MXM graphics card issue on (white) 24" iMac #2

Because the original thread is closed, I will start here a sequel...
As mentioned there are A LOT of people who experience massive MXM card related problems with their white 24" iMacs. It seem that it's near normal that these Geforce 7300 / 7600 modules will "decease" after two or three years...
Perhaps this affects only a certain production line of these Geforce 7300 / 7600 MXM cards, nevertheless according posts and blogs on the web, this problem seem to be very widespread.
Out of my view it is clearly to "widespread" to say that this are just some "average" contingencies...
Yes, I will go so far to say that there are some similarities to the horrible "iMac Vertical lines problem".
Unfortunately similar is Apple's official reaction on the issue here, if your are not a lucky owner of an Apple Care Protection Plan, you have simply no other choice than pay for the repair $700.
Well, well, it seems that there is actually no other option then to go the way of "cross flashing" the MXM firmware of standard (PC) MXM modules. Whatever this matter is very complex and risk full...

Keep cool. It's not to late... Yes, you are now affected by the same error described by me. For the moment, DO NOT USE the iMac FOR LONGER TIME. Especially DO NOT USE it for intensive graphical things!
If you have Apple Care take the iMac to your next Apple Partner. If there is NO WARRANTY, I advice to do it yourself. This will spent you A LOT of money.
Ok, what do you have exactly to do? No big thing, - just completely disassembly your iMac. More precisely, you have to change the original thermal grease between the graphics chip and the heat pipe. Exactly that's the reason of all these failures here. It seems, that Apple has used here some debased material...
It sounds hard, but at the end, it isn't really. Check the following sites:
http://www.techdc.com/imac-24-opened-and-upgraded
http://www.flickr.com/photos/litmus/4480251432/

Similar Messages

  • Graphic card issue

    Hello everybody! I've just read about a graphic card issue of mid-2011 iMac and replacement program.
    As I am an owner of one of these computers and I'm living in Israel, and in Israel no one has heard about this issue - my question is if there is a real problem? Thanks in advance

    http://support.apple.com/kb/TS5167
    Bring a copy of that page to your authorized service center, and the link to it.
    Sadly, Apple did not put it on:
    http://www.apple.com/support/exchange_repair/
    which would be the normal place to address such programs.

  • Is there a Replacement Program for 2009 iMacs with MXM Graphics Cards?

    I have an iMac 24" Early 2009 with the Nvidia GeForce GT 120 256MB MXM graphics card that is freezing and crashing over-and-over, especially when I'm away and it's not connected to my 2nd display! Odd. I've done the usual (cleaned the iMac inside, run fsck, SMC reset, PRAM reset, repair permissions from boot USB, disconnected all peripherals, changed mice and keyboards, changed the HD, reinstalled the OS, run Onyx and so on) and finally decided that it's a faulty graphics card that only a replacement will fix. When I'm home it's more stable when connected via a Displayport DVI adapter to DVI cable to a 24" Dell display. When standalone (like when traveling with my iMac for long stints out of town) it's unusable. It won't run for longer than 30 minutes, often not even 10 minutes, then I get screen artifacts and freezes and then have to fsck to repair the drive before running it again. Only running it in Safe Mode will allow it to run reliably.
    However, I believe that I found a stopgap solution. I installed a program which I downloaded after installing XCode called Quartz Debug which has apparently allowed me to disable Quartz Extreme, 2D Acceleration and Quartz GL.
    Turning off all Quartz graphics enhancements makes this machine stable if not exactly completely "mac-like" in its performance, but it's at least usable under most conditions for long periods of time. I know of people who have replaced the MXM graphics card on this machine with good effect, but it's an expensive proposition and these cards are apparently few and far between. Has anyone done this?
    Based on the large number of nearly identical complaints about this model, both here and elsewhere, it seems like this MXM graphics card is defective or Apple's drivers are defective . . . well maybe, but it very, very predictably crashes when the computer gets hotter and not even _extremely_ hot, but well within what would be normal operating temps for other machines.
    I've disassembled and completely cleaned the inside and have replaced the HD with an SSD and removed the optical drive entirely so if anything I've reduced heat-producing devices from the interior of the device installed a fan control and keep the graphics card features mostly turned off.
    I've looked for but have yet to see a recall or warranty replacement program for this device and no, I don't have Applecare. I've owned several Apple products in the last two decades and with the issues with Apple products in recent years, it seems like Applecare must be figured as part of any Apple purchase if reliability and ongoing support is desired.
    Ironically, I have an Apple IIc and a Power Computing Power Tower 166 that still work just fine, thank you!
    JoeL
    Atlanta, GA

    This cropped up on my wife's late 2009 model 27" iMac, too.  Random freezes were encountered, unable to identify cause for months, then one day it started to become unable to complete a normal boot.  Tech Tool Deluxe was the only direct indication as far as diagnostics are concerned.  I've NEVER been abvle to get Apple's hardware diagnostic to run from the cloud, and we fianlly got it on a Techs' bench, AHT showed nothing wrong.  As you said, Safe boot is the only way to get into the system, and performance under 10.8.5 is glacial.
    Now the kicker - we DID have AppleCare, and this phase of the MXM graphics demise hit within 4 or 5 months of AppleCare expiration.  There's no longer a flat-rate repair option, Apple doesn't have any stock of the video board to sell as a replacement part (was $169, or $179 w/no exchange) and even refurbs of this paltry (512MB VRAM) board can hit $300.  I know Mac users have become 2nd-class citizens in Apple's business universe, but we're now looking at sub-42 month lifespans for hardware?  At $2k for a machine that lacks touchscreen option, that's out of line.

  • Macbook Pro Graphics Card Issue.

    My Mac wont boot up at all, just boots into a white screen and shuts down while the fans are whizzing like crazy.I've tried resetting the PRAM and SMC to no avail.
    Before my mac would shut down whenever I use any graphic demanding application watch a youtube video or streaming a movie in quicktime (Clearly a graphics card issue) . I've reported this to apple a year ago a few times and brought it in twice, Once to an authorised retailer in Limerick and another time to a Apple store in London. In the past few months this problem has become more frequent than before where before it would only do it once/twice a month now its doing it a few times a day and at this point you can probably understand my frustration. In limerick I was told there was nothing they could do about the problem but just bring it to an apple store which I happened to go to a few weeks later while I was in london.
    In London I was told they would replace the motherboard, The macbook was with them for a few days for repairs but they could not reproduce the problem but could see what was happening since others have had the same problem with the same model. I'm wondering why wasnt my macbook replaced THEN when the issue was addressed many times over the phone with apple during the first few months of use and when I brang it into the store. Now my apple care has expired and I'm just left with a broken machine and wondering why wouldnt they replace it when I was under warrenty when there was an obvious issue that was addressed multiple times.
    I'm completly dissapointed in Apple, and am on the brink of losing brand loyalty, I've bought numerous iPhones,iPods and iPads throughout the years and the amount of issues that have not been fixed with this Macbook is crazy.I have now college in september, I obviously cant afford to pay the 750 to get it replaced, ontop of thousands of euros in college fees which I can barely afford anyway.
    I paid €2000 for this machine that I thought would last me through college but it seems not the case since my first year in college starts in september. Is there any possible way to fix this issue with my mac or is it complely fried?

    Ok, so I sarted to experience the same problem last week and this is what I did to fix it.
    First I want to explain why this Fix works so I don't look like a total jack***trying home remedies:
    What heating your GPU does is that in case that your card overheated some connections may had become loose as your logic board expands, basic thermodynamics. The heat will cause the soldering material to melt releasing the GPU pins from contact with the logic board. The heat coming form the heat gun can help to reconnect these pins. If you over heated your GPU and your card fried then your only choice is to replace it, which I don't think is possible without you having to pay for a new motherboard since the GPU is attached to it from factory. 
    Here is the link to the tutorial.:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ti8LqIHMnlQ
    Mac Released an announcement about a Faulty AMD GPU installed in some MacBook Pros and iMacs (http://support.apple.com/kb/TS5167). The Problem is apparently generated due to overheating of the GPU, however, some users had complaint that even after a new Motherboard replacement the problem persisted few minutes after they booted the computer for the first time. Apple offered a free motherboard replacement for specific models and only for limited time; If your mac was out of the timeline or did not fit the specified description then you will "Only" had to pay $350. ***** Doesn't it? I mean we already pay a substantial amount of money for Mac products and yet they want more money, corporate greed?
    So the problem starts when you suddenly experience a hang on the system, this may vary for some users, I forced Rebooting and BOOM!! there it was, a pinkish low resolution apple that only leaded me to a gray and sometimes blue screen. So I was like ok no problem my system just want attention and all I have to do is a PRAM rest. Well, nothing, went more deeper and did a BIOS reset and still nothing. Ok, I was ****** because I upgraded to a SSD few weeks ago and based on my experience this also maybe caused if you have bad Hard Drive. So started the computer in Target Disk Mode and booted it as an external drive from another mac, the computer worked just great. My Next step was research the problem and I found thousands of users having the same issue. I spent 24 hrs reading Mac Support Forums and other pages and I figured that if I remove all the ATI Files form System/Library/Extensions will actually force the computer to start in Low Resolution Mode (Google How To Start your mac as a Single User Mode and research how to use command line "rm" commands). Once you do this you will find that your main screen will behave as if it was your external monitor therefore you have absolutely no control of it trying to fix the resolution. After two days of intense research and troubleshooting I was able to have the computer working, low resolution but working, then I realized I can't do nothing at all, I mean I can't miss Family Guy episodes and this aint gonna help :|. So this video shows exactly what you need to do to make it work.
    Tools Needed: All can be found at any RadioShack Local Stores
    1. PHH00 & T4 Screw Drivers
    2. Thermal Compound
    3. Circuit Cleaner (Rubbing Alcohol Works)
    4. Heat Gun ( Can found at any Hardware store)
    <Edited by Host>

  • I urgently need to know how I can connect 8 thunderbolt display, I was thinking with the new mac pro will come out, but I wonder if it is possible to connect an iMac to 4GB of graphics card, but suffers from the imac. thanks

    I urgently need to know how I can connect 8 thunderbolt display, I was thinking with the new mac pro will come out, but I wonder if it is possible to connect an iMac to 4GB of graphics card, but suffers from the imac. thanks

    I tightened all HD screws and it didn't help. With the machine running and side of the case off, I physically stopped both the video card fan and the front case fan with my finger for a couple seconds and the noise continued. I also took all hard drives out one by one and rebooted each time. Again, the noise continued until I took out the Mac HD in Bay 1, rebooted, and I had a very quiet, silent machine. The issue is the hard drive in bay 1 that shipped with the computer, it's without a doubt causing the hum/woosh sound. I still need to know if I can safely swap the Mac HD from bay 1 to bay 4 without any issues to the operating system. I would like to try that to see if it dampens the noise but I also want to make sure this swap won't screw up my machine at all.

  • Macbook Pro Retina 2014 Top Spec - Premiere Pro CC Graphics Card Issue

    Hello,
    For 12 months I have been having graphics card issues which all started on my 2011 MBP, which Apple replaced 12 months ago. I Then got a new shiny, 2013 highest end retina macbook pro from apple, in which after a couple of weeks had the exact same graphics issue. As soon as I start working in Premiere Pro with my 1080P DSLR footage, once the fans get up high, then the graphic colour hologram like start pooping on my screen. Now I got that retina replaced as I alerted apple about it, now they have given me the highest end 2014 model, and guess what? The problem is twice as bad.
    I think it's definitely got something to do with the Apple software. It's weird though, because on the rare occasion, the graphic poop will show up on my screen when I am on Youtube (only once in a blue moon it does that) - it does it every single time 15-20 mins into editing with Premiere Pro, once the fans get hot. I can click on the graphics poop and it makes it disappear, which is weird, maybe that proves it software issue?
    I don't know, but this problem has caused me to go through two of apples most powerful laptops, 60 phone calls to Apple, 1 investigation lodged to the Apple Engineers (the people who are above the Senior Apple Care Advisors) - Nothing seems to fix it, and I haven't been able to create any more intriguing films on my laptop because Premiere Pro CC just brings up all the graphics poop.
    Screenshots:
    http://imageshack.com/a/img537/653/IgdBK9.png
    http://imageshack.com/a/img538/9601/WLQYnM.png
    http://imageshack.com/a/img538/152/EIFd22.jpg
    Does anyone know what causes this exactly? How do I fix it?

    JGFilm88
    Thanks for the follow up information for my video card/graphics card question that came to mind out of curiosity.
    I do not have Premiere Pro and am strictly and Elements Windows user. Otherwise I would look into this matter for you first hand. The place you want to be is in the Adobe Premiere Pro Forum, although, as you already mentioned, the screen display irregularities have appeared when Premiere Pro was not being used. Have you tried uninstalling Premiere Pro to determine if its removal from the computer resolves the screen display irregularities for whatever you are doing in the computer applications like iMovie? For that matter, do you see the problem in iMovies?
    Just some thoughts to think about as you compose your inquiry for the Premiere Pro users in the Premiere Pro Forum.
    Best wishes
    ATR

  • Warhammer - Graphics Card Issue

    So here's my problem. I'm running vista through bootcamp and am having problems installing/running Warhammer Online becauce of what appears to be a graphics card issue?
    I screened through systemrequirementslab.com and came back with it saying I had "Standard VGA Graphics Adapter"
    The game has very specific video card requirements, which in actuality I meet. But when I try to run the game I get a black screen to crash.
    Is there a way to fix this issue? Or should just get rid of this thing and buy a PC.

    You might want to use Driver Sweeper and remove (deinstall and delete) your old drivers first, before installing new drivers.
    http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.asp?m=396474
    http://www.guru3d.com/category/driversweeper/

  • Graphics card issue on new 2014 mini?

    I have two Viewsonic monitors hooked up to one of the new Mac Mini's. I have the 2.6 ghz version with a fusion drive. I'm using a Thunderbolt to DVI connection for both monitors (using the two thunderbolt/display ports).
    I'm having an issue where about 1 out of every 4 times I wake up the Mac from sleeping, one or both monitors have a distorted display. It almost looks like the colors on the screen are inverted. Other times one display will work, but the other is a digital version of a "salt and pepper" screen.
    Putting the computer to sleep & back awake will usually fix it, but sometimes it takes a couple of wake/sleep cycles for the display to return to normal.
    Anyone else experiencing this? Is this something I can fix, or do I have a graphics card issue? I've only had the computer for a couple of weeks now.

    I saw some posts about the screens not waking, I haven't experienced that. So far mine will always turn on, they are just either distorted colors or snow. I wonder if it's a related issue?

  • Graphics card issue - Satellite A100-313 shuts down by itself

    I have a satellite A100-313 and I'm using vista.
    Everytime when I play games, the notebook shuts itself off after some time. It varies, normally have 10-20min of playing.
    And when I immediately turn it on again, I get a black screen but the computer is running. I'd have to wait a while to turn it on again for the screen to work.
    So it starts up again and the resolution is changed to 1024x764 (the native resolution is 1280).
    I assume it is a graphics card issue (I have a Geforce 7600 Go). I already updated to the latest vista drivers available from the Toshiba site (the one from september).
    What can I do to fix this? The automatic shutdown normally only happens when I play games.
    Any help is appreciated.

    Hm, sounds tricky.
    I can suggest you the following:
    Download the latest bios for your machine from the toshiba download site:
    http://eu.computers.toshiba-europe.com/cgi-bin/ToshibaCSG/download_drivers_bios.jsp
    And last but not least, check if your cooling system of your machine is not clobbed with dust. You can clean it up with a can with compressed air to remove the dust from the fan and the heatpipe-fin.
    If you have some questions, just ask.
    Nice weekend

  • Lenovo z5070 graphics card issue 'nvidia'

    i bought a new laptop .. i have windows 8.1 ... Z5070 - Graphics cards issue (Unable to play heavy graphic games. Nvidia Card) Z5070 with Nvidia Graphic card is having problem when playing high graphic games. The Nvidia graphic card is not detected and it is only using the Intel Graphic card.i install latest updates for everything.what is the problem pllz i want to play games

    Hi abdallah650, By default the graphic cards used by computer are switched automatically, depend of application to run. You can check and change this for each application in NVidia Control Panel - 3D settings.
    Also you can run each application with right click on it and choose the prefered graphic card. Read this article: switching between Intel and NVidia graphics and here.  I hope that will help you. 

  • Photoshop has crashed both my computers due to a graphic card issue. I would like to revert to old system.

    Photoshop has crashed both my computers due to a graphic card issue. How do I
    to revert to old system?

    Previous via Cloud http://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/help/install-apps.html#previous
    -or OLDER previous versions http://www.adobe.com/downloads/other-downloads.html

  • Graphic Card Issues

    How do i reset the firmware or use new firmware for my nvidia 8800 gs graphics card?
    Right now my imac is only letting me use the native resolution and the graphic processing is very slow.
    Before the mac would not let me start up in osx because of a kernel panic.
    I deleted these files, NVDAResman.kext and GeForce.kext
    Once i did that the kernel went away and let me boot into osx.
    Is there any possible solution to this?

    Anything in these threads apply/help...?
    http://discussions.apple.com/search.jspa?search=Go&q=nvidia+8800gs

  • Graphics card issue iMac 21.5" mid 2011

    Hello,
    I have a 21.5" mid 2011 iMac with windows 7 64bit installed and when I open DxDiag it says to me that my graphics card has 221MB of dedicated memory instead of 512. Can this problem negatively affect the computer's performance (for example while playing games)? How do I fix this?
    My graphics card is the ATI Radeon 6750m.
    Thank you very much for helping.

    Anyone can help?

  • Non NVidia graphics card issues with Adobe and Mountain Lion

    It took me a while to figure it out, but now I am certain. If using a Mac with a non nvidia graphics card there will be issues in Mountain Lion while using Adobe products. I tested this with Illustrator CS6 for over a year on 5 different Mac computers.
    Here is what happens
    As soon as I open Illustrator on a Mac without a NVidia graphics card and I attend to apply an shadow effect, Illustrator crashes. If I do this procedure on a Mac with a NVidia inside, all works well.
    I tested this on the following Macs
    MacBook Pro (Early 2009) with NVidia 9600M GT - it works
    MacBook Pro (Early 2011) with Radeon 6750M - doesn't work
    Mac Pro (Early 2009) with Radeo HD 5770 - doesn't work
    The same Mac Pro (Early 2009) with NVidia GT120 - it works
    MacBook Air (Mid 2012) with Intel HD 4000 - doesn't work
    iMac (Late 2012) with NVidia 680MX - it works
    Since I owned all these Macs, I could test it several times with different kind of software updates. 10.8, 10.8.1, 10.8.2 and 10.8.3 did deliver the same result. Everytime the same result.
    Already got in touch with Adobe
    With Illustrator CS5 it worked like a charme, so I assumed it could be an Adobe issue. But Adobe support told me, it's Apple's fault since 10.8 uses different processes for the graphics performance.
    What can be done, to resolve this issue? I cannot buy only Macs with NVidia inside, since the small portable front of Macs is only coming with Intel graphics cards. And is there anybody out there, having this issue? I cannot be the only one, using shadows in Illustrator.

    With Illustrator CS5 it worked like a charme, so I assumed it could be an Adobe issue. But Adobe support told me, it's Apple's fault since 10.8 uses different processes for the graphics performance.
    A typical response.  IMO it's most likely a combination of Adobe's reluctance to fix the issue combined with Apple's desire for advancement and change.  I've personally experienced several things that've become broken owing to Apple changing fundamental aspects of the OS, and the developers of the third-party software in question have either never fixed their software, or are taking their sweet time.  WireTap Studio and Snapz Pro from Ambrosia are a case in point, though they eventually fixed Snapz Pro.  Eventually…
    Frankly, good luck getting either side to do anything about this.  Your best bet is probably getting in touch with AppleCare and seeing if you can get this escalated to Engineering, but I wouldn't hold your breath for a fix from either party.  Or perhaps one of the Apple mailing lists will prove useful.

  • Qosmio X300-14P : Graphic card issues and vertical stripes on display

    Hi,
    2 days ago, after a long notebook session of many many hours, suddenly after playing for 2 hours the game
    Patrician 4 addon, it crashed in a strange and never seen before way:
    The display would show strange and weird colours in all forms rushing over ther display. You could not recognize anything anymore, and after a few seconds of this the screen and the x300-14P completely froze/crashed (hung - no reaction on anything except power plug pull and/or 5 seconds push of ther power button).
    I was afraid since this to me looked like a serious issue of either graphic card (nvidia chip) or display.
    I hoped it was because of heat (though i have a powerful cooling pad below the notebook and heat shouldnt be a problem).
    Next day (yesterday) I launched the game immediately after startup, and after a few seconds the same crash appeared again with the same strange video glitches (never saw something strange like that before).
    I immediately did the 5 second power button press reset,. and then, when the first boot screen appears (the bios display hint and the loading/booting screen), there were like 2-7 vertical white stripes (on the black background) on the right side of the screen.
    They wouldn't move nor go away.
    I immediately turned the notebook off and it is off since then.
    To me this looks really serious, as if either nvidia chip (Geforce 9800-GTX) is broken or the display.
    Does anyone know something about this ?
    Has anyone heard of such a problem ?
    Who knows more ?
    I know, i can now connect an external monitor.
    If there is no problem, this should mean that it is a x300 display problem
    If the problem also appears on the external monitor, it is the nvidia gpu chip. That would be at least my guess.
    Has anyone any idea about this, what it might be and what i could do ?
    (i am afraid sending the x300 in to toshiba for fixing is not worth it, as it is pretty old
    (it was purchased new in june 2009). fixing it is probably too expensive.
    Any ideas about hthis problem ?
    I never had it before.
    Who can help ?
    Thanks
    P.S:
    I was thinlking about buying the new qosmio X870, but i just saw it has no express card slot, which i need for various expansion modules (like tv and video equipment, more e-sata cards etc.pp.).
    Without an express card slot i wouldn't buy any notebook, i need this slot urgently (it is like a pci-express card connection slot in a desktop pc).
    To me the express card slot is vital.
    Too bad many notebooks dont have it anymore.
    So io might need my x300 for some time,
    but what shoudl i do abpout this new strange video chip/display problem ?

    Hi,
    yes.
    even windows has now deactivated the whole graphic card, saying it was deactivated because
    it reported an error - CODE 43 .
    the stripes are still there at boot screen and bios screen, they go away though as soon as windows loads,
    but this has deacvtivated the nvidia chip (the nvidia device driver software wouldnt start at all, it says : no nvidia gpu connected (since it was deactivated by windows 7)).
    looks like i have to send the x300 to toshiba for repair (maybe even mainboard replacement).
    who knows how i can find the local toshiba repair company ?
    whom can i call in
    FRANKFURT AM MAIN
    GERMANY
    to get my toshiba notebook repaired ?
    if someone has the adress and even better telephone nummber, i would be happy.
    a second question, by the way :
    did someone of you ever replace the mainboard in a toshiba X300 / X305 ?
    how expensive was that ?
    thanks

Maybe you are looking for