MBP dead nvidia GPU: Workaround?

lotekk · 01-17-2013, 01:54 PM

Hello everyone,

Mid-2010 MBP here, running under Snow Leopard with one very dead Nvidia 330m GPU. That card (like a few of its kind, it seems) has been faulty since the day I bought the machine from Apple's refurbished store, some two years and half ago, with pixellations and frequent freezes.

I wasn't that concerned because my workflow does not involve any graphic intensive task. I've just been using the excellent utility gfxCardStatus to stick to the internal GPU, and make sure the flimsy nvidia wouldn't expose me to frequent Kernel Panics.

That was a mistake, of course, for things, as they usually do, have gone from bad to worse. Now the nvidia card is not faulty anymore: it is deader than a brick, meaning that even the remotest call to it will end up in an immediate crash. (This is definitely hardware, and it happens on every account on my system).

Even with gfxCardStatus activated and set to "integrated", there are still instances where switching may happen, so my machine is not reliable anymore.

I took it to the Genius bar. They did confirm the hardware failure: actually their auditing software couldn't even read my graphic card -- it crashed. But they said Apple does not officially any nvidia 330m issue (I believe there is one), and since my warranty has long expired, I'm contemplating a logic board replacement that would make me shell out some 500€ ($650).

Well, I've ordered a replacement computer. But what about my hobbled MBP? Apart from the GPU failure, it is a great machine. And I've noticed that it still works perfectly in safe-boot mode -- presumably because the nvidia, and maybe graphic switching, drivers were not loaded?

So I wondered whether there'd be some workaround involving unloading the relevant kexts. Feasible? Advisable?

ricede · 01-17-2013, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lotekk


	That card (like a few of its kind, it seems) has been faulty since the day I bought the machine from Apple's refurbished store, some two years and half ago, with pixellations and frequent freezes.

Personally I couldn't imagine buying a mac ( which don't come cheap, whether refurbished or not ) and not returning it immediately if there was a fault, whatever my workflow. To wait until its out of warranty, before taking it back to Apple & then needing to buy a replacement machine seems extraordinary.

hayne · 01-17-2013, 10:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lotekk


	So I wondered whether there'd be some workaround involving unloading the relevant kexts. Feasible? Advisable?

You can find out which kext's are loaded by running the command 'kextstat' in a Terminal window. You could compare the results when in SafeBoot mode and not to see which ones don't get loaded in SafeBoot.

The corresponding files are in "/System/Library/Extensions".
Don't know what will happen if you remove the NVidia kext(s) - probably will be fine. But you can just try it as long as you are prepared to recover (putting them back) in single-user mode.
(Don't delete the files, just move them to a different folder. And you will likely need to do this via commands in Terminal - not in Finder!)

lotekk · 01-18-2013, 05:56 AM

Many thanks, Hayne, I will try this.

@ricede: You're right. It was not extraordinary: it was dumb. In my defense, I guess I would have returned the machine immediately had I found out there was a fault with 100% certainty. But GPU issues are particularly elusive. Check out any thread dealing with such problems and you'll see what I mean: laymen are still groping in the dark with those. At the time (2010), I found no consistent pattern in the forums. My freezes/pixellations being infrequent and non reproducible, I assumed there was some minor software bug lying around and didn't investigate further. Only a few months later did I realize that I had a serious hardware issue. My warranty was about to expire, and then I made a mistake: I let it pass.

Epilogue: Ordered a replacement MBP, non-refurbished, along with an AppleCare. The change comes earlier than what I'd have planned: but since that machine might be the last non-retina Apple produces (I have no real use for the retina screen and slimmed form factor), I'll take it as a blessing in disguise. But I do intend to put the old MBP to good use.

agentx · 01-18-2013, 06:47 AM

I have had to deal with these sort of issues on many occasions with Apple/Nvidia graphics failures on various models, it is certainly nothing new.

Sometimes you will get the right person at an Apple Store who will just push the machine through for a logic board replacement out of warranty or even out of extended warranty....but in this case....not.

Hopefully lesson learnt.

01-17-2013, 01:54 PM	#1
lotekk Prospect Join Date: Jan 2013 Posts: 2	MBP dead nvidia GPU: Workaround? Hello everyone, Mid-2010 MBP here, running under Snow Leopard with one very dead Nvidia 330m GPU. That card (like a few of its kind, it seems) has been faulty since the day I bought the machine from Apple's refurbished store, some two years and half ago, with pixellations and frequent freezes. I wasn't that concerned because my workflow does not involve any graphic intensive task. I've just been using the excellent utility gfxCardStatus to stick to the internal GPU, and make sure the flimsy nvidia wouldn't expose me to frequent Kernel Panics. That was a mistake, of course, for things, as they usually do, have gone from bad to worse. Now the nvidia card is not faulty anymore: it is deader than a brick, meaning that even the remotest call to it will end up in an immediate crash. (This is definitely hardware, and it happens on every account on my system). Even with gfxCardStatus activated and set to "integrated", there are still instances where switching may happen, so my machine is not reliable anymore. I took it to the Genius bar. They did confirm the hardware failure: actually their auditing software couldn't even read my graphic card -- it crashed. But they said Apple does not officially any nvidia 330m issue (I believe there is one), and since my warranty has long expired, I'm contemplating a logic board replacement that would make me shell out some 500€ ($650). Well, I've ordered a replacement computer. But what about my hobbled MBP? Apart from the GPU failure, it is a great machine. And I've noticed that it still works perfectly in safe-boot mode -- presumably because the nvidia, and maybe graphic switching, drivers were not loaded? So I wondered whether there'd be some workaround involving unloading the relevant kexts. Feasible? Advisable?

01-18-2013, 05:56 AM	#4
lotekk Prospect Join Date: Jan 2013 Posts: 2	Thanks Many thanks, Hayne, I will try this. @ricede: You're right. It was not extraordinary: it was dumb. In my defense, I guess I would have returned the machine immediately had I found out there was a fault with 100% certainty. But GPU issues are particularly elusive. Check out any thread dealing with such problems and you'll see what I mean: laymen are still groping in the dark with those. At the time (2010), I found no consistent pattern in the forums. My freezes/pixellations being infrequent and non reproducible, I assumed there was some minor software bug lying around and didn't investigate further. Only a few months later did I realize that I had a serious hardware issue. My warranty was about to expire, and then I made a mistake: I let it pass. Epilogue: Ordered a replacement MBP, non-refurbished, along with an AppleCare. The change comes earlier than what I'd have planned: but since that machine might be the last non-retina Apple produces (I have no real use for the retina screen and slimmed form factor), I'll take it as a blessing in disguise. But I do intend to put the old MBP to good use.

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01-18-2013, 06:47 AM	#5
agentx Hall of Famer Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Brighton, UK Posts: 3,811	I have had to deal with these sort of issues on many occasions with Apple/Nvidia graphics failures on various models, it is certainly nothing new. Sometimes you will get the right person at an Apple Store who will just push the machine through for a logic board replacement out of warranty or even out of extended warranty....but in this case....not. Hopefully lesson learnt.