Q: MacBook Pro Blank Screen (Built - in & External) - continued

Me too.
Is my 3d logic board in two months.
I've called to apple in NY, spoke for about 40 minutes with a Genious and the answer was if it fails again ( the 4th time) they`ll replace my MBP.
But I`ve been loosing a month between every replacement.

Claerly I`m not a satisfied customer.

wow, see i am amazed that they keep installing potentially defective parts. then warrant them only for 90 days. I am fortunate that its not my main computer, but I fear that it will happen again after the 90 days and then what..

I'm not going to repeat what has already been posted, but wanted to add that I have had this exact issue as well and will be calling to fight for what looks like will now have to be a logic board replacment.

We all need to get the idea of Apple's superior quality out of our heads. They mass produce like every other manufacturer and use many of the same hardware components.

It looks like hundreds and hundreds of people have had this issue. That's just absolutely unacceptable Apple....

Remind me again why I paid top dollar for what is now a useless piece of plastic...

I'm currently going through the exact same situation this week with apple - how was yours resolved? Or was it not resolved?

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2377

It appears there is a graphics card failure that has become a known issue and is being dealt with free of charge by apple for MacBook Pro users.

Hi everyone!

The graphics chip of my MBP (2,2 Ghz, October 2007) died last thursday (black screen) and is currently being repaired by an AASP. Just wanted to add my case to the list and increase the pressure.

I am currently deployed to Iraq with the Army. This problem just appeared on my MBPro and I am devastated because it was my main link to my family and one of the few ways to relax after a long way. It seems like the only way to get this fixed is to mail the computer home and have them mail it to apple and then go throught hte whole process in reverse. I'm afraid I won't see my computer for months if this is how I have to get it repaired. Does anyone have any other reccomendations on how to get this fixed expediently? Thanks

look at this page
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/

Good Luck!

Hi Everyone,

My July 2007 MBP worked great until last week when I started having video issues...after several tests I figured it was the video card. Knowing my warranty was over, I called Apple to find out if this was a known issue. After opening a case with them, they called me back within a couple of hours telling me they'd fix my MBP for free. After reading this forum I feel a bit upset that some of you have had their logic boards replaced several times. I have a friend who owns a Dell XPS with the same video card model as mine and he had his motherboard replaced twice already. Shouldn't they replace the board with a newer video card model that is not defective???

I hope my repair does not take so long!!!!!

Any thoughts?

Hey, Latest victim to the dead graphics chip. Just a few questions I wanted to ask first though.

1. If people are having these logic boards replaced, only for them to fail again, surely I'm completely within my right, to print this page off, take it to the apple store when I take my laptop, and refuse a new logic board, demanding a new MBP? I don't want them to give me a new board if it's gonna die again a year down the line when it's out of the extended warranty. And I'm sure none of you do either.

2. Has anyone had any experience with the repairs? I am out of warranty, but I'm not out of the extended warranty for the logic board replacement (bought my mac October 2007), However, one of the bulbs under my keyboard seems to be dead, and I'm just curious if they'll likely replace this as well? Let me know if any of you have had yours replaced for the crappy graphics chip, and it's come back with more repairs too.

3. Has anyone successfully had their MBP replaced because of this problem? I read earlier someone was on their 5th Logic Board?! That seems crazy to me. If someone has had their MBP replaced recently, were you given a refurbished model with the same 8600M GT? or the new model MBP with the 9600's?

Thanks for any info anyways! And thanks for all the useful information above!

My logic board has failed twice so I am on my third. I have Applecare. I was somewhat ambiguously told, without any real specificity by my Applecare rep, that if it fails again, I will have some other options in terms of replacement of the machine etc.

Quite frankly, I do believe it will fail again actually as nothing has been technically changed to prevent that from happening.

Another Victim of that issue.

But with voided warranty I think .....

Going to bring it to apple reseller in my country in Macau.

Not one company is infallible, but to pay so much for a machine that's destined to fail is inexcusable. I give the companies some credit (Apple included) for extending the warranty, but the warranty is not going to cover the times lost during repair, nor the cost of purchasing a replacement computer.

I am currently on 2nd logic board replacement that was done back in late 2008. So far, its been fine, and I have my fingers crossed, hoping that if it were to fail that it would fail within the extended year of warranty. With the current economic times, I probably won't be able to afford the new fancy updated MBP, and besides it'll be several revisions later before I trust a notebook with nvidia's GPU. I guess we'll find out in about an year's time if the same flaw exist in the 9600 and whether or not the the "new, supposedly revised 8600" that's currently in my MBP will crap out.

Best of luck to us all- fellow MBP users

I got this problem on my MBP 17" 2.16 GHz (ATI X1600) 3 weeks ago.

While working the display suddenly went black and couldn't be turned on again. External display wouldn't work either. I tried all the black magic key combinations to reset the power management MCU and firmware but nothing worked.

Unfortunately my warranty was out and I didn't have the 1000$+ to cover a new logic board.

After some discussions with my collagues (HW engineers) over lunch, I got idea that my problem could be caused by (one or more) cracked ball(s) of the graphics controller BGA IC.

I decided to try to reflow the BGA myself:
- I disassembled the MBP and took out the logic board.
- Then I cleaned off all thermal compound
- I covered off neighboring components with head resistant capton tape. Exposing only the surface of the video IC.
- I then placed the board on a plane surface.
- Now I slowly heated the video controller to approx 300 deg. C using a hot air gun.
- After allowing the logic board to slowly cool off, I assembled the MBP and voila everything worked beautifully...

Ofcause I wouldn't recommend this surgery to anybody:
a. without the technical abilities
b. having other options
c. having a bad heart

So proceed at your own risk...

Good luck
/ Rune

It continues!, my 15" MBP admits Ireland to the MBP hall of shame

ALL RECENT POSTERS BE AWARE OF THIS

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2377

"If the NVIDIA graphics processor in your MacBook Pro has failed, or fails within two years of the original date of purchase, a repair will be done free of charge, even if your MacBook Pro is out of warranty."

Direct anyone you talk to in apple to this page, they have a long way to go before i think of buying one of their machines again.