is my graphics card faulty

Question

Level 1

12 points

is my graphics card faulty

Hello

I recently started noticing some issues with my mid 2012 MacBook pro retina 15. Sometimes when i open my laptop from sleep mode i started getting some grains on the screen. After 2 seconds the screen will be back to normal.

(the above image which i have attached is not my laptop screen, but I have attached it as I couldn't take a picture of mine when the issue happened)

My battery has crossed 1350 cycles and I was going to replace the battery this month. I don't know whether it is problem with battery or graphics card or drivers. I saw a similar post in which they told it might be an issue with graphics card. So i ran a hardware test and i found no issues with my hardware.

Could anyone please help me to identify the issue. Thank you

macOS Sierra (10.12.2), null

Posted on Jan 26, 2017 5:42 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Jan 26, 2017 5:48 PM in response to lexL8055

Since the hardware test didn't reveal any issues, try a Safe Mode boot.

To start up in safe mode:

Start or restart your Mac, then immediately press and hold the Shift key. The white Apple logo appears on your display. If you don't see the Apple logo, learn what to do.
Release the shift key when you see the login window. If your startup disk is encrypted with FileVault, you might be asked to log in twice: once to unlock the startup disk, and again to log in to the Finder.

To leave safe mode, restart your Mac without pressing any keys during startup.

And at some point replace the battery.

Reply

Answer 2

Mallwill

Level 1

19 points

Jan 27, 2017 2:35 AM in response to lexL8055

There is an issue with that Mac's graphics chip on some serial numbers. Does it do it when plugged into the mains with your charger as well?

Check out the link:

https://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro-videoissues/

Reply

Answer 3

lexL8055 Author

Level 1

12 points

Jan 26, 2017 5:59 PM in response to Carolyn Samit

Thanks a lot for replying. I forgot to mention that after 2 second the screen will be back to normal. First time it happened when my laptop got switched off because battery ran out. This issue has happened 5 -6 times till now when i tried to wake my laptop from sleep mode. I don't know whether my graphics card is going to fail soon or if it is a software issue.

Reply

Answer 4

lexL8055 Author

Level 1

12 points

Jan 27, 2017 10:28 AM in response to Mallwill

Thank you for replying. It happened 6 times till now in last 3 weeks. Most of the times it happened when i opened lid of macbook. And in 2 seconds my screen was back to normal. Till now it didn't happen when my laptop was plugged in.

I know about that issue, but this only started happening since past 3 weeks. My laptop is 4nd half years old so it won't be covered under the repair plan. And i also doesn't think there was an issue with my graphics card earlier as it never happened earlier.

I would like to know one thing. If i ever have to replace my graphics card, will i have to remove the whole board as it is soldered to the board. And how much will it cost me to do that. Thank you

Reply

Answer 5

macjack

Level 10

111,242 points

Jan 26, 2017 5:52 PM in response to lexL8055

AHT is not always conclusive to diagnose a bad video card. Bring it in to any Apple Store, they have much more sensitive tests they can run on the GPU. But it sure looks like a bad GPU to me.

Reply