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Mid 2012 model, A1278 / 2.5 GHz i5 or 2.9 GHz i7 processor.

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My laptop freezes and crashes with green/black stripes appearing

Hello there, so the problem started a few days ago, two months after I upgraded one of my RAM with a 4GB one (6GB total now) and replaced my HDD with an SSD. The problem first occurred when watching videos on YouTube, the entire system freezes and the audio from the video’s last second repeats until the system resets itself. The problem now occurs even if I’m not watching a video.

The problem then progressed to beep 3 times and pause and green/black stripes of pixels appearing, which I know is a RAM problem, and I’ve reseated the RAM and the beeping ceased. But the freezes and broken pixels still occurs. The problem can be triggered when I move the system, or when I apply pressure on the laptop. I am unsure how to deal with this.

It could be a GPU, a logic board, a RAM or a dust problem. Some say you can fix this by reverting back to the original RAM but I would like to know all possible solution before resorting towards that. If there’s additional inquiry to narrow down the problem, please do not be afraid to ask, I would prefer the most accurate response.

Edit (16 mins. after post): Under my keyboard, some keys are dirty and my right Shift key feels very “weird” (sticky feeling) when pressed, which could be dust or grime stuck beneath. Not sure if there’s any correlation with that and my issue but any problem is worth pointing out.

Edit 2 (20 mins. after post): In a grey background, I can see pixel flickering with at the top half of the screen. There may be a correlation in there and my freezes and crash. Honestly I’m unsure if the flickering is a huge deal or not.

Answered! View the answer I have this problem too

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Although it works, upgrading RAM with different size sticks is not recommended as it causes overheating since workload is not evenly distributed. It would be reasonable to return to the original configuration for testing purposes and if that solves your issues keep that configuration or consider upgrading both RAM sticks. In my opinion this would be the first step to take before anything else.

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I am unsure though since I don't really hear my fans going off loudly these days after the upgrade. My laptop worked fine after the upgrade for two months until just recently and it seems to be that movement is what triggers the freeze and crash. But I get where you are coming from since I have a Memory Cleaner downloaded and it checks that my memory usage is very unusual (it jumps from 50% to 80%+ really quick after opening a few tabs). Overall, it really seems to be a good option to take right now. Thank you very much for your advice and help!

But if I speak hypothetically, what if the problem presist after returning to the old config?

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Just consider your Mac doesn't have a GPU, it has an integrated graphics system which is taken care by a very busy CPU which handles RAM too. If your RAM configuration produces small glitches that could potentially influence graphics too. I'm no engineer and I couldn't pinpoint exactly how that might happen, but experience tells me not to worry about secondary issues before having taken care of primary ones :) Fact that you experience problems when you put a little pressure would make me think RAM stick doesn't adapt properly in the slot, but that would be taken care by removing the stick one way or the other.

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Hi there, so I've returned to the original configuration of 2 x 2 GB RAM, but the problem still occurs (although much less frequently). This time, the static lines are purple, black and white. I'm unsure if it's workload (since it crashed as I was watching YouTube), overheating, the placing pressure on/moving the laptop or maybe a short. Although I did noted that when I was carrying my laptop in sleep mode, an hour later I opened my laptop to find it extremely hot (the entire laptop was, but it could originate from the components overheating), although thankfully it's still operational.

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Hello Marcus, what did you do about your laptop, did you resolve this issue? I’m having the same problem and I have not upgrade the RAM. I took it for service and for them everything seemed running ok. TIA

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I think you’ll need to take the logic board out to inspect it for liquid damage. From what you’ve posted with the keyboard having sticky keys it likely had a soda spilled.

Follow this IFIXIT guide: MacBook Pro 13" Unibody Mid 2012 Logic Board Replacement look for discoloration and staining. If you see any areas take a good clear picture and post it here for us to see.

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MacBook Pro 13" Unibody Mid 2012 Logic Board Image

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MacBook Pro 13" Unibody Mid 2012 Logic Board Replacement

Difficulty:

Difficult

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45 minutes - 1 hour
iFixit Image

Guide

Adding images to an existing question

Difficulty:

Very easy

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2 - 5 minutes

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Marcus Ko will be eternally grateful.
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