MBP 15 2011, gpu dead or not?

[vorob]

Hi, my father own and constantly use a 2011 MacBook Pro 15. Ye, the one with time-bomb ati videocard. For 12 years everything was fine, but recently, he turned on the laptop and after loading bar it’s just white screen. Take a look:

So, that is it? It’s a symptom of dead video card? Can’t check machine myself for now, so have to bother you for diagnose. Thx.

 

[Andeddu]

Hard to say. I have never owned a MacBook until recently so I am completely unfamiliar with booting problems. If I were to guess, I would say it's more likely a problem with the RAM or potentially the HDD/SSD rather than the graphics card.

 

[Flav]

Hard to say. I've had two 2011 MacBook Pros with failed GPUs and both experienced discoloration during boot on the gray screen with the apple you are showing. It's not visible in the video but it may still be there, looks closely for constant color lit pixels in rows on the screen.

If you're not seeing that it may not be failed GPU so you could create a bootable drive on another Mac and try that. Also you could try holding CMD+R during boot to try to enter recovery mode, if it gets there it is less likely the issue is failed GPU.

I think there is a way to permanently disable the external GPU on that series of Macs but I never done that, I just sold off mine for cheap to get rid of them..

 

[MacBook17]

I have not owned a 2011 MacBook Pro 15, but I've used an early-2011 MBP 17 since we purchased it brand new. A couple of years ago, out of the blue, the dedicated AMD Radeon HD 6750M GPU on the motherboard decided to end it all. The symptom was a total loss of video synch in the form of a Pepto Bismol pink screen. In short, the machine was running fine, but the video signal was history.

The video you pasted into the original post does not say dead GPU to me. Instead, it reminds me of the dead HDD we experienced way back in 2012. I didn't recall it until I saw your video, but, yep, that's pretty much exactly what we experienced when we had to send our 2011 MBP 17 in for warranty repair.

By the way, if I'm wrong and it does turn out to be a defective dedicated GPU, I might be able to help you out with a way to revert back to the primary (integrated) GPU that came with your Intel CPU. Let's put it this way, we were able to get around the bad AMD GPU, and we've been happily using the machine ever since. The best of luck you.

 

[davidlv]

Hi, my father owns and constantly uses a 2011 MacBook Pro 15. Ye, the one with time-bomb ati videocard. For 12 years everything was fine, but recently, he turned on the laptop and after loading bar it’s just white screen. Take a look:

So, that is it? It’s a symptom of dead video card? Can’t check machine myself for now, so have to bother you for diagnose. Thx.

See post #2922 here;

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/force-2011-macbook-pro-8-2-with-failed-amd-gpu-to-always-use-intel-integrated-gpu-efi-variable-fix.2037591/page-117?post=30793334#post-30793334

The NVRAM command to disable the Radeon GPU (so you will only use the Intel graphic chip) must be input from the terminal, from either the Recovery partition or the regular system. So if the Radeon GPU is kaput, I don't know how to proceed. On my old late 2011 MBP, I was able to disable the Radeon GPU via the NVRAM command while the Radeon card still functioned.

The best way to disable the Radeon GPU is to boot Recovery (or Single User Mode (Command + S key combination on boot) if the dGPU refuses to function at all) and run the following command:

Code:
nvram FA4CE28D-B62F-4C99-9CC3-6815686E30F9:gpu-power-prefs=%01%00%00%00

This will disable the dGPU and allow the on-board Intel iGPU to function. Note that external display outputs are directly routed to the dGPU and therefore can no longer be used.

 

[MacBook17]

This is a great post ... but I have serious doubts about whether or not the dedicated GPU in the OP's father's 2011 MBP 15 is defective. As I posted, there seems to be another issue with his father's machine, so either GPU may not play a part in this issue!

 

[sdfox7]

Did you try Command + Option + P + R to reset the PRAM? That tends to clear up booting issues.

Reset NVRAM on your Mac - Apple Support

If one or more settings stored in NVRAM don't work as expected on an Intel-based Mac, resetting NVRAM might help.

support.apple.com

 

[acorntoy]

Agree, have had hard drives fail before and show similar behavior. Don't think this is GPU.

 

[davidlv]

This is a great post ... but I have serious doubts about whether or not the dedicated GPU in the OP's father's 2011 MBP 15 is defective. As I posted, there seems to be another issue with his father's machine, so either GPU may not play a part in this issue!

Let's hope it is the HDD or something similar. After watching the video on the OP, I too think the hard disk has gone south for good.
If it is something other than the dedicated GPU, the NVRAM code to disable the dGPU should be used while it can be done. I have opened that model of the MBP several times, all you need is a #00 Philips head screwdriver and a #8 Torx driver.
The sweet spot for cost-effective SSDs is the Crucial MX500 series, and the 512GB model can be bought for about $41 (prices vary according to location, etc.)

 

[theorist9]

Does your father live near an Apple store? They may be able to diagnose the problem during a Genius Bar appt. They may want to keep the machine overnight to run a hardware test, so your father should be prepared for that possibility. Hopefully he's backed up his data....

 

[vorob]

Thanks for your advices! Will get my hands on laptop today and will try all possible moves.

Laptop has ssd so it’s kinda surprise for me if it died. I wish it’s just boot sector damage and can be easily solved.

Hard case is dead gpu, but ye I know it’s possible to disable it.

 

[davidlv]

Thanks for your advices! Will get my hands on laptop today and will try all possible moves.

Laptop has ssd so it’s kinda surprise for me if it died. I wish it’s just boot sector damage and can be easily solved.

Hard case is dead gpu, but ye I know it’s possible to disable it.

If you can boot into the recovery partition (Command+r keys on boot) you can try running Disk Utility's repair function, First-Aid, on the SSD, and if that doesn't work, reinstall the system. I suspect that will work.

 

[vorob]

It’s gpu… not visible on video but obvious in reality. Screen is full of colour lines.

 

[vorob]

Found quick and costless solution:

Disable MacBook Pro Dedicated GPU

But sleep and brightness control won't work. I'm ready to do this, but maybe there is some better way? Also with zero money involvement.

 

[Flav]

I haven’t tried this but dosdude is solid. I have installed catalina on a 2009 MacBook using his guide and installer.

 

[MacBook17]

By "sleep," do you mean the timer for shutting down the screen? If that's what you mean, both the timer and the brightness control still function on our early-2011 MBP 17. We did not open our machine up to disable our dedicated GPU, so my advice is to find the correct terminal commands to permanently switch over to the integrated GPU that resides in your Intel CPU.

Please read this entire message before using the link I've inserted into this post...

After carefully reading this entire message, click here to activate a link to a video showing a terminal fix for disabling the dedicated AMD GPU. The video is not of the highest quality, but it seems to cover everything you'll need to get the job done. Watch it a few times and take detailed notes before actually attempting the fix. The guy who made this video loves using commas to highlight certain words, so be careful to avoid them. For example, at about 4:18 into the video, you will see instructions to type in the text ,,reboot,, followed by pressing the enter key on your keyboard. Do not type in the four commas! Instead, simply type in the word reboot and then press the enter key. This should permanently disable the defective AMD GPU that came on the early-2011 MacBook Pros.

This is how we went about correcting this issue, but, needless to say, there are no guarantees when it comes to changing the instructions and/or command strings that your computer follows: so please proceed at your own risk. Most importantly, be extremely careful to type in the changes exactly as shown - except, of course, for the commas I warned you about.

Hope this helps your father.

 

[HawkTheHusky1902]

By "sleep," do you mean the timer for shutting down the screen? If that's what you mean, both the timer and the brightness control still function on our early-2011 MBP 17. We did not open our machine up to disable our dedicated GPU, so my advice is to find the correct terminal commands to permanently switch over to the integrated GPU that resides in your Intel CPU.

Please read this entire message before using the link I've inserted into this post...

After carefully reading this entire message, click here to activate a link to a video showing a terminal fix for disabling the dedicated AMD GPU. The video is not of the highest quality, but it seems to cover everything you'll need to get the job done. Watch it a few times and take detailed notes before actually attempting the fix. The guy who made this video loves using commas to highlight certain words, so be careful to avoid them. For example, at about 4:18 into the video, you will see instructions to type in the text ,,reboot,, followed by pressing the enter key on your keyboard. Do not type in the four commas! Instead, simply type in the word reboot and then press the enter key. This should permanently disable the defective AMD GPU that came on the early-2011 MacBook Pros.

This is how we went about correcting this issue, but, needless to say, there are no guarantees when it comes to changing the instructions and/or command strings that your computer follows: so please proceed at your own risk. Most importantly, be extremely careful to type in the changes exactly as shown - except, of course, for the commas I warned you about.

Hope this helps your father.

Is there a non-hardware fix availible to fix the GPU issue in these MBPs? If you dont want to disable the dgpu.
I am trying to decide which MBP to get off of ebay now to clean and upgrade and use, a 2012 15" MBP with a retina display or 2011/2010 15" MBP with the antiglare high res display. They are basically the same price, 200 bucks, fully working. The obvious choice would be the 2012 since the 2011s and 2010s both have hardware issues, gpu issues, and the 2012 has USB 3 which is very important to me, but i just love the matte high res display on the 2010/2011s...
So, which one? Clearly the 2012 probably, but idk about the display...the retina still beats it though.
Im mainly worried about the GPU issues on the 2010/2011s...and i dont want to disable the dgpus, but i dont want to replace hardware by soldering either...a lot of hassle...i have a 2010 Mbp which suffers from the infamous gpu issue, and its annoying that i have to use software fixes that limit me to certain OS versions.

 

[retta283]

Is there a non-hardware fix availible to fix the GPU issue in these MBPs? If you dont want to disable the dgpu.
I am trying to decide which MBP to get off of ebay now to clean and upgrade and use, a 2012 15" MBP with a retina display or 2011/2010 15" MBP with the antiglare high res display. They are basically the same price, 200 bucks, fully working. The obvious choice would be the 2012 since the 2011s and 2010s both have hardware issues, gpu issues, and the 2012 has USB 3 which is very important to me, but i just love the matte high res display on the 2010/2011s...
So, which one? Clearly the 2012 probably, but idk about the display...the retina still beats it though.

Why not a non-Retina 2012 with the matte display? I don't know what price they're going for, but that's clearly the best solution for you if you can get your hands on one. USB 3, much better performance, reliable, and matte. Hard to beat the 2012 lineup.

 

[HawkTheHusky1902]

Why not a non-Retina 2012 with the matte display? I don't know what price they're going for, but that's clearly the best solution for you if you can get your hands on one. USB 3, much better performance, reliable, and matte. Hard to beat the 2012 lineup.

Ah yes! So basically the 2011/2010s are not worth it if i can get a 2012 15" without any issues for a little more?

 

[HawkTheHusky1902]

Why not a non-Retina 2012 with the matte display? I don't know what price they're going for, but that's clearly the best solution for you if you can get your hands on one. USB 3, much better performance, reliable, and matte. Hard to beat the 2012 lineup.

Well now i have to choose between the matte and retina display 2012 15"...i know i said i loves the matte, and i do, but is the retina superior? In terms of resolution yes, but antiglare is so nice.

 

[MacBook17]

Is there a non-hardware fix availible to fix the GPU issue in these MBPs? If you dont want to disable the dgpu.
I am trying to decide which MBP to get off of ebay now to clean and upgrade and use, a 2012 15" MBP with a retina display or 2011/2010 15" MBP with the antiglare high res display. They are basically the same price, 200 bucks, fully working. The obvious choice would be the 2012 since the 2011s and 2010s both have hardware issues, gpu issues, and the 2012 has USB 3 which is very important to me, but i just love the matte high res display on the 2010/2011s...
So, which one? Clearly the 2012 probably, but idk about the display...the retina still beats it though.
Im mainly worried about the GPU issues on the 2010/2011s...and i dont want to disable the dgpus, but i dont want to replace hardware by soldering either...a lot of hassle...i have a 2010 Mbp which suffers from the infamous gpu issue, and its annoying that i have to use software fixes that limit me to certain OS versions.

The machine that I've been writing about in this thread is an early-2011 MacBook Pro 17 (MBP 17) - with the high resolution anti-glare display. We also own a mid-2015 MBP 15 with the retina display. Just like you, I love the anti-glare display, but the retina works very well, too. Considering the upgraded ports on the 2012 MBPs, I'd seriously consider buying a newer machine than a 2011 model.

As an aside, I'm not sure about what the 2012 models were equipped with, but the mid-2015 MBP 15 that I'm typing on right now came with (2) Thunderbolt 2 ports on the left side. As we commonly move very large files around, I highly recommend a machine with at least this level of Thunderbolt connectivity. Even if you don't work with large files, backing up via Thunderbolt ports is a huge improvement over USB transfers.

 

[HawkTheHusky1902]

The machine that I've been writing about in this thread is an early-2011 MacBook Pro 17 (MBP 17) - with the high resolution anti-glare display. We also own a mid-2015 MBP 15 with the retina display. Just like you, I love the anti-glare display, but the retina works very well, too. Considering the upgraded ports on the 2012 MBPs, I'd seriously consider buying a newer machine than a 2011 model.

As an aside, I'm not sure about what the 2012 models were equipped with, but the mid-2015 MBP 15 that I'm typing on right now came with (2) Thunderbolt 2 ports on the left side. As we commonly move very large files around, I highly recommend a machine with at least this level of Thunderbolt connectivity. Even if you don't work with large files, backing up via Thunderbolt ports is a huge improvement over USB transfers.

Thank you. It seems like that having Thunderbolt, USB 3, an HDMI port, and no gpu issues makes the 2012 the clear winner, especially if the price is the same. Im just torn between the antiglare and retina display. Which should i get? I want to do creative work like photo and video editing sometimes, where the retina will probably be nice, and mostly light tasks. the matte might put less strain on the gpu idk, and matte is great for working in the day time.

 

[MacBook17]

Well now i have to choose between the matte and retina display 2012 15"...i know i said i loves the matte, and i do, but is the retina superior? In terms of resolution yes, but antiglare is so nice.

Please read my last message first, but the answer to your question about matte vs retina is a bit subjective. As I mentioned, we own [and presently use] both a retina MBP and an anti-glare MBP. If I were forced to choose between a matte display and a retina display, I think that I'd choose the retina model.

 

[HawkTheHusky1902]

Please read my last message first, but the answer to your question about matte vs retina is a bit subjective. As I mentioned, we own [and presently use] both a retina MBP and an anti-glare MBP. If I were forced to choose between a matte display and a retina display, I think that I'd choose the retina model.

Thanks. I did read it many times. I just wanted to know your opinion. Would you choose the retina over matte because of more resolution, or glossy? Does the retina have a lot of glare in daylight? Does the retina have less battery life, or heat, or stress on the gpumcompared to the matte?

 

[MacBook17]

Just something to consider ... the mid-2015 Retina MBP 15 that I'm typing on has everything in your list, but do keep in mind that the Thunderbolt ports are at the TB2 level. In other words, it came with USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI port and (2) TB2 ports.