NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M at the core of my problem???

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I have a mid 2010 MBP that I have recently upgraded the memory from 4gb to 8gb and replaced the HD to a Seagate Momentous XT 750 hybrid. These upgrades were done in part, 1 we ALL want more power and storage 2 since moving to OS X lion and now Mountain Lion my beloved MBP seems to crash all the time. I have heard rumors that my NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M graphics card/chip is the likely problem. Has anyone else had this problem and how did you fix it? Has Nvidia or Apple come out with a fix for this? Is it cost effective to have the card repaired / replaced?
Cheers!
 

chscag

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I don't know where you heard the "rumors" about the nVidia GPU in your 2010 MBP as I've heard or seen nothing about it. There was a problem with older MacBook Pros using the nVidia chipset and the warranty on those machines was extended by Apple. But that is long past.

In any event, the nVidia chipset can not be separately replaced as it's integrated into the logic board by surface mounting. Which means the entire logic board would have to be replaced. An expensive repair.

However, the Seagate Momentous Hybrid hard drives have been problematic for some folks. Can you swap your old drive back in or boot from an external hard drive for a bit as a test to see if the crashes occur? Also, check the new memory you recently upgraded.
 
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Chscag,
Thanks for your reply. Here is one example of where I heard about the Nvidia cpu issue.

Fix MacBook Pro 2010 Crashes, Kernel Panics, & Black Screens in OS X 10.7 Lion

As far as your suggestion about swapping back to the old hardware. My machine was crashing with the old hardware installed and was one of the reasons I decided upgrade the ram and hd. It started once I installed Lion and continued with Mountain Lion. One thing different about the way my machine crashed before the hardware swap versus now is before my screen would go black and the front power indicator light would go out until you would lower the screen down to almost closed and fully closed. I would hard boot the computer to get it to come back on. Now when it crashes, the screen goes black then immediately the machine notices the problem and reboots on its own.
 

chscag

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Interesting article. I had not seen that before, but let me ask... did you try the fix as depicted in the article? Also, have you used the gfxCardStatus utility to lock in the HD 3000 to see if the same thing happens?
 
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Similar problem

I have a mid 2010 MBP that I have recently upgraded the memory from 4gb to 8gb and replaced the HD to a Seagate Momentous XT 750 hybrid. These upgrades were done in part, 1 we ALL want more power and storage 2 since moving to OS X lion and now Mountain Lion my beloved MBP seems to crash all the time. I have heard rumors that my NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M graphics card/chip is the likely problem. Has anyone else had this problem and how did you fix it? Has Nvidia or Apple come out with a fix for this? Is it cost effective to have the card repaired / replaced?
Cheers!


So... I have a 2010 mbp and recently it has been crashing (random black screen). I have to hold the power button down about 5 seconds to get it to shut off and then reboot. I've looked it up and always come up with the problem of the logic board this being only because of what is soldered onto the lb... Nvidia's Geforce GT 330M. Apple seemed to have had this same problem earlier, but to see this reoccurring is somewhat nerve-wracking.

I would like to know what the problem is, how to fix it, and what steps can I take on my own to even try to fix it. I have run repairs with disk utility on my hardrive and there were some errors and I thought that was the issue, turns out it wasn't.

Thanks to anyone that has suggestions.


Cham
 
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Cham
I wish I could tell you a quick fix but unfortunately my problem turned out to be the logic board and it cost me around $300 bucks at Apple to have it fixed. Since the repair, my MPB has returned to the rock solid machine it has always been but now it is markedly faster with the Momentous Drive. Best Wishes!
jimmyrt71
 
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Thank you!

Cham
I wish I could tell you a quick fix but unfortunately my problem turned out to be the logic board and it cost me around $300 bucks at Apple to have it fixed. Since the repair, my MPB has returned to the rock solid machine it has always been but now it is markedly faster with the Momentous Drive. Best Wishes!
jimmyrt71

Thanks this was helpful. :)
 
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Apple fixed it for free!

Sorry for the late reply, but I just got it fixed last month. I had the exact same issue but was outside the U.S. (and there are no Apple Stores where I am), so I tried taking it to an authorised service provider and calling Apple's tech support, but neither could do anything for me. I ended up sending the MacBook Pro to the U.S. with a friend who traveled and took it to an Apple Store. They ran a diagnose and confirmed (the Genius guy seemed to know before hand what it was) it was "a failure with a graphic sensor", which seems to be common in these models, specially when updated to the latest OS versions. They had to replace the logic board (which costs USD$310) but told my friend he didn't have to pay anything. They gave him an "invoice" anyway, but did it totally free of charge.
 
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Its my solution!

I had the same problem, i had kernel panics almost every 10 minutes. i tried getting my macbook repaired by apple but my macbook was too old for the 3-years replacemend program.

As a last resort before ordering a new macbook pro i tried reflowing the GPU on my 2010 i5 macbook pro... And it worked like a charm! Since reflowing the gpu, i experienced zero kernel panics(3 days). So, before sending in your macbook to replace your GPU, try reflowing. Just dissassemble your macbook and take your motherboard. Remove the cooling paste, heat your GPU to the right temperature (see nvidia reflow profile(Nvidia 320m reflow profile? - MacBook Pro 13" Unibody Mid 2010 - iFixit)) and assemble your MBP.

Good luck!
 
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Digging up an old thread, but thought it would help anyone else who has a Mid 2010 MBP and is suffering from these NVidia Geforce GTX 330 GPU problems.

I have taken my MBP into an Apple Authorised Reseller yesterday (8 March 2015) following a support call with Apple. Apple are aware of the issue with the GPU in this vintage and also acutely aware that, like mine, it may not reveal itself until a number of years down the line when upgrading to OS X 10.9, 10.10 etc.

Apple have agreed that this is a known fault and will repair the notebook for free. I think I heard the support guy mention that they are honouring this until 2016. If you have an MBP of this vintage and have not had it looked at yet, get it in now.
 
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yep they are this is why i don't like this vintage of mac i prefer using my old powerpc mac it may be old and outdated but at least my ibook has never missed a beat.
 

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