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New Mac Pro - A graphics problem has been detected

System:

  • New Mac Pro (late 2013)
  • AMD Firepro D300, 2GB
  • 3.7G Quad Core Xeon E5
  • 12GB Ram
  • 250G SSD Internal
  • dual display, 24" samsung BX2440 and older 19" dell
  • logitech mx518 mouse
  • Apple wired keyboard with numeric pad
  • external USB 2T drive used for time machine
  • OSX Yosemite: 10.10


Problem:

Every few hours I get one or sometimes multiple errors where the OS pops a small dialog box User uploaded file


Sometimes I am in a web browser, sometimes playing a game, Garage band, sometimes in email, it doesn't seem to matter what is happening. The problem comes randomly and once it does, it freezes the UI solid until it resets the graphics card (or something like that). I was playing Legend of Grimrock and the thing happened, and the game created an error report stating "Graphics hardware encountered an error and was reset: 0x0000000e"


What I have tried:

  • SMC Reset
  • PRAM reset
  • diskutil check disk (ok)
  • diskutil fix permissions (ok)
  • apple diagnostics, no problem found.
  • Apple support chat session (no resolution)


Question:


  • Is this a hardware problem where I should just go get my money back and/or get a new computer?
  • If not a hardware problem, is there some well understood fix for this?


Frustrated and ready to punt,


Paul

Mac Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10), D300, 250G SSD, 12GB Ram

Posted on Nov 16, 2014 1:32 PM

Reply
73 replies

Nov 16, 2014 2:02 PM in response to lllaass

I believe you will see this again. It is a fairly random occurrence. Try this

  • Do something that will load the mac, like watching a video or playing a game
  • every so often, background the movie/game and use the web, or email.
  • The problem appears more frequently for me when I am multitasking.


Frankly, I believe I have bad hardware. I am going to try to get a replacement from Apple. I'm smelling lemons. :-(

Nov 18, 2014 11:19 AM in response to dave.cordes

I'll post out my results after my Genius bar appointment today.


I expect they have diagnostics they can run that may force the box into a fail state.

I may end up empty handed if this intermittent bug does not manifest. I don't know what they will do in the event they cannot see the trouble there.

Those freeze-ups happen at least once every 4 hours with moderate use.


You may end up doing the apple appointment like me.. Are you under warranty?

Nov 18, 2014 11:24 AM in response to lllaass

I think kbd or mouse interaction is usually involved too. It mostly happens when I am mousing around. I have never walked up to the computer and had the message showing. It always happens during interaction.


Hmm.. A though occurs here. Maybe it is happening when switching displays (I run 2 monitors). Maybe the menu-bar swap is hitting something in the OS causing a crash. There is some strange window activity around the two display support. Maybe related.....

Nov 19, 2014 7:06 AM in response to pauldood

I went to the Apple store to talk with the folks at the bar there. They looked over my system and looked at my notes, and decided to swap my computer with a new one. I have it on order and it will be delivered to me soon. The tech at the store said he had seen this issue before (rarely) on the new mac pros, and also on some macbook pros. This is an issue (he thinks) related to the dual cards in these computers. He was pretty sure this was a hardware problem, not software.


If you get this problem, my advice is to schedule an appointment with the store for a consult before your warranty is gone. For me, I had no choice as this machine is business purposed and cannot be failing at random times.

Nov 19, 2014 7:17 AM in response to innocentius

The problem I observed was not always directly related to an app being run. It would also happen with interaction between windows (just clicking from mail to a browser, for example). When this occurred, the popup dialog would show (shown in OP) and the corresponding freezes for a few seconds while it recovered.


One time I had a crash in an app was during a game where the same issue happened, and the game shut down with a crash dump. As noted above, the game itself reported the error as "Graphics hardware encountered an error and was reset: 0x0000000e". This was in the crash dump report. So here, the cards saw an error, and the OS reset them out from under a running game, which objected strenuously and asserted down like it was supposed to do.


So I disagree about it being a software problem. I suspect there truly is a graphics card problem in this case. The frequency of the trouble went from once every few days, to every day, and then to every few hours during a 2 week span, so the trajectory was heading in the wrong direction.

Nov 19, 2014 1:35 PM in response to dave.cordes

I kept the old one while the new one is built to order. Since I was getting a new machine anyway, I told them I wanted an upgraded SSD. I dont really want external storage for the main stuff I use, and 250G wasnt making it.


Overall a very good impression of the folks down there. Additionally, they appear to be interested/motivated to help out businesses. So mentioning your business during the process gives them more flexibility in how they can help you.


Five Stars to Apple in-store support.

Nov 22, 2014 6:00 AM in response to pauldood

I am having the same problem on a brand new Mac Pro 2 months old.


I am hoping it is my logitech mouse and not the AMD FirePro D300 2048 MB GPU.


I restarted and ran the diagnostics with a hardwired keyboard and mouse and the diagnostics did not report any problems.


So, I am experimenting first before making the trek to the genius bar 50 miles away.


Wish me luck.


Happy Day!

New Mac Pro - A graphics problem has been detected

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