![]() ![]() Kextload /System/Library/Extensions-off/AMDRadeonX3000.kext In nano, add the following text and hit control-X to save Mv /System/Library/Extensions/AMDRadeonX3000.kext /System/Library/Extensions-bkup/ This will keep the GPU disabled, but also will remove power from it so that it keeps your system cooler. We will just move it, because after the machine boots up and you login, we will want to reload it. ![]() Next we will want to move one AMD kext so that it is not loaded on initial boot. This will turn on verbose mode when booting up. We will then issue commands to disable the AMD GPU on boot by writing specific values into the NVRAM.Įnter : nvram fa4ce28d-b62f-4c99-9cc3-6815686e30f9:gpu-power-prefs=%01%00%00%00 This time hold down + to boot into single-user mode. At this point, reboot the laptop by entering : reboot You can leave this off permanently, or re-enable after you complete the whole process. This is a critical step, as the following commands will not run unless you disable the default SIP protection. This is done by entering : csrutil disable If you can keep the machine cool, it should let you boot to a command prompt. If your machine will not boot up into this mode, you can try putting it into a freezer for 10-15 min beforehand. ![]() Power on your laptop while holding ++, this will get you into Recovery/Single-User mode. It also assumes that all kexts are still in their default location /System/Library/Extensions, all AMD-kexts remain except one which is required to be moved. Thunderbolt data and video connections should continue to work as normal. While you will now be able to use your system you will lose the ability to use an external display. This modification will force the laptop to not boot into discrete graphics (dGPU) but directly into integrated graphics (iGPU). If you have a highly modified system with lots of custom kexts, it may not work. I have confirmed that this works, although I did not try with previous versions. My machine is a basic system running High Sierra, version 10.13. After lots of reading, I finally was able to come up with a solution that worked, one that did not require opening up the laptop, or installing Linux. After extensive searching, I found lots of partial solutions, many required booting with Linux, putting the logic board in an oven, or trying to cut power traces on the motherboard. ![]() Success, I was finally able to confirm that the GPU was failing.īecause I do not have any application that requires the GPU, I realized if I could somehow disable it, I could be back in business. After finally having the machine stay running long enough for me to reinstall gfxCardStatus, I determined that I could immediately crash the system just by switching graphics modes. The AMD GPU seemed to be the most likely culprit. After some online research, I soon found out about all the issues that have plagued this machine. I did notice that if I started up the machine, but did not login to a user account, it would stay running for quite awhile. I could not find anything that was causing it, it would just be running fine, and then reboot. Because of this, I never was aware of the issue that thousands of other MacBook Pro owners experienced, a failing GPU causes the machine to either not work at all, have odd display effects, or reboot when video modes are switched.Ībout a year after using this machine as my main media server, it started to randomly reboot. I mainly did this because I did not need the performance, and it definitely affected battery life negatively. Early in its life, I had used gfxCardStatus to disable the discrete AMD graphics card. This laptop had been my main machine for a couple years until I upgraded in 2015. Last year I repurposed a 2011 Macbook Pro 15″ as my home media server. By Jimmy NovemDIY, MacBook Pro, Repair 21 Comments ![]()
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