# MacBook Pro locks up **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 5, 2019, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macbook-pro-locks-up/836553 "2019-07-05T05:45:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 17
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2019, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macbook-pro-locks-up/836553/17 "2019-09-12T16:04:03Z")
> [@Francis\_Vaughan](#): > > Depends on the exact model number then. An 8.3 model is affected. The designation of “Early 2011” is actually an Apple synonym for the model number, not a build date. These have an AMD Radeon HD 6750M graphics processor. These were introduced in late February 2011. You may still have the model before but made in 2011. The Apple store must have called yesterday, as I had a VM on my phone this morning. First, the recap: In July, my 2011 MacBook Pro froze up when I tried to open Google Earth. The only solution was to do a hard reboot. It kept crashing during reboot, until it didn’t. I tried plugging a Nikon DSLR into it, and it froze again. I left Free Cell open when I shut the lid one night, and it was frozen when I opened it in the morning. I’ve been using the computer, but avoiding anything that might cause it to freeze. Last week I got tired off the ‘nag’ in the upper-right corner, saying that software updates were available. I decided to do an update – but first, I backed up the computer on the external drive. Upon restart, I got a circle-slash on a grey screen. I found out this means, ‘You have a Mac OS, but it’s not compatible with this computer.’ (_Thank you, Apple!_ It’s so nice to nag people to download and install software that doesn’t work. You should come up with a way to determine if the software is compatible before installation. :mad: ) I tried to restore from my fresh backup, but was unsuccessful. The next day, I took the computer and backup drive into the Apple store. It looked like it was restoring from the backup disc when I left. (I wasn’t going to hang out for two hours.) I got a call just before the store closed, saying the restoration didn’t work. I asked them to try again, and it did work. Monday, they did a quick diagnostic at the counter while I was there. Everything checked out OK. I checked the computer into the shop so that they could do a complete diagnostic on it. And here’s where the VM comes in. They said that the diagnostic showed nothing wrong, but they suspect a bad graphics processor, which is a ‘known problem’. Unfortunately, my computer is too old and they can’t get the parts for it. In another thread, there was this post: > [@Scam on the new computer](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scam-on-the-new-computer/839891/15): > > Off-topic, but feel a need to share. > > I don’t have a Mac, but fefore you go ahead with any repairs that your Mac shop may recommend, I highly recommend contacting Louis Rossman [https://rossmanngroup.com/macbook-logic-board-repair/](https://rossmanngroup.com/macbook-logic-board-repair/) or at least watch a few of his Mac Ripoff videos on his channel: [https://www.youtube.com/user/rossmanngroup](https://www.youtube.com/user/rossmanngroup) > > But lingyi, you don’t have a Mac, so why recommend Rossman? I came across his site because of Linus Tech Tips where they had an “unfixable” Mac Pro that would cost more to repair than to buy a new one. At least according to Rossman (as well as other YouTubers), Mac techs are instructed to recommend buying a new machine than repair. Take it with as large a grain of salt as you like. I’ll have a look at the link when I have time. My fingers are crossed. --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/macbook-pro-locks-up/836553)._