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Mac freezes + stripes on screen

W

worldpitou2013

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 21, 2013
3
0
Hi,

I have a macbook pro 17 inches with 8 Go RAM, bought a bit less than 2 years ago, and since yesterday, my mac freezes randomly, and weird stripes of different colours appear. Here are some examples :
photo1.JPG

photo2.JPG

photo3.JPG

photo4.JPG

photo5.JPG


it happens randomly (after 10 min, or sometimes after 2 hours), the stripes also appear sometimes when i restart.
it's not a problem of hard disk, cuz i still can restart, it seems to work better in safe mode, and i even installed mavericks, but the crash still happens.
I tried to reset NVRAM/ PRAM, nothing.
i tried to purge the memory, nothing.
is it a hardware problem ? RAM, video card ? = SAV
Shall i open my macbook (warranty off) ?

Let me know, thanks !
Pierrick
 
worldpitou2013 said:
ok thanks :(
Click to expand...

Going through a third party can be insanely costly. You can literally buy an new Motherboard from iFixit for almost $1000 ($995 for 2012 Macbook Pro, $899 for 2011). Going through apple is a very different thing. When I got my motherboard replaced (thankfully under warranty still, I had to get it done twice for the same reason) the bill that they covered totalled $600 for the motherboard and then on top of that you would have to cover labor. Depending on your position it might be worth it to just get a new laptop, or build a "Console Killer" for $600-800 ($800 would blow "new gen consoles" out of the water. I am considering :( I wish I could build my new computer with the specs I want and still run OS X natively). But that might not be what you are using your computer for. I'm interesting to see where you go with this. :)

Also opening up your Macbook doesn't void warranty. But that's probably not what you meant by "Warranty off."

Edit: My writing can sometimes be a bit off, I tend to just write down things as I think them up and they might no make sense.
Edit2: My issue was that my USB ports literally stopped working all together, no matter what I did. Really silly issue that is very costly to fix...
 
Last edited:
people have also had success baking their logic boards to reflow the solder. I honestly have no idea about things like that but people have gotten their computers to work temporarily after that.
Temporary being the key word since most of these cheap fixes are just that.
 
FastEddiebags said:
people have also had success baking their logic boards to reflow the solder. I honestly have no idea about things like that but people have gotten their computers to work temporarily after that.
Temporary being the key word since most of these cheap fixes are just that.
Click to expand...

My friend picked up a not functioning MBP at a best buy drop off. He tossed it in the microwave for a few seconds and it started to work again.
 
Hi guys,

I put it in repair, it was from the graphic card, so they replaced it. It cost me 280$ (around 220 usd) in a cheap repair centre.
Hope it wont happen again..

++
 
I just started having this happen too. Same machine 17 inch MBP .

----------
worldpitou2013 said:
Hi guys,

I put it in repair, it was from the graphic card, so they replaced it. It cost me 280$ (around 220 usd) in a cheap repair centre.
Hope it wont happen again..

++
Click to expand...

When you say they replaced the graphics card. Do you mean they replaced the graphics chip on the logic board without replacing the whole board?
 
whitedragon101 said:
When you say they replaced the graphics card. Do you mean they replaced the graphics chip on the logic board without replacing the whole board?
Click to expand...

I believe on those machines the discrete graphics card is still soldered to the logic board, so you can't replace one without the other. They just charge you differently depending on the issue.
 
durkkin said:
I believe on those machines the discrete graphics card is still soldered to the logic board, so you can't replace one without the other. They just charge you differently depending on the issue.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I thought that was the case.

220usd seems very cheap for a whole logic board replacement inc cpu and graphics
 
If it's the early/late-2011 15" or 17" MBPs, good luck.

It turns out that these MBPs have their Radeon GPUs failing left and right everywhere.

Apple somehow still point-blank refuses to issue a replacement/repair for free for machines out of warranty, even though this problem is appearing everywhere.

You can do a Google search for them.

I'm also pretty worried over my 15" 2011 MBP now, knowing that it's a ticking time bomb. I just hope it doesn't break until Apple officially declares a repair extension program for it, because if it did, I've to shell out US$300 for a logic board replacement.

As of now, I'm forcing my MBP into Intel only via GFXcardstatus and use the Radeon less often.
 
FastEddiebags said:
people have also had success baking their logic boards to reflow the solder. I honestly have no idea about things like that but people have gotten their computers to work temporarily after that.
Temporary being the key word since most of these cheap fixes are just that.
Click to expand...

Tin foil around the plastic bits, like baking dead Nvidia cards propped up by tin foil balls totally level on a baking tray. 8 mins at 200 deg c, open up the door at end and let board cool down without moving it.

If it works great - sell it as soon as after as though I have seen baked products keep working many fail again and then forever.
 
yjchua95 said:
If it's the early/late-2011 15" or 17" MBPs, good luck.

It turns out that these MBPs have their Radeon GPUs failing left and right everywhere.

Apple somehow still point-blank refuses to issue a replacement/repair for free for machines out of warranty, even though this problem is appearing everywhere.

You can do a Google search for them.

I'm also pretty worried over my 15" 2011 MBP now, knowing that it's a ticking time bomb. I just hope it doesn't break until Apple officially declares a repair extension program for it, because if it did, I've to shell out US$300 for a logic board replacement.

As of now, I'm forcing my MBP into Intel only via GFXcardstatus and use the Radeon less often.
Click to expand...

i really hope this happens.
 
yjchua95 said:
If it's the early/late-2011 15" or 17" MBPs, good luck.

It turns out that these MBPs have their Radeon GPUs failing left and right everywhere.

Apple somehow still point-blank refuses to issue a replacement/repair for free for machines out of warranty, even though this problem is appearing everywhere.

You can do a Google search for them.

I'm also pretty worried over my 15" 2011 MBP now, knowing that it's a ticking time bomb. I just hope it doesn't break until Apple officially declares a repair extension program for it, because if it did, I've to shell out US$300 for a logic board replacement.

As of now, I'm forcing my MBP into Intel only via GFXcardstatus and use the Radeon less often.
Click to expand...

Perhaps reapplying the thermal paste would help?
 
whitedragon101 said:
Even after the repair?
Click to expand...

whitedragon101 said:
220usd seems very cheap for a whole logic board replacement inc cpu and graphics
Click to expand...

In the United States and Japan (and maybe Canada?), you can get a flat rate repair for $310 that will cover any hardware failure not caused by accidental damage. The flat rate is a tier based pricing system. $310 is tier one your machine must be in near perfect physical condition to qualify.

As noted, for this particular problem, it might not be the best option. Apple's approach, thus far, has been to replace the entire logic board and these replacement boards often fail quickly. They're often not even new boards. You do get a 90 day warranty with this type of repair, though.

Other options would be a reball or new GPU installed by a professional shop that does board level work. That's probably the repair referred to upthread. Yes, you can have new GPU installed for under $300, just not by Apple.

I would advise against home-brew remedies of the oven baking nature. I think that would make sense for a 7 year old X-Box that you just want a few more weeks out of because you know you're getting the new one for X-Mas. But the value of these quad core 2011 MBPs easily justifies the price of a legitimate repair.
 
Swampus said:
As noted, for this particular problem, it might not be the best option. Apple's approach, thus far, has been to replace the entire logic board and these replacement boards often fail quickly. They're often not even new boards. You do get a 90 day warranty with this type of repair, though.
Click to expand...

Is there any way to ensure apple give you a new logic board? (I'm in UK)
 
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