author

Level 1

5 points

May 4, 2013 5:40 PM in response to flshan

Thanks for the great info Flshan.

I'm now attempting to boot into safe mode. It's been 3 and a half hours, and the boot progress bar is about 1/4 of the way through....so it looks like even safe mode is a no go....

Viper320 Author

Level 1

5 points

May 8, 2013 12:30 AM in response to Viper320

Here is what happened when I attempted to wake my display just now. As you can see, it was connected to my external monitor.

The screen went into this nuts state and was completely frozen, except that the mouse cursor did track around the screen. The only way to recover the system is to do a hard re-start.

This happened twice today, and tends to happen between 1-3 times per day. The machine also never wakes from sleep.

This only started happening after I upgraded to 10.8.3. This never happened once on 10.8.2. (Although in general, 10.8 is far more unstable and more buggy than 10.7. Maybe Apple is cursed since the death of Steve Jobs? I sold my stock.)

Anyway, check out the picture!

Viper320 Author

Level 1

5 points

May 11, 2013 5:12 PM in response to Viper320

I've just installed the Thunderbolt 1.2 update. Since I run mostly connected to an external monitor via the Thunderbolt port, perhaps this is related to my problem.

Anyway, finally, here are three videos I've taken recently of the problem happening (before the Thunderbolt update):

http://youtu.be/YGae1ams0i8

http://youtu.be/tqO30pxdSOs

http://youtu.be/OIwSkIJduRc

Check them out and let me know your thoughts! Watch in HD.

Jun 10, 2014 3:55 PM in response to Viper320

I know this post is old, and I have been struggling for years with two of my machines too, but I have come to a conclusion on this issue.

First I thought it was a software issue, I was so convinced that it was, but something happened to my Mid 2010 Mac Mini that made me change my mind:

I was swapping out my HDD with a SSD. Accidentally I broke off the heat sensor that was on the old drive. What does the system do when a heat sensor is missing from the mainboard?

It runs the fans at FULL SPEED. All the time.

Basically my Mac Mini never runs hot any more. I have never seen the graphical glitches ever sice this "turning point". It is at least 8 months ago now with no graphic bugs.

Connect that with reports that Apple have swapped mainboards on customers that have sent their machines for service indicates a hardware fault. More so a production fault somewhere on the circuitry.

The other computer that I still have problems with is a Mid 2010 MBP 13".

This just to inform on an old mystery. It most likely is a hardware (production) fault after all.

Major Graphics Glitches in 10.8.3