![\"20140622-210859-76139060.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/promincproductions.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/20140622-210859-76139060.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nI did a bit of Googleing but didn’t come up with a solid solution – just some ideas….<\/p>\n
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- I took the back panel off of the computer, pulled out the fans and cleaned the fans and the vent ports. \u00a0The inside looks cobweb free now. \u00a0But the issue came back…<\/li>\n
- I reseated the RAM chips. \u00a0That seemed to be a promising lead, but then it came back….<\/li>\n
- I tried running the Apple Hardware Test<\/a> software thinking that my issue was a hardware problem. \u00a0The basic scan and the deeper scan both came back with no issues.<\/li>\n
- I updated the operating system from Mountain Lion 10.8.3 to Mavericks<\/li>\n
- Zapped the PRAM
http:\/\/support.apple.com\/kb\/ph11243<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\nI was having a hard time tracking down what would trigger the issue as well. \u00a0I was thinking it was heat related, but not sure if that is true or not… \u00a0I thought maybe having too many programs running was the issue, but it happened when I had 5 programs open or just an internet browser open with 5 tabs. \u00a0It seems to happen when running iPhoto though. It seemed to happen when I had the display brightness turned up to 100% but not if I took it down a few notches. \u00a0Not sure if that is a positive lead or not…. \u00a0It didn’t matter if I were running on batter or power connector. \u00a0Sometimes I could run the machine for 5 minutes, other times 5 days. \u00a0I don’t recall installing new software around the time this began, or anything to that extent.<\/p>\n
The Solution<\/h2>\n
From what I’m able to find on the internet, the solution is to replace the Logic Board. Well actually it’s the discrete (add on – AMD in this case) graphics card that is the issue, but given that it’s soldered to the Logic Board with such precision that it’s installed via robots and a baking process, it’s not repairable by most logical means. So here’s the breakdown that I’ve learned I online research only (thus far)<\/p>\n
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- If you are covered by Apple Care, which would have costed you something like $350 for 3 years, the repair would be covered. While I didn’t purchase Apple Care, I’ve owned my machine for just over 3 years now. So I would have been out of luck anyway.<\/li>\n
- I’ve seen some people say that there is some flat repair rate of $300 that will cover this repair. I’m skeptical if that is true or not…<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/ul>\n
The more common price I’m seeing is more like $630 for the repair<\/p>\n
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- Being a guy that likes to fix things my self, I figured I’d find a card and replace it my self. But then it dawned on me – whether I find a replacement or have Apple do the work, I’m just resetting my time clock till it fails again…. I’m not actually fixing the true problem<\/li>\n
- I’m not the only one with this problem. If you browse the web, this is a wide spread issue with the Early and Late 2011 models. Again, the issue is in the discrete AMD graphics chip. While the Mac users, experts, and community have recognized and acknowledged this is the root of the issue, Apple appears to NOT be acknowledging that they have a flaw in their design. And I’m not just making this statement to try and sound big and powerful or make a statement – I’m just repeating the learnings I gained from searching online. Top Mac blogs have pointed this out, but more notably is the petition that is gaining signatures (approximately 5,500 when I signed last night) that is intended to be sent to Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, asking that Apple recognize and correct this issue for its customers.
https:\/\/www.change.org\/en-AU\/petitions\/timothy-d-cook-replace-or-fix-all-early-2011-macbook-pro-with-graphics-failure<\/a>\nhttp:\/\/www.mbp2011.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n
http:\/\/appleinsider.com\/articles\/14\/05\/13\/apple-remains-mum-as-complaints-mount-over-2011-macbook-pro-gpu-failures<\/a><\/p>\n
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