MBP- 2012

[sunnyskyez]

Hello,
Ive got an old 2012 MBP 17", OSX- High Sierra. I bought it as a refurb 4 yrs ago, it started acting up a couple of days ago with a wonky screen then it freezes. I then shut it down and left it off for an hour, then over night and every time I restart it, it may look normal on one boot up but then look like the picture attached on another boot up. Can anyone tell me what the problem may be? Ive emailed a MAC repair company but they still havent gotten back to me. I fear it come to the end of its life, so any insight would be greatly appreciated. See Pic attached. Thanks in advance.

 

[CoastalOR]

First there is no 2012 17" MBP. The last 17" MBP was released by Apple October 2011. It was produced by Apple until June 2012, but was labeled as a "17-inch Late 2011".

You are correct that it is unfortunately coming to an end. It believe what is happening is that the AMD Radeon HD 6770M (dGPU) is failing. There was a design flaw that resulted in the solder to the dGPU fails over time but to heating and cooling cycles. The fix from Apple was to replace the logic board, but the new logic board had the same design flaw and would eventually fail again for the same reason. Apple had a free repair program for the problem, but that has ended.

You can do an internet search for "Radeongate" for more information.

Here is also a MacRumors long thread that discusses the problem with some possible workarounds:

Force 2011 MacBook Pro 8,2 with failed AMD GPU to ALWAYS use Intel integrated GPU (EFI variable fix)

If you don't have time to read my story (which also describes some interesting technical approaches) just scroll down this thread until a "100% WORKING SOLUTION" text Discrete AMD GPU of my 2011 MacBook Pro 8,2 has finally failed because of the reasons mentioned here (...

forums.macrumors.com

I also had the same problem with a late 2011 15" MBP.

 

[sunnyskyez]

Thanks CoastalOR! I guessed it was very close to the end. I meant 2010 on this one, I cant keep track, lol.. Ive got 2 other macs- 1=mid 2009, 1=mid 2010. We are a MacBook Pro 17" family & love them both, have had them for 12 & 13 years, they are used hard on 17+ hours a day, have never had any trouble, until the last couple of years. They are starting to show their age, and parts are becoming scarce. I got a reply from the NY repair place they also said it was done, and again the lack of parts thing. We still have the other 2, Im also looking at a refurbished MBP-16" M1-Pro, its in my sights, Ive much to research. Im not going to love it like the good ol' MBP of the mid 2K's. Ive upgraded these old ones with new SSD drives, speakers, new batteries, etc. You cant do that with the new stuff by yourself. I just have to deal. LOL. Thanks again I appreciate your time and help. Have a great weekend!

 

[California]

I just had my 2012 MBP fixed by guys on east coast, Powerbook Medic. Try them.

 

[California]

Hello,
Ive got an old 2012 MBP 17", OSX- High Sierra. I bought it as a refurb 4 yrs ago, it started acting up a couple of days ago with a wonky screen then it freezes. I then shut it down and left it off for an hour, then over night and every time I restart it, it may look normal on one boot up but then look like the picture attached on another boot up. Can anyone tell me what the problem may be? Ive emailed a MAC repair company but they still havent gotten back to me. I fear it come to the end of its life, so any insight would be greatly appreciated. See Pic attached. Thanks in advance.

You don't have to kill off your 17" 2011 MBP just because one of its graphics cards is failing:

Permanently Disable 2011 15"/17" MacBook Pro Dedicated GPU - gMux IC Bypass

UPDATE: The solution detailed below is more or less out of date at this point, as I have recently developed a custom gMux IC firmware that not only permanently disables the AMD GPU, but also retains full native software-controlled display backlight brightness. Documentation explaining the...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[sunnyskyez]

I just had my 2012 MBP fixed by guys on east coast, Powerbook Medic. Try them.

Thanks for the info California. I will check them out. The folks I used before was Rossman Repair in NYC, they fixed up my Mac one time and did a good job. Im glad to have another option.

 

[sunnyskyez]

You don't have to kill off your 17" 2011 MBP just because one of its graphics cards is failing:

Permanently Disable 2011 15"/17" MacBook Pro Dedicated GPU - gMux IC Bypass

UPDATE: The solution detailed below is more or less out of date at this point, as I have recently developed a custom gMux IC firmware that not only permanently disables the AMD GPU, but also retains full native software-controlled display backlight brightness. Documentation explaining the...

forums.macrumors.com

Thanks again California! This is way above my abilities. I have replaced the battery, speakers, memory cards and the hard drive but I really suck at soldering. LOL.

 

[California]

Thanks again California! This is way above my abilities. I have replaced the battery, speakers, memory cards and the hard drive but I really suck at soldering. LOL.

If the graphics chip is failing, you can ask them to do this work for you? Also, you must own a now very hard to find Speck hard shell case for the MBP 17" machines. This has kept my 2011 MBP 15" from failing all these years due to the ability to stop the laptop from flexing and damaging the graphics chip. I have no idea where to get a 17" MBP hard shell case anymore, but if you do keep it going, get the hard shell as protection. They were great laptops.