Strange dots on the MBP 2010 17" screen

[hajime]

Hello, when I woke up the MBP this morning, I noticed some dots near the middle of the screen. After I logged in, they disappeared.

Such appearances of strange dots have happened a few times over the year but not too often. The location varies. About 1.5 month ago, they showed up on the dock. What are they? Is it a software glitch?

 

[Audit13]

Does this happen from a cold boot?

 

[hajime]

Does this happen from a cold boot?

Not I am aware off. For today's case, I put it to sleep mode and woke it up few hours later. Then, those dots showed up.

As I recall, they happen randomly at any time.

 

[Audit13]

The Macbook has the nVidia 330gt gpu? Is it possibly due to a failed c9560 capacitor?

 

[hajime]

The Macbook has the nVidia 330gt gpu? Is it possibly due to a failed c9560 capacitor?

Yes that GPU. Not sure if it is due to a failed capacitor. If so, is this bad? What will happen next?

 

[Audit13]

I'm not sure if it is a failed capacitor.

To test for a capacitor problem, run the Cinebench r15 OpenGL test. If the Macbook passes, it's probably not due to a capacitor issue.

 

[hajime]

Do you mean the app at: https://www.maxon.net/en/products/cinebench/

In case there is a capacitor issue with my Mac, will running the test makes it worse?

 

[Audit13]

It should not make it worse. I ran it a few times on my mid-2010 15". It's the test that confirmed I had a failed capacitor.

The capacitor is a known issueand was also the reason apple had an extended warranty program to deal with the problem. Unfortunately, the warranty program is over.

 

[hajime]

I ran the test: 15.53 fps (Ranked 7) for OpenGL and 192cb (Ranked 8) for CPU test. Did not see any fail or error message.
I am using OS X 10.12.6.

 

[Audit13]

That's great so it doesn't appear to be related to the nVidia gpu. Unfortunately, troubleshooting the issue becomes more difficult because it could be a ram or hard drive too.

 

[hajime]

How likely this is a sign that the computer will fail sooner or later within the next few months?

 

[Audit13]

Not really sure that anything is our will fail.

Is it possible to run the Macbook with only 1 stick of ram or use different ram sticks?