MBP 1,1-10,2 Force 2011 MacBook Pro 8,2 with failed AMD GPU to ALWAYS use Intel integrated GPU (EFI variable fix)

[teloriel]

Hi,
First of all thanks to everybody and especially @MikeyN
A short story of mine Early 2011, 17’ inch MBP, which is successfully (almost) running on HIGH Sierra last update (10.13.6) including last security updates. Maybe somebody get interested;

1.
First i’ve made all steps described here as well as on other sources which ended up with semi-working HIGH Sierra (i.e.: no brightness controls, no waking up from sleep e.t.c.). However forcing iGPU command helped a lot to boot inside & proceed repair process. Tried to move all *AMD kexts from Library and back, then only *X kexts, then only X3000 kext however that doesn’t help with brightness and sleep.

2.
Then i made HIGH Sierra clean install from Internet Recovery without any further settings and:
Everything WORKS as on any other Mac, including brightness, sleep, lid close/open e.t.c. ; 2) “About this Mac” shows only iGPU instead of iGPU&dGPU; 3) Moved all kexts back to Library/Extensions, except X3000 (before only moving all *X* kexts to Exyensions-off helped);

Just one problem left which is overheat when running smth. heavy except Pages, Safari or YouTube. In standby tº is 50-60 C, when heated tº is 68-70 C. (iStats iGPU metrics);

Seems that problem is in X3000 kext, however i can’t load it on boot (as it advised) in High Sierra under sudo through terminal… not to mention LoginHook.

/System/Library/Extensions-off/AMDRadeonX3000.kext failed to load - (libkern/kext) not found; check the system/kernel logs for errors or try kextutil(8)

SOLVED: there was a permissions issue with AMDRadeonX3000.kext and now, after permissions fixed, while it is loaded after boot GPU Die tº is between 0º-3º

 

[stevemiller]

ugh. i'm not looking forwards to dealing with this. my old 2011 has been running just fine for ages, and i recently gave in and ran a security update. whether it was coincidence or not, the gpu has gone haywire immediately after, with redraw artifacting across the interface. it appears stuck on the discrete gpu, ignoring any changes to gfxcardstatus.

worse is i was relying on this laptop to do some transfers of old dv footage over firewire.

 

[alchak]

Wondering if someone can help me here. I'm using a early 2013 MBP that just had it's nvidia gpu die. I starting following the instructions on dosdude1's site but can't seem to open the application. My computer has stopped crashing after entering the nvram command in single user mode but I can't change my brightness. Are there any other steps I need to take to make this fix permanent? Is there a way to be able to change my brightness again??

 

[dosdude1]

Wondering if someone can help me here. I'm using a early 2013 MBP that just had it's nvidia gpu die. I starting following the instructions on dosdude1's site but can't seem to open the application. My computer has stopped crashing after entering the nvram command in single user mode but I can't change my brightness. Are there any other steps I need to take to make this fix permanent? Is there a way to be able to change my brightness again??

GPU doesn't fail on that system, it's actually just bad solder joints on the GPU VCORE regulator IC (U8900 on the schematic). All you need to do is remove the IC, apply new solder, and solder the IC back on. Once done, the system will work perfectly. I show this repair in my video here, however the IC does not need to be replaced as I do in the video.

 

[alchak]

GPU doesn't fail on that system, it's actually just bad solder joints on the GPU VCORE regulator IC (U8900 on the schematic). All you need to do is remove the IC, apply new solder, and solder the IC back on. Once done, the system will work perfectly. I show this repair in my video here, however the IC does not need to be replaced as I do in the video.

Thanks for the quick response!

Unfortunately I don't have any soldering experience or equipment. Is there a work around to get my brightness up until I can get it to someone who could fix it (I'm assuming it would be a cheap repair?)?

 

[nathan300]

Hello, I just wanted to add I managed to get my 15” MBP 2011 with High Sierra working in full after using this method:

https://gist.github.com/cdleon/ae1542279598fe80f527400cc354a956

I did run into the problem of the brightness controls not working and sleep not working at first, yet from this forum I realized today I shouldn’t have deleted all the kexts. Instead of starting over I found if I just used “Paste Exactly” I could copy and paste exactly only the needed kexts back into the ( System/Library/Extensions/ ) folder. After a full shutdown and startup the brightness and sleep functions returned to normal.

I put all back except these:

AMDRadeonX3000.kext
AMDRadeonX4000.kext
AMDRadeonX5000.kext
AMDRadeonX5000HWServices.kext

Here’s how to paste exactly:
http://osxdaily.com/2014/08/28/move-files-with-permissions-paste-item-exactly-mac/

Prior to this I had the GPU professionally repaired twice, once by apple and it still failed. Time will tell how this fix goes, today is day 2 but I just did the kext return deal. I just wanted to say Thank you to all on the forum for your info!

Update: I tried doing a system update on the MacBook Pro and it killed this fix at first but I repeated it and it worked again. One issue I ran into though was not being able to get into recovery mode without a total freeze. I had to first boot with command + s and then enter the follow commands. After that I could proceed with the instructions on the above link.

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

nvram boot-args="-v"

reboot

 

[dosdude1]

Thanks for the quick response!

Unfortunately I don't have any soldering experience or equipment. Is there a work around to get my brightness up until I can get it to someone who could fix it (I'm assuming it would be a cheap repair?)?

There is not. If you're located in the US, I do accept mail in repairs, if that's something you'd be interested in.

 

[pastran]

There is not *one* guide to write up. Many roads lead to Rome. The best option would be if AppleMacFinder would update the first post of this thread pointing to the best alternatives.

Anyway. Even if this post now will quickly drown in the sheer length of this thread, I think this is currently one of the better guides:

#####__ The Guide __#####

This guide assumes that you run a stock system. Problem just occured. That means:
This guide assumes that all kexts are still in their default location /System/Library/Extensions.
Having all AMD-kexts there except one is beneficial for 'proper' operation.

To get some display acceleration back it will be necessary to force the machine to not boot into discrete graphics (dGPU) but directly into integrated graphics (iGPU). This will give you back your laptop – but you will lose some features: e.g. the ability to drive an external display. Thunderbolt data connections should work.

The initial procedure:

– To start from a clean slate: reset SMC and PRAM/NVRAM:

shutdown, unplug everything except power, now hold

<leftShift>+<Ctrl>+<Opt>+<Power>

release at the same time;

– Now power on again and hold

<Cmd>+<Opt>+<p>+<r>

at the same time until you hear the startup chime two times.

– Boot into Recovery by holding

<Cmd>+<r>+<s>

– Disable SIP:

csrutil disable

– disable dGPU on boot

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

– enable verbose boot mode:

nvram boot-args="-v"

– reboot into single user-mode by holding

<Cmd>+<s>

on boot

– mount root partition writeable

/sbin/mount -uw /

– make a kext-backup directory

mkdir -p /System/Library/Extensions-off

– only move ONE offending kext out of the way:

mv /System/Library/Extensions/AMDRadeonX3000.kext /System/Library/Extensions-off/

– let the system update its kextcache:

touch /System/Library/Extensions/

– wait for the kextcache process to finish
then

reboot

Reboot normally:
you will have an accelerated iGPU display.


But the system doesn't know how to power-management the failed AMD-chip.
For that you have to either manaully load the kext after boot by:

sudo kextload /System/Library/Extensions-off/AMDRadeonX3000.kext

Automate this with the following LoginHook:

sudo mkdir -p /Library/LoginHook
sudo nano /Library/LoginHook/LoadX3000.sh

with the following content:

#!/bin/bash
kextload /System/Library/Extensions-off/AMDRadeonX3000.kext
exit 0

then make it executable and active:

sudo chmod a+x /Library/LoginHook/LoadX3000.sh
sudo defaults write com.apple.loginwindow LoginHook /Library/LoginHook/LoadX3000.sh

Preventive measures for future use

There are two further caveats to know: This is reversible when the SMC/PRAM/NVRAM is reset. If that happens the GPU-power-pref nvram can/has to be set again to force the use of the iGPU from boot-time.

Since this can happen quite easily (and is often erroneously recommended way too many times than it is actually useful), you should probably prepare for such a scenario and create a simple script to greatly speed up the process and also make entering the necessary variable much less error prone:

sudo nano /force-iGPU-boot.sh

– Enter the following content to this file:

#/bin/sh
sudo nvram boot-args="-v"
sudo nvram fa4ce28d-b62f-4c99-9cc3-6815686e30f9:gpu-power-prefs=%01%00%00%00
exit 0

– Now make that executable:

sudo chmod a+x /force-iGPU-boot.sh

In the future, when the SMC/PRAM/NVRAM gets reset to default values it is now possible to boot into SingleUser with:

<Cmd>+<s>

– And after mounting your boot-volume read-write to execute just:

sh /force-iGPU-boot.sh

This setup has now one kext in a place Apple's installers do not expect. That is why in this guide SIP has not been reenabled. If an update that contains changes to the AMD drivers is about to take place it is advisable to move back the AMDRadeonX3000.kext to its default location before the update process. Otherwise the updater writes at least another kext of a different version to its default location or at worst you end up with an undefined state of partially non-matching drivers.

After any system update the folder /System/Library/Extensions has to be checked for the offending kext. Its presence there will lead to e.g. a boot hang on Yosemite and Sierra, an overheating boot-loop in High Sierra.

Further: this laptop is overheating, no matter what you do. The cooling system is inadequate and the huge number of failing AMD chips are just proof of that.

To prolong the life of this now hacked machine it is advisable to abstain from really heavy lifting over prolonged stretches of time. Strictly follow the usual recommendations for laptops: use on hard surfaces, keep the fans and fins inside it clean. Using any fancontrol software with relatively aggressive settings should also help: like smcFanControl, MacsFanControl, or TGPro (the latter both commercial).


This is fairly complete and what I do recommend to everyone asking me.
Nevertheless. We're not done here, yet. Improvements are welcome. Share them!

Wow,
All this is what helped me.
I just have some doubts, my team now does not go into suspension. What could I do
If I change HDD do I have to perform my new process?

Everything seems to be going well, I even have Mojave installed on the Macbook 8.2

Thank you
[doublepost=1543276727][/doublepost]

Hello, I just wanted to add I managed to get my 15” MBP 2011 with High Sierra working in full after using this method:

https://gist.github.com/cdleon/ae1542279598fe80f527400cc354a956

I did run into the problem of the brightness controls not working and sleep not working at first, yet from this forum I realized today I shouldn’t have deleted all the kexts. Instead of starting over I found if I just used “Paste Exactly” I could copy and paste exactly only the needed kexts back into the ( System/Library/Extensions/ ) folder. After a full shutdown and startup the brightness and sleep functions returned to normal.

I put all back except these:

AMDRadeonX3000.kext
AMDRadeonX4000.kext
AMDRadeonX5000.kext
AMDRadeonX5000HWServices.kext

Here’s how to paste exactly:
http://osxdaily.com/2014/08/28/move-files-with-permissions-paste-item-exactly-mac/

Prior to this I had the GPU professionally repaired twice, once by apple and it still failed. Time will tell how this fix goes, today is day 2 but I just did the kext return deal. I just wanted to say Thank you to all on the forum for your info!

Thanks!!!
I think this can help me in my problem!
Thank you!
PS: do you notice that some application requires so much power that the graphics are insufficient?
[doublepost=1543277700][/doublepost]

Hi,
First of all thanks to everybody and especially @MikeyN
A short story of mine Early 2011, 17’ inch MBP, which is successfully (almost) running on HIGH Sierra last update (10.13.6) including last security updates. Maybe somebody get interested;

1.
First i’ve made all steps described here as well as on other sources which ended up with semi-working HIGH Sierra (i.e.: no brightness controls, no waking up from sleep e.t.c.). However forcing iGPU command helped a lot to boot inside & proceed repair process. Tried to move all *AMD kexts from Library and back, then only *X kexts, then only X3000 kext however that doesn’t help with brightness and sleep.

2.
Then i made HIGH Sierra clean install from Internet Recovery without any further settings and:
Everything WORKS as on any other Mac, including brightness, sleep, lid close/open e.t.c. ; 2) “About this Mac” shows only iGPU instead of iGPU&dGPU; 3) Moved all kexts back to Library/Extensions, except X3000 (before only moving all *X* kexts to Exyensions-off helped);

Just one problem left which is overheat when running smth. heavy except Pages, Safari or YouTube. In standby tº is 50-60 C, when heated tº is 68-70 C. (iStats iGPU metrics);

Seems that problem is in X3000 kext, however i can’t load it on boot (as it advised) in High Sierra under sudo through terminal… not to mention LoginHook.

/System/Library/Extensions-off/AMDRadeonX3000.kext failed to load - (libkern/kext) not found; check the system/kernel logs for errors or try kextutil(8)

SOLVED: there was a permissions issue with AMDRadeonX3000.kext and now, after permissions fixed, while it is loaded after boot GPU Die tº is between 0º-3º

My Temp is over 70º wen i use Opera or Video Stream.
I don't have the kext3000. how i repair this?
thanks

 

[ksbozorg]

There is not. If you're located in the US, I do accept mail in repairs, if that's something you'd be interested in.

Hello sir,
I want to use your software "ROMTool". But when I downloaded, it ask for password to unzip.
Do I have to pay to use it? Could you please let me know. I need to upgrade my mac pro.
thanks in advance,
Kam

 

[dosdude1]

Hello sir,
I want to use your software "ROMTool". But when I downloaded, it ask for password to unzip.
Do I have to pay to use it? Could you please let me know. I need to upgrade my mac pro.
thanks in advance,
Kam

I had to put a password on it so Google wouldn't falsely flag it as malware. The password is "rom".

 

[UnknownPit]

Hello I tried the live CD solution but I can't enter internet recovery I had a previous ssd but I had to replace it so no recovery partition exists in the new ssd. So after doing the fix with live cd, the process completed meaning the spinning globe is done downloading but after I never get to see recovery tools in order to use terminal to move the AMD_Kexts. Please any ideas? I do the process again and post screen shots of the fix if that helps. Thanks

 

[brad.c]

10.13.6 is the third (fourth??) time applying @MikeyN's fix after a software upgrade to my 15" Late 2011. First time in a while that I had to disable the GPU using the nvram fa4ce28d-b62f-4c99-9cc3-6815686e30f9:gpu-power-prefs=%01%00%00%00 entry. Usually I just have to remove AMDRadeonX3000.kext and I'm back in business.

First time I was wasn't permitted to remove the kext at the single user command line, tho. Luckily I was able to boot the MBP in Target Disk mode, and connect it to another Mac to remove the file externally

 

[dosdude1]

10.13.6 is the third (fourth??) time applying @MikeyN's fix after a software upgrade to my 15" Late 2011. First time in a while that I had to disable the GPU using the nvram fa4ce28d-b62f-4c99-9cc3-6815686e30f9:gpu-power-prefs=%01%00%00%00 entry. Usually I just have to remove AMDRadeonX3000.kext and I'm back in business.

First time I was wasn't permitted to remove the kext at the single user command line, tho. Luckily I was able to boot the MBP in Target Disk mode, and connect it to another Mac to remove the file externally





I just called them, and their fix does not regain the full use of the thunderbolt port. (External monitors don't work, but Thunderbolt drives do). They offered a USB adaptor. The site does't explain what their "permanent fix" is, so I take that claim with a $350 grain of salt.

They charge $350!?? I only charge $100 to do the same thing, and with my mod you'll get backlight brightness control... Essentially what is being done is the dedicated GPU is permanently disabled via hardware, making the system permanently use Intel HD Graphics. Since the external display port is wired directly to the dedicated GPU, it will not work with the dGPU disabled (it also does not work when disabling the dGPU via software). I overview the entire process of performing this mod on my thread here.

 

[pastran]

which is the best way (to stay forever or as long as possible)
and the fastest today? because each page explains a different method.
I no longer work the brightness or suspended, I returned the Kext 3000 etc to your folder and I still do.
How do I do now? I would like to start from 0

 

[Laisen]

Am i only who has bad colours on integrated graphics? 9CB7, HiRes, Antiglare display. Wanna share this calibration profile, it is default from my unibody 2010 macbook. It looks stunning compared to original. Copy it to Library /ColorSync / Profiles

 

[J-Pro]

First of all - HUGE THANK YOU everyone for your time for describing all the solutions! I really appreciate it! It's because of you people who can't afford the latest model still can work on their laptops, so THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

These procedures are mandatory:

[B][U]Update 2 - Shutdown or Restart Macbook Pro - avoid black screen freeze:[/U][/B]

Is there any solution to when I already have this black screen freeze? My late 2011 has Sierra installed and a month ago I followed instructions from the very first post (i.e. "100% WORKING SOLUTION") and it worked - I could not believe it. But until the first restart. This first restart brought black screen freeze. One of the consequent restarts was successful and I thought it's somehow fixed itself, so I used my laptop without shutting it down until I had to (after a security update). Then I saw black screen again and could not do anything. I tried restarting several times: sometimes it was silent black screen, sometimes it was a recurrent chimes sound, but I could not make it start. But once when I wanted to boot up from that Linux flash somehow it booted up and I was very happy again... until today. Today I installed another security update and after it I have frozen black screen that I can't bypass this time I have already tried resetting NVRAM, SMC, trying all possible key combinations during boot - no luck. The only thing that changes is that right after I reset SMC (or simply disconnect the battery for few seconds) it's recurrent-chimes-sound-frozen-black-screen, but all reboots after that - a silent one. Looks like my issue is similar to what user with name "1024KB" described here few pages ago here.

Do you guys know if there is a way to revive it? I regret that I saw the link for avoiding black screen freeze too late Thank you in advance!

 

[RTouris]

You could try booting into safe mode to start with by pressing shift while booting so that you at least gain access to your files etc...I'm in the same boat as you I'm afraid so way to reboot into integrated graphics mode - YMMV.

 

[pastran]

Today I tried to start from 0 to leave everything well.
1- formatted hard disk
2-Install High Sierra
3-Create user High Sierra (term configuration)
4- It restarts and does not turn on.
Then I move on to the next one.
Install Mojave
Patching it does not turn on either.
Now I can not make it work in any way.
Neither by resetting NVRAM nor by setting the nvram command fa4ce28d-b62f-4c99-9cc3-6815686e30f9: gpu-power-prefs =% 01% 00% 00% 00


What to do to start from 0 ?? Thank you! I'm becoming something logo.
regards

 

[J-Pro]

You could try booting into safe mode to start with by pressing shift while booting so that you at least gain access to your files etc...I'm in the same boat as you I'm afraid so way to reboot into integrated graphics mode - YMMV.

I couldn't do this, because even before the chimes sound the mac was unresponsive with a half-lit sleep light.

Anyway, after several tries (about 50) of different things one seems to work: I unplugged the charger and waited for laptop to fully discharge, then holding power button connected the charger. It worked and now I'm able to load to my OS, but I noticed that my laptop can't sleep now (after that recent security update) - it simply hangs up with fans blowing. So I did this discharge battery trick again to get to the recovery console, but strangely my 'sudo' command can't be found! I have checked my $PATH - it looks usual, but there is no 'sudo' executable in /usr/bin or any other dir from $PATH I googled, but did not see anyone experienced this kind of issue... Yes, my Macintosh HD is encrypted, yes I have decrypted t using 'diskutil'. I can see 'sudo' sitting in "/Volumes/Macintosh HD/usr/bin", but I'm unable to execute it, coz it complains about 'sudoers'. Looks like it needs everything to be in /, not /Volumes. Does anyone know how can I solve this issue?

 

[J-Pro]

It worked and now I'm able to load to my OS

Looks like it gotten worse While I left my laptop in Recovery Console mode and was looking for a solution of absence of 'sudo', it slept and when I got back, got frozen. After I restarted it, I never was able to see a normal boot anymore It now looks like my integrated GPU is screwed as well, because it looks like computer is loading, but screen blinks like this:


I tried resetting SMC, then NVRAM, no luck - same thing. Although, even by this screen I can tell that it's not a static image and something is loading because it blinks differently:

UPDATE: I left it like this for 15 minutes and at some point screen became all-gray (like a healthy laptop when it reboots):


It stayed like that for about 15 minutes, then rebooted by itself and started this (together with chimes):


After another 3 minutes it got tot the same grey screen, no mouse, no nothing. I left it like this, will give it an hour to do its thing. But I'm almost hopeless now... Looks like for some reason I don't have iGPU either It maybe a result of my continuous turning off/on/discharging, etc...

 

[dosdude1]

Looks like it gotten worse While I left my laptop in Recovery Console mode and was looking for a solution of absence of 'sudo', it slept and when I got back, got frozen. After I restarted it, I never was able to see a normal boot anymore It now looks like my integrated GPU is screwed as well, because it looks like computer is loading, but screen blinks like this:
View attachment 807510

I tried resetting SMC, then NVRAM, no luck - same thing. Although, even by this screen I can tell that it's not a static image and something is loading because it blinks differently:

UPDATE: I left it like this for 15 minutes and at some point screen became all-gray (like a healthy laptop when it reboots):
View attachment 807514

It stayed like that for about 15 minutes, then rebooted by itself and started this (together with chimes):
View attachment 807515

After another 3 minutes it got tot the same grey screen, no mouse, no nothing. I left it like this, will give it an hour to do its thing. But I'm almost hopeless now... Looks like for some reason I don't have iGPU either It maybe a result of my continuous turning off/on/discharging, etc...

Try different RAM, normally bad RAM (or a bad RAM slot) causes this kind of issue.

 

[Dave111]

They charge $350!?? I only charge $100 to do the same thing, and with my mod you'll get backlight brightness control... Essentially what is being done is the dedicated GPU is permanently disabled via hardware, making the system permanently use Intel HD Graphics. Since the external display port is wired directly to the dedicated GPU, it will not work with the dGPU disabled (it also does not work when disabling the dGPU via software). I overview the entire process of performing this mod on my thread here.

@dosdude1 does your mod survive security updates/macOS upgrades?

 

[dosdude1]

@dosdude1 does your mod survive security updates/macOS upgrades?

Of course. Being an entirely hardware-based bypass, software changes and NVRAM variables will not affect it at all. It is 100% permanent.

 

[Dave111]

Of course. Being an entirely hardware-based bypass, software changes and NVRAM variables will not affect it at all. It is 100% permanent.

@dosdude1 I was thinking more in terms of Apple making firmware changes that are incompatible with this hardware modification, therefore making it unusable in the future...? As of now my macbook is working fine with the linux workaround but with some limitations.

 

[dosdude1]

@dosdude1 I was thinking more in terms of Apple making firmware changes that are incompatible with this hardware modification, therefore making it unusable in the future...? As of now my macbook is working fine with the linux workaround but with some limitations.

No, that is not possible. This hardware solution will work forever.