Strange Graphics Issues with MBP 17" i7 - Anyone else experiencing?

[mr meshuggah]

Hey all,

I've had my 17" i7 MBP w/antiglare, 4GB RAM, 7200RPM for about 4 weeks now and have noticed a few funny things happening on the graphics side of things within OS X/iTunes/Photoshop (and even when Alt + Tabbing between Word/Excel and Safari).

I've included a few screenshots with this this post that will show you what I am referring to. The Photoshop and iTunes issues should be obvious, the desktop shot shows how the gray bar at the top is missing.

If anyone knows what causes this or thinks I should raise it with Apple please let me know.

Cheers

 

[AlphaDogg]

Hey all,

I've had my 17" i7 MBP w/antiglare, 4GB RAM, 7200RPM for about 4 weeks now and have noticed a few funny things happening on the graphics side of things within OS X/iTunes/Photoshop (and even when Alt + Tabbing between Word/Excel and Safari).

I've included a few screenshots with this this post that will show you what I am referring to. The Photoshop and iTunes issues should be obvious, the desktop shot shows how the gray bar at the top is missing.

If anyone knows what causes this or thinks I should raise it with Apple please let me know.

Cheers

I've had similar issues with my 13" MacBook Pro with the NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics chipset. Usually when this happens, I just close the app that the "artifacts" appear in. Other times, I have to restart my computer. This can get annoying, I know. Assuming that you have AppleCare, if it doesn't happen very often, I would just ignore it and when it becomes an issue, I would bring it in to be looked at. However, if you don't have AppleCare, you may want to get this looked at, because it can pose as a problem in the future, when you don't have a warranty.

It could be helpful to know what exact version of 10.6.x you are running. Did this happen before the update to 10.6.4 (assuming you updated to 10.6.4)? 10.6.4 has been known to cause graphical issues.

 

[menomano]

looks like a memory issue and seeing that you're using photoshop and it's there suggests that it's the 330's dedicated memory.

It's worth a complete OS reinstall but I would just take it to Apple and see what they think. Do you have 10.6.4 installed?

 

[iSpoody 1243]

faulty vram?

 

[mr meshuggah]

Sorry about omitting the OS X version guys.

The Desktop/iTunes issues occurred with the pre-installed version of OS X which was 10.6.3 from memory, and the Photoshop issue occurred just after installing 10.6.4. That said, the Photoshop bug was happening with 10.6.3 but didn't reoccur until I installed 10.6.4.

I do have AppleCare, so I think I'll at least report it to Apple and see what they have to say about the matter.

Thanks for all your help.

 

[AlphaDogg]

Sorry about omitting the OS X version guys.

The Desktop/iTunes issues occurred with the pre-installed version of OS X which was 10.6.3 from memory, and the Photoshop issue occurred just after installing 10.6.4. That said, the Photoshop bug was happening with 10.6.3 but didn't reoccur until I installed 10.6.4.

I do have AppleCare, so I think I'll at least report it to Apple and see what they have to say about the matter.

Thanks for all your help.

I'd like to hear the outcome of this story, because like I said, I have similar issues and I would like to avoid the hour long drive to my "local" Apple store. Please keep us posted!

 

[mr meshuggah]

I'd like to hear the outcome of this story, because like I said, I have similar issues and I would like to avoid the hour long drive to my "local" Apple store. Please keep us posted!

OK for anyone else interested I have noticed in the last week a few more similar issues have arisen in these threads:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/952602/

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/946539/

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/953849/

I called up Apple support here in Australia last Friday and spoke to a low level service tech who made me do some standard apple procedures:
-hold down 'cmd' + 'option' + 'p' + 'r' then boot (tough to do on your own!)
-hold down 'shift' while rebooting, wait for chime sound x 3 then release shift key.

Neither of these options worked so they elevated me to a senior tech. I sent him the screen shots in an e-mail and he advised to take it in a service centre.
I take my MBP to a qualified Apple repair later that day and show the guy at the counter the problems. I show him how to replicate the problem in Photoshop CS4 and show him the screenshots. I show him the error that occurs in Google Maps (when scrolling in/out rapidly using a track wheel).

Fast forward to today and I am notified by the store that the issue was an Adobe issue - apparently I needed the 'Enable OpenGL Drawing' issue box selected. I tell them of the error in Google Maps which they fail to reproduce, so install a program called 'gfxCardStats. The techy admits that there's been issues with the switching between the Intel chip/nVidia card on these machines so I can use that to select my preferred video preferences.

So as I'm about to walk out the door with my laptop they try and sting me with a A$60 charge for having checked the box in Photoshop as it apparently is an Adobe fault and hence not Apple's concern. Despite the fact that I have documented this error in non-Adobe programs. After a heated argument the charge was waivered and I was free to walk out with my laptop, however I urge other people who have had this problem:

PLEASE REPORT THIS PROBLEM TO APPLE so customers aren't stung with unnecessary service fees for issues that are caused in using their machines!

 

[Don Nguyen]

I actually brought in my laptop and dropped it off to the guys at the Genius bar at the Apple store today. One of the guys who tried diagnosing my laptop said it could be a problem with my graphics card. I was able to bring in my laptop to them with/while the error was happening in order to show them.

The guy examined it and noted that when he switched the automatic graphics switching off, it fixed itself. He made note that it could be possibly a problem with the discrete graphics.

We'll see what happens over the next day or two, once Apple receives my laptop and reports back.

For the record, I had a optibay HDD in there, and he told me it would not void my warranty. I even left it in there as I gave it to them to get sent out to Apple for testing.

-Don