Macbook Pro screen glitches, 3 beeps, NOT THE RAM

Picture Included. Mid 2012 13 inch Macbook Pro green/purple lines on screen. Freezes. Sometimes 3 beeps.

I feel like I have the same problem. Is this what you experienced? Did you find a way to fix it?

I wonder if we're finding a new problem with the Mid 2012 computer. I am a tech and just came across this problem. Same symptoms. Customer's problem originally started with the graphics issue. Unsure if that would crash the system or glitch then allow continual usage. I think it would crash the system. Customer took computer to Genius who ran tests. At that moment the hard drive crashed or at least revealed itself as having a problem. Later through me, I was able to confirm the hard drive was having an issue and seemed very separate from the graphics issues. This whole time me and the customer would get beeps intermittently maybe once every 5 restarts. After confirming corrupted hard drive I replaced hard drive. I then replaced ram directly after getting beeps. Next startup I got no beeps and started to install a new OS. This is where i am now with no issues at all. No beeps and no graphics issues. Intermittent issues are tricky. I could simply move the laptop to another desk and the ram or graphics issue could return in other cases. Only time will tell. For intermittent issues I offer the customer the option to take home and try with a long explanation that this was a test and to call if they still had issues. Or it would be another three days for further testing. I have had times where things don't get fixed and was unknown that it was not fixed simply because the computer was never moved.

I've had faulty or finicky power supplies or power outlets fry logic boards and ram at same time. But not ram and hard drive. Was it just coincidental that the hard drive failed at same time. Never had I had bad or failed ram cause graphics issues in that way. The closest thing I had was a computer repeating an open window almost smearing it across the screen then crashing to a frozen state.

I know it's only been about a week, but did you get any positive results or a solution?

Hey all. I have a mid 2012 macbook pro and have had the same problems as well and my screen would freeze and look like the picture Jerinv06 posted above. I had the hard drive and RAM replaced 2 weeks ago, but the problem has persisted. I have run hardware tests and everything has come back fine. I have a genius bar appointment tomorrow and will update tomorrow (hopefully i remember) with what the genius bar comes up with. Crossing my fingers its not the logic board somehow and that they can figure out the issue.

Just as a quick update, I took my macbook into the apple store and right away they told me my logic board was shot. So I went with the flat rate repair, which is $280 total for me with tax, and they replace anything/everything inside the computer that is broken or needs to be replaced. Not happy it was the logic board, but I was expecting much more than $280 for my repair.

****LONG TERM SOLUTION*****.

Hi everyone. I also am having these exact problems. Just for everyone's benefit, here are links to all other threads I can find with people who are also experiencing the same problems. It seems to me this is a fault that is present in many Mid 2012 macbook pros.

Macbook Pro screen glitches, 3 beeps, NOT THE RAM

Field of vertical lines all over Macbook Pro screen? (+ freezes, beeps)

Macbook Pro purple lines on screen?

Macbook Pro display glitches and laptop freezes

Re: Screen froze, purple lines, three beeps. Help!

I have a Mid 2012 MacBook pro and experience all of the same issues as described on all of these threads.

• laptop will randomly freeze
• glitches then appear on the screen, mouse stops moving, keyboard is unresponsive
• the laptop then shuts down and won't turn on again
• it then starts beeping 3 times while the screen remains black. I have to hold down the power button to stop the beeping
• sometimes, after the screen freezing and glitching, it will restart
• some days it will only happen once, other days it will literally happen 6 or 7 times
• can happen while watching videos, just browsing on safari or it can happen while still on my home screen. It is completely random.
• I have run system diagnostics, i have wiped the laptop and reinstalled the Operating system, I have brought it to an apple technician who didn't know what is wrong with it. I have wasted hours on the phone to apple support who have just said its out of warranty and they can't cover the costs even though I have told them that this seems to be a manufacturers fault.

The bottom line is, I bought this MB just over two years and spent a lot of money on it, I have taken perfect care of it, never dropped it or spilled anything on it and it is always kept in a protective bag. It therefore is completely unacceptable that I should be experiencing these issues with one of the most highly regarded brands around. It's not good enough and we should not have to incur costs to repair these faulty laptops.

***SO, THE LONG TERM SOLUTION***

I went to the genius bar today and had a chat with a very helpful individual who told me that apple will not recall or release a 'repro' on a line of products based on what people say on forums. Apple will only cover the costs and accept fault if they see that there is enough people experiencing the same issues on the same line of products. She said that we need to go to http://www.apple.com/feedback/ and fill out tis feedback form. If enough peole do it, Apple will see that this indeed is a fault with 2012 MacBooks!

This means they will cover the cost of people who are experiencing these problems!

I know it's not an immediate solution, but it seems to be the only way Apple will realise and hopefully the, accept the fault.

****LONG TERM SOLUTION*****.

Hi everyone. I also am having these exact problems. Just for everyone's benefit, here are links to all other threads I can find with people who are also experiencing the same problems. It seems to me this is a fault that is present in many Mid 2012 macbook pros.

Macbook Pro screen glitches, 3 beeps, NOT THE RAM

Field of vertical lines all over Macbook Pro screen? (+ freezes, beeps)

Macbook Pro purple lines on screen?

Macbook Pro display glitches and laptop freezes

Re: Screen froze, purple lines, three beeps. Help!

I have a Mid 2012 MacBook pro and experience all of the same issues as described on all of these threads.

• laptop will randomly freeze
• glitches then appear on the screen, mouse stops moving, keyboard is unresponsive
• the laptop then shuts down and won't turn on again
• it then starts beeping 3 times while the screen remains black. I have to hold down the power button to stop the beeping
• sometimes, after the screen freezing and glitching, it will restart
• some days it will only happen once, other days it will literally happen 6 or 7 times
• can happen while watching videos, just browsing on safari or it can happen while still on my home screen. It is completely random.
• I have run system diagnostics, i have wiped the laptop and reinstalled the Operating system, I have brought it to an apple technician who didn't know what is wrong with it. I have wasted hours on the phone to apple support who have just said its out of warranty and they can't cover the costs even though I have told them that this seems to be a manufacturers fault.

The bottom line is, I bought this MB just over two years and spent a lot of money on it, I have taken perfect care of it, never dropped it or spilled anything on it and it is always kept in a protective bag. It therefore is completely unacceptable that I should be experiencing these issues with one of the most highly regarded brands around. It's not good enough and we should not have to incur costs to repair these faulty laptops.

***SO, THE LONG TERM SOLUTION***

I went to the genius bar today and had a chat with a very helpful individual who told me that apple will not recall or release a 'repro' on a line of products based on what people say on forums. Apple will only cover the costs and accept fault if they see that there is enough people experiencing the same issues on the same line of products. She said that we need to go to http://www.apple.com/feedback/ and fill out tis feedback form. If enough peole do it, Apple will see that this indeed is a fault with 2012 MacBooks!

This means they will cover the cost of people who are experiencing these problems!

I know it's not an immediate solution, but it seems to be the only way Apple will realise and hopefully the, accept the fault.

I just posted this in a similar thread about this issue:

I have a 2012 Macbook Pro 13" with the same symptoms as the original poster. For me it is related to RAM as suggested by the 3 beeps, but it is not the RAM itself. It is one of the RAM slots on the logic board. After taking one of the chips out I am running problem free for over a day (fingers crossed!). And that's running Yosemite on 2GB which is saying a lot.

The slot that was bad was the one closest to the keyboard. If there is RAM in that slot I can just tap on the computer and cause it to shut down. When there isn't RAM there, no problems. I can tap and nothing happens. Hope this helps someone....I'm not sure if I will take it to Apple even though the Applecare is up or just buy an 8gb chip and run off of just that.

HI David. How was it? Did they shoulder the costs?

Any updates with getting this fixed? I think it's crazy that Apple suspects the customer to pay for this. I payed 1300$ for my mid-2012 MacPro 13 inch and I'm now starting see the symptoms everyone else is seeing. After only 2 1/2 years too...

I switched the RAM chips around and used compressed air to blow some of the dust out. Even though I haven't tested it adequately enough, I doubt that will work as a solution. I'm thinking this could be a overheating issue.

I have been having this problem for more than a year and I have this post and another about this problem bookmarked. I just tried your advice with moving one of the Ram sticks to the upper slot and keeping the one closest to the board empty and I can confirm that this works!!

Im not sure if anyone else mentioned it but asides from happening randomly, this glitch also happened when i put pressure on the bottom left of it. But when I just keep the slot closest to the board empty I no longer run into this issue when I put pressure on the bottom left. I will keep testing it and see if it happens again randomly so ill keep everyone posted.

I too have the problem and yes it's the bottom RAM slot like most people on here. It's got to be a manufacturing flaw so do send in feedback to apple. If you live in the UK and are out of warranty you could also have a go at pressing them to replace it under the sale of goods act which gives 6 years to determine a product is not fit for the purpose it was sold. Judging by the views on this post a lot of people have the same issue!

I also noticed that if I slightly or completely loosen the screws on the case bottom it lessens/alleviate the problem...

plus if you're happy running on 8GB you could just get a single 8GB stick and put that in the top slot.

I have now provided feedback via the link provided.

I am running on a single 8gb stick. I wish Apple would deal with this problem as they are obviously aware since newer models with the same specs have changed the way RAM is configured on the logic board. I have read of this happening with other model years and about one person that even baked his logic board in the oven to reflow the solder. Amazing that you would have to resort to that on a 2012 computer!

So I have the same problem, and it seems to be only since I updated to Yosemite. Literally, I was happy using Mountain Lion (not wanting to update to Mavericks due to all the problems with that, and then Yosemite for the same reason), but software that I need to use on a day to day basis for my PhD required an OSX update to use its newest version. Within a day or two it crashed and seemed to be overheating much more easily, with purple square rectangles on screen beforehand and the three beeps on start up corresponding to a "RAM housing issue".

I heard swapping the ram into each of the slots could fix this issue, so I tried it (obviously trying the go-to things like resetting the SMC beforehand). However, my laptop was extremely sluggish and would now become unusable occasionally when I put it to sleep (my mouse would move, but it wouldn't recognize left or right clicks on anything, forcing me to manually turn it off - not good). My guess, it wasn't recognizing one of the ram sticks - hence the slow down.

Since then, I swapped the ram back, somehow hoping the problem would magically resolve itself. Now it's speeded up again, but the original problem is back. Of course, my warranty has run out.

To me this all feels very suspect, especially as there's many other threads documenting an OSX change and the occurrence of these problems. However, that's besides the point - all I'm really after is a laptop that's functional again. Am I best getting a single 8GB ram and sticking it in the top slot, or is it likely the problem is more to do with a shot logic board (which I doubt, seeing as I had zero problems with Mountain Lion)? Honestly, I don't really have the money to fork out on an 8GB ram stick (my mac was free with my course), but if it seems like it'd be a good idea I guess I'll have to - and it's sure cheaper than the extortionate prices Apple charge for non-warranty repairs.

It also strikes me that 11k+ views of this thread is substantial when it's not even the first thread that comes up on google and not everyone would even come to this community as a first port of call - the inference being this affects a lot of people.

Guys, I'm not sure if this helps, but my ram is installed via two 4GB slots, total 8GB ram. I haven't experienced this issue at all, but I have the same model and specs (except for RAM) so I just wanted to help people out here who are having screen problems. Try upgrading your RAM to my layout and please update here if it works.

Running OS Yosemite, Mid 2012 13" Model, i5 2.5 Ghz, 8GB RAM