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

[MikeyN]

Hi Everyone,

I was hoping that someone might have found a fix for the sleep/wake and screen brightness issues.

Everything had been working fine on my 2011 17” MBP running High Sierra, until I applied the last security update (2019-001).

I have tried all the usual SMC/PRAM/NVRAM resets, no luck. I could live with the screen brightness issues but not having it able to sleep/wake is a complete pain.

I do have a CCC from last Sunday so I can always roll back to that.

Thank you in advance for any/all responses.

Some attempts at brightness control on 10.13 were listed in this thread. Use a little software widget seems the easiest way to go about that.

There are two general things I noticed:

1. Apple seems to read this here, or one of my other complaints elsewhere. They now ship a working AMDRadeonX3000.kext even with delta sec-updates. It's th exact same, unchanged binary as before, so really superfluous, and just a nuisance for us. So you need to remove it again. Yes, now it's remove aka 'delete'. Not on 10.13 but 10.12, I guess it's just the same kext as before on HighSierra as well (check version and size before trusting this), just in the wrong (default) location.

2. After an SMC-reset sleep should work for a while. It does so for me. Unless I connect sth to Thunderbolt. I am unsure whether that triggers unwanted values in the SMC in itself. But it seems clear that letting it go to auto-sleep while TB is connected is 'not good'. I also perform a little superstitious precaution: don't let it auto-sleep (timer), don't lid-sleep it. I run screensaver black and only let it sleep via menu or key combo. Works for month on end in this way.

 

[egonegon]

I followed these instructions to make a bootable installer:

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201372

If you don't have a flash drive you can actually just allocate a 15 GB partition on the main HD.

These are the best instrucitons to follow for the nvram and AMDkext fix:

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...fi-variable-fix.2037591/page-35#post-24956091

But to get Sierra installed I:

1. Boot in single user Command+S. Applied the nvram fix codes (see above).

2. Typed 'reboot', then held down Command+R to go to recovery (bootable install disk needs to be connected).

Then follow install instructions as normal.

3. When it finally reboots into Sierra or High Sierra, you will need to reapply the nvram hack by booting into single user mode. Then, as required disable SIP, and then disable the AMD kexts etc as described by mikeyN

Thank you, Spectrum!
Thanks again to AppleMacFinder and MikeyN!

So far everything works very well!

This guide is also very clear and helpful:

https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/267581/gpu-problem-boot-hangs-on-grey-screen


I would like to automate the LoginHook now but unfortunately I do not know exactly what to do:


Automatate this with the following LoginHook that will be executed after the next reboot:

sudo mkdir -p / Library / LoginHook

sudo nano /Library/LoginHook/LoadX3000.sh

with the following content:

#! / Bin / bash
kextload /System/Library/Extensions-off/AMDRadeonX3000.kext
pmset -a force gpuswitch 0 # undocumented / experimental
exit 0


I do not know how to confirm the input or get further in Terminal.


then make it * 1 executable and active:

sudo chmod a + x /Library/LoginHook/LoadX3000.sh

sudo defaults write com.apple.loginwindow LoginHook /Library/LoginHook/LoadX3000.sh


Thank you very much!

 

[MikeyN]

I would like to automate the LoginHook now but unfortunately I do not know exactly what to do:


Automatate this with the following LoginHook that will be executed after the next reboot:

sudo mkdir -p / Library / LoginHook

sudo nano /Library/LoginHook/LoadX3000.sh

with the following content:

#! / Bin / bash
kextload /System/Library/Extensions-off/AMDRadeonX3000.kext
pmset -a force gpuswitch 0 # undocumented / experimental
exit 0


I do not know how to confirm the input or get further in Terminal.

You seem to be stuck in nano?

At the bottom of the screen in an active Terminal session with nano open you see the most needed commands.

In this case: "^x": Exit (or "^o": write). "^" means "Control-Key", so this is really Ctrl-x.

If you use ^x it will ask you to save the changed contents of the file. Confirm this positively. Done.

 

[Spectrum]

I also got stuck in nano. The instructions on that screen are not obvious for a novice (like me!).
Yes, control+X is the way to get out of it. Thanks MikeyN

 

[prisstratton]

Some attempts at brightness control on 10.13 were listed in this thread. Use a little software widget seems the easiest way to go about that.

There are two general things I noticed:

1. Apple seems to read this here, or one of my other complaints elsewhere. They now ship a working AMDRadeonX3000.kext even with delta sec-updates. It's th exact same, unchanged binary as before, so really superfluous, and just a nuisance for us. So you need to remove it again. Yes, now it's remove aka 'delete'. Not on 10.13 but 10.12, I guess it's just the same kext as before on HighSierra as well (check version and size before trusting this), just in the wrong (default) location.

2. After an SMC-reset sleep should work for a while. It does so for me. Unless I connect sth to Thunderbolt. I am unsure whether that triggers unwanted values in the SMC in itself. But it seems clear that letting it go to auto-sleep while TB is connected is 'not good'. I also perform a little superstitious precaution: don't let it auto-sleep (timer), don't lid-sleep it. I run screensaver black and only let it sleep via menu or key combo. Works for month on end in this way.

Thank you for taking the time to reply.

Edit: I rolled back to a previous Carbon Copy Cloner backup - everything is good again.

 

[RTouris]

@prisstratton perhaps you should try keeping a copy of the original AMDRadeonX3000.kext, as well as "bless" the extensions folder again after installation of the sec. update and having replaced the new with the old (working) kext. Happened to me last time around, system wouldn't sleep properly either...Give it a try, only thing that you could shed is a few minutes of your time

 

[prisstratton]

@prisstratton perhaps you should try keeping a copy of the original AMDRadeonX3000.kext, as well as "bless" the extensions folder again after installation of the sec. update and having replaced the new with the old (working) kext. Happened to me last time around, system wouldn't sleep properly either...Give it a try, only thing that you could shed is a few minutes of your time

Thank you for your comments. The first thing i did after the security update was to make sure that everything was in place as per the procedure as described by @MikeyN. I had already saved a copy of the original kext in the "/Extensions-off" sub-dir, also as outlined in the procedure.

Everything is working again after the roll back and I am happy with that. I am also content to live with my Mac being isolated from any further updates, not that this is new to me.......when most of you jumped on board with Yosemite and then El Capitan, I stuck with Mavericks and stayed there until High Sierra came out.

Thanks again.......

 

[pastran]

Some programs say this > Could not find any OpenCL capable GPUs.
Does this mean I did something wrong?
I have the Loginhook script activated too.
and temperatures around 55 - 60 degrees with normal unso (web)

With the dedicated GPU, can not such programs that require OpenCL be used?

Thanks for everything as always!

 

[DreiAutomatic]

Hi everyone! Recently, I fixed my MBP 15-inch Early 2011 with the gRub solution. It works fine but with issues(screen brightness and sleep). I updated it to the latest version of High Sierra and after the restart, it went to a boot loop where it load until 70% and restarts. I tried to move all the AMD Extensions to another folder and now, it boot loops to a recovery text mode. Did anyone experienced this? I wanted to remove gRub fix but I don't know how.

 

[nerowolfe19]

wrong thread, please del

 

[Spectrum]

I fixed my Macbook with the help of this guide on 5 August 2017. Until today my Macbook worked perfectly fine.

Today I used it all day. I turned it off and an hour later I tried to turn it on again but it gave a black screen. I can´t do anything, not even a Pram reset. It only shows a black screen (like when it is off). Battery is full and the light in front turns on. The mechanical startup sound is there but there is no ´dong´.

Any idea if I can do something to fix this? My second graphical card got broken?

I now have this exact problem too. Up until now the fix (this forum) I applied a few weeks ago seemed perfect. Mine is a 15 inch i7 MBPro, 2011 vintage.

Any ideas?

EDIT: Actually, mine makes a "Dong" sound and the front light stays fully lit.
EDIT2: SMC reset seems to work (makes front light go out immediately, and power cable changes colour), but PRAM reset doesn't do anything. No chime at all.

Currently the machine is sitting there, partially booted, getting hot on back left side with front light lit and screen black. I think it is officially dead :-(

 

[Ken DL]

I have 2 of these late 2011 MBPros with the wonderful GPU chip. Both had the board replaced by Apple a few years ago under extended warranty, but as we know that isn't really a fix. When the first one's GPU chip failed the second time, I successfully followed MikeyN's wonderful procedure at entry 875 and it works fine. So today the second one failed again, and I immediately tried MikeyN's procedure. But this time, I couldn't get the machine to boot into recovery mode. Cmd-R-S yields a message "Error - Recovery Image Verification Fail with status "8000...00e". I tried pressing forward with the rest of the procedure, but it didn't work. It will boot with the GPU chip off, but it goes into a boot loop because I couldn't remove the .kext file from the directory. Is there anyway to work around this, disable the chip, and get working again?

**** UPDATE February 8 2019 *****
I found another solution to fix this. At RealMacMods, they have a handy downloadable tool that incorporates the Linux boot method found in the very first post of this thread. The tool, which costs $10, helps one create a bootable USB drive with an Ubuntu Linux and the terminal commands to disable the chip. For $10, it was worth it for me because I didn't know how to create the bootable USB. In addition, the RealMacMods solution says to remove a single resistor from the motherboard which will permanently prevent the Radeon chip from ever powering on again. Removing the resistor was a simple matter of *carefully* scratching it off the board with a metal probe. No soldering tool needed. The Linux boot method avoids the problem of the bad Mac OS recovery partition. For those interested, here is the link to the solution: https://realmacmods.com/macbook-2011-radeon-gpu-disable/. So far, it's working. So I have two Mac Book Pros, late-2011 edition, working again.

 

[StefanWiswedel]

Hey folks,

I have done this fix to my early 2011 MBP. At least it is usable again. I have tried a couple of things to get the lid sleep issue working, with no luck. Anything new? I'm on High Sierra.

Also, is there any way to get the computer to be able to use an external monitor? Even in another OS (Win10 or ChromeOS maybe?). On that note, would the lid-sleep issue be resolved on another OS?

Thanks in advance

 

[Ken DL]

Hey folks,

I have done this fix to my early 2011 MBP. At least it is usable again. I have tried a couple of things to get the lid sleep issue working, with no luck. Anything new? I'm on High Sierra.

Also, is there any way to get the computer to be able to use an external monitor? Even in another OS (Win10 or ChromeOS maybe?). On that note, would the lid-sleep issue be resolved on another OS?

Thanks in advance

You can buy a USB-to-HDMI display adapter to use an external monitor. Just be sure to get one that is Mac-compatible. Many are Windows-only. I bought a J5create model that works up to 4k. I use it with TVs; one works, the other has some discoloration that I haven't figured out yet.

 

[StefanWiswedel]

OK, thank you. Will look into that.

 

[egonegon]

I now have this exact problem too. Up until now the fix (this forum) I applied a few weeks ago seemed perfect. Mine is a 15 inch i7 MBPro, 2011 vintage.

Any ideas?

EDIT: Actually, mine makes a "Dong" sound and the front light stays fully lit.
EDIT2: SMC reset seems to work (makes front light go out immediately, and power cable changes colour), but PRAM reset doesn't do anything. No chime at all.

Currently the machine is sitting there, partially booted, getting hot on back left side with front light lit and screen black. I think it is officially dead :-(

Oh man that does not sound good - I'm sorry for you guys!

I'm wondering if this is just a coincidence or the Intel GPU only sticks with this fix for a limited time and then dies.

 

[StefanWiswedel]

Does anyone know if the hardware fix (where one solders the leads to bypass the GPU) allows one to still use an external monitor?

 

[JMVB]

Does anyone know if the hardware fix (where one solders the leads to bypass the GPU) allows one to still use an external monitor?

Nope, and that's why doesn't worth it

 

[StefanWiswedel]

Cool. Good to know.

Any other fixes for the sleep issues? Really sucks having to shut down all the time. Most of the time I forget and have to hard reset the computer every time.

 

[JMVB]

Just stay in El Capitan.
For me, it is not really any improvement in Sierra or High Sierra. You can live without Siri, belive me...

 

[Spectrum]

Question. Until mine went black screen last week, I was running High Sierra and had no problems with sleep or with screen brightness. I applied the fix as described on this board MikeyN. I just wonder if this is the reason why my computer won't now start at all. Is it related? It chimes, HDD starts up, but the backlight never comes on, and there is no video signal on the screen that I can see.

 

[StefanWiswedel]

Yeah, tempted to downgrade to Sierra or El Capitan. Mission though

 

[neilpaolo]

You can buy a USB-to-HDMI display adapter to use an external monitor. Just be sure to get one that is Mac-compatible. Many are Windows-only. I bought a J5create model that works up to 4k. I use it with TVs; one works, the other has some discoloration that I haven't figured out yet.

Any display issues after installing the Jcreate Mac drivers? I see some posts from other users that experienced bricking on their OS...they have to fix the display again.

 

[FJDR]

Hello to all:

After fail my Discrete GPU, I force to eliminate at all startup procedure and solve completely the trouble.

But not all is OK.

If I use applications the need the use of a Graphic Acceleration, for example Edit a Photo with Photos.app, then the stitches in the screen appears and must quit the application.

I have tried with two settings using GFX Card Status.... Internal Only or Dynamic.

If you observe the GFX status: The icon "I" in the menu do not change even in Discrete mode.

That happens because AMD GPU is not part of the system now. And if you see in the About this Mac screenshot appears only the Internal GPU but with an addition of VRAM to 1536 Mb

That let me operate with a relative good response in some applications do not work with the original 516 Mb shared VRAM.

I use for example VectorWorks. But can't Render in other settings than OpenGL.

I need to know, if there someone know if I Upgrade my RAM to 16 GB will work better?

Regards

 

[StefanWiswedel]

OK, so I'm going to try and downgrade from High Sierra to El Capitan to try and get the sleep and brightness control back.

Will the software fix not be undone during the install process and the computer crash during install as it tries to switch to the GPU? Worries about getting stuck with a half installed OS ...