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MBP 1,1-10,2 Permanently Disable 2011 15"/17" MacBook Pro Dedicated GPU - gMux IC Bypass

I need to express a huge thank you to Collin / dosdude1 for his help with resurrecting two 17" MBPs. His fortitude reminds me of the good ol' Amiga days with keeping the hardware alive and going.
 
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bbbc said:
I need to express a huge thank you to Collin / dosdude1 for his help with resurrecting two 17" MBPs. His fortitude reminds me of the good ol' Amiga days with keeping the hardware alive and going.
Click to expand...

I have run Mojave in a macbook 17" 2011, radeon disabled by soft, and I can tell you it rocks.
 
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dosdude1 said:
Yeah, it's failing to read the chip... It's definitely an issue with wiring. Just make 100% sure you have the pin out right. It does not matter that there is no battery connected, it should work just fine as long as the machine is powered on.
[doublepost=1557253157][/doublepost]
That is correct, however if you install Windows using UEFI mode, then it WILL work. I THINK that flashing on a 13" (MacBookPro8,1) EFI firmware will fix this, but I have yet to test that out.
Click to expand...


Hi.
dosdude1 said:
Yeah, it's failing to read the chip... It's definitely an issue with wiring. Just make 100% sure you have the pin out right. It does not matter that there is no battery connected, it should work just fine as long as the machine is powered on.
[doublepost=1557253157][/doublepost]
That is correct, however if you install Windows using UEFI mode, then it WILL work. I THINK that flashing on a 13" (MacBookPro8,1) EFI firmware will fix this, but I have yet to test that out.
Click to expand...
Hi. Disabled at last my decicated Radeon on Macbook 17 late 2011. IT ROCKS, dosdude1, thank yopu so much. Anyway, the bootcamp partition, as in crazybam, bootos to a black screen. Any improvement in this matter? If I install it UEFI mode, will it work? I think I have read aomething before, on Mac Pros 2010, about the UEFI mode not too convenient…

Thanks
 
******* said:
Hi.

Hi. Disabled at last my decicated Radeon on Macbook 17 late 2011. IT ROCKS, dosdude1, thank yopu so much. Anyway, the bootcamp partition, as in crazybam, bootos to a black screen. Any improvement in this matter? If I install it UEFI mode, will it work? I think I have read aomething before, on Mac Pros 2010, about the UEFI mode not too convenient…

Thanks
Click to expand...
Yeah, Windows will only work in UEFI mode. I have a hunch, though, that if you flash MBP8,1 (13") firmware on the machine, it will work just fine in BIOS mode... Not sure about this, though, as I haven't tested it.
 
dosdude1 said:
Yeah, Windows will only work in UEFI mode. I have a hunch, though, that if you flash MBP8,1 (13") firmware on the machine, it will work just fine in BIOS mode... Not sure about this, though, as I haven't tested it.
Click to expand...
Thank you much. No big deal, I had it there, but use it very very little.
I read anywhere there is an app for the brightness control, isn´t it? Maybe it it is posibble to asign keys for the brightness?

Again, thank you much. With Mojave i have at least one more year os support in my favorite mac laptop. And with a little luck, Catalina will be posible to install.
 
@dosdude1

Hi Colin,
Do you have any idea on timescale for pogo adaptor?
I had a look at the connections and theres no way i could solder those lol . if not gotta find someone in the uk that will..
Eagerly awaiting the lattice :p
 
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theredcloud said:

MacBook Pro 2011 GPU BYPASS CHIP check it out
Click to expand...
Eh, custom gMux IC firmware is still the best solution, especially once I fully implement native backlight brightness control functionality. Not to mention no extra hardware has to be left soldered onto the board.
 
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dosdude1 said:
Eh, custom gMux IC firmware is still the best solution, especially once I fully implement native backlight brightness control functionality. Not to mention no extra hardware has to be left soldered onto the board.
Click to expand...
Si just sharing information..
 
turnerfromdover said:
@dosdude1

Hi Colin,
Do you have any idea on timescale for pogo adaptor?
I had a look at the connections and theres no way i could solder those lol . if not gotta find someone in the uk that will..
Eagerly awaiting the lattice :p
Click to expand...
Yeah, I hoped to get them done soon, but unfortunately they've proven to be very time-consuming to actually assemble on a large scale (takes me like 30 minutes to assemble just one). Until we figure out a better method of production, we'll have to hold off on selling them.
[doublepost=1561053277][/doublepost]
theredcloud said:
Si just sharing information..
Click to expand...
Ah, no, that's fine. It's still an infinitely better solution than a straight software-disable, that's for sure.
 
It´s a pitty that I had the bypass made following your first method, dosdude1. Soldering wires. But I´m absolutely happy with my Macbook pro 17. What a magnicent laptop. Ordered the programmer for try it on a second one. So you think it´s better I don´t wait for the pogo connector?
 
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Would someone (maybe @dosdude1) mind adding a misc. parts list that includes the wires and extenders that have been used successfully to solder to a Macbook?
 
@turnerfromdover I did! I'm simply looking for a link to what and where to buy it.

The only things he even somewhat notes is that he uses a "breakout cable" with the Lattice. Other wise, all he notes is that you'll need "Wires and connector to connect from the Lattice programmer to the MacBook logic board."
 
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Thanks mate!

It was a tedious job. Took me 4 hours. I do not have a microscope. So it took a while to get all correct. My macbook came back to life!

dosdude1 said:
Recently, I figured out a very good solution to PERMANENTLY disable the dedicated AMD video card on a 2011 15"/17" MacBook Pro (MacBookPro8,2/8,3)! For those of you who don't know, MacBook Pros that utilize dynamic GPU switching between a dedicated GPU and integrated GPU use an IC known as the "gMux" chip. This is simply an off-the-shelf micro-controller, programmed with special firmware that switches active GPUs on-the-fly in a MacBook Pro system. This IC has 3 sets of LVDS lines connecting to it: The LVDS output lines from the dedicated GPU, the LVDS output lines from the integrated GPU, and the LVDS lines connecting to the connector for the display. In order to accomplish dynamic GPU switching, all this IC does is, when told to by the system, routes the correct set of LVDS lines to the display's LVDS output on the logic board.

In order to permanently keep the dedicated GPU disabled, there are 2 options:

- Option A, which will be detailed below, is to hard-wire the LVDS output lines from the integrated graphics straight to the lines connecting to the display.
- Option B would be to re-program the gMux IC (which is simply a Lattice LFXP2 FPGA), with a custom firmware to disable the GPU switching functionality. I may experiment with this in the future, but doing so requires special hardware that I don't have. This would, of course, be the optimal solution, though. EDIT: I have now done this, and it works perfectly! More details can be found by watching my video demonstrating my custom gMux IC firmware.

Performing the Modification ("Option A")

Before I get started with the explanation, I just want to make it clear this this is a VERY tedious modification, and requires precision soldering equipment. Use of a microscope is recommended.

To begin, here is a brief look at the schematic, and the main premise of this mod. In the following pictures, you can see how the LVDS data lines appear for both the integrated graphics output, dedicated graphics output, and the LVDS output for the display (EG for dedicated GPU, IG for integrated GPU, and CONN of course for connector). You can see how this data line corresponds with each set of LVDS lines. There are 12 total LVDS lines (6 pairs).

View attachment 777903 View attachment 777904 View attachment 777905

In order to perform this modification, the first thing that needs to be done is to remove the gMux IC. EDIT: Do NOT remove the gMux IC. After further experimentation, I found that leaving it in place will allow you to achieve full graphics acceleration WITHOUT flashing the system firmware at all. Simply proceed with the wiring, with the gMux IC in place.

Once the chip is removed and the pads are cleaned, each LVDS data line from the LVDS_IG side needs to be connected to its corresponding data line on the LVDS_CONN side. Of course, to do this, the use of small bodge wires is required. I used 0.1MM jumper wire (which can be purchased here). A wire needs to be used to connect each IG data line to its respective point on the CONN side.

Here is a wiring diagram that will help you do this very easily. This one is for a 15" machine, but I will update this post with the 17" one once I make it.

View attachment 779000

Once all the data lines are soldered properly, there are still a couple more lines that need to be soldered. We'll start with the clock lines. If you look on the schematic, you will notice that there is one set of clock lines on the LVDS_IG side (LVDS_IG_A_CLK), but 2 sets on the LVDS_CONN side (LVDS_CONN_A_CLK and LVDS_CONN_B_CLK). All you need to do in this instance is connect the A_CLK pair from the IG side to the A_CLK resistor pair on the CONN side. Then, simply connect the A_CLK pair to the B_CLK pair on the CONN side as well.

The next thing we need to do is pull the LVDS_DDC_SEL_IG rail high. To do this, all you need to do is connect the high side of this rail's pulldown resistor (R6982) to the PP3V3_S0 rail. I connected it to a capacitor near the backlight IC (C9711), as it was the easiest and closest source of PP3V3_S0 to that point of the board. This routes the necessary LVDS DDC clock lines to the integrated GPU.

The last few things we need to wire up are the enable rails for the LCD backlight and LCD panel power, as well as the PWM signal for the backlight. The first wire simply needs to bridge the following rails: LCD_PWR_EN, LVDS_IG_PANEL_PWR, and LCD_BKLT_EN.

The last wire will be used to wire the backlight PWM signal. The purpose of this signal is to control the backlight brightness level. Now, normally, the PWM signal is generated by the gMux IC. However, since the gMux IC is no longer in place, it cannot provide this signal (and even if you were to leave it in place, it still would not be able to provide this signal. I may be wrong on this, but feel free to test if you want.) As such, we will simply be wiring this rail to the LVDS_IG_BKL_ON rail. Unfortunately, what this means is that the backlight will remain at a fixed brightness, and be uncontrollable from the OS.

UPDATE: I have finished working on a new solution for backlight brightness control! You can read about, and see this modification in action here.

Finally, once all that is wired up, the system should be good to go! The final product will look something like this:

View attachment 777906

Last Step

After all your wiring is complete, you will need to cut power to the dedicated GPU, otherwise it will simply produce waste heat. To do so, all you need to do is remove the resistor that supplies power to the GPU VCORE regulator IC, R8911.

At last, once all that is complete, you are now done! You will now have a fully working 2011 15" or 17" MacBook Pro, running off ONLY integrated graphics! No OS X modifications are necessary, and it is not reliant on any NVRAM variable (obviously). This, short of making custom firmware for the gMux chip, is the BEST solution for rectifying the defective AMD GPU issue on these machines. The only issues are the lack of brightness control as mentioned earlier, and the external display port will not work. Other than that, though, everything works perfectly!

I have a video showing the mod in detail here.

View attachment 777910
Click to expand...
 
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dosdude1 said:
Yeah, Windows will only work in UEFI mode. I have a hunch, though, that if you flash MBP8,1 (13") firmware on the machine, it will work just fine in BIOS mode... Not sure about this, though, as I haven't tested it.
Click to expand...

So, I've ordered the flasher (Just waiting on it to arrive) - and I have a few more questions to ask.

Firstly, how would I flash this firmware onto my Macbook Pro 8,2? (Considering it will need Windows installed on it eventually).

What are the chances of flashing this firmware borking things up entirely? (And would it be possible to recover from such a scenario?)

Installing Windows in UEFI mode isn't really an option, as sound won't work. Kinda has to be BIOS mode.
 
Got my lattice today.. had a can of beer steady my nerves and decided it give it a go .
Took my time flux .tin and dab on the wires.
Paid for license .
First flash failed .
Checked and moved one wire ever so slightly .
Flashed again and license said used... all working great .

what patches do i need to use for mojave now? help please :)(Fixed it no need!!)


Thanks again Collin for all the hard work and good luck in the future .
 

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I can't seem to get past the license key part of this, do I have to have the app open when I buy it on pay pal or will it be emailed to me? Is it a Number i type in to the app?
 
donzubeck said:
I can't seem to get past the license key part of this, do I have to have the app open when I buy it on pay pal or will it be emailed to me? Is it a Number i type in to the app?
Click to expand...
The license key is emailed to you, all you do is enter it into the program, and select "Apply".
 
My Macbook Pro has been running ok for months, of until I hit the buy button in pal pay and everything froze crashed and
went into the non stop boot loop. Only been 8 hours, At least the pay pal went thru. (At my end anyway). I can't wait to not be able to thank you enough for fixing this mac.
 
I did the Gmux IC bypass procedure, and unfortunately I have a small problem with the image where when I turn on the MBP the screen gets some small artifacts but if I put the MBP to sleep back with the screen without any artifact. Would anyone know the reason for this problem? I performed the procedure in an MBP 17 '2011.
 

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