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2010 MacBook Pro 15" Faulty

A

apolloa

Suspended
Original poster
Oct 21, 2008
12,318
7,802
Time, because it rules EVERYTHING!
My 2010 MB Pro 15" with the Nvidia 330m gpu is faulty. It keeps rebooting itself when playing HD You Tube video is or when switching the GPU in use. I have looked into it and it seems I may have a known issue, a fault with the Nvidia GPU. Apple can do a test to confirm this and will repair computers for free three years old or younger. Trouble is mine is about three and a half years old.

Will Apple still fix it for free? Also does anyone know the test they run to confirm the fault? I did a hardware test and it reported all fine.
Do I have a leg to stand on for a free fix if its a known Apple fault? If not how much do they charge for a list ticket board replacement as that's what's needed to fix the issue.
Kinda want to prepare myself before two ng it to the genius bar.
 
Last edited:
apolloa said:
My 2010 MB Pro is faulty. It keeps rebooting itself when playing HD You Tube video is or when switching the GPU in use. I have looked into it and it seems I may have a known issue, a fault with the Nvidia GPU. Apple can do a test to confirm this and will repair computers for free three years old or younger. Trouble is mine is about three and a half years old.

Will Apple still fix it for free? Also does anyone know the test they run to confirm the fault? I did a hardware test and it reported all fine.
Do I have a leg to stand on for a free fix if its a known Apple fault? If not how much do they charge for a list ticket board replacement as that's what's needed to fix the issue.
Kinda want to prepare myself before two ng it to the genius bar.
Click to expand...

they fixed mine for free (I first called Applecare) when it was 3 years and 1 month. (they said it was because I called Applecare with a GPU problem, when my MBP was still in it's 3 years).
If your device is older than 3 years Apple can decline a free fix - nothing you can do about it. If you have to pay for it (logic board replacement) it's probably around 700$ (they told me, mine would have been 800€*here in Austria).
I do not know what kind of diagnose tool they use, sorry.
 
Wuiffi said:
they fixed mine for free (I first called Applecare) when it was 3 years and 1 month. (they said it was because I called Applecare with a GPU problem, when my MBP was still in it's 3 years).
If your device is older than 3 years Apple can decline a free fix - nothing you can do about it. If you have to pay for it (logic board replacement) it's probably around 700$ (they told me, mine would have been 800€*here in Austria).
I do not know what kind of diagnose tool they use, sorry.
Click to expand...

Thanks mate. Hmm I'll have to try my luck I guess, maybe be angry and demand to speak with a manager etc. I can get a board online with the an exchange for around and £480, still expensive but a lot cheaper then the full price.
But I need to confirm it is the board first, did your computer give you a black screen, a clicking sound from the speakers, then reboot?
 
apolloa said:
But I need to confirm it is the board first, did your computer give you a black screen, a clicking sound from the speakers, then reboot?
Click to expand...

Yes but not always, just random reboots (most of the time when switching graphic chips). Look in the console for logs. If you get an error code like: "/AppleGraphicsControl/AppleGraphicsControl-3.4.5/src/AppleMuxControl/kext/GPUPanic.cpp"
it's probably the gpu/chipset.

If you have an Apple Store or Service Provider in your town you could just go there and let them run the hardware test to see what's the problem.
 
Luckily my 2010 15" MBP still works perfectly.

If Apple refuses to repair the GPU, then just force the MBP to only use the Intel GPU?
 
UBS28 said:
Luckily my 2010 15" MBP still works perfectly.

If Apple refuses to repair the GPU, then just force the MBP to only use the Intel GPU?
Click to expand...

Can't do that, I have tried to force it to use the Nvidia only in the power settings and tried the programme that fixes the GPU in use and still it switches between the two.

But I will get it booked into an Apple store.
 
apolloa said:
Can't do that, I have tried to force it to use the Nvidia only in the power settings and tried the programme that fixes the GPU in use and still it switches between the two.

But I will get it booked into an Apple store.
Click to expand...

I mean forcing it to the Intel GPU. You can download an app in the link below.

http://gfx.io
 
Wuiffi said:
Yes but not always, just random reboots (most of the time when switching graphic chips). Look in the console for logs. If you get an error code like: "/AppleGraphicsControl/AppleGraphicsControl-3.4.5/src/AppleMuxControl/kext/GPUPanic.cpp"
it's probably the gpu/chipset.

If you have an Apple Store or Service Provider in your town you could just go there and let them run the hardware test to see what's the problem.
Click to expand...

I get this in the report after the computer reboots itself:

panic(cpu 2 caller 0xffffff7f9e770fac): "GPU Panic: [<None>] 5 3 7f 0 0 0 0 3 : NVRM[0/1:0:0]: Read Error 0x00000100: CFG 0xffffffff 0xffffffff 0xffffffff, BAR0 0xd2000000 0xffffff813083a000 0x0a5480a2, D0, P2/4\n"@/SourceCache/AppleGraphicsControl/AppleGraphicsControl-3.4.12/src/AppleMuxControl/kext/GPUPanic.cpp:127

UBS28 said:
I mean forcing it to the Intel GPU. You can download an app in the link below.

http://gfx.io
Click to expand...

Yeap, I am using that and still it will not fix the GPU that is in use.
 
There are plenty of firms out there who offer a 'reball' which is re soldering the original or solder on a replacement GPU to a MBP logic board.

Reball here costs typically £100 here in the uk. I would advise after a reball to sell it, as though I've seen many last years a lot malfunction again within a year or two.
 
Gav Mack said:
There are plenty of firms out there who offer a 'reball' which is re soldering the original or solder on a replacement GPU to a MBP logic board.

Reball here costs typically £100 here in the uk. I would advise after a reball to sell it, as though I've seen many last years a lot malfunction again within a year or two.
Click to expand...

Thanks mate, I absolutely want to sell it, but that's because I want a Surface Pro 2 AND a Mac Pro haha... Or just the Mac Pro. Nah both... but yeah I need to get it sorted somehow.

Have you got any links to companies that can re-solder the GPU?
 
apolloa said:
Thanks mate. Hmm I'll have to try my luck I guess, maybe be angry and demand to speak with a manager etc. I can get a board online with the an exchange for around and £480, still expensive but a lot cheaper then the full price.
But I need to confirm it is the board first, did your computer give you a black screen, a clicking sound from the speakers, then reboot?
Click to expand...

I've had depot repair offers which were much cheaper than the aforementioned quote. You should at least ask. You can argue with them, but I don't know of any declared problems with 2010 models. There was only one NVidia generation that was actually declared faulty.
 
thekev said:
I've had depot repair offers which were much cheaper than the aforementioned quote. You should at least ask. You can argue with them, but I don't know of any declared problems with 2010 models. There was only one NVidia generation that was actually declared faulty.
Click to expand...

Nope, Apple declared faults with them:

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4088

Also Apple discussion threads here:

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4088
https://discussions.apple.com/message/23683245#23683245
https://discussions.apple.com/message/23683245#23683245

etc etc etc...

So not only was the Nvidia chip faulty in iMac's but MacBook Pro's also... Thank God the new Mac Pro uses AMD is all i say.
 
apolloa said:
So not only was the Nvidia chip faulty in iMac's but MacBook Pro's also... Thank God the new Mac Pro uses AMD is all i say.
Click to expand...

They have seen other problems. A reason the notebooks went NVidia in 2012 was likely that Kepler ran cooler in mobile. I never found those articles though when I searched. Given that there's a history of problems, why not ask them? The approximate cutoff dates may have to do with many things, including their supply of spare parts. The 2011s have problems too, which is something I forgot to bring up. Those used AMD, so you aren't guaranteed to be safe just by going that route. I don't think the 2011s have been declared a known issue though. Mine is still working for however long.
 
thekev said:
They have seen other problems. A reason the notebooks went NVidia in 2012 was likely that Kepler ran cooler in mobile. I never found those articles though when I searched. Given that there's a history of problems, why not ask them? The approximate cutoff dates may have to do with many things, including their supply of spare parts. The 2011s have problems too, which is something I forgot to bring up. Those used AMD, so you aren't guaranteed to be safe just by going that route. I don't think the 2011s have been declared a known issue though. Mine is still working for however long.
Click to expand...

problems problems haha, oh I will ask because I need to confirm the fault IS the GPU first, and I think Apple are the only ones that can test for this. I hope to get there maybe this week, not sure though. My nearest store is about 30 miles away so need to plan it.
I can't watch You Tube videos on it in full screen HD without rebooting :( it's annoying haha.
 
apolloa said:
My nearest store is about 30 miles away so need to plan it.
Click to expand...

Ugh. Sorry to hear that. You said you can't watch youtube videos on it full screen? I had an issue of screens going black on youtube and anything flash based. I couldn't track it down to a hardware issue though. Force quitting the plugin and reloading the flash content generally provided a temporary fix, which is why I didn't think it was one. It was also giving me excessive reboot times until I zapped pram or whatever it uses these days (I only used that due it seeming like a bootloader problem). Mac Pro is still working fine, but it's old and non-portable for some things. Considering my notebook has a very small amount of applecare left, I should probably have it checked out. Stress testing hasn't turned up anything interesting. It's sometimes good for spotting imminent hardware failure.
 
Awesome Apple, simply simply simply awesome!

Popped to the Genius Bar today, they ran their test and confirmed my Mac had the faulty Nvidia GPU and as it was a known issue, and under EU law as the Mac was faulty at time of purchase, they fitted a new motherboard for me in under 2 hours! Totally free of charge! And I have to say, as they put the cost of the replacement on the invoice, it would be cheaper to have them fit it anyway then send my broken one off for an exchanged replacement!

So very well done Apple, super impressed with them today :):apple:

AND.... they had a new mac Pro in the store too, so naturally I drooled over it haha, damn the thing has some weight to it too! Hell of a sexy solid machine though. Unfortunately they hadn't installed any Pro apps on it, just run of the mill stuff and Office.
 
Last edited:
apolloa said:
Awesome Apple, simply simply simply awesome!

Popped to the Genius Bar today, they ran their test and confirmed my Mac had the faulty Nvidia GPU and as it was a known issue, and under EU law as the Mac was faulty at time of purchase, they fitted a new motherboard for me in under 2 hours! Totally free of charge! And I have to say, as they put the cost of the replacement on the invoice, it would be cheaper to have them fit it anyway then send my broken one off for an exchanged replacement!

So very well done Apple, super impressed with them today :):apple:

AND.... they had a new mac Pro in the store too, so naturally I drooled over it haha, damn the thing has some weight too it too! Hell of a sexy solid machine though. Unfortunately they hadn't installed any Pro apps on it, just run of the mill stuff and Office.
Click to expand...

Nice your 2010 15" MBP got repaired for free. :)
 
awesome :)

When they replaced mine for free I was like: "What the, I just saved 900€ - let's buy a retina iPad mini"
So in the end, it was a win-win
 
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