Arstechnica: Latest MacBook Pros suffering from GPU-related freezes

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http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2011/0...reezes.ars

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http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-20045556-263.html

More recently, Apple's updated line of MacBook Pro systems has encountered a problem profiled on MacRumors and discussed in great length on this Apple Discussion Board thread, where the systems have been locking up when under heavy load. While the machines appear to be running, the input to them seems to be frozen so users cannot do anything, and end up forcing the systems to restart.

These machines have new hardware in them, including four-core CPUs and brand-new Thunderbolt I/O technology, and it is possible there could be a bug in the firmware or software drivers for these new features, which may lead to the problem.

In both situations, Apple representatives have said that they are aware of the issue and are working on a fix, which should come in the form of a software update in the near future. In the meantime if you are experiencing problems with these new machines you might consider trying some potential workarounds.


For the new MacBook Pro, the problem is likely in the display drivers, since most of the crashes are happening when people enable graphics options in various programs or use graphically intensive applications such as games or CAD software. In these cases you might try booting and running your system in Safe Mode (hold Shift at start-up) to see if that allows it to run without the potential for crashing. Additionally, you can try reducing the graphics settings in the programs you're using to see if that helps the problem.

In terms of the graphics in the new systems, there could be an problem either with the use of the discrete graphics card or with the switching technologies. Either way, you might try testing the problem by installing "gfxCardStatus," which is a tool that can force the system to use only one GPU and thereby prevent automatic switching or the use of one GPU. Try different GPU setups with this tool to see if you can prevent the problem from happening.

[OWC Jamie]

Update: Apple has released Mac OS X 10.6.7, and is targeting a specific version for 2011 MacBook Pros. The description says that the update addresses graphics stability, among other things. If you've been affected by freezes and the update clears up the issue for you, let us know in the comments.