MBP 1,1-10,2 Force 2011 MacBook Pro 8,2 with failed AMD GPU to ALWAYS use Intel integrated GPU (EFI variable fix)

[ron1004]

According con Realmacmods:

"The safe boot clears OS level GPU preferences, that may interfere with the following process.

This will now cause your MacBook Pro to stop switching to the Radeon automatically, but it will still draw power, create heat, and be visible to the OS.

We discovered that simply removing 1 resistor will resolve this.

The resistor in question is R8911 on the 17″ MBP and R8911 on the 15″ MBP
a 1 Ohm resistor that provides a current path to the ISL6263C DC to DC Converter.

Just remove it. The preferred method is a professional reflow station, but an iron and a steady hand will get you where you need to be. If you used flux to remove it (not needed), make sure you clean up with a little Alcohol or other suitable solvent.

That is basically it. Next time you boot up you will notice your GPU defect issue is gone, and you will no longer see the AMD GPU as installed hardware.

A small warning: It has been tested that this mod will survive a SMC reset as well as Battery Removal. It is not yet known if it will survive a NVRAM reset. For this (and other security related) reasons, it is recommended that you set an EFI Password. This will make it impossible to accidentally reset your NVRAM. Just don’t ever forget this password. Seriously, don’t. Ever.

In the event that a NVRAM reset removes the EFI mod, replacing R8911, or even bridging the pads for R8911 will restore functionality so you can reapply the EFI mod. Really though, lets just stay away from the NVRAM resets. They rarely fix anything that couldn’t be fixed otherwise anymore.

ADDITIONAL STEP FOR HIGH SIERRA

High Sierra requires an additional hardware mod. This jumper wire is different between 15″ and 17″, both are shown below. Without this mod, your screen WILL NOT turn on after going to sleep. On the 15″ we just need to put a small jumper wire (enamel wire) between PIN 2 of R9704 and PIN 1 of C9711. Logic board does not need to be removed for this step. Only bottom cover removed.

I'm in El capitan, and I have not intentions to perform an OS upgrade, so, I don't need the second mod, I only did the first one.

I'm keen on this idea, ....... go back to El Capitan from High Sierra, and permanently disable the Radeon GPU.

I find the manual method of writing the code to achieve this a little daunting, and was wondering if anyone else had used Realmacmods Radeon disable utility downloadable for $10.

 

[laborki]

Anyone who has Black Screen from Wake / Sleep can do a test:

I did the battery test with 99% charged.
The battery consumed 1% for 1 hour in Sleep.

When you put the Energy Saver -> Battery/Power Adapter to "Never Sleep", then the Macbook Pro will not go into full sleep. Some parts of the Macbook Pro stay ON.


Close all apps (Safari, Activity Monitor, Terminal, etc).

1 - System Preferences -> Energy Saver:

Battery tab:
Computer Sleep: Never
Put hard disks to sleep when possible: disable
Slightly dim the display while on battery power: disable

Power Adapter tab:
Computer Sleep: Never
Put hard disks to sleep when possible: disable
Wake for network access: disable

Automatic Graphics Switching: Enable


2 - Disconnect the MagSafe Power Adapter. Only battery.

3 - Apple logo (top left of the screen) -> Sleep

After 2 minutes, press any key on the keyboard (I pressed the Command key) to "wake up" Macbook Pro 2011. See if you had the problem of Black Screen.


Edit 1:
I have a Solid State Drive and so there is no mechanical part spinning (disk spinning 5400 RPM). So this represents an energy saving of the battery.

Seems to work on my machine!

 

[Somebody_else's_problem]

Just signed up to report that this fix worked great on my late-2011 macbook. I did not need the Linux boot CD. I was able to use single user mode. I also did not remove the Kext files, I just renamed them with a ".old" extension and everything works. I haven't noticed a decrease in performance, just a slower boot time.

Has it been determined what causes the GPU to fail? Some people report success using a heat gun or baking the board, which would lead me to believe it's cold solder joints that are at fault. RoHS-compliant solder is complete rubbish, so this is not a surprise. It does seem to be a very poor design for the CPU and GPU to share a heatsink as well. I did notice my MBP had an AMDRadeon5000.kext file, which I'm guessing is a much newer driver. Could Apple have purposely over-clocked the GPU to force it to fail on macbooks that hadn't failed yet? Mine only started over-heating and rebooting a couple months ago, right after an update. Less than coincidental in my book.

 

[AppleMacFinder]

Dear Friends, sorry if I rarely reply nowadays - partially because I installed Linux Mint 19 at my MBP and it "just works" out-of-the-box without any workarounds (don't remember doing anything, think I just simply installed) and to be honest I forgot some specifics of even my own OS X solution. But I am really proud of you, seeing that you're successfully solving this problem at your MBPs and even creating your own new alternative solutions - some of which could be much better ! Wish you all the best, Friends, and thank you for coming
[doublepost=1555507679][/doublepost]

Realmacmods Radeon disable utility downloadable for $10.

Wow, someone is charging money for that? A bit unethical, considering that their utility is likely based on the knowledge and solutions shared at this thread by the people free of charge! Hopefully you'll be able to use the great people's knowledge from our thread to fix it for free

 

[ron1004]

I'm keen on this idea, ....... go back to El Capitan from High Sierra, and permanently disable the Radeon GPU.

I find the manual method of writing the code to achieve this a little daunting, and was wondering if anyone else had used Realmacmods Radeon disable utility downloadable for $10.

Paid RealMacMods $15 (utility download & support) and they walked me through all the steps responding to emails within a couple of minutes, and now my Late 2011 17" is back in service and the system report shows only the Integral graphics, no Radeon.

Best $15 I've ever spent in my life.
[doublepost=1555539488][/doublepost]

Dear Friends, sorry if I rarely reply nowadays - partially because I installed Linux Mint 19 at my MBP and it "just works" out-of-the-box without any workarounds (don't remember doing anything, think I just simply installed) and to be honest I forgot some specifics of even my own OS X solution. But I am really proud of you, seeing that you're successfully solving this problem at your MBPs and even creating your own new alternative solutions - some of which could be much better ! Wish you all the best, Friends, and thank you for coming
[doublepost=1555507679][/doublepost] Wow, someone is charging money for that? A bit unethical, considering that their utility is likely based on the knowledge and solutions shared at this thread by the people free of charge! Hopefully you'll be able to use the great people's knowledge from our thread to fix it for free

@AppleMacFinder
I really appreciate all your assistance here, and I'm in awe of your knowledge and skills, but coding is a little daunting for me (outside my comfort zone), and RealMacMods helped me in that area, so I'm good with them charging for their time.

If the RealMacMods option wasn't available I would most certainly have bitten the bullet and carefully followed your detailed instructions posted here.

 

[yukari]

Macbook Pro 2011 with failure AMD GPU - High Sierra 10.13.6

I did the new High Sierra Security Update 2019-002 (29 March 2019) with Safe Mode enabled all the time by boot-args (-x).

Boot-args (-x) is prohibited by SIP (csrutil enable). If you have SIP disabled, then you do not need to enter Recovery Mode to enable Safe Mode in boot-args (-x).

New OS Build Version 17G6030 with this SecUpdate 2019-2 - 29 march 2019.

Update by App Store.

Attention: When you put Safe Mode always on, then the system will be a bit slow (no hardware acceleration) and so it will take a little more time to complete the SecUpdate installation.

Make the SecUpdate 2019 with Macbook Pro 2011 connected with the MagSafe in the outlet.

Even when you enter Recovery Mode with Safe Mode enabled in boot-args (-x), Recovery Mode slows down. It looks like Macbook Pro 2011 will freeze but just wait a little longer to open the Terminal and disable Safe Mode from boot-args (-x).

You do not need to be in Recovery Mode to disable Safe Mode in boot-args (-x). It is only a warning if you enter Recovery Mode with Safe Mode On in boot-args (-x).

sudo nvram -d boot-args

or

nvram -d boot-args

Do the update to the Safe Mode active in boot-args (-x) not freeze the Macbook Pro 2011 during installation by AMDRadeonX3000.kext.


1 - Boot in Recovery Mode - press Command + R keys at boot. Turn On Safe Mode and disable SIP (csrutil).

Load graphical screen -> Menu Utilities -> Terminal

nvram -d boot-args

nvram boot-args="-v -x"

csrutil disable

reboot

-v : verbose mode
-x : safe mode always ON.


2 - Now the Macbook Pro 2011 will boot into Safe Mode automatically without having to press the SHIFT key.

After logging into Safe Mode -> App Store -> Update -> Update All
I chose "Download and Restart" in the message that appears after you choose "Update All".


3 - After the App Store to download the SecUpdate 2019-2, then the MacOS will do Log Off and started the first part of the installation and reboot more 3 times.


4 - After completing the installation of SecUpdate 2019-2, then Mac OS will rebuild kext cache with the problematic AMDRadeonX3000.kext inside the prelinkedkernel file.
Since Mac OS is in Safe Mode automatically, then Macbook Pro 2011 will not freeze because it will not load AMDRadeonX3000.kext (Safe Mode rules).

Then the installation of SecUpdate 2019-2 will not stop in the middle of the process.


5 - If you arrived at the login screen after installation, then SecUpdate 2019-2 was completed.

If you have File Vault enabled (encrypted disk), then the first graphical login will be to open the encrypted disk and continue the installation of SecUpdate 2019-2.

Now follow MikeyN Guide - page 35 #875 - to move or delete the AMDRadeonX3000.kext (new from SecUpdate 2019-2) and recontruct the prelinkedkernel file without the AMDRadeonX3000.kext inside.

If you have an AMDRadeonX3000.kext (backup) working properly, then you can choose to move or delete the new AMDRadeonX3000.kext (new from SecUpdate 2019-2).


6 - After completing the MikeyN Guide - page 35 #875 -, then disable the Automatic Safe Mode in boot-args (-x).

Remember:
Single User Mode (Command + S) / Recovery Mode (Command + R) does not need the sudo command. You're already the root (administrator) in these modes above.

sudo nvram -d boot-args

or

nvram -d boot-args

7 - If you want to keep the boot in Verbose mode:

sudo nvram boot-args="-v"

or

nvram boot-args="-v"

8 - Is everything working correctly with the normal boot and the AMD kexts loaded correctly? If so, then enable SIP again.

csrutil enable

reboot

9 - Check new OS Build Version

Finder -> Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal

ioreg -lw0 | grep -i 17G

|   "OS Build Version" = "17G6030"

or

Apple Logo (top left corner of the screen) -> About this Mac -> System Report -> Software:

System Software Overview:

System Version: macOS 10.13.6 (17G6030)

Kernel Version: Darwin 17.7.0

Hi nsgr, I currently have Sierra, but would like to upgrade to High Sierra. I have eGPU (GeFORCE GTX1070 - Aorus Gaming Box) that is currently working. But since High Sierra support AMD eGPU's, I was hoping to upgrade my OS from Sierra to High Sierra an use RX580 AMD eGPU.

Does your method outlined here work if I upgrade my OS form Sierra to High Sierra?

Thanks!

 

[nsgr]

Hi nsgr, I currently have Sierra, but would like to upgrade to High Sierra. I have eGPU (GeFORCE GTX1070 - Aorus Gaming Box) that is currently working. But since High Sierra support AMD eGPU's, I was hoping to upgrade my OS from Sierra to High Sierra an use RX580 AMD eGPU.

Does your method outlined here work if I upgrade my OS form Sierra to High Sierra?

Thanks!

It is a method using NVRAM and it stays active until you remove it in NVRAM.

Make a fresh / clean install of the High Sierra. Otherwise you will have a High Sierra Frankenstein.

Where did you buy this "GeForce GTX1070 - Aorus Gaming Box"? - Price: $499.99

https://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-AORUS-Gaming-Graphic-GV-N1070IXEB-8GD/dp/B073PYMG3G


Do you need the AMD6000Controller.kext kexts, AMDLegacySupport.kext and AMDLegacyFrammebuffer.kext to make it work through the Thunderbolt port? Or only Thunderbolt kexts?

It would be nice if there was a cheaper version of this video card with the egpu box. With 2 GB of video memory would solve.

I'm afraid to invest in an egpu and when it's time to use it does not work.

Edit:

You can load Recovery Mode by this method. Then you will be able to load the High Sierra installer via the USB Stick.

The installer of the High Sierra, Sierra and El Capitan is a Recovery Mode installed on the USB Stick.

 

[yukari]

It is a method using NVRAM and it stays active until you remove it in NVRAM.

Make a fresh / clean install of the High Sierra. Otherwise you will have a High Sierra Frankenstein.

Where did you buy this "GeForce GTX1070 - Aorus Gaming Box"? - Price: $499.99

https://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-AORUS-Gaming-Graphic-GV-N1070IXEB-8GD/dp/B073PYMG3G


Do you need the AMD6000Controller.kext kexts, AMDLegacySupport.kext and AMDLegacyFrammebuffer.kext to make it work through the Thunderbolt port? Or only Thunderbolt kexts?

It would be nice if there was a cheaper version of this video card with the egpu box. With 2 GB of video memory would solve.

I'm afraid to invest in an egpu and when it's time to use it does not work.

Edit:

You can load Recovery Mode by this method. Then you will be able to load the High Sierra installer via the USB Stick.

The installer of the High Sierra, Sierra and El Capitan is a Recovery Mode installed on the USB Stick.

Thanks, nsgr!

So I used MikeyN Guide deacrese AMD GPU - System temperature - Page 35 - #875 method on my 2011 MBP with Sierra. And I am currently using Aorus Gaming Box (I got it from NewEggs, but it's the same one as the Amazon one you referenced).
i want to upgrade to High Sierra and was wondering if your method would work. Based on your reply, seems like I can upgrade to High Sierra. This means native eGPU support for AMD GPU's. That's why I was asking.

 

[sici]

MAN, i just registered to say THANK YOU. I really appreciate and saved my macbook 2011.
Thank you thank you thank you

 

[soloofboom]

Hello world! First, sorry if the question was already answer in this thread.

I'm wondering if I can use a method like this -> https://gist.github.com/cdleon/d16e7743e6f056fedbebc329333d79df
to get some improving heat management IF I used the the Macbook Pro dGPU Disabler from @dosdude ?

Thanks

 

[3liminate]

Managed to get my 2011 Macbook Pro back up (High Sierra). However I'm experiencing the sleep and brightness issue.
I've searched for a while and can't find a specific solution. Is there any command I can do without having to try reinstall the OS? Super grateful for the fix thank you.

 

[JMVB]

Managed to get my 2011 Macbook Pro back up (High Sierra). However I'm experiencing the sleep and brightness issue.
I've searched for a while and can't find a specific solution. Is there any command I can do without having to try reinstall the OS? Super grateful for the fix thank you.

https://realmacmods.com/macbook-2011-radeon-gpu-disable/

 

[ron1004]

Managed to get my 2011 Macbook Pro back up (High Sierra). However I'm experiencing the sleep and brightness issue.
I've searched for a while and can't find a specific solution. Is there any command I can do without having to try reinstall the OS? Super grateful for the fix thank you.

For the wake from sleep there's a wire jumper, and there's an app you can use to control brightness, if you want to stick with High Sierra.

For those reasons I went back with a clean install of MacOS Sierra - my Discrete display is disabled by removal of the resistor, machine is running cool, and everything works.

 

[ShouWuWu]

Thank U guys veryyyy much!!!!You save my MBP 2011.

 

[Baszor]

Thank you very much for helping us out. Was able to get my 2011 macbook running again with the archlinux solution. Tried heating the GPU with a smd rework station and installed macs fan control. This worked for 2 months.

My screen was barely readable when it broke down again. Unfortunately I had to do it again after the last apple update, but it worked again!

Did the arch linux trick to write a new gpu-power setting in the efi. But it took me some time to remove the AMDkext files in recovery mode after shutting down the new apple protection mode.
Without this the AMD chip kept activating again.

Now running high sierra 10.13.6 Learning new things every day! thanks again!

 

[Motionblurrr]

I can’t seem to do csrutil disable because I’m unable to access Recovery OS

Any ideas? I tried holding down CMD+S+R and nothing... it just goes to the login screen

 

[Baszor]

I can’t seem to do csrutil disable because I’m unable to access Recovery OS

Any ideas? I tried holding down CMD+S+R and nothing... it just goes to the login screen

First do CMD+S and set the nvram to use the integrated gpu.

sudo nvram fa4ce28d-b62f-4c99-9cc3-6815686e30f9:gpu-power-prefs=%01%00%00%00

Then reboot and hold CMD+R to enter recovery. Recovery should boot with the integrated gpu. Open a terminal, do rsutil disable and remove or move the AMD kexts. I also read somewhere you might want to remove the cache. Search the thread for info.

Applying the above is not enough. You also need to edit the efi with arch Linux as described in the thread to have the integrated gpu active after each restart.

Hope this works for you.

 

[Motionblurrr]

First do CMD+S and set the nvram to use the integrated gpu.

sudo nvram fa4ce28d-b62f-4c99-9cc3-6815686e30f9:gpu-power-prefs=%01%00%00%00

Then reboot and hold CMD+R to enter recovery. Recovery should boot with the integrated gpu. Open a terminal, do rsutil disable and remove or move the AMD kexts. I also read somewhere you might want to remove the cache. Search the thread for info.

Applying the above is not enough. You also need to edit the efi with arch Linux as described in the thread to have the integrated gpu active after each restart.

Hope this works for you.

Thank you, it worked!!! My MBP is up and running again.

A couple questions: What should I do now? Backup my hard drive? How long can my MBP last with this hack? I’m low on funds to buy another laptop at the moment (great timing ) and I doubt it would be worth fixing again since it’s a matter of time until the GPU fries.

 

[Baszor]

Thank you, it worked!!! My MBP is up and running again.

A couple questions: What should I do now? Backup my hard drive? How long can my MBP last with this hack? I’m low on funds to buy another laptop at the moment (great timing ) and I doubt it would be worth fixing again since it’s a matter of time until the GPU fries.

Backing up is always a good thing. My mbpro has been working like this since last summer.
As long as you don't update or reset the nvram it will be like this.
i'm also a little hesitant to buy a new mbpro. they've come way too expensive to my liking.
but then again, my current has been working flawless until last summer. 8 years is a good time for a laptop.
I havent seen that happening for a 1000 euro windows laptop.

 

[Motionblurrr]

Backing up is always a good thing. My mbpro has been working like this since last summer.
As long as you don't update or reset the nvram it will be like this.
i'm also a little hesitant to buy a new mbpro. they've come way too expensive to my liking.
but then again, my current has been working flawless until last summer. 8 years is a good time for a laptop.
I havent seen that happening for a 1000 euro windows laptop.

Agreed. I was very sad when this happened and it felt weird to not have a main computer for a week. I'm glad I researched to find a workaround for the time being.

OK, good to know. Any tips on running it like this to keep it tip-top? I only used my MacBook for iTunes, Safari (social media), Youtube, Emails, etc.

Thanks!

 

[tomoxy]

Hi, I just wanted to thank the people on the forum for making this fix possible. It has saved me on a couple of occasions now from having to buy another machine. Only a couple of days ago I updated Sierra with a security update and it messed up the display again but thanks to the forum I was able to fix this today so thank you very much as it means that I wont have to go out and buy another computer again.

Just an additional note. Has anybody been successful in making Windows 7 work one one of these machines with the faulty Logic board? And also I dont seem able to close the lid on the machine anymore or let it go into sleep, if anyone knows a way of resolving this it would be massively appreciated.

Anyhow , many thanks again from a happy MBP 2011 user

 

[unquasar]

Hi,

I took the approach on two MBP without any problem.
For the third, after booting on the EFI key (ArchLinux 2017-03-01) and entering the parameter "nomodeset" and press "enter", the screen remains gray and nothing is displayed (even after 5 minutes).

I reset the NVRAM / PRAM and the SMC: same problem.
I created a new EFI key with Rufus (DD mode): same problem.

The EFI key and ArchLinux works on my other two MBP.

I don't understand, do you have a solution?

Thanks.


EDIT: Resolved. I only had 2GO of RAM. I added 2GO and it worked.

 

[nando12]

hi, in my case it didn't work ..jet.
Achlinux didn't work: "divice did not show up after 30 seconds...
Falling back to interactive prompt
sh: can't access tty; job control turned off

So then I tryed the methode without archlinux, only osx.
The code indicated in your guide fixed the gpu problem, now pre-booting looks good but the booting rutine stops at about 3/4 of the black line under the apple.

help!

 

[Roman78]

Hello guys....

i have a question about the EFI modification and the usage of Windows. I have modified the EFI using a Linux Distro and removed the resistor. OSX is working like a charm, but windows is not. After selecting windows 7 to boot it just went black. I also did a test with a Windows 10 installation on an USB drive without the bootcamp drivers. This works whit the Windows Default display driver, but after loading the Intel HD 3000 drivers the display goes crazy. I found out the resolution is wrong. But why is it going crazy? Even after rebooting in OSX the display is flashing. After 15 Minutes the flashing is gone again.

So is it possible to run Windows on a MBP 2011?

 

[AppleMacFinder]

How long can my MBP last with this hack? I’m low on funds to buy another laptop at the moment (great timing ) and I doubt it would be worth fixing again since it’s a matter of time until the GPU fries.

With this hack your MBP will be permanently switched to integrated graphics until you'll reinstall OS X or update it, in which case you'll have to apply this hack again. So your MBP could last very long even with a fried dGPU, however there are some extra difficulties with OS X reinstallation or update/upgrade as you see. Or you could switch from Mac OS X to some user-friendly Linux like a Linux Mint, and the things will be a lot of easier. Aside from maybe booting from LiveUSB installation media with a "nomodeset" parameter of Linux kernel (to enable the basic graphics mode), I don't remember doing anything in order to get this MBP working on Linux Mint, and this fried discrete GPU just sits there not causing any problems, although I could blacklist this PCI device I don't bother with it.
[doublepost=1557136225][/doublepost]

So is it possible to run Windows on a MBP 2011?

You could consider running Windows in a virtual machine, e.g. Parallels Desktop. Last time I checked the CPU performance difference (between a host and VM) was just a couple of percents while the GPU hit was about 1/3, however this has been measured a long time ago and hopefully the virtual machines became more advanced at their GPU part since that time.