Q: display anomalies

I am extreme disappoint to my Macbook Pro. I recently experience distorted graphics and then the machine hangs. I can only start it with repair disk in single user mode. The technician in genius bar concluded the solution is to replace logic broad. My Mac is less than two years old. It cost near CAD 1,700 to replace it. This is my fist Mac machine. I switched to Mac because I am working in digital asset management consultant. Our client does listen to our recommendation on type of client platform. I feel like I am totally disappointed and will never recommend any Mac machine to any client anymore. I have never had a computer that I need to replace the motherboard. I am also extremely dissatisfied with the technician in genius bar. He just spent few minutes to diagnostic and concluded the logic broad need to be replaced. For $1,700, I can get a very high end brand new windows laptop. I will never look back to any Apple product.

funny how a post to one site brings out other people who are also having the same problems, a problem that apple say is not wide spread.

I wonder how many more we can find to flock here and complain by cross posting around the internet.......my guess would be more than apple care to admit


:/


I know we are at the so-called cutting edge of home computing, but i remember running CMD 64's and ZX spectrums and ZX 81's that were at the time cutting edge. Funny thing is they lasted over 10 years.

Come on apple, u knows you gotta do something about this, most of us here i think like the apple concept in principle otherwise we wouldnt have bought apple in the first place. Why dont you live up to the hype your creating about yourselves......or is it just all spin????



Message was edited by: spagbol23

Message was edited by: spagbol23

Just a reminder,
Posting here and bringing others from outside forums is great but it is only half of what is needed. If you declare your issue here you need call 1-800-SOS-APPL and speak to a rep. If you are out of warranty, you need to make it clear that you suspect defective hardware, they will then refer you to a "Product Specialist" who is then able to forward your issue to Engineering. Screenshots of your specific problem are helpful.

Apple needs a big outcry to justify a "Repair Extension Program." If you didn't know, that "Program" is what all of us out-of-warranty consumers are going to need if you want your defective hardware repaired at no cost.

Please call today.
and keep up the cross posting.

to add to the above mentioned talk to ATI comments.
I emailed ATI a couple days ago, and they basically said, the manufacturers of the laptop are responsible, ATI does not know what the manufacturers are doing to the equipment, and software.
ATI is unaware of any problems with the x1600 radeon mobility.... blah blah blah.

So basically they say that the ppl that built the stuff must have screwed it up. Oh well so much for that.

on another note, can u install osx on a pc machine, like if u wipe it out completely?

Message was edited by: DHD_03

Today I have phoned Apple Support and in a 1 hour call with first a technical person and second a person from Customer Relations, including a check with a Super Visor, the outcome is the following:

1 Your MacBook Pro is 2,5 years old and the warranty period is 1 year
2 You are 1.5 year out of warranty because you did not close Apple Care
3 Apple has not announced an "Extended Warranty Repair Program" for the type of problems you have described and therefore we cannot help you

So Apple refuses to take action and at the end of the conversation I have made the remark that Apple forces me to take other actions:

I'm planning to do the following:

1 A complaint letter to Mr. Ton van Garderen (Director of Apple Benelux) with the request to solve my problems at no cost.
2 Depending on the response other actions will follow

ok than..

so i finaly after 5x freezing(in a row) during clicking on my login name or after hitting enter when i type my password in my login screen.. i totaly get ****** off.. so i decide to change my thermal paste.. finaly :-D

hers my gallerfy from action.. sorry for bad quality, but i didnt have time for taking them better.. making photos wasnt my primary activity.. ofcourse..
http://gallery.me.com/iluzone#100125&bgcolor=black&view=grid

and the result is? 10-15 degrees lower temperatures now.. when i was downloading photos to aperture and i it was making previews so processor was running 200%.. before i got always temperatures between 76-83 degrees.. and sometimes it freez.. now it was between 64-67 degrees.. i was ofcourse trying to play some game.. Urban Terror for example.. before if i got temperatures higher than 75 degrees(during playing) i used to freez.. now during playing i got 55-60 degrees and when map was loading i got 60-65.. i didnt notice any display anomalies since than.. so far i run my mac for 8hours. and i can say.. it saved my ***.. iam using Hardware Monitor for watching temperatures.. and i was talking so far only about CPU temperatures.. graphical and memmory temperatures are pretty same like they were before.. during normal work.. but they just dont went so high like they used to..

iam so sorry that apple dont do anything about it.. but i cant wait till they save my ***.. so i replace it.. it looks harder than it is.. at the end.. and i folowed this tutorial
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Repair/MacBook-Pro-15-Inch-Core-Duo-Logic-Board-Repl acement/498/1
and after 2h top i got my Mac back together.. i was chatting during that and i was replacing thermal paste for the first time.. but i already replace harddrive on my mac earlyer.. so it wasnt my first time that i got my mack opened.. anyway.. now iam happy.. i can work as i could before.. no freezing, no display anomalies.. so my life is nice again :-D hope i helped u guys littlebit.. dont worry to do it.. if u r not technical type.. ask some friends to help u.. just folow tutorial straight and than backward.. and u cant do anything wrong.. but buy proper tools BEFORE

I have just uploaded a video.. the problem occurs using Firefox!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDtoFFW985Y

CPU temp: 62°C

PS: video recorded with my iphone! LOL

Message was edited by: damiii

Nice work, my MBP occasionally does this slow fade-to-white as well, among other freeze-ups and auto-reboots. Very strange.

This is part of the email from ATI

Hello,
I understand the frustration you are experiencing. We make the GPU that is on the graphics card and we supply the vender with generic drivers for the card. Even upgrades for laptop is proprietary to the laptop manufacturer. We don't make laptop display adapters for end users at this time. The venders often make changes to those drivers to modify the performance of the cards to optimize performance. Some things the drivers control are things like fans speeds during different stages. If the laptop you have requires a higher fan speed than the drivers we supplied the vender, then your card will overheat and possibly damage you complete system.

The email goes on to give me list of places to get drivers for PCs running windows, which is useless, but that what they gave me. All they say is talk to ur manufacturer

I was also wondering if anyone knows if you can replace the logic board for a different model? Like a newer one that has no problems with it? I really don't want to get another faulty logic board if i decide to buy another one.

I posted a response in the http://www.apple.com/feedback/macbookpro.html link. I too am a MBP 15" 1,1 end user with the annoying screen tears, PC freezes, heat-sink, GPU issue. I have not upgraded to Leopard, but did upgrade to 2GB RAM and for the last 6 months the issue has been getting worse. I will come home and be using my MBP for 10 minutes and it freezes up to the point of a forced restart. I have read the threads on the fan issues, opened up my PC and cleaned out any dust. There was no tape blocking the air vents.. I would have brought my MBP into the Mac Genius bar to show them their stupidity and demanded a replacement if I had.. I am too afraid to reapply the thermal grease... but can't afford to replace the Logic Board, and like everyone else has stated, why should we be responsible when it wasn't our lack of testing and lack of good product manufacturing in the first place.
I have cleaned FANS, reinstalled OS, Run CoolBook and smcFan Control as well as have a CoolBook fan under my MBP. None of these have solved the problems.
I am going to try and call Apple Customer Care but I can't get my hopes up that I will be lucky like ambarta...

Is this an ATI Radeon X1600 GPU? Just seen your video and I saw vertical lines while users with the X1600 GPU get horizontal lines.

Yes, it's x1600 GPU...

Did you replace only the thermal paste?

You kept your origanal logic board and you did not buy a new logic board?

Cheers for the pics.

Did you replace only the thermal paste?

You kept your origanal logic board and you did not buy a new logic board? Ah yes ive had a better look at the images you posted of inside your MBP:) Youve just cleaned your machine and reapplied thermal paste.

Cheers for the pics. They add more visual info to the ifixit instructions.


This raises a question for me as, ok i could take my MBP apart, do what you have done. But then why are Apple not looking at this as a possible way of extending the life of a 1.1, 1.2 generation MBP with ATI Radeon x1600.
A clean and correct amount of thermal paste reapplied.
Or would even that be asking too much in terms of Apple making an attempt to address the problem for now. They wouldn't have to replace any expensive parts, but at least it looks like they are bothered about the problem.

However, you have to question if there was not a problem with the logic board GPU, then why for customers under apple care are they replacing the whole logic board. Surely they would just clean it and reapply the thermal paste....??????? Does that not indicate that apple actually do know there is a problem, that there is defective hardware, that heating in MBP's is a huge issue, even with newer MBP's ???







It will be interesting to know from here on in, how long your MBP survives without a freeze or a lock-up, compared to someone who has just had there logic board replaced.