multiple problems with MBP

Question

multiple problems with MBP

Hi

I have MBP 17" early 2011, about 200 GB HDD free. since last 3 days, MBP has been freezing/kernel panicking on me (I think) where screen just goes blank and no further response. I have to then restart via power button, in which case sometimes the screen shows lots of lines/squiggles with blurry double  logos. In such cases, it restarts multiple times before starting off normally.

I have tried cmd/opt/shift/power and cmd/opt/P/R several times but to no avail. Seems to have started when I was trying to view some news or other video on WSJ.COM. In 3-4 days, have only

installed Citrix Receiver
Uninstalled & reinstalled Little Snitch for a 1P & 1P mini related error.

Apart from this, last several months I have been struggling with poor, slow, unresponsive Mac and the 'smoothness' of operability is not there. When Mac starts afresh or from sleep, it goes through varying degrees of either SBBOD (spinning beach ball of death) for menu bar items, Finder, contextual menu actions/selections, or "XYZ" application "not responding" or Finder item icons don't show correctly/don't refresh, Finder folder items don't show quickly (gear on Finder window right corner), etc.

Is the HDD or GPU gone to the dogs (again). I had had them replaced probably 1 to 1.5 years ago from an APPLE AUTHORISED RESELLER here in India, so if this is HDD/GPU error then it seems as if Apple is not doing a good job here.

MacBook Pro (17-inch Early 2011), macOS Sierra (10.12), with Time Capsule 1 TB

Posted on Mar 17, 2017 11:20 AM

Reply

Answer 1

JimmyCMPIT

Level 7

29,306 points

Mar 18, 2017 6:17 AM in response to liquidmetalin

Little Snitch can be an obtrusive piece of software. If you can uninstall it to test and your system begins to behave then I suggest you revaluate the need for it.

A PRAM or NVRAM reset would do nothing to help. If you have not done so already

shut down, disconnect all external devices and reboot into safe mode

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201262

then reboot normally with LS removed entirely to test

if problems persist you may post an etrecheck report for futher analysis.

www.etrecheck.com

Reply

Answer 2

tjk

Level 9

51,192 points

Mar 18, 2017 6:17 AM in response to liquidmetalin

Hi,

First, open Disk Utility in Utilities folder, select your HD on the left, and click on First Aid. Let it finish and note what it says. This may tell you of a HD issue.

Also, your MBP was part of a free repair program which has expired. https://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro-videoissues/ Your MBP's issue don't match the issues for the program, but the GPU is soldered to the logic board, and as such, can cause other problems.

You can try out a program which switches from the potentially faulty discrete GPU to the integrated one:

Install gfxCardStatus (https://gfx.io) and set it to "i" (integrated graphics only). It will allow your MBP to run on integrated graphics only, bypassing the discrete GPU which has the issues. This may allow your MBP to run normally, although it will have reduced graphics performance when permforming demanding graphics tasks. The alternative is replacing the logic board, which is not cost effective on a machine that old, unless gfx does not resolve the issue and you really want to keep this MBP.

Also, Grant Bennet-Alder claims:

There is an acknowledged bug in the current version of Cody Kreiger's Open-Source gfxcardstatus, and the developer has confessed he does not have time to fix it right now.

There is a fork off the main build by steveschow available that seems to fix that problem for current versions of MacOS such as ElCapitan and Sierra. He provides a finished .app for direct download -- you do not have to compile anything.

https://github.com/steveschow/gfxCardStatus/releases

Reply

Answer 3

Mar 18, 2017 6:46 AM in response to JimmyCMPIT

Hi Jimmy, you are correct. I uninstalled LS & Mac performance has improved quite a bit, though there are some instances where the SBBOD crops up & makes everything miserable. So I guess I'll continue with LS trashed from the system. I extracted 2 Etrechek reports from the options that it present: 1) Beach-balling & 2) Computer crashing, former which I'm posting herewith. If you could help with it, it would be great.

EtreCheck version: 3.0.5 (309)

Report generated 2017-03-18 00:22:06

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime 5:16

Performance: Below Average

Click the [Support] links for help with non-Apple products.

Click the [Details] links for more information about that line.

Problem: Beachballing

Hardware Information:ⓘ

MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2011)

[Technical Specifications] - [User Guide] - [Warranty & Service]

MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro8,3

1 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU: 4-core

8 GB RAM Upgradeable - [Instructions]

BANK 0/DIMM0

4 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM0

4 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported

Wireless: en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n

Battery: Health = Normal - Cycle count = 21

Video Information:ⓘ

Intel HD Graphics 3000

AMD Radeon HD 6750M - VRAM: 1024 MB

Color LCD 1920 x 1200

System Software:ⓘ

macOS Sierra 10.12.3 (16D32) - Time since boot: about one hour

Disk Information:ⓘ

APPLE HDD HTS541075A9E662 disk0 : (750.16 GB) (Rotational)

EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB

MAC HDD (disk1) / : 748.94 GB (181.33 GB free)

Core Storage: disk0s2 749.30 GB Online

MATSHITADVD-R UJ-898 ()

USB Information:ⓘ

Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

Apple Inc. BRCM2070 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad

Western Digital My Passport 0730

Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

Thunderbolt Information:ⓘ

Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

Configuration files:ⓘ

/etc/sudoers, File size 2299 but expected 1563

Gatekeeper:ⓘ

Mac App Store and identified developers

Unknown Files:ⓘ

/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.bresink.system.privilegedhelper-ts5.plist

/Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.bresink.system.privilegedhelper-ts5

/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.microsoft.autoupdate.helper.plist

/Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.microsoft.autoupdate.helper

~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.dropbox.DropboxMacUpdate.agent.plist

~/Library/Dropbox/DropboxMacUpdate.app/Contents/MacOS/DropboxMacUpdate -check periodic

3 unknown files found. [Check files]

Kernel Extensions:ⓘ

/Library/Application Support/Citrix Receiver

[not loaded] com.citrix.kext.gusb (12.4.0 - SDK 10.9 - 2017-03-11) [Support]

/System/Library/Extensions

[not loaded] com.rim.driver.BlackBerryUSBDriverVSP (0.0.97 - 2017-03-17) [Support]

[not loaded] com.taoeffect.ispy.kext (1.0.8 - 2017-03-17) [Support]

[not loaded] com.wdc.driver.1394HP (1.0.9 - 2017-03-17) [Support]

[not loaded] com.wdc.driver.USBHP (1.0.11 - 2017-03-17) [Support]

System Launch Agents:ⓘ

[not loaded] 9 Apple tasks

[loaded] 175 Apple tasks

[running] 96 Apple tasks

System Launch Daemons:ⓘ

[not loaded] com.apple.jetsamproperties.Mac.plist (2016-11-08) [Support]

[not loaded] 34 Apple tasks

[loaded] 170 Apple tasks

[running] 108 Apple tasks

Launch Agents:ⓘ

[failed] com.adobe.ARMDCHelper.cc24aef4a1b90ed56a725c38014c95072f92651fb65e1bf9c8e43c37a2 3d420d.plist (2017-01-12) [Support]

[running] com.citrix.AuthManager_Mac.plist (2016-11-09) [Support]

[loaded] com.citrix.ReceiverHelper.plist (2016-11-09) [Support]

[running] com.citrix.ServiceRecords.plist (2016-11-09) [Support]

[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist (2016-07-12) [Support]

[loaded] com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist (2014-07-27) [Support]

[not loaded] com.rim.BBAlbumArtCacher.plist (2013-06-25) [Support]

[running] com.srs.EssentialsAgent.plist (2011-12-22) [Support]

Launch Daemons:ⓘ

[loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.Communicator.plist (2017-01-12) [Support]

[loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.SMJobBlessHelper.plist (2017-01-12) [Support]

[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (2017-03-01) [Support]

[loaded] com.bresink.system.privilegedhelper-ts5.plist (2016-10-01) [Support]

[loaded] com.bresink.system.privilegedhelper-tts.plist (2015-11-02) [Support]

[loaded] com.bresink.system.securityagent3a.plist (2014-01-01) [Support]

[loaded] com.citrix.ctxusbd.plist (2016-11-09) [Support]

[loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist (2017-01-26) [Support]

[loaded] com.malwarebytes.HelperTool.plist (2017-02-08) [Support]

[loaded] com.microsoft.autoupdate.helper.plist (2017-02-04) [Support]

[loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist (2011-03-10) [Support]

[loaded] com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist (2014-07-27) [Support]

[running] com.syniumsoftware.CleanAppDaemon.plist (2016-02-17) [Support]

[loaded] com.transcend.RxRecoveryHelper.plist (2016-05-07) [Support]

[loaded] uk.co.canimaansoftware.ClamXavHelper.plist (2016-07-24) [Support]

[loaded] uk.co.canimaansoftware.ClamXavHelperUpdater.plist (2016-07-24) [Support]

User Launch Agents:ⓘ

[not loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist (2012-07-14) [Support]

[not loaded] com.apple.AddressBook.ScheduledSync.ABExchangeSource.3F28EBE5-D153-4B83-959A-1DF 7387404F9.plist (2012-03-18)

[failed] com.citrixonline.GoToMeeting.G2MUpdate.plist (2016-04-13) [Support]

[loaded] com.dropbox.DropboxMacUpdate.agent.plist (2017-03-10) [Support]

[loaded] de.metaquark.appfresh.plist (2017-03-07) [Support]

[loaded] uk.co.canimaansoftware.clamxav.UninstallWatcher.plist (2017-03-15)

[loaded] uk.co.canimaansoftware.clamxav.freshclam.plist (2017-03-15) [Support]

User Login Items:ⓘ

Quicksilver Application (/Applications/Quicksilver.app)

Siri Application (/Applications/Siri.app)

SizzlingKeys Application (/Applications/SizzlingKeys.app)

Dropbox Application (/Applications/Dropbox.app)

SpeechSynthesisServer Application (/System/Library/Frameworks/ApplicationServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks /SpeechSynthesis.framework/Versions/A/SpeechSynthesisServer.app)

ClipMenu Application (/Applications/ClipMenu.app)

Box Sync Application (/Applications/Box Sync.app)

ClamXav Sentry Application (/Applications/ClamXav.app/Contents/Resources/ClamXav Sentry.app)

Internet Plug-ins:ⓘ

MeetingJoinPlugin: Unknown - SDK 10.2 (2016-07-17) [Support]

DirectorShockwave: 12.1.1r151 - SDK 10.6 (2014-04-16) [Support]

Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: 3.2.0.16 - SDK 10.8 (2014-01-25) [Support]

AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: 15.023.20056 - SDK 10.11 (2017-01-22) [Support]

FlashPlayer-10.6: 25.0.0.127 - SDK 10.9 (2017-03-14) [Support]

Silverlight: 5.1.50428.0 - SDK 10.6 (2016-08-26) [Support]

QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (2016-12-15)

Flash Player: 25.0.0.127 - SDK 10.9 (2017-03-14) [Support]

CitrixICAClientPlugIn: 12.4.0 - SDK 10.11 (2017-03-11) [Support]

PepperFlashPlayer: 25.0.0.127 - SDK 10.9 (2017-03-15) [Support]

AdobePDFViewer: 11.0.03 - SDK 10.6 (2013-05-31) [Support]

iPhotoPhotocast: 7.0 - SDK 10.8 (2014-07-21)

SharePointBrowserPlugin: 14.7.1 - SDK 10.6 (2016-12-23) [Support]

JavaAppletPlugin: Java 8 Update 121 build 13 (2017-01-19) Check version

User internet Plug-ins:ⓘ

WebEx64: 1.1.0 - SDK 10.10 (2016-09-01) [Support]

CitrixOnlineWebDeploymentPlugin: 1.0.105 (2013-04-26) [Support]

Picasa: 1.0 - SDK 10.6 (2015-10-13) [Support]

iGetter Plugin: 2.9.5 (2017-01-18) [Support]

iGetterScriptablePlugin: 2.9.5 (2017-01-18) [Support]

RealPlayer Plugin: Unknown (2014-08-23) [Support]

Safari Extensions:ⓘ

TinEye - TinEye - https://tineye.com (2016-01-08)

Ghostery - GHOSTERY, Inc. - https://www.ghostery.com/ (2016-05-28)

AdBlock - Michael Gundlach - http://safariadblock.com (2011-09-15)

iGetter Extension - Presenta Ltd. - http://www.igetter.net/ (2016-11-05)

Blur - Abine, the online privacy company. - https://www.abine.com (2016-05-04)

Folx Safari Extension - Eltima Software - http://mac.eltima.com (2011-10-07)

1Password - AgileBits - https://agilebits.com/onepassword (2011-10-16)

Adblock Plus - Eyeo GmbH - https://adblockplus.org/ (2017-01-02)

Save to Pocket - Read It Later, Inc. - http://getpocket.com/ (2016-10-02)

3rd Party Preference Panes:ⓘ

CleanApp Logging Service (2015-11-14) [Support]

Diablotin (2006-05-24) [Support]

Flash Player (2017-03-01) [Support]

Java (2017-01-19) [Support]

Perian (2011-07-24) [Support]

Witch (2016-08-09) [Support]

Xmarks for Safari (2015-04-17) [Support]

Time Machine:ⓘ

Skip System Files: NO

Mobile backups: ON

Auto backup: YES

Volumes being backed up:

MAC HDD: Disk size: 748.94 GB Disk used: 567.62 GB

Destinations:

Data [Network]

Total size: 997.71 GB

Total number of backups: 71

Oldest backup: 24/01/16, 00:47

Last backup: 17/03/17, 18:24

Size of backup disk: Too small

Backup size 997.71 GB < (Disk used 567.62 GB X 3)

bhdtm [Local]

Total size: 900.00 GB

Total number of backups: 65

Oldest backup: 12/03/16, 20:57

Last backup: 17/03/17, 21:21

Size of backup disk: Too small

Backup size 900.00 GB < (Disk used 567.62 GB X 3)

Top Processes by CPU:ⓘ

27% GoogleSoftwareUpdateAgent

23% firefox

12% ksfetch

7% kernel_task

5% mdworker(20)

Top Processes by Memory:ⓘ

810 MB kernel_task

795 MB Google Chrome Helper(9)

614 MB firefox

246 MB mdworker(20)

180 MB Photos

Virtual Memory Information:ⓘ

131 MB Free RAM

7.87 GB Used RAM (1.96 GB Cached)

768 KB Swap Used

Diagnostics Information:ⓘ

Mar 18, 2017, 12:01:02 AM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Console_2017-03-18-000102_[redacted].crash

com.apple.Console - /Applications/Utilities/Console.app/Contents/MacOS/Console

Mar 17, 2017, 11:12:51 PM Self test - passed

Mar 17, 2017, 10:51:48 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/firefox_2017-03-17-225148_[redacted].hang

/Applications/Firefox.app/Contents/MacOS/firefox

Mar 17, 2017, 10:51:48 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Mail_2017-03-17-225148_[redacted].hang

/Applications/Mail.app/Contents/MacOS/Mail

Mar 17, 2017, 10:31:47 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/2BUA8C4S2C.com.agilebits.onepassword4-helper_2 017-03-17-223147_[redacted].crash

/Applications/1Password 6.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/2BUA8C4S2C.com.agilebits.onepassword4-helper. app/Contents/MacOS/2BUA8C4S2C.com.agilebits.onepassword4-helper

Mar 16, 2017, 11:56:49 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/suggestd_2017-03-16-235649_[redacted].cpu_resou rce.diag [Details]

/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CoreSuggestions.framework/Versions/A/Support/ suggestd

Mar 16, 2017, 11:42:43 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/quicklookd_2017-03-16-234243_[redacted].crash

/System/Library/Frameworks/QuickLook.framework/Versions/A/Resources/quicklookd. app/Contents/MacOS/quicklookd

Mar 15, 2017, 02:46:17 AM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/2BUA8C4S2C.com.agilebits.onepassword4-helper_2 017-03-15-024617_[redacted].crash

Mar 15, 2017, 02:15:46 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/suggestd_2017-03-15-021546_[redacted].cpu_resou rce.diag [Details]

Mar 15, 2017, 01:58:58 AM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Problem Reporter_2017-03-15-015858_[redacted].crash

/System/Library/CoreServices/Problem Reporter.app/Contents/MacOS/Problem Reporter

Mar 15, 2017, 01:57:37 AM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/quicklookd_2017-03-15-015737_[redacted].crash

Mar 15, 2017, 01:45:44 AM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/2BUA8C4S2C.com.agilebits.onepassword4-helper_2 017-03-15-014544_[redacted].crash

Reply

Answer 4

Mar 18, 2017 6:42 AM in response to tjk

Hi tjk, thank for the links you gave and also addressing the main problem I have now of the display. Today also I noticed that when screensaver started, the Mac (GPU?) crapped out with the screen going blank, then the stripes, double logos, constant restart, Blue vertical lines (this one is new today), restart etc. I have downloaded the GPU trick app you have suggested & will try it out. Apart from screensaver, the screen error also cropped up today when I was on FF and tried to open a webcast (webcast.gov.in) to listen to audio. But when I opened the same website on Chrome, no problem. This FF error had also occurred last time when I was on WSJ.COM (like I had stated in first post). So probably something linked to FF (plugin/extension/code) affecting the GPU?

I agree the MBP is old (only 5 years!!) but it is 17" & that is the major factor for me, since the new Macs are max 15"

Reply

Answer 5

tjk

Level 9

51,192 points

Mar 18, 2017 10:17 AM in response to liquidmetalin

Go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Click the lock to make changes > see "Allow apps downloaded from:" and choose "Anywhere." After the download, make sure to return the setting to where it was.

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Answer 6

Mar 18, 2017 1:00 PM in response to tjk

I had already tried that before I posted; there are only 2 options there

Allow apps download from

a) App Store

b) App Store and identified developers

I vaguely recalled that in Sierra 'anywhere' has been removed. Anyway, it can be made visible via Terminal or by opening the app and then going to Security & Privacy. In Energy Saver prefs there is a check box for 'Automatic graphics switching'. How is it different to what gfx does?

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Answer 7

Mar 18, 2017 1:04 PM in response to tjk

Oops, couldn't find the 'edit' button to my last post about the 'anywhere' option. In gfx what kind of impact will choosing 'integrated' have versus the other options such as discrete and dynamic? i.e. wouldn't integrated put a load on the CPU itself and cause that to fail sometime?

Reply

Answer 8

tjk

Level 9

51,192 points

Mar 18, 2017 1:07 PM in response to liquidmetalin

Yes, it would put more pressure on the graphics integrated on the CPU chip, however many Macs don't have a discrete GPU at all without any extra issues, in fact I suspect less issues, but also less performance.

Reply

Answer 9

Mar 18, 2017 6:52 AM in response to tjk

Oh and the replacement which I stated I had on the HDD/GPU 1 to 1.5 years ago, was covered under that free repair program (almost similar errors then as well)

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Answer 10

Mar 18, 2017 7:14 AM in response to tjk

Well, my Security prefs apparently will not allow me to install from some other developer; got that message when attempting to open gfxstatus

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Answer 11

tjk

Level 9

51,192 points

Mar 18, 2017 1:03 PM in response to liquidmetalin

It bypasses the control for that.

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