MBP 1,1-10,2 Display Issue, MacBook Pro Mid 2012

[rocketbuc]

My beloved mid 2012 MacBook Pro just started showing this... does anyone know what the problem might be and how to fix it? Might this just be a loose connector? Everything was working perfectly fine without any issues until a few days ago.

Thank you!

 

[Fishrrman]

Bad display or GPU.

It might be time to start thinking of "replacement".

You'd be amazed at "how far things have come along" in the past 11 years.

 

[MBAir2010]

that happened to my powerbook G4 in 2007, I replaced the screen, which worked.
but the line was wider and had blue and purple glowing from the outside.

I'm typing this on the same same MacBook now, and now remember
that line could be a faulty ribbon port being loose or as Fisherrman said a faulty GPU Graphic card.

what you could do is connect a HDMI or external display to see if the line appears on that screen.
or even use "screen sharing" on another MacBook or Mac to see if that line is there.

Im using my MBP now since the new MBA M1 is busy streaming to the tv.
therefore the MBP 2012 Monterey still has a purpose in 2023.

I hope this helped!

 

[nathan_reilly]

I would think that the display or the connecting cable are suspect. I think a failed GPU would be a bit more visually intense. Try external monitors as suggested above.

 

[PBG4 Dude]

I would think that the display or the connecting cable are suspect. I think a failed GPU would be a bit more visually intense. Try external monitors as suggested above.

Yeah failed GPUs usually color the whole screen or are black.

OP definitely try connecting an external display to see if that works as expected.

 

[majvor]

I think an issue with the GPU would produce the same line in a screenshot, when the screenshot is fine its probability an issue with the screen

 

[MBAir2010]

this is why an alternative source, like an external display, will pin point the problem.

no speculations needed!

 

[rocketbuc]

Thank you for all your replies. Will try an external display and also a screenshot and the get back to you!

 

[nathan_reilly]

Frankly I think you have one beautiful Mac there...My parents owned an antiglare model of the same vintage and it served them well for many years. Seeing pics of yours made me do some quick browsing to see what I would pay to get one these days and they for sure are still in demand.

 

[MBAir2010]

Frankly I think you have one beautiful Mac there...My parents owned an antiglare model of the same vintage and it served them well for many years. Seeing pics of yours made me do some quick browsing to see what I would pay to get one these days and they for sure are still in demand.

i'm ready to give mine away yesterday, then realized the same these MacBook Pros can still perform well.
my problem was OCPL and Monterey Failing big time yesterday with many freezings and data lost.
so im installing Catalina now on a second drive, 1TB OWC 6-G drive (took 3 minutes to move a 36GB folder!) and hopefully that will cause problems with the MBO.
the other drive has Mojave and creative suit 4 for graphic design.

I hope the OP screen problem is a nice easy fix!

 

[nathan_reilly]

i'm ready to give mine away yesterday, then realized the same these MacBook Pros can still perform well.
my problem was OCPL and Monterey Failing big time yesterday with many freezings and data lost.
so im installing Catalina now on a second drive, 1TB OWC 6-G drive (took 3 minutes to move a 36GB folder!) and hopefully that will cause problems with the MBO.
the other drive has Mojave and creative suit 4 for graphic design.

I hope the OP screen problem is a nice easy fix!

I'm running Open Core with Monterey on a 2012 Mac Pro, this scares me. I've never had a problem but I've heard of folks with issues that are truly terrifying. Did you have any warning signs? Did you update anything?

Typed this on my 2013 Macbook Pro with Catalina!

 

[MBAir2010]

I'm running Open Core with Monterey on a 2012 Mac Pro, this scares me. I've never had a problem but I've heard of folks with issues that are truly terrifying. Did you have any warning signs? Did you update anything?

Typed this on my 2013 Macbook Pro with Catalina!

There were no warning signs, yesterday everything just froze, I was converting tv shows from a dvd.
then I stopped this project but even just using the MacBook Pro after a minute or so, everything would freeze.
I do have a dual boot 2 drives but who doesn't now?

last Thursday I installed OCLP Monterey on a new SSD 1TB and had trouble since the first boot.
finally everything worked great yesterday then the freezing happened.
I had to reinstall Catalina after unsuccessful attempts to get anything to work.

now I'm typing this on the MacBook Air M1 while Catalina is on the MBPro 12 which no problems.

 

[rocketbuc]

I finally had time for the proposed tests:
- Screenshot shows no line, completely normal.
- External display shows no line, same as before. No issues at all.

 

[rocketbuc]

Bad display or GPU.

It might be time to start thinking of "replacement".

You'd be amazed at "how far things have come along" in the past 11 years.

Dear @Fishrrman. I purchased a MacBook Air M2 at launch, so this is no longer my primary computer. Despite its age though, the MacBook Pro is still quite fast (SSD, 16 GB RAM) and has been running flawlessly.

 

[rocketbuc]

Frankly I think you have one beautiful Mac there...My parents owned an antiglare model of the same vintage and it served them well for many years. Seeing pics of yours made me do some quick browsing to see what I would pay to get one these days and they for sure are still in demand.

I also like the anti-glare screen better than the new one on my MacBook Air M2. Would have paid extra to get such a screen again on the new machine.

 

[Fishrrman]

Perhaps you could find a new (or even used, but working) display panel for it.
As for the installation, go to ifixit.com to see what's involved.

 

[rocketbuc]

I just opened the machine and actually ended up removing the whole display. Wanted to see if there is a problem with the cable. Tried everything but no luck. Vertical line remains.

 

[rocketbuc]

Do you have other ideas what I could still try on the hardware side?

 

[MBAir2010]

BECAREFUL!
make sure the battery Cable is alway dislodge when putting all this back together.
I saw a co worker zap the screen in 2012 repair job, of a 2008 MacBook pro
we (owner and them me) had to buy the customer a new MacBook Air then.
I laughed when I heard the zap-
then was suspended for a month because I did not warn the co-worker
(since obviously my cape should have flew me to their bench in a nano second)
meaning they bought the customer a new MacBook from my would be salary.

anyways Im glad there is some solutions to the MacBook pro which still packs a punch!

 

[rocketbuc]

BECAREFUL!
make sure the battery Cable is alway dislodge when putting all this back together.
I saw a co worker zap the screen in 2012 repair job, of a 2008 MacBook pro
we (owner and them me) had to buy the customer a new MacBook Air then.
I laughed when I heard the zap-
then was suspended for a month because I did not warn the co-worker
(since obviously my cape should have flew me to their bench in a nano second)
meaning they bought the customer a new MacBook from my would be salary.

anyways Im glad there is some solutions to the MacBook pro which still packs a punch!

Thank you @MBAir2010! I just tested it with the case open and only the display connected. This is when I forgot to disconnect the battery again! Thank you for the reminder!

 

[nathan_reilly]

By process of elimination we are looking more likely at a display replacement at this point, amirite boys?