2010 macBook Pro white screen but not right away

[Happy4]

I have a 2010 MBP that will start right up and run fine for a while, but sooner or later, the cursor will freeze and the screen will slowly turn white, starting in the centre and going outward resulting in a totally locked-up computer.
I would have suspected a heat issue, but the fans are clean and working and there is plenty of air-flow around it.Is there a heat sink on the video chip itself that might need to be reset with new paste?

 

[MBAmtloin]

what OSX are we running?
your Macbook might need more memory.
you could have a loose part like i experienced last weekend.

I had a mac mini that tried running High Sierra that locked when i was using 5 programs full throttle.
When i first upgraded to the first version High Sierra in 2018 (10.13.1) my macbook air 2010 would freeze alot.
The latest version of that OSX (10.13.6) runs smoothly now after the upgrades and fixes.
be careful of those advising you that your graphic card is shot. that could be the case, but your MBP would not show anything after start up. also check your activity monitor, if that shows all your memory in full use, you need to limit program use.

These Macbooks are still great and can function in 2020.

 

[MacInWin]

I would not expect a screen to fail from the center out. That is strange. If it were the GPU, it should fail either overall, or in a pattern affecting some or all of the screen. If it is a loose connection it would not start gradually, but appear all at once. Starting in the middle and working out is bizarre. Is the spreading in a circle? A pattern? Is the screen or case warm when this starts?

The cursor freezing before this happens is also curious. I wonder if running DetectX Swift might find something malicious playing a prank on you. What are you doing when this starts? Is it consistent? What have you already tried to see what might be the matter? Do you have an external monitor that you can connect to see if it is the display or the GPU?

 

[chscag]

As recommended by Jake above.... Attach an external monitor and let us know the results.

Your MacBook Pro is going on 10 years old and it certainly could be a problem with the graphics chipset especially if your model uses discrete graphics.

 

[Happy4]

It seemed to start doing this usually under load, like when doing jigsaw puzzles, but now it just seems random. You can be browsing or working just fine and then the cursor will become frozen and the screen will fade to white, starting in the middle and going out to the edges. It happens quite quickly, maybe 5 seconds from lock up to white screen.

 

[chscag]

Reporting the symptoms to us without trying what has been recommended is not going to help us help you. If you don't have a spare monitor to attach, use a TV instead. Using a TV may require an adapter and cable.