Macbook Pro A1286 won't boot - not a disk problem

Question

Level 1

4 points

Macbook Pro A1286 won't boot - not a disk problem

This is a 15" screen model and I believe it is late 2011. S/N is C0*******RJM (that is what is on the back cover).

I've tried to boot it in every mode possible and it just hangs at the white Apple Logo screen and the status bar goes half way and stops.

I removed the drive and connected it to USB/SATA cable and was able to boot my other MacBook Pro with that hard drive. I installed a new SSD drive and used a USB stick with the Sierra installer and it wouldn't load. It got to the Apple Logo screen, status bar 50% across, then it rebooted to an all white screen with no progress. I left it like that for a couple of hours and nothing, nada.

So I'm convinced it's a hardware issue. What are the next steps? The S/N on the back doesn't match anything that Apple has listed on their site. I was going to look for a new motherboard and install it. I thought I had a file or a print out some place of the actual model, year, etc., but can't find it.

Any ideas are welcomed.

Thanks.

Posted on May 24, 2017 10:57 AM

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Answer 1

tjk

Level 9

51,192 points

May 25, 2017 5:31 AM in response to BigMikeAtl

I was afraid of that.

Your MacBook Pro likely has a faulty discrete GPU. So many of this model have the issue that Apple created a repair program for them, but it expired Dec 31, 2016 or four years from the original date of purchase: https://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro-videoissues/. Try the following to see if it helps:

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 performing 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

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Answer 2

BigMikeAtl Author

Level 1

4 points

May 25, 2017 5:57 AM in response to tjk

Thanks!

This is what was returned:

Nice Name: MacBook Pro 15 inch Unibody Core i7 (Early/Late 2011)

Machine Model: MacBookPro8,2

******

Name: MacBook Pro (2011 core i7) 15 inch

Family name: A1286

Group1: MacBook

Group2: Pro

Generation: 82

CPU speed: 2.2GHz/2.3GHz

Screen size: 15 inch

Colour: Aluminium

Return Key: Please tell us what model keyboard this model has. Do you have a US style HORIZONTAL, or ISO style VERTICAL return key on the keyboard?

Production week : -33- (August)

Production year : -2011-

Model introduced: -2011-

Memory - flavour: DDR3-S-1333

Memory - number of slots: 2

Memory - maximum total: 16GB

Memory - largest module: 8GB

Factory: C0 (Quanta Computer (Susidiary = Tech Com) China)

Please look at the CMIzapper Brutus, an EFI unlock tool: ******

Youtube movie: ******

External link: ******

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Answer 3

tjk

Level 9

51,192 points

May 24, 2017 3:28 PM in response to BigMikeAtl

Hi,

To get things rolling, go here, list your serial number, and find out exactly which MBP you have: http://www.chipmunk.nl/klantenservice/applemodel.html Post back.

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