K_Rek

Q: Mid 2011 iMac Graphics Problems with Yosemite

I have a 21.5-inch, Mid 2011 iMac with an AMD Radeon HD 6770M 512 MB that is locking up on me constantly since installing Yosemite.  Every time I reboot (which I have to do by pressing the power button on the back) it says that it has detected a graphics problem and do I want to report it.  I have done that multiple times, but want to find out if anyone else here is having a similar problem.  What appears on the screen are pixelated blocks in random areas and often the machine will work for maybe three or four minutes and then just lock up completely.  It worked like a champ with 10.9.5 and previous, but 10.10 is wreaking havoc on my computer. 

 

I have seen discussion threads about 27-inch iMacs that were recalled due to an AMD graphics chip problem, but haven't seen anything about the 21.5-inch machines.  At the time, this was the highest-end card I could get in the 21.5-inch display.

 

The machine has 8GB of 1333 MHz DDR3 RAM. 

iMac, OS X Yosemite (10.10)

Posted on Oct 21, 2014 5:58 AM

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Q: Mid 2011 iMac Graphics Problems with Yosemite

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  • by rkaufmann87,

    rkaufmann87 rkaufmann87 Oct 21, 2014 6:01 AM in response to K_Rek
    Level 9 (58,466 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Oct 21, 2014 6:01 AM in response to K_Rek

    Run Apple's Hardware Test in extended mode 2-3 times back to back. If any errors appear that indicates the next step is a list to your local Apple Store or AASP for repair. You need to run the test 2-3 times back to back in extended mode because AHT is not the most reliable test and does not always pick up errors after the first pass. However if it detects them, they are correct.

     

    Good luck.

  • by enricoclaudio,

    enricoclaudio enricoclaudio Oct 21, 2014 9:10 AM in response to K_Rek
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Oct 21, 2014 9:10 AM in response to K_Rek

    I have exactly the same problem but with my 27" iMac mid 2011. After comes from sleep I get pixelated blocks in random areas that stay on background until open a new app window. Last night my computer frozen and got pixelated blocks all over the screen. After restart got the graphics problem and asked me to report it which I did. I restored Mavericks from my time machine and everything is working fine again. I'm gonna try a clean install of Yosemite but I'm gonna wait a few days before do that. Here is a pic of the pixelated block. I can't get this pic doing a screen capture.

     

    IMG_1763.JPG

  • by RadocYoon,

    RadocYoon RadocYoon Oct 21, 2014 3:54 PM in response to enricoclaudio
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 21, 2014 3:54 PM in response to enricoclaudio

    I have the EXACT same problem on my iMac 27'' mid 2011. It eventually fails and I am unable to use the computer... This happened after Yosemite update. PLEASE HELP!

  • by enricoclaudio,

    enricoclaudio enricoclaudio Oct 21, 2014 4:01 PM in response to RadocYoon
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Oct 21, 2014 4:01 PM in response to RadocYoon

    Last night I restored Mavericks in my iMac and everything is working fine again. I'm right now doing a clean install of Yosemite in my iMac. I will report tomorrow if the graphics issue is gone with the clean install.

  • by patscanlan,

    patscanlan patscanlan Oct 21, 2014 9:51 PM in response to K_Rek
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Oct 21, 2014 9:51 PM in response to K_Rek

    Same issue here, only showed up after 10.10 GM update.Screen Shot 2014-10-21 at 9.50.49 PM.png

  • by enricoclaudio,

    enricoclaudio enricoclaudio Oct 22, 2014 5:25 AM in response to patscanlan
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Oct 22, 2014 5:25 AM in response to patscanlan

    Did a Yosemite clean install and display problems persist. iMac was completely frozen this morning with artifacts on display. No third party applications installed, only Yosemite. Going back to Mavericks from Time Machine!! This really *****!! APPLE ARE YOU THERE?????????

  • by rkaufmann87,

    rkaufmann87 rkaufmann87 Oct 22, 2014 5:49 AM in response to enricoclaudio
    Level 9 (58,466 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Oct 22, 2014 5:49 AM in response to enricoclaudio

    enricoclaudio wrote:

     

    Did a Yosemite clean install and display problems persist. iMac was completely frozen this morning with artifacts on display. No third party applications installed, only Yosemite. Going back to Mavericks from Time Machine!! This really *****!! APPLE ARE YOU THERE?????????

    Apple does not read or assist in these forums, if you have feedback for them contact at www.apple.com/feedback.

  • by hmiyoshi00,

    hmiyoshi00 hmiyoshi00 Oct 22, 2014 12:07 PM in response to K_Rek
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 22, 2014 12:07 PM in response to K_Rek

    I am having same problem with mid 2010 27" core i7 iMac with ATI Radeon HD 5750 with 1 GB of GDDR5 SDRAM model.

    When I checked /System/Library/Extensions/ and compare with what's on maverick,  I found a lot of extension is missing.

    Yosemite may not needed these extension anymore but I saw other forum discussing about "missing display resolution choice on Yosemite"  kind of thing.

    such as like

    http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/151048/lost-ability-to-choose-3440x1440 -resolution-after-yosemite-upgrade

     

    So I guess this could be related to Yosemite's wrong/buggy/or missing graphics driver and/or extensions.

     

    I also noticed my secondly display no longer properly display (resolution wise). I used to have a lot more choice for scaled resolution but that is no longer available on Yosemite.

  • by enricoclaudio,

    enricoclaudio enricoclaudio Oct 22, 2014 1:18 PM in response to hmiyoshi00
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Oct 22, 2014 1:18 PM in response to hmiyoshi00

    I just decided to stay with Mavericks until Apple release a fix for these display issues. I have Yosemite in my new 13" MacBook Pro Retina Mid 2014 and runs very well, unfortunately my Mid 2011 27" iMac doesn't like it...

  • by patscanlan,

    patscanlan patscanlan Oct 22, 2014 2:49 PM in response to K_Rek
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Oct 22, 2014 2:49 PM in response to K_Rek

    Update: Partitioned my internal HDD and installed a fresh copy of the public version of 10.10, which I downloaded from the App Store.  Setup my user and in my short usage time this morning, it showed no evidence of the graphics issue I experienced on my other internal drive.  To me, this does indicate a software issue in the upgrade process I followed.  Other users on here have reported this same issue going directly from 10.9.5 to the public release though, so not sure what that means for our models of iMacs.

     

    Next step for me before Genius appt. would be to backup all of my data, wipe my primary SSD, and reinstall a fresh copy of 10.10 and migrate my data back.  I will let you know what happens.

  • by K_Rek,

    K_Rek K_Rek Oct 23, 2014 7:45 PM in response to K_Rek
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 23, 2014 7:45 PM in response to K_Rek

    Unfortunately my Guardian MAXimus RAID where I store my Time Machine backup went belly up a while back and I am not fortunate to have a backup allowing me to roll back to Mavericks.  Instead, I went searching for older kext files for the video driver.  I am now using the Mavericks AMD6000Controller.kext (dated October 6, 2013).  No idea if this will be a good long-term solution, but at the moment it is working for me.

     

    When I copied the files in there (System/Library/Extensions) I had to authenticate and then it said they were too old and would not work.  I then rebooted and on reboot was not told I had a Graphics Card problem that it had mentioned EVERY previous reboot.  YMMV, but this looks to be a semi-working stop-gap (if there is such a thing!).

  • by enricoclaudio,

    enricoclaudio enricoclaudio Oct 23, 2014 8:22 PM in response to K_Rek
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Oct 23, 2014 8:22 PM in response to K_Rek

    Interesting. I'm gonna give this a try. My Mavericks AMD6000Controller.kext is dated September 20, 2013 (10.9.5). I will report tomorrow is this fix my Yosemite installation in partition 2.

  • by deltone,

    deltone deltone Oct 23, 2014 8:43 PM in response to K_Rek
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Publishing
    Oct 23, 2014 8:43 PM in response to K_Rek

    its going to turn out to be a software problem. I would guess that a fix will be rolling down the pike within a couple of days.

  • by enricoclaudio,

    enricoclaudio enricoclaudio Oct 23, 2014 9:02 PM in response to deltone
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Oct 23, 2014 9:02 PM in response to deltone

    K_Rek solution didn't work for me. It keeps rebooting after replaced the AMD6000Controller with the Mavericks version.

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