MacBook Pro Late 2011 Snowy and Jumbled Screen

[muzikman54]

Last night I installed a new SSD and 8 GB of RAM into my Late 2011 MBP. Everything was going smoothly until I installed the OS onto the drive. I now have a complete mess of a UI and it's darn near impossible to do anything on the computer. However, when booting into Safe Mode, the problem is nonexistent. The problem also did not present itself when I put the old drive back in and booted from it. It seems to either be user error and I totally screwed up on something when either making a USB Installer, lack of comparability with drivers, or a faulty SSD. To be honest, I'm more leaning toward software problems with Safe Mode working. Everything functioned while running OS X, but it was VERY difficult to do anything trying to see through the snowy random pixels and constantly warping windows. I have attached some photos to show what's going on. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

PS. The logic board is brand new and I could do anything graphical I wanted with the old drive. Odds of it being a video card failure are slim to none. Also, I've tried installing Mavericks and Mountain Lion to no avail.

PSS. For some weird reason, whenever I open the install usb from my desktop, the window is free of distortion and can be used to "scrub away" any distortion it touches. It's just weird...

Picture 1 is Safe Boot
Picture 2 is as the system boots up. There is no screen distortion.
Picture 3 is the problem at Login.

 

[JoelTheSuperior]

Honestly that definitely looks like a problem with the logic board to me.

It's worth reinstalling OS X and seeing if that resolves it but I would expect that issue to be hardware related.

 

[Intell]

Your GPU is failing. It isn't unheard of to have a replacement logicboard from Apple be faulty.

 

[muzikman54]

Honestly that definitely looks like a problem with the logic board to me.

It's worth reinstalling OS X and seeing if that resolves it but I would expect that issue to be hardware related.

Your GPU is failing. It isn't unheard of to have a replacement logicboard from Apple be faulty.

When I put the other drive back in (it is exactly as it was when removed) the problem does not present itself. Why would hardware fail for one drive and not the other? Not to seem rude, but it just doesn't make sense.

 

[Intell]

The kexts on the different drives could be causing the GPU to act in such a way that is causing it to fail. A complete reinstallation of the operating system may correct thing.

 

[muzikman54]

The kexts on the different drives could be causing the GPU to act in such a way that is causing it to fail. A complete reinstallation of the operating system may correct thing.

I've reinstalled Mavericks twice and Snow Leopard once. I used the install .DMGs from the App store. Is there another way or is there something that I'm doing wrong in the process?

 

[Intell]

Get a fresh 10.9 app from the App Store and reinstall it again. If the problem persists, replace the logicboard or drive.

 

[muzikman54]

Get a fresh 10.9 app from the App Store and reinstall it again. If the problem persists, replace the logicboard or drive.

Being as you seem quite knowledgeable, can I use a bootable windows install usb I have to install windows on an early 2011 MBP?

 

[Intell]

Windows doesn't install very well from a USB device on Macs unless it was created by Boot Camp. You can try it, but it may not install or it may install, but not display the same problems.

 

[yjchua95]

Last night I installed a new SSD and 8 GB of RAM into my Late 2011 MBP. Everything was going smoothly until I installed the OS onto the drive. I now have a complete mess of a UI and it's darn near impossible to do anything on the computer. However, when booting into Safe Mode, the problem is nonexistent. The problem also did not present itself when I put the old drive back in and booted from it. It seems to either be user error and I totally screwed up on something when either making a USB Installer, lack of comparability with drivers, or a faulty SSD. To be honest, I'm more leaning toward software problems with Safe Mode working. Everything functioned while running OS X, but it was VERY difficult to do anything trying to see through the snowy random pixels and constantly warping windows. I have attached some photos to show what's going on. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

PS. The logic board is brand new and I could do anything graphical I wanted with the old drive. Odds of it being a video card failure are slim to none. Also, I've tried installing Mavericks and Mountain Lion to no avail.

PSS. For some weird reason, whenever I open the install usb from my desktop, the window is free of distortion and can be used to "scrub away" any distortion it touches. It's just weird...

Picture 1 is Safe Boot
Picture 2 is as the system boots up. There is no screen distortion.
Picture 3 is the problem at Login.

Radeongate hit your MBP. It was just a coincidence that it hit after your replaced the drive.

 

[maflynn]

When I put the other drive back in (it is exactly as it was when removed) the problem does not present itself. Why would hardware fail for one drive and not the other? Not to seem rude, but it just doesn't make sense.

I think its hardware and the issue presents itself intermittently at first, so its possible moving stuff around, it came alive briefly before failing again.

I don't think installing windows is going to help.