Graphics corruption issue continues in Mavericks 10.9.1

Bad news: A graphics issue reported for Mavericks 10.9 continues in 10.9.1. The drop-shadows surrounding some windows have no gradient or translucency, and in some cases, Finder windows show colored pixels in place of the content. My Mac configuration: MacBook Pro Model ID 6,2 - Mid-2010 15", Std RAM: 4 GB


Here is a screen shot, taken the day that 10.9.1 was released (December 16, 2013)


User uploaded file


A workaround that has been posted in these threads [ System Preferences > Energy Saver > Automatic Graphics Switching (off) ] is not acceptable to me, since it reduces battery life significantly. Also, it is being reported that this workaround works only temporarily, and/or intermittently.


If you are experiencing this issue, please add to this thread. There were also reports in the Mac press that this might be one of the issues that Apple was working on for 10.9.1, but apparently not. Here's one article: http://9to5mac.com/2013/11/15/apple-seeds-first-os-x-mavericks-10-9-1-beta-to-de velopers-with-focuses-on-mail-graphics/


Here are two other discussion threads that reported the same issue with 10.9:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5506163?answerId=24150281022#24150281022

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5493333?answerId=24150278022#24150278022


Let's hope that Apple is monitoring this thread and issues a dot-release quickly, rather than having us wait until 10.9.2. Apple: please feel welcome to contact me for troubleshooting, if that can help.


Thank you.

MacBook Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9), 15" Model 6,2-Mid-2010 4GB RAM

Posted on Dec 16, 2013 5:30 PM

Reply
67 replies

Jan 24, 2014 9:17 PM in response to Steve H

Also having this issue sporadically in OS X 10.9.1. I also wanted to ask if anyone has been having graphics crashes in Windows 7 as well? When I use Firefox and there is some kind of animation (like clicking on a download), I usually get a crash that makes the screen goes black and I get a "Graphics driver has recovered" bubble after a few seconds.


I upgraded to 8 GB RAM (Kingston) a while ago, so another theory I have is this might be caused by bad RAM. If you are experiencing this issue, are you using the original RAM sticks from factory, or have you upgraded your RAM? Memtest86 has some glitch that causes it to report all the RAM as bad on our computers.

Jan 25, 2014 3:59 PM in response to Steve H

I think i have a possible solution to this problem, at least for the MacBook Pro 2010.


To fix it you have to disable compressed memory by typing the following command in the terminal:


sudo nvram boot-args="vm_compressor=1"


and then Restarting your Mac.



I'm guessing that its a bug in the driver of the Intel HD Graphics integrated GPU used in the 2010 MacBook Pro and somehow a part of the graphics RAM is accidentally compressed. I've been testing for a day or so and so far no graphics corruption at all.


If it gets fixed in an OSX update or it doesn't work for you you can use:


sudo nvram -d boot-args


and then Restart to reenable compressed memory.



It might affect other Intel GPUs so its worth a shot if you have a similar problem.

Jan 26, 2014 8:40 AM in response to Steve H

I'm seeing these graphical issues with my computer too. I have a 13" mid-2009 MBP so there's only the integrated graphics chip. The only time I see these colorful graphics glitches is while using Preview. If I expand to full screen they show up and the system studders for a second or two then displays the image.


I'm also having other issues but I've already posted my own thread about that. I believe I have a mix of hardware and software issues.

Jan 26, 2014 4:33 PM in response to Pehtis

Pehtis,


Sounds like you may on to something with your solution. I'm always wary of messing with Terminal for fear of screwing something up. I'd like to have some confidence that what I'm doing is a good idea. If you could, please do keep us informed over the next several days and let us know if the fix sticks or if there might be new issues introduced as a result.


If you haven't done so, already, I'd recommend sending your feedback to Apple:

http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html

Anything that can help Apple get an "official" fix out the door as soon as possible can only be benificial to the many of us who have been banging our heads against this problem for several months, now.

Jan 29, 2014 8:42 PM in response to Pehtis

Pehtis,


I believe your solution is a good one as the corruption only occurs when the computer has experienced "high memory pressure." Since disabling memory compression have you experienced any further corruption?


I'm hoping Apple will have a fix for this in 10.9.2 but if not I will likely implement your solution. But I'd prefer to be able to take advantage of the memory compression.


Thanks for posting your solution!

Feb 7, 2014 8:39 AM in response to Pehtis

Hi - Since implementing the RAM compression workaround from Pehtis more than two weeks ago, this graphics issue has not reappeared at all for me. Since I'm mostly an "office" user and don't use my MB Pro for "high-end" applications (super processor- or memory-intensive, video production, rendering, etc.), I have had no significant performance degradation - although Web animations and videos will sometimes grind away.


If Apple would "fix" things so this work-around was not necessary, that would be ideal. In the meantime, thanks, Pehtis!


Now, if anyone here can tell me how to get my broadband carrier to increase their Internet access speed... ;-)


Best - Steve

Feb 10, 2014 11:54 AM in response to Steve H

I too am having graffics problem as pictured in this thread. Applecare replaced the logic board about two weeks ago; that seemed to fix the problem until this morning. The same problem is back now. I have a mid 2010 MacBook Pro and upgraded my operating system in mid December 2013. The graffics problem appeared shortly after I completed the upgrade.

Feb 18, 2014 6:50 AM in response to Steve H

I also have seen this issue only after updating to Mavericks and only while using the Integrated GPU and while the machine was under heavy CPU/MEMORY usage. I am able to reliably reproduce the issue quickly using the gfxCardStatus by cody krieger application. If I eliminate applications requiring the discreet gpu and set it to Integrated the issue will be seen shortly after, and will go away immediately once I switch to the discreet gpu.


I have posted this using the apple feedback form, and pointed them to this thread as I noticed someone did a good job listing all the other numerous threads dealing with this issue.


For now rather then trying the memory compression fix I will just stick with using the gfxCardStatus by cody kriegera application and stay using the Discreet GPU since I use my machine for quite a bit of development and use virtual machines for a lot of my testing which wants all the power it can get.


Hopefully they fix this soon 😟


Hardware Configuration:

Model Name: MacBook Pro

Model Identifier: MacBookPro6,2

Processor Name: Intel Core i7

Processor Speed: 2.66 GHz

Number of Processors: 1

Total Number of Cores: 2

L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB

L3 Cache: 4 MB

Memory: 8 GB

Processor Interconnect Speed: 4.8 GT/s

Boot ROM Version: MBP61.0057.B0F

SMC Version (system): 1.58f17

Serial Number (system): W801**T3AGZ

Hardware UUID: 87C1ECEA-***-54C4-9D33-1C0BB2C0A56C

Sudden Motion Sensor:

State: Enabled


Integrated Problematic GPU:

Chipset Model: Intel HD Graphics

Type: GPU

Bus: Built-In

VRAM (Total): 288 MB

Vendor: Intel (0x8086)

Device ID: 0x0046

Revision ID: 0x0012

gMux Version: 1.9.21


Discreet Works fine GPU :

NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M:


Chipset Model: NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M

Type: GPU

Bus: PCIe

PCIe Lane Width: x16

VRAM (Total): 512 MB

Vendor: NVIDIA (0x10de)

Device ID: 0x0a29

Revision ID: 0x00a2

ROM Revision: 3560

gMux Version: 1.9.21

Displays:

Feb 18, 2014 8:50 AM in response to super7

Hi - This 'fix' was posted in a related discussion thread, and it worked for me and for many of the other people having this problem. It has a small impact on performance, but barely noticeable. - Steve


---


From: Pehtis


I think i have a possible solution to this problem, at least for the MacBook Pro 2010.


To fix it you have to disable compressed memory by typing the following command in the terminal:


sudo nvram boot-args="vm_compressor=1"


and then Restarting your Mac.


I'm guessing that its a bug in the driver of the Intel HD Graphics integrated GPU used in the 2010 MacBook Pro and somehow a part of the graphics RAM is accidentally compressed. I've been testing for a day or so and so far no graphics corruption at all.


If it gets fixed in an OSX update or it doesn't work for you you can use:


sudo nvram -d boot-args


and then Restart to reenable compressed memory.


It might affect other Intel GPUs so its worth a shot if you have a similar problem.

---

Give that a try.

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Graphics corruption issue continues in Mavericks 10.9.1

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.