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

[777dudez]

Hey Dosdude1 !!! I wanted to do this procedure. However, I have the Lattice, Soldering gun and flux. But I have no idea wear can I find the extend cable that will be solder into the GPU for the programing process if you know where I could get one please provide me some links. I am a beginner to soldering never done these kind of stuff before but I want to give it a try to revive back my 2011 17" thanks.

 

[shamanArt]

First off, you should NEVER, EVER remove R8911 when doing an NVRAM-based bypass. This is a recipe for disaster, and it seems to have caused issues in your case (as per usual). In your case, this may just be an issue with your soldering, causing the resistor that feeds the PWM signal used for brightness control not to be making proper contact with one of its pads. You should do a full hardware bypass, as explained in the OP of this page, or better yet, by using DeMux, the custom gMux IC firmware that I've written.

dosedude1. I am very thankful for your answer and help in my case. Before i found your solution i was trying to use Real Mac Mods and there was a hardware modification step required. So that was the reason to remove R8911 1 ohm resistor. Instead of resistor i just made wire as this resistor is very small and even use microscope its very hard to put back. Could you tell me what is the best option to get my backlight ajustment back? to put back exactly 1 ohm resistor as should be? to replace the backlight chip? or your
DyingLight will do the job? When i got my GPU disabled the backlight was working normally but after i while it started to get darker. Increasing the adjustment was was helping but after few days even the max brightness did not help, then i put the bridge like on the pic above. i am very appreciate for any advice.

 

[WilYawn]

Hey Dosdude1 !!! I wanted to do this procedure. However, I have the Lattice, Soldering gun and flux. But I have no idea wear can I find the extend cable that will be solder into the GPU for the programing process if you know where I could get one please provide me some links. I am a beginner to soldering never done these kind of stuff before but I want to give it a try to revive back my 2011 17" thanks.

I solder the wires from the programmer directly to the pads on the logic board.

I have done 4 machines this way and they all flashed on the first try.

I pretin the wires and pads and then I just solder them on.

 

[trifero]

Hi trifero, you can find my adapter on OSH Park website. Search for "Pogo pin adapter to program the gMUX IC of a MacBook" under shared projects from OSH community ("Sharing"). I made a new board (Ver. 1).
That costs 1.05$ (for 3 PCBs) and I don't get any money from this. Be aware that this is only a PCB so you have to buy and solder the pins on your own.

Thank you so much. really can´t find it. Can you send me a link?
[automerge]1575013492[/automerge]

I solder the wires from the programmer directly to the pads on the logic board.

I have done 4 machines this way and they all flashed on the first try.

I pretin the wires and pads and then I just solder them on.

Really you have to have experience to solder like that. Nice work!

 

[nomeutente]

Thank you so much. really can´t find it. Can you send me a link?

Hi, I linked the site but the admins removed my post 2 times.
Go to oshpark website, on top menu click on "Sharing", then search for "x8CMvEG2" and click on the first result. I hope you find it

 

[WilYawn]

Thank you so much. really can´t find it. Can you send me a link?
[automerge]1575013492[/automerge]

Really you have to have experience to solder like that. Nice work!

Thank you. I could not have done it without a microscope

 

[trifero]

Thank you. I could not have done it without a microscope

Im gonna take my macbook pro 17 to an expert in this to solder the cables. I think it´s the best option. I suppose that after the programming is enough that I cut the cables...

 

[adam01212]

Hey,
Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this in the last few days......I'm running Sierra 10.12.6 with the R8911 removed to disable U8900 and thus remove GPU Vcore to the AMD graphics (faulty) on a MacBook Pro 2011 with the gpu-power-prefs set to enable the intel card on boot. I have noticed that brightness control has stopped working. The backlight is either full on or off.

I have restored MacOS from a backup dmg and backlight control was working for about 5 minutes until it went back to either a full on or off.

Has apple pushed a new software update to disable this?

I can't see any modified files using : sudo find /* -mmin 180

I can't see any new .kext's or new PrivateFramework files either (namely AppleBacklight.kext, AppleBacklightExpert.kext or DisplayServies.framework - dated 30/08/19; 22/11/19; 20/11/19)

 

[shamanArt]

Hey,
Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this in the last few days......I'm running Sierra 10.12.6 with the R8911 removed to disable U8900 and thus remove GPU Vcore to the AMD graphics (faulty) on a MacBook Pro 2011 with the gpu-power-prefs set to enable the intel card on boot. I have noticed that brightness control has stopped working. The backlight is either full on or off.

I have restored MacOS from a backup dmg and backlight control was working for about 5 minutes until it went back to either a full on or off.

Has apple pushed a new software update to disable this?

I can't see any modified files using : sudo find /* -mmin 180

I can't see any new .kext's or new PrivateFramework files either (namely AppleBacklight.kext, AppleBacklightExpert.kext or DisplayServies.framework - dated 30/08/19; 22/11/19; 20/11/19)

Hi i have the same issue. in my case backlight works only if i put this jumper. Please see pic attached

 

[777dudez]

I solder the wires from the programmer directly to the pads on the logic board.

I have done 4 machines this way and they all flashed on the first try.

I pretin the wires and pads and then I just solder them on.

OK Thanks by the way what size of wires is that and where can i get one? Thanks

 

[trifero]

OK Thanks by the way what size of wires is that and where can i get one? Thanks

"Pretin"?

 

[Mir Muhammad Mustafa]

hi dear,

I have disabled my gpu mistakenly by entering this
nvram fa4ce28d-b62f-4c99-9cc3-6815686e30f9:gpu-power-prefs=%01%00%00%00

how can i enable back?

 

[777dudez]

"Pretin"?

Yes the Pretin what is that and where canI get it? And I am curious after done flashing how do i remove the wired how to desoldered it?
[automerge]1576224744[/automerge]

hi dear,

I have disabled my gpu mistakenly by entering this
nvram fa4ce28d-b62f-4c99-9cc3-6815686e30f9:gpu-power-prefs=%01%00%00%00

how can i enable back?

Clean install MacOs and it will revert back

 

[trifero]

hi dear,

I have disabled my gpu mistakenly by entering this
nvram fa4ce28d-b62f-4c99-9cc3-6815686e30f9:gpu-power-prefs=%01%00%00%00

how can i enable back?

Clear the PRAM. Cmd+Alt+P+R at booting.
No need to reinstall nothing

 

[WilYawn]

Yes the Pretin what is that and where canI get it? And I am curious after done flashing how do i remove the wired how to desoldered it?

What I meant by pretin is that I add solder to the wires before I solder them to the board. I pre-tin the wires and the pads on the logicboard.

 

[raezorSharp]

Need some help with my 2011 Macbook Pro...I have the 820-2915b board with the AMD GPU which seems to fail on me...in other words it went to a Black Screen....checked all the S0 rails and they look good, so I've hard wired the Internal Intel Video lines to the LVDS Connector as shown by DosDude...still no video...

Computer chimes and if I wait a bit it seems to do a boot loop and chime again/

It looks like LVDS_IG_PANEL_PWR is 0 Volts....I'm wondering if that my PCH is fried? Suggestions?

 

[raezorSharp]

Wire your enable lines like so (you should follow the wiring diagram in the OP EXCEPT for the following -- I still need to update it):

- Connect LVDS_IG_BKL_ON to LCD_BKLT_EN
- Connect LVDS_IG_PANEL_PWR to LCD_PWR_EN
- Connect PP3V3_S0 to LCD_BKLT_PWM (only if not using DyingLight for brightness control)
- Connect PP3V3_S0 to LVDS_DDC_SEL_IG (this is probably what you're missing)

Once done, the display should come on and show an image.

Since the PCH contains the Internal Graphics....what is the reason that LVDS_IG_PANEL_PWR might be 0 volts?....Do I need to reset the SMC because it's holding onto the AMD Chip? or remove the GPU so that your mod works?

 

[trifero]

Since the PCH contains the Internal Graphics....what is the reason that LVDS_IG_PANEL_PWR might be 0 volts?....Do I need to reset the SMC because it's holding onto the AMD Chip? or remove the GPU so that your mod works?

If you mean remove the GPU phisically, no. No need. I have one macbook 17 wired and the GPU is there.

 

[vemac575]

Awesome. Thank you for sharing that info.

 

[Silverarrow2020]

Hi, i wanted to report that i successfully demuxed my late 2011 MBP 17" running OSX 10.12.6.

Had 3 nVidia graphics repairs on the board before. None of them lasted longer than 9 months. So around 500 euros down the drain for that.

As expected the monitor brightness is always at 100%. So i remembered a tool that i used some years ago called "Brightness Slider". It was designed for Yosemite and is still available in the Apple App Store. Installed it and works. Now i can dim the monitor of my 17" MBP without problem. Maybe this will help all those who want to dim their monitor too.

 

[trifero]

Hi, i wanted to report that i successfully demuxed my late 2011 MBP 17" running OSX 10.12.6.

Had 3 nVidia graphics repairs on the board before. None of them lasted longer than 9 months. So around 500 euros down the drain for that.

As expected the monitor brightness is always at 100%. So i remembered a tool that i used some years ago called "Brightness Slider". It was designed for Yosemite and is still available in the Apple App Store. Installed it and works. Now i can dim the monitor of my 17" MBP without problem. Maybe this will help all those who want to dim their monitor too.

We know, thanks. But in fact, that app really doesnt adjust the brightness. Just colors. But it´s the only app that works.

 

[Silverarrow2020]

that app really doesnt adjust the brightness. Just colors

Thanks for the hint. I've noticed that too, because my monitor color gets more red, when i dim the monitor. So maybe not a solution if you need accurate colors when you work on your MBP. But for me it's OK. Also i can go back to full brightness, if i want to edit photos.

At the end of the day i will need a new Mac. Hopefully my beloved late 2011 17" MBP will last as long as i can afford a new one. Very sad, that Apple isn't offering a 17" or bigger MBP form factor anymore.

 

[trifero]

Thanks for the hint. I've noticed that too, because my monitor color gets more red, when i dim the monitor. So maybe not a solution if you need accurate colors when you work on your MBP. But for me it's OK. Also i can go back to full brightness, if i want to edit photos.

At the end of the day i will need a new Mac. Hopefully my beloved late 2011 17" MBP will last as long as i can afford a new one. Very sad, that Apple isn't offering a 17" or bigger MBP form factor anymore.

Yes , it´s ok for me. It´s a pity that doesn´t adjust brightness, cause that would increase battery autonomy. I know it´s not brightnnes with a very simple test. Just make a capture pf the screen when dimmed. You will see i´s different colors, greyd colors.

 

[Silverarrow2020]

I did a PRAM reset and now the keyboard backlight isn't working anymore.

Is there a solution for that problem? Is there a way to get the keyboard backlight back to work?

Thanks

 

[trifero]

I did a PRAM reset and now the keyboard backlight isn't working anymore.

Is there a solution for that problem? Is there a way to get the keyboard backlight back to work?

Thanks

You CAN´T make a PRAM reset , as the SIP enables.

Just apply again de post install patches from the USB Installer made with Patcher. And enable SIP.