Glitchy Mavericks for 2010 Macbook Pro

Hello all,

I have owned a late 2010 macbook pro 15" since my 2008 macbook pro decided to die on me. I've so far had very few issues, despite the computer starting to run a little slow.

Anyways, after installing Mavericks when it was released I've been encountering glitchy graphics for the first time, every now and then. It's really frustrating and takes away from the UI. Is there something wrong with Mavericks compatibility on my model or is there a bigger problem? Also can I use time machine to restore my Macbook back to the old operating system?

Thanks - I've attached some examples of what I'm talking about below.

And more...

So you had none of this with the previous version of OSX and this started the day you installed Mavericks?

Which OSX were you running prior to Mavericks?

Reason I ask is that so looks Video Chipset related.

Yep. Problem started occurring the day after I installed Mavericks - not sure if it's a coincidence and is a deeper video chip problem, or something caused by the software itself. This seems to happen every now and then and after a restart everything is back to normal. After perusing the forums, someone suggested turning off the 'automatic graphic switching'...I'll see if that works.

Prior to this I was using Snow Leopard with none of these issues.

Do you have an external display you could try? If so give it a try and see what happens.

The interesting thing to me in that screen shot you gave is the Dock is not affected.

Were those pics you took with a Camera or Screen Shots Using Command+Shift+3?

I did use it with an external display the other day with no issues - that actually was before those screenshots were taken.

Pics were taken with the good ole' normal command+shift+3 option... since turning off the energy savings 'graphic switching' I've encountered no issues, but it's only been a few hours...

Thats possibly the weirdest thing that I have seen.

I have heard many people complain about Mavericks slowing down their computer, but messing with the screen/video card? That is just weird.

Mavericks and RAM goes hand in hand. I have 16GB of RAM and an i7 processor. Along with a 256GB SSD, I sometimes get the spinny-rainbow-wheel.

It might just be a coincidence that the connection to the screen from the graphics card is faulty. And that it just so happened to go faulty when you upgraded your OS.

Is it an anti-glare or high-res screen? I have heard that those have had problems like this in the past.

I have a mid 2010 model I7 with 8gigs of ram. I did the upgrade and have and no problems. Hope you get it worked out.

I don't think it's the video card. I've never seen a failed video card that was able to display a good image over a bad one. I would almost say that it's more likely a corrupted file issue.

I would try and do a clean install of Mavericks and see if the issue goes away or not before down-reving back to Mountain Lion.

A bit of an update... I turned off the automatic graphic switching option under 'energy saver' and encountered no issues for 5 days. Problem is that this really eats away at my battery. I turned it back on and will see what happens.. if I encounter the problem again I will try a reinstall - thanks MikeM for the suggestion.

Also screen is not anti-glare.. just your standard glossy reflective anti-pool lounging screen.

Ok within a few hours of disabling the 'automatic graphic switching option' under energy saver preferences, the problem occurred again.

Does this mean there is a probably a problem with my graphics card? Or was it just a corrupted Mavericks install?

barrelbowl said:

Ok within a few hours of disabling the 'automatic graphic switching option' under energy saver preferences, the problem occurred again.

Does this mean there is a probably a problem with my graphics card? Or was it just a corrupted Mavericks install?

Click to expand...

As suggested previously, you're going to need to attach an external monitor or TV in order to properly diagnose the problem. It appears to be a graphics glitch but we can't tell for sure until you test with an external monitor. You'll need the proper adapter and cable in order to hook an external monitor or TV up.

Same screen issue on MBP Late 2010 Model

I've been having the same screen issue on my mac. I have a Late 2010 Model and I'm at the end of my warranty (Just had screen repaired, so I'm still in the 90 day window). This all started happening after installing Mavericks, but my mac has had so many issues before this. I'm heading over to the apple store tomorrow to have them take a look, so i'll let you know what they say. Let me know if anyone has any suggestions

Seems like it's related to a specific MBP model. Send email feedback to Apple, I'm going to guess that they'll release a fix as part of an update to correct the issue.