Q: nvidia 8600m failure
I bought my MacBook Pro 17 in July 2007 and this month (March, 2012) experienced my first hardware failure: the video card prevents the machine from booting (I can still access the hard drive via my IMac.) Took it to the local "Genius", who confirmed the failure and said it would cost $350 to replace the logic board.
Two questions: Does this machine (model A1229) have one of the known defective Nvidia chips?
If so, even though it's almost five years old, does Apple have a responsibility to repair it free?
As a longtime Apple customer, my answer to question two would be "Yes". One expects this well-made, expensive machine to last longer (I had better luck with VAIOs), and if a part (in this case soldered to the logic board) proves defective, one expects longterm commitment to repairs. I realize that the MacBook has aged and would not demand service for an HD, power supply or other variety of hardware failure. This seems to be a special case.
Other customers seem to have received a mixed response on this issue. This is just an update. I hope that this laptop, which has serviced me well, will not become just a paperweight, or I have to salvage its parts. But I'm not optimistic.
Earl
MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.4)
Posted on Mar 19, 2012 12:50 PM