Mid 2012 Macbook Pro 13 Inch Graphic Problems?
Hello,
I have a Mid 2012 Macbook Pro 13 Inch notebook. So a couple of months ago, I started getting screen glitches and freezes while watching videos. This became more frequent later until one day I had my first kernel panic. This was around March or April 2015. After that kernel panic, my computer would not start up and instead would beep 3 times in each interval with about 4 or 5 seconds in between each interval. I looked up a bunch of other forums online and found out that it was most likely a problem with the RAM so I had a friend take it to the Apple Store for me since I was busy with school. The Genius at the Genius Bar told him that indeed it was a problem with the RAM and to my knowledge, all the Genius did was take the RAM out and put it back in. My friend told it it was "fixed" and for a little while it operated okay. I think there were still some screen freezes here and there but when I force shut my computer off and restarted it, it worked.
This lasted until mid May when the computer would not start again and once again had the 3 beep intervals.I scheduled another appointment at the Genius Bar and went for myself this time. Once again, I was told that it was a problem with the RAM, only this time, the Genius recommended that I upgrade my RAM since my old one was deteriorated. So I did. I ordered my RAM off crucial.com and put it in on my own. I upgraded from 4GB to 8GB.
I was convinced my problems were solved until not too long later, I once again got screen freezes and kernel panics. This led to the 3 beeps again. So at this point, I am convinced that it cannot be a problem with the RAM. However, I discovered that an "quick fix" to this problem was to simply remove the RAM and put it back in and then it would start up like normal again. Since then, I have been doing this method but I feared and still fear that this can only last so long before my MBP completely dies out. I have on several occasions taken a picture on my phone of the screen freeze and horizontal lines, however, I couldn't really find anyone else on Apple forums or on Google pictures that had the same type of problem as I do.
So today, July 1, 2015, I went to the Apple Store and Genius Bar once again. Earlier in the morning I tried to do a Apple Hardware Test at home and the screen freeze happened AGAIN. Before I came in today, I did a lot of web searching and found out that many people had GPU problems and some were able to get their logic boards replaced free of charge, but my model MBP doesn't fit the one Apple sent out a recall for. When I visited the Apple store today, I was told that my model does not have a GPU chip but rather the graphics are run through the CPU. I am not an expert at all with computers but pretty much I was told that it was a hardware problem and not a software problem with my MBP. Specifically my logic board was bad. I actually met with the same Genius who diagnosed my RAM as the problem last time. So my options were to have it fixed or not. In store was actually more expensive than if they were to send it out. But ultimately, the cheapest I could get was a flat rate of $280 plus tax. I live in New Jersey so with tax it would have came out to be right under $300. I have already paid a hefty price in the past since I spilled liquid on it accidentally. During that fix, the logic board was replaced too but the Genius told me that there is only a 3 month warranty for that. I bought my Macbook in August 2013 so I'm already past the one year warranty and do not have Applecare. I did not want to pay $300 for a computer that I already paid a lot for to fix in the past and which also costed $1050 to begin with.
So, I was wondering does anybody else out there have the same problem? Is it possible to start a petition for a recall for a faulty logic board/graphics problem for this particular model? Because at this point I either need to pay that price for another logic board that may or may not give me the same problem later on, keep using the method of taking out the RAM and putting it back in until my MBP dies out, or just get a whole new brand new computer (not Apple).
Here are some of the symptoms I get:
-Frequent screen freezes where colored horizontal lines pop up in vertical columns (usually blue)
-Occasional kernel panics where my computer will restart on its own and display a message saying my computer was restarted because of a problem
-Both of the above symptoms can cause the next time I start up to have 3 beeps and no start up where I will use my quick fix method
-Can happen when laptop is possibly overheating/overused
-Can happen anytime, does not need to be while watching video but videos may make it more prone to occur
Any help or knowledge will be appreciated. Thank you.
-Harold
MacBook Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9.5)
