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My 2011 Macbook Pro Has Random Streaks / GPU Issues?

Starfyre

Starfyre

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Nov 7, 2010
2,905
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While I was watching kdramas, I got a nasty popup saying "A Graphics problem has been detected". The screen then looked like it had random bars and streaks. I shut down and restart, same random streaks. I just shut it down for about 15 minutes, reboot....

The apple logo shows up with random streaks/ripples, then goes black. Then the apple logo comes back with no issues, then goes to the desktop and looks fine. What is causing this and is there a way I can prevent this now that it looks normal for now? (I really dont want this to come back)
 
Last edited:
Starfyre said:
While I was watching kdramas, I got a nasty popup saying "A Graphics problem has been detected". The screen then looked like it had random bars and streaks. I shut down and restart, same random streaks. I just shut it down for about 15 minutes, reboot....

The apple logo shows up with random streaks/ripples, then goes black. Then the apple logo comes back with no issues, then goes to the desktop and looks fine. What is causing this and is there a way I can prevent this now that it looks normal for now? (I really dont want this to come back)
Click to expand...

How many inches is the screen? If its early 2011 15" or 17" then you may be getting what people are calling radeongate. I've also seen some cases with this issue with late 2011 15" and 17" MBPs.
 
It was working fine for a while, but just now the screen went all white. No response... when I shut the lid, it says on, even though it should be sleeping. I just force shut it down, I am a little worried.
 
Starfyre said:
It was working fine for a while, but just now the screen went all white. No response... when I shut the lid, it says on, even though it should be sleeping. I just force shut it down, I am a little worried.
Click to expand...

Pretty sure it's dead. Might want to take it to an Apple Store to make sure the GPU is the problem.
 
Starfyre said:
It was working fine for a while, but just now the screen went all white. No response... when I shut the lid, it says on, even though it should be sleeping. I just force shut it down, I am a little worried.
Click to expand...

2011 MBPs have a GPU defect and Apple has not done anything about it; there is no recall (yet?). It's the dedicated GPU that is bad. If you can make it into your OS then you can survive using gfxcardstatus. Install this and set it to only use the integrated GPU (you have to click it twice due to a bug). Then you can use your computer, but if you restart or something you may get stuck with glitches until you get past.
 
Certainly sounds like the GPU to me, so I agree with the other posters :(
 
If the GPU was completely dead, would gfxcardstatus still be able to rescue it when it kicks in to integrated GPU mode?
 
The same happened to mine on Sunday. The lines accross the screen and could only get to boot after deleting the discrete GPU drivers.

It's due to a defective GPU. I've been to an Apple Premium Reseller this morning and explained the problem, they said the only solution is to change the motherboard and would cost about 800€ (1000USD). The person I talked to told me that the customer before me had come with the same problem in his 2011 Macbook Pro.

It looks like a design flaw, there are an unusual number of reports of machines failing after 2-3 years.

Seeing how Apple is handling the situation so far, I'm dissapointed and I can no longer advise anyone to purchase Apple products without reserve. I can talk about the good user experience in everyday use but warn them that they should not expect better quality than other brands.
 
How do you delete the discrete GPU drivers?
Or how do you keep gfxcardstatus to use to Integrated only? I notice that sometimes even though I keep it at "Integrated Only" it automatically switches to discrete.
 
Starfyre said:
How do you delete the discrete GPU drivers?
Or how do you keep gfxcardstatus to use to Integrated only? I notice that sometimes even though I keep it at "Integrated Only" it automatically switches to discrete.
Click to expand...

Select 'Integrated Only' twice. There is a bug in gfx card status so you have to select an option twice for it to actually work.
 
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