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User profile for user: eepoticha
eepoticha Author
User level: Level 1
12 points

MBP 2011 - Only powers on with battery disconnected.

Never had an issue before. Battery is healthy. Can only be powered on when battery is disconnected. Although I currently use the last strategy below to get power, I’m looking for a permanent solution. So based on the following, what else is left to try?


  1. Pressed power button and no indication button was pressed.
  2. Pressed button on side and it indicated battery fully charged.
  3. Attached A/C power adapter and LED on connector lit green like it's charging.
  4. Pressed power button - still no indication of any attempt to power on.
  5. Reset SMC by pressing left Shift, Control, Option and power switch. Released all. Pressed power button - still no indication of any attempt to power on.
  6. Held power button down for 15 seconds, released, then pressed once - no change.
  7. Disconnected A/C power.
  8. Removed rear cover.
  9. Disconnected battery connector from system board.
  10. Connected A/C adapter and pressed power button - no change.
  11. Disconnected A/C adapter.
  12. Plugged battery connector back in to system board.
  13. Attached A/C adapter and the system performed a reset and then IPL up and ran normally!!!!!!
  14. "Shut down" system and then pressed the power button - would not power back on.
  15. Removed A/C adapter and pressed the power button - still would not power back on.
  16. Disconnected A/C adapter, disconnected battery, reconnected battery to system board. Pressed power button - would not power on.
  17. Repeated the procedure which worked previously - disconnected A/C, disconnected battery from system board, connected A/C, press power button (no signs of activity), disconnected A/C, reconnected battery to system board, reconnected A/C and it reset and powered up!!!!
  18. Let system come up and then "rebooted" (instead of shutting down) - it properly rebooted.
  19. Shut down system and then tried to power on - would not power on.
  20. Bottom line: There appears to be only procedure that will get the system to boot after it's shut down: Disconnected A/C, disconnected battery from system board, connected A/C, press power button (no signs of activity), disconnected A/C, reconnected battery to system board, reconnected A/C and it resets and powers up.


**Genius Bar did full diagnostic. Only red flag was an error with graphics card. However tech said that could just be from the disconnected battery.


Thank you.

MacBook

Posted on Sep 23, 2019 8:14 AM

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User profile for user: HWTech
HWTech
User level: Level 9
55,838 points

Posted on Sep 23, 2019 6:35 PM

The potential GPU issue is the only black cloud that really hangs over the 15" & 17" MBPro 2011s. You are probably seeing the worse part since it won't let you power on reliably. If it was just a graphical issue, then you could force the laptop to use the Intel GPU instead. I guess you could try disabling the discrete GPU to see if it solves you problem, but since it is a power on issue I'm not sure it will have any affect.


Here are a couple of posts with information on how to force the Intel GPU:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250631240?answerId=251208509022#251208509022


https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250631240?answerId=251251483022#251251483022


https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250631240?answerId=251259678022#251259678022



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User profile for user: HWTech
HWTech
User level: Level 9
55,838 points

Sep 23, 2019 6:35 PM in response to eepoticha

The potential GPU issue is the only black cloud that really hangs over the 15" & 17" MBPro 2011s. You are probably seeing the worse part since it won't let you power on reliably. If it was just a graphical issue, then you could force the laptop to use the Intel GPU instead. I guess you could try disabling the discrete GPU to see if it solves you problem, but since it is a power on issue I'm not sure it will have any affect.


Here are a couple of posts with information on how to force the Intel GPU:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250631240?answerId=251208509022#251208509022


https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250631240?answerId=251251483022#251251483022


https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250631240?answerId=251259678022#251259678022



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User profile for user: HWTech
HWTech
User level: Level 9
55,838 points

Sep 23, 2019 5:42 PM in response to eepoticha

This probably won't help, but one combination you didn't try:

Try disconnecting the battery. Connect the AC. Try an SMC reset. Power on the laptop. If the laptop powers on and boots, then reconnect the battery while the laptop is still on. Let the battery charge at least 10% before shutting down or disconnecting the AC. This usually works if the battery is completely discharged keeping the laptop from powering on and it helps to get the battery to start charging again.


There is a good chance the GPU is the source of your problem. I've seen a number of the 15" & 17" 2011 MBPros which had issues similar to this and attributed it as a side effect of the GPU issue (Apple once agreed to replace a Logic Board under a free GPU repair program many years ago even though there were no graphical symptoms).


I don't recall a disconnected battery causing any issues with the Apple video diagnostics. The diagnostics will complain a bit since a few sensor tests will fail.

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MBP 2011 - Only powers on with battery disconnected.

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