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iOrbit

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 8, 2012
569
30
Hey, I’m hoping some people can help me figure this out.

ive had a 2011 MBP not working for years and today I stumbled upon a video on YT proposing a fix, the GPU disable command fix:


the graphics was so scrambled it was basically Impossible to read. I attempted to follow the instructions anyway;

PRAM reset
NVRAM reset

CMD + S

disable GPU : nvram fa4ce28d-b62f-4c99-9cc3-6815686e30f9:gpu-power-prefs=%01%00%00%00

enable verboose mode

I restarted after that and boom, my MacBook was displaying regular graphics and I could see everything. But this is where the problems started for me.

There were instructions to go into recovery mode, so I followed the commands CTRL OPTION R or CMD OPTION R and logged Into Wi-Fi and had the globe pop up. I believe it loaded a bar but then went black with what looked,like the bios and it seemed like nothing happened. I think I lost patience and restarted it.

since then, every time MBP boots, I get what looks like verboose mode (that’s what I Had but I since disabled it) but I still get a small black part of the screen in the grey field with bios system text (some letters are yellow) and then it proceeds to boot into the HDD.

everytime I Get into the system, it’s working but it seems unusable? It just is extremely slow and laggy, as if the ram is all used up.

have I ruined this MBP with the commands I used? Is my MBP beyond GPU failure and behaving almost unusable for other reasons? I thought once the system used the local graphics it would work just fine. I’ve been disappointed that I can’t seem to get it to work optimally to re use it.

i wanted to get to the stage where you permanently turn off the discrete GPU after running the ‘crucible’ or whatever it is, and the write command that allows you to move the GPU kext files to make it in effect, permanently switched off.


id like some help because I’m not sure what to do. I can provide photos / videos of what’s going on if needed.

first question I have is, have I done anything to this computer that can’t be undone / reset from the video I followed? I only managed the commands on the Nvram. But ever since then I’m still seeing bios stuff upon boot up which wasn’t originally there from what I could tell.
 

iOrbit

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 8, 2012
569
30
I think I’ve determined the slow performance issue. It just occurred to me that the battery is asking to be replaced now. (This MBP has been unused / charged for 3 years, no surprise then)

I found this article from this user

and he described exactly the same symptoms which he fixed by trying a spare MacBook Pro battery, albeit from the 13 inch model.

im convinced that must be the culprit behind the performance issue because even the detail of it working and responding fast initially is true for me, it just gets slower and slower with jerky cursor movements and slow menus and responsiveness.

could this also be why I’m seeing the black menus upon start up?
 

Sanpete

macrumors 68040
Nov 17, 2016
3,695
1,665
Utah
If you don't this solved here, there's a sticky thread above this one about this, and another long one that's not pinned but can be found by search.
 

akosidodong

macrumors newbie
Feb 6, 2022
3
0
Saudi Arabia
hello sir. I hope you find well..

first of all I want to thank you because I found this website.

And Also because of this video I was able to re -enable and use my MacBook again.

My question is can I upgrade my MacBook pro late 2011 15inch from MacOS X Lion 10.7.5 to High Sierra or Catalina without any problem ?. macOS x lion is currently working and installed. my MacBook is currently bypassing the GPU for the reason that my MacBook's GPU is dead. many thanks to those who answered my question. may such problems help you more.
 
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