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Comment by zomgbbq | Hacker News Reader

I was experiencing the GPU panics as well and it turned out to be a hardware issue. Did it only happen when you were using the NVidia GPU and not when using the on-board?

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I have this issue (MBP early 2011).

Is it risky to upgrade to Yosemite? When starting up cold, I sometimes have to force-shutdown the computer 30+ times before it will get past the Apple logo screen without going grey or black. I'm not sure if such a major software update is a good idea given the circumstances.

I had a GPU hardware problem too. When in I upgraded a few years ago to a beta at wwdc, it became quite unstable. Finally got Apple to replace the motherboard. Not sure why an upgrade would cause the problem, though.

I had this problem, went to the genius bar and was quickly offered to replace the defective component for free in under a week, if I remember correctly.

It's still much too long to go without a computer, but it's worth it when you realise you've been coding for three hours and haven't lost a single line of code to a crash.

That being said, before I got the part replaced, upgrading to... was it snow leopard? the latest version of OS X, anyway, increased the frequency of the issue by rather a lot. So, possibly, hold off on your update?

Thanks for the anecdotal evidence. Were you covered by Apple Care or just got lucky?

A little bit of both: my warrantee had long expired, but there was an extension for this very specific issue, since I believe it affects 100% of macbook pros from that series.

I've looked into this a bit more and it looks like my comment is entirely unhelpful: mine is a mid-2010 MBP, so while our issues look similar, they probably are not. Sorry about that, I should have checked before.

Bummer. Thanks for following up, though.

I think I have the exact same problem with my 2010 MBP. How long ago did you get it replaced?

If it's indeed the same issue, I think you're out of luck, at least for the free part. Here's the Apple ticket about it: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4088

This explicitly states that your warrantee for this very specific issue is extended to 3 years after date of purchase. I doubt you purchased a 2010 MBP in 2012...

Still, if this looks like what you're experiencing, get a genius bar appointment. It's free, and they have an automated diagnostic system that detects this specific issue (and others). If it's the same one, you might be able to talk yourself into a free replacement.

This is so common on the early 2011 MBP (I have one too, and experienced it - Apple replaced my logic board with their $300 flat-fee repair depot option) people have made a website for it:

http://www.mbp2011.com/

http://appleinsider.com/articles/14/05/13/apple-remains-mum-...

Lawyers Researching Possible Class Action Lawsuit Over 2011 MacBook Pro Graphics Issues

http://www.macrumors.com/2014/08/21/lawsuit-2011-macbook-pro...

I'm saddened that Apple has forced the hand of their customers to push for this lawsuit.

Apple should have issued a recall and replacement program for this early 2011 MacBook Pro GPU defect a long while ago and now it's come to this.

I don't think Steve Jobs would call the impending lawsuit bad luck, he'd call it bad karma.

Glad I'm not the only one. It's not nearly as bad as my 2007 on 10.6.8 though.

Had this happen shortly after AppleCare lapsed, went with the $300 depot repair to swap out the motherboard. Sucks, but it fixed it (the GPU was dying in my case, I believe).

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