MacBook Pro Logic Board Failure

MeisterDirektor wrote:
Well....just to update my situation. Apple determined it wasn't the Nvidia chip issue. They said it was a video-related issue(that was all they said)

I would definitely ask for more specifics.

and replaced the logic board and charged me for a new one. I suppose I need to talk to customer relations now

Yep.

its worth a try.

Yep.

Happy Holidays!

And to you, and good luck with your upcoming conversation.

A couple of months ago, I had the same on my
MacBookPro 2.4GHZ (Model identifier: 3,1 - IntelCore 2 Duo).
The motherboard had died - no Apple Care involved _ I bought it in Jan 2008 in San Fransisco, to say that not any guarantee claims could be made.
The Apple store told me that the motherboard was from an ill fated maufacturing batch. it was replaced at no costs.
I would to learn if the same applies for your machine. By the way, the serial number of my MacBookPro is *. May be this will help speed up things.

Good luck.


<Edited by Host>

"I sent an e-mail directly to Apple today expressing my dissatisfaction with this situation."

As previously suggested, you should CALL Customer Relations. _Their response would be immediate._





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**WARNING: DUE TO SECURITY REASONS, PLEASE DO NOT POST YOUR COMPUTER'S SERIAL NUMBER ON THESE MESSAGE BOARDS.**



I have requested that a HOST remove the #.





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Keith,

I am currently dealing with the same issue. I have a MPB 15 inch 2.2Ghz I bought Jan 2, 2008, and this exact problem occurred precisely 20 December this month.

My AppleCare is over in about five days, but to be honest it's not making much difference as Apple is relishing the fact they can blame this on an "Accidental damage" repair that happened March this year.

Despite the face that I've done research and found almost 30 cases mentioning this problem with the same model and purchased within about a three-month time frame (and might I add no other computer model with this issue), they're not moving from the warm Accidental Damage blanket.

After arguing with AppleCare in the Netherlands (I'm American, living in Amsterdam) to a point of fury I tried just now with support in the US. I brought up the Nvidia issue, no comment or acknowledgement beyond my issue not being covered due to Accidental Damage.

I asked exactly who would I talk to in regards to knowing what tests are performed on my logic board that link its damage to a previous "accidental" case, and not an independent defect trigger... and he could not say nor recommend a number to call. In fact, he said since I live in the Netherlands this is an issue to be brought up here.

Since my AppleCare is over in a few days, and it seems like this is a hopeless effort, I'm close to taking back my pro, dismantling the parts until I find the logic board and bake it in the oven (apparently this works). Tomorrow I will actually go to the only iCentre Helpdesk in this country and fight the good fight. If all else fails at least I can take my MBP back without any extra fees.

I mentioned these separate cases of others having the same issue to Apple. I even told the guy to google MacBook Pro logic board and see that most of the results are about its failure. However, unsurprisingly, the other end refuses to openly admit any fault from their side. As I'm sure their 200 lawyers probably mentioned it would be best this way.

Apple will be losing another customer in their prime target range. As a 27-year-old media professional for almost ten years, I have nothing to say about Apple that's positive. I'm done babying their products, I'm done not being taken as a serious client, I'm done being hushed and I'm DONE with this jaded snobbery.

All that's left now is a nice, healthy article about this issue in a big name international paper. And believe me, that's coming.

Audrey Sykes wrote:
they can blame this on an "Accidental damage" repair that happened March this year.

I must not be understanding. You had Apple repair accidental damage. They repaired it. They restored it to normal working condition. You paid them for the repair. There has not been additional damage since that time. Now another issue has come up while you're still covered under AC. If the accidental damage repair was done properly by Apple or an AASP, then isn't that issue gone/done? And if so, then what does it have to do with subsequent failure?

More of a curiosity question than anything else, but what was the accidental damage and what was repaired?

This is very odd that I have had this issue as well just today - my wife used the MBP, no problems, no drops or damage - then closed the cover as usual to put it to sleep. Then upon opening it again it does not wake, steady "sleep" light and restarts to no avail. No target disk mode. No startup chime. What gives? We're all having the same issue just about 3 years after purchase. Anyone out there with any success at reseting this - how about anyone who has replaced the backup battery on the logic board? On prior Macs funny things sometimes happen when that fails...

Robert Stone wrote:
This is very odd that I have had this issue as well just today - my wife used the MBP, no problems, no drops or damage - then closed the cover as usual to put it to sleep. Then upon opening it again it does not wake, steady "sleep" light and restarts to no avail. No target disk mode. No startup chime.

Did you hold the power button down for 5-10 seconds to shut it down, then try booting?

What gives? We're all having the same issue just about 3 years after purchase. Anyone out there with any success at reseting this - how about anyone who has replaced the backup battery on the logic board? On prior Macs funny things sometimes happen when that fails...

That's a good thought. I know a bad backup batt could kill some TiBooks (but I have not heard the same for MBPs; maybe someone will test that and post here).

Yep - tried the hold power button down thing, the zap PRAM thing, the safe boot thing and the target disk mode thing. I also took out memory chips serially and tried starting with one then the other - on one of those tries the sleep light flashed but it glows steadily (no pulsation, case open) otherwise and no startup beep no matter what.

I may open up my MBP again to see if battery replacement works. I have had it open a few times in the past (very carefully) and upgraded my HD and memory.

Per another post earlier I may also bring it to my local Apple store since someone reported having theirs replaced even though out of warranty - sounds like the store genius thought it was related to the NVIDIA graphics card failure issue; I wonder if that can tank the logic board with certain failure modes.

Anyway, thanks for your thoughts - any help appreciated. I would really not like to drop money on a new machine right now (especially with the high probability of imminent updates)!

Robert

So sorry to hear of your MBP failure. Your symptoms almost exactly mirror my failure. For you - and everyone on these boards - my son used to work on the Apple Help line in Boise ID.

We all tried zapping the PRAM, firing up in target disk mode etc etc but if it really is the Logic board that has failed none of these will work. In fact nothing will work properly until the LB has been replaced. If there is no start up chime then basically your finished! This is what my technician at the Apple Store discovered. He simply couldn't prove a thing and just put the machine through for a LB replacement. Frankly I'm not sure what I would have done if they had refused - although the agent did say that if the store wouldn't fix it to call him back and he would work out something. Fortunately I did not have to do this.

By now Apple will be fully aware of these problems so all I can offer is be polite, be insistent, be persistent and hopefully you will prevail in the end.

This all said it would certainly make life easier for everyone if Apple would simply acknowledge the issue and be more sympathetic to resolving the problem - as they appeared to be in my case.

Good luck everyone

I look forward to hearing about the results

MalcW


<Edited by Host>

Hi tjk,

That's correct. The rebuttal I heard from AppleCare? Just because accidental damage can be repaired doesn't mean that a problem won't show up "a couple of months" later. Yep, I'm serious. They refuse to acknowledge anything beyond the great likelihood that a screen repair in early March is completely linked to a failed logic board in late December.

The Apple Care rep. manage told me "The Golden Rule is if a Mac has received accidental damage before, AppleCare doesn't cover any other damage."

So I asked then why would someone pay for AppleCare if this was the case, and he replied, "In case something was a defect."

I said, "What about a logic board defect?" He said that would count, but not for me because there's an obvious crack in the bottom case. which means I dropped it at one point, which means accidental damage.

I said this crack was there before (it's about a millimeter long); it wasn't fixed by Apple Repair (even though it's noted in the March report being cracked).

He said it didn't matter. I asked what exactly are the tests that determine whether it's accidental damage or a effect. He was unspecific, and said I'd have to speak to Apple repairs. I asked for the number, he didn't give it to me.

Any advice?

Audrey Sykes wrote:
I said, "What about a logic board defect?" He said that would count, but not for me because there's an obvious crack in the bottom case. which means I dropped it at one point, which means accidental damage.

In the end, it doesn't matter what I agree/disagree with, but given this situation (the crack in the case which was caused by accidental damage and not repaired), the "right/just" answer is now, at minimum, a gray area in my eyes. I know, that's not what you want to hear, and neither would I, but that's an objective assessment from my perspective.

I said this crack was there before (it's about a millimeter long); it wasn't fixed by Apple Repair (even though it's noted in the March report being cracked).

Meaning you weren't charged for it. I think if the LB and case had been replaced, this would be a different story.

Any advice?

Sorry, but I suspect about all you can do is plead your case to AppleCare/an Apple employee as much as you're willing to and hope someone sees a different way to look at it.

Message was edited by: tjk

I had this problem too, just today.

I woke the computer up from sleep, and all I saw was a black screen; caps lock wouldn't work, so I just assumed that I shorted it out due to an electric shock by accident. I turned the laptop off and tried to start it again. I could hear the optical drive start, and then immediately afterwards the computer turned off again. I tried this several times, it still didn't work. I reset the PRAM and whatever else, still not working. Came on here to see that it wasn't just me having these problems... And, of course, I was frustrated, since college applications are due Friday, and all of the necessary information was on the Macbook Pro.

Since there really was nothing to lose, since I wouldn't have the time (nor the money) to send the Macbook Pro off to find out what is wrong, I just hit the back of the laptop case a few times just in case there were just some loose wires or something. After I hit the upper left of the back of the laptop (with up being the opening side of the laptop, and the back being the part not attached to the screen), the laptop started working again.

I'm not sure I'd suggest this for everyone, especially if you're afraid to break it, but if you have nothing to lose, it worked for me.

Regards.