Randomly Graphic Issues on MacBook Pro Late 2010

[LyR]

Hi all,

since some time i get graphic issues, like in the screenshot. They disappear automatically or when i scroll down the website / application.
The macbook is not too hot, about 50 degress celsius.
Do you think the graphicard is crappy, and need to be replaced? If so, how long does it take, when i take the macbook to an offical apple store?
It would be nice if someone know a simple fix for that! I wont live without my macbook ;-)
I use LION 10.7.2.

Thanks for your tipps!

 

[Detrius]

Looks like a bad logic board to me.

 

[LyR]

Damn..
I ran the hardware test from the dvd, the short and the extended, no problems detected. How long would it take to swap the logic board in an apple store? Any experiences?
Or any other ideas what it might be?

It also appears maybe once a day.
When i work in Bootcamp with Visual studio or something like that, it doesn't happen..

 

[LyR]

No one has an idea towards the problem?

Or anyone with experiences in how long does it take to replace the logic board in an offical apple store?

 

[heisenberg123]

No one has an idea towards the problem?

Or anyone with experiences in how long does it take to replace the logic board in an offical apple store?

apple would know both those answers better than waiting on someone else with your exact issue and hoping they see this thread

 

[solodogg]

it's not a hardware defect. my 2010 13" MBP does the same thing, usually under Chrome or Safari. Didn't do this before Lion. I can boot into SL and it never happens.

 

[tkermit]

Mbp7,1

it's not a hardware defect. my 2010 13" MBP does the same thing, usually under Chrome or Safari. Didn't do this before Lion. I can boot into SL and it never happens.

I too have noticed this happening. Certainly not often enough to be annoying though. It may be a problem specifically with 10.7.2, since I don't remember seeing it on 10.7.0/1.

 

[Detrius]

Despite you people saying it didn't happen under a different OS, it still looks like a bad logic board to me. I'm an Apple Certified Macintosh Technician, I have a CS degree, and I do this as my job. If you brought your computer to me and I saw it do this, I would replace the logic board. I wouldn't be going around thinking, "well it doesn't do it under these other situations," I would be thinking, "it did it at all, so it's a bad logic board." Yes different software stresses the system differently, but that just means your hardware isn't failing in most other situations.

Apple Hardware Test is a piece of junk. It's like using Disk Utility to find out if your hard drive is bad. You might get lucky with it, but it'll miss most everything.

 

[solodogg]

sounds to me like you need more training then. it can't be a bad piece of hardware if only one piece of software makes it happen. If you can change the OS, and the problem disappears, then replacing a logic board isn't going to fix this issue.

I guess when your car gets a flat tire, you fill up with gas to solve it, right?

 

[tkermit]

Despite you people saying it didn't happen under a different OS, it still looks like a bad logic board to me.

So already three of us in this thread have a bad logic board?

 

[matwue]

So already three of us in this thread have a bad logic board?

Make it four.

Seriously though, this has nothing to do with the logic board. It is some kind of software/driver glitch that does not do any harm other than looking creepy. Here's another thread about it: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1230601/

On my MBP the problem went away as I changed back to Snow Leopard. Other than that, all you can do is hope for Apple to fix the issue soon.

 

[solodogg]

So already three of us in this thread have a bad logic board?

Of course! Didn't you know that software can make hardware fail? It's obvious that Apple designed Lion so that our logic boards would fail, forcing us to buy a new MBP. I get it now...

Hopefully there will be a fix with 10.7.3, seeing as it's more of a wide spread problem.

 

[Jolly Jimmy]

Looks like a bad logic board to me.

If it was a hardware problem, taking a (software) screenshot wouldn't capture the problem. It's obviously a software issue.

 

[chrfr]

If it was a hardware problem, taking a (software) screenshot wouldn't capture the problem. It's obviously a software issue.

Not true. Screen shots are buffered through the video RAM, so if there's corruption, it can appear in the capture.

 

[newfoundglory]

Does your Mac have the Nvidia 320M? I get this problem in Safari all the time!!

 

[Detrius]

sounds to me like you need more training then. it can't be a bad piece of hardware if only one piece of software makes it happen. If you can change the OS, and the problem disappears, then replacing a logic board isn't going to fix this issue.

I guess when your car gets a flat tire, you fill up with gas to solve it, right?

Different software uses the hardware in different ways. Different OSes absolutely use the hardware in different ways. Just because a lot of people have the same issue doesn't mean it's not hardware.

Bring it in. If they swap out the logic board, but the issue is still there, bring it back in. Do this enough times, Apple will either release a software update fixing the problem, or you'll get a new computer out of it.

When you do this job every day, like I do, you learn that stuff like this is hardware 99.9% of the time. Sure, there are software updates and firmware updates that fix issues, but for every one of those I come across, there are a thousand that were fixed by replacing the hardware.

E.g. I virtually never reinstall the OS and send a machine out the door. If the OS is broken, either the user broke it (which is easy to spot) or the hardware broke it, and I always find the hardware that broke it.

You have too much faith in the infallibility of Apple hardware.

 

[naix]

i get this on chrome

I did not get this on snow leopard only on lion. Apple please focus on os x lion instead of iphone

 

[solodogg]

seriously? keep replacing hardware that's not defective to get them to release a software fix? i'm betting you don't get much business with that mentality. in the IT world, that's not exactly how you take care of problems.

 

[matwue]

Bring it in. If they swap out the logic board, but the issue is still there, bring it back in. Do this enough times, Apple will either release a software update fixing the problem, or you'll get a new computer out of it.

All this accomplishes is wasting a lot of everybody's time and a lot of resources (throwing away perfectly fine logic boards? ever heard of limited resources?). One hell of a "computer technician" you are.

 

[Detrius]

seriously? keep replacing hardware that's not defective to get them to release a software fix? i'm betting you don't get much business with that mentality. in the IT world, that's not exactly how you take care of problems.

This isn't the IT world. It's the Apple warranty world, and Apple's position is generally that their software is perfect unless there's an update available.

All this accomplishes is wasting a lot of everybody's time and a lot of resources (throwing away perfectly fine logic boards? ever heard of limited resources?). One hell of a "computer technician" you are.

You people don't realize that this is the way the business works, and you have no clue what you're talking about. Apple will fervently deny the existence of problems until after they've been fixed. Therefore, the proper route to take with Apple *is* to replace the hardware once you've verified it's not specific to the user's software install. Additionally, the logic board that's removed will not be thrown away--it will be fixed and put in someone else's machine. Sometimes, Apple's products are inherently faulty, and no amount of swapping out parts will make a machine work right, so you try to get it fixed a few times, and then you call Apple and complain. Then, you just might get a new machine.

Has anyone in this thread gotten their machine fixed yet, or are you all assuming it's a Safari issue, since that's the only place you've seen it so far? Yes, it's possible it's a software issue, but in my position, I can't say that to a customer with a warranty. I have to try to fix it, and downgrading Apple Software is not a viable option.

You people who are having this issue should definitely have your machines looked at.

 

[solodogg]

and you should really stay out of a thread where people are trying to find a REAL resolution to a REAL problem that exists, and not waste time/money replacing parts that are not bad. If you are really an Apple certified technician, with your logic, I think I'll have my 3 year old nephew get certified to work on Apple products.

 

[Detrius]

It's pointless arguing with you. You're wrong, and the only way to show it is to have someone get their machine fixed, and since neither of us has one of these machines, it's out of our control.

 

[Detrius]

Here's what I have supporting me. First of all, there is no MacBook Pro Late 2010. Someone else in the thread said they have a 13" Mid 2010. I've attached descriptions from the service manual of the two closest symptoms.

I'd like to point out that the limits of software fixes involve PRAM reset, SMC resets, and researching available firmware and software updates, and the recommendation for software updates only comes in to play if external video is fine but internal video is distorted (according to the Apple service manual). Nowhere in any of the Apple documentation does it ever say to wait for Apple to release a software update; That's just bad customer service. Nowhere does it ask if it's specific to the version of OS X that's installed or if it's limited to a small handful of applications. Until it's definitively shown to be fixed with a software update, the solution is not to update the software.

Additionally, it may also be useful to point out that there is a repair extension program for the MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2010) related to graphics issues. It's not these specific issues, but at the very least, it does point out that there are hardware problems with some of these machines. Note that in this case, the recommended update to 10.7.2 means that they're trying to fix a hardware problem with software. If someone is running 10.6 and has this issue, the solution isn't to buy 10.7. The solution is to replace the logic board.

Since someone posted a link to another thread where people had similar issues, I'd like to point out a specific response in that thread. "I had a similar issue. Took mine to Apple and they replaced the logic board and it worked again. So my advice: go to Apple with it."

So, yes, get your three-year-old to pass the certification exam. It truly is dirt easy. Then, your three-year-old will agree that the proper course of action according to Apple is to replace the logic board. So, what evidence do you have supporting the claim that it's software?

 

[tkermit]

Another bad logic board.

 

[RoyG]

Sorry, I can't read this any more. I have the same bug on a) my Mac Mini mid 2010, b) my MBP early 2010. The bug appeared AFTER installing Lion, not on SL. If this is a hardware malfunction, why does so many people report this error? Why didn't it exist before Lion? Are you telling me that there is a whole series of faulty graphical adapters out there then? Besides, if there actually is a HW error that isn't present in SL, then there should be a way to omit this bug through software anyway since everything was ok with SL.