Q: display anomalies

Hi John,

I contacted Apple for these issues ca. 2.5 years after date of purchase and with no Apple Care.

Well, you are a lucky one... may be 'THE' lucky 'one', as i don't think any others have had this experience.

Did you have to demonstrate the anomalies etc. to the tech' at the Apple Service Centre before the first 'post warranty' fix?

I did take my MBP to the ASC after many phone calls, emails with Apple rep., sending photos etc., but only had a single occurrence of an anomaly with the tech', and as i've mentioned in a previous post (although that may now have been deleted by Apple, many of my posts have)... the tech' was less than helpful, very blasé in fact... I left it with them for the day. Came back and was told on other occurrences happened, and that it might be software or external device related...

My next move, when i get time, is to run the MBP with nothing else attached and only use Apple software to see if the anomalies still occur (i'm sure they will)... Then back to the tech', may be...?

Meanwhile, i'm talking with these folks: www.sfmslaw.com/pages/cases.php?id=779

Many thanks, John

Sorry, third paragraph, last sentence should read:

Came back and was told no other occurrences happened, and that it might be software or external device related...

When I visited the Apple Store in Austin, Texas, they just told me that they've never heard of a X1600 problem. =\

Yes, I had to demonstrate the anomalies because the specific Apple Test Programs for this MBP did not show any problems. The approach was first opening multiple applications like iTunes, Mail, etc, and then running a key note speech from Phil Schiller. That was sufficient!

As described in an earlier post phonecalls to Apple did not result in a solution and therefore I decided to write a complaint letter to the director of Benelux (I live in the Netherlands) resulted in a telephone call the day after from Apple Customer Service with the request to visit an Authorized Service Provider.

"never heard of the problem"

I think that is the largest part of the issue - that Apple does not seem to keep/include records in their tech support answerbase about any inquiries they get with this issue. So when you call, the support person seems to be completely ignorant of the issue.
In New Zealand we have a law called the Consumer Guarantees Act. Recently a (nameless but expensive) PC user successfully made a claim for repair of his/her machine when it was way out of warranty because it was deemed that the machine should not have failed in that time. Unfortunately, because I bought mine in Singapore I cannot claim using this law. Although I fail to see what the practical difference is but that's another argument.
Anyway, main point here is that there may be a similar law in your country that you could take apple to a disputes tribunal to resolve.

Add me to the list of people experiencing bad graphics defects with this video card. I would like it replaced by apple with something that works. This has been a problem for some time, and since many say it's software related (heat management) I thought an OS update would eventually fix it but it hasn't.

I have a first gen 15" MacBook Pro (purchased in '06) and have been experiencing the same anomalies (distorted video, pixelated line, color blocks) the past year or so. I finally took it in to the Genius Bar in Seattle and the rep at the bar said he'd heard complaints before and recommended I send it in for repair, saying it was likely a result of the logic board.

It's been back in hand for a few days and though it's still running hot (~77 C), I haven't been seeing the distortions from before. I'm still using smcFanControl, but it looks like it's been restored to a usable state. Not happy to have to spend this much to fix it, but at least it was pretty drama-free. Thought I'd share the breakdown of what they repaired and the cost in case it helps anyone else:

_Replaced Parts and Symptoms:_
Logic Board (Item #630-7756) - +Video Distortion+
Thermal Module (Item #605-0861) - +Thermal Module Defective+
AirPort Extreme Card (Item #603-8214) - +AirPort Card Defective+
Fan (Item #603-7893) - +Overheating/Fan in Full Speed+
Fan (Item #603-7892) - +Overheating/Fan in Full Speed+
DVD Software (2Z603-9381 - +Hard Drive Noisy+

Flat rate repair - parts: $210
Flat rate labor charge: $100

Lily
At least you have that option. As far as I can tell that's a USA only possibility.
To get mine fixed will cost me around US$1000 at today's exchange rate. And then I run the risk of the thing crapping out again after 90 days and having to pay again. Basically this means it's not worth spending any more money on it at my end. Others have reported failures after their repairs I believe.

After hearing reports of failed Pros after they were repaired, I've decided to not repair it. I have had it with all the faulty hardware issues that have cropped up with my MacBook Pro (17" 2.16 GHz Intel Core Duo). First it was the uneven lighting of the screen, then a faulty battery (if you search the forums there is another thread of the battery (physically) expanding to critical levels - which ended up with a recall), then a burnt out cord for the power adapter (literally severed the cord by itself overnight - also got a recall).

With the screen replacement, I was still under warranty. With the two other problems, they were both issues that went under apple's repair/recall program. So I had those fixed.

This problem, seemed to have struck my computer 2 days ago and Apple has offered no free service for repair, so I certainly won't spend another $310 on a faulty machine.

Heck, I'd take that $310 and buy myself a netbook and install Mac OS X on it.

I wanted to add my two cents to this thread to show yet another user that has not mistreated his/her Pro in anyway only to be struck with this issue from clear faulty hardware.

I am another Macbook Pro user with video problems. Actually, I *WAS*, as my Macbook Pro 17 literally died two days ago. After having unusual freezes for a while (http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=8596301#8596301), I thought that the problem was (kind of) solved by changing the speed of the fans. Two days ago, I close the lid before going to a meeting and inmediately re-open it to check something and... the video was scrambled with noise.

It was the last moment I could use the machine. Now I can't even boot it: after the first screen (Apple icon + spinning wheel), the display is just cover with video noise. An external monitor doesn't work either.

I bought the machine 2 years and a half ago - end of 2006 - in New Zealand (where I have to replace the battery that was severy swollen after a few months of use) and now I'm in Argentina. I will try to get some *global* support on this issue but...

And I am absolutely annoyed: an expensive, top-level machine as this one is usable only 30 months? This is really a bad hardware case... (and I have to write this from a cheap machine running Ubuntu...).

So far, the only thing I could fix by myself - meaning disassembling the machine - was to recover the superdrive by cleaning it: http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=9595171#9595171 .

Now I am just trying to see if Apple can make this machine functional again... I can not believe that I have to dump it or sell it in pieces.

-swollen batteries
-burnt adapters
-superdrive no longer functional
-dead/stuck/leaky pixels
-overheating
-rubber feet falling off
-uneven backlight

oh that would be funny if it wasn't so SAD! i have EVERY SINGLE ONE of those problems as well... every goddam one. tell me THAT'S a coincidence or "third-party hardware related"... what a joke.

i'm still collecting names people so send em in...
-bennett (nufumanchu@gmail.com)

I too have had this same issue with my first gen MBP 15inch 2.0ghz ATI x1600. The apple genius that helped me gave me the same run around claiming it was a software issue. He pulled out a gfx card tester and was baffled as to why it wouldn't work until I pointed out that the tester said NVIDIA on it and I had an ATI card.

So instead of properly testing the card he watched videos through safari for about 5 minutes before telling me, "sorry but I don't seem to be able to replicate the problem." As if 5 minutes of running a non-intense program like safari would replicate my issues. He looked at the crash logs and admitted that there was a system wide problem, but after that he just ran a system wide test on the hardware. This took about 1 hour and change and afterward he told me everythign seemed to be working fine.

He said that if I could take a screenshot of the problem then it was a software issue not hardware (which sounds like crap to me) and that I should create a new username and try using that to see if the problem persists. Well, I did that and it has persisted. I called up Apple on the phone. The tech had me reset my PRAM and then told me that I could send it in. He asked me to tell them exactly how to replicate the problem (as if there was an exact way to do it....). After a while I told him to have them run it for a few hours under CPU stress and watch it heat up, crash, or present anomolies.

But I feel like I'm in a lose-lose situation. Either they tell me they couldn't see the problem and I get back a broken computer that I have Apple Care for (it was expensive to cover too!!) or they send me it back with a refurbished-soon-to-be-broken logic board with the same crappy ATI card in it.

This has seriously taken a blow to my opinion of Apple and makes it highly unlikely that I will purchase their laptops again.