MacBook Pro Logic Board Failure

I should have said the serial number did not match the one on the bottom of the case with the one under the 'About this Mac'.

That is very common.

This sounds very similar to a problem I have. Macbook Pro mid-2010, 13 inches

Processor 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

Memory 4 GB 1067 MHz DDR3

Graphics NVIDIA GeForce 320M 256 MB

Software OS X 10.9 (13A603)

Apologies for the detailed narrative that may not be useful to anyone. But since the manifestation of the problem varies and I want to take a poll of people to understand if their MBP mid-2010 is having logic board failures, I wanted to put this as much detail as possible (and take out my frustration).

Last week, my MBP emitted beeping noises (one beep, continuous, every 5 seconds). This problem occured suddenly - earlier in the day I'd woken up, checked emails, put it to sleep, and took a bus/tram to the office (this is key, transit). Apple online support diagnosed it as a RAM issue, and asked me to (take out and) reset the RAM. With IT support at my office, reset the RAM + PRAM, and then SMC as well. It started up fine and I logged in and then put it sleep. But as I was bringing back from IT, it must have frozen. So reset the RAM + PRAM again, and everything worked find. That is, till I put it in my bag and came back home. First, it was very slow and I realised that it was detecting only one RAM (a problem described in these forums). And then, it shut down in the middle of my Skype call without reason. Everything went to ****. Beep re-started.

Next day, did the same RAM+PRAM re-set. Computer worked fine all day along. I come back home (transit!), and the beeps return. This time three beeps followed by a pause and three beeps. I gave up - thats when the link to transit hit me - and went to the Genius Bar. RomaEUR Genius Bar folks said it would take 5 days. So took it to the other one today. Daniele @ RomaEST was convinced it is a logic board problem and that it would require replacement (EUR 340!). I suggested that he try resetting the RAM - sure enough, it worked. So he said he put a special tape in after resetting the RAM and PRAM to make certain the RAM does not move around. I shut down before transit and am very afraid to put it to sleep before transit. They are convinced its a logic board problem because it is not seating the RAM OK. Can anyone explain how this is even possible?! Since I understand the issue better now, I am just starting to dig into this. I also intend to call Apple headquarters in Ireland (for Europe) and try and lodge a direct complaint.

I can confirm that there have been NO accidents whatsoever in the recent years. Two years back, my MBP fell to the floor (inside its very cushioned case) when my bag split open. But it woke up from sleep fine, and worked as good as ever except for a few bumps and scratches. All was well till the last 2-3 months.

What makes all this worse is that these problems have started AFTER the extended warranty expired in April 2013. One month or so back, my MBP died without reason. Battery was full. I tried everything - safe mode, hardware tests, disk utility, PRAM, SMC. The Genius Bar guy did the hardware diagnostics and concluded the same thing I did - could not find any hardware fault. And when he re-did the PRAM and SMC, the laptop sprung back to life and was fine until the above happened. We figured something fixed it. We don't know what fixed it or what the problem was.

Did I also mention that I have been having the wireless connectivity problem referenced here?! https://discussions.apple.com/thread/1352518?answerId=23967573022#23967573022&ac_cid=tw123456#23967573

Laksk wrote:

So took it to the other one today. Daniele @ RomaEST was convinced it is a logic board problem and that it would require replacement (EUR 340!). I suggested that he try resetting the RAM - sure enough, it worked. So he said he put a special tape in after resetting the RAM and PRAM to make certain the RAM does not move around. I shut down before transit and am very afraid to put it to sleep before transit. They are convinced its a logic board problem because it is not seating the RAM OK. Can anyone explain how this is even possible?!

I'm reading the story differently than you. My guess is they considered two possible causes for the problem (moving RAM and logic board problem). They may have put the tape so, if it fails again, you can rule out moving RAM for sure, thus leaving the logic board issue the next likely one; after all, if the problem is the RAM moving, it's an easier thing to try first).

Hmmm - the guy concluded it is the logic board problem without even considering other options. Sorry to repeat myself but I insisted that they try resetting the RAM (the service note has this in writing "customer asked for RAM reset"). Which he did and it sprung back to life, and he went "you were right" but stated that the only sureshot way to ensure this won't happen again is to replace the logic board (it is not seating the RAM properly and hence is faulty). I did not understand the link, and thats why asked.

So if pram reset is the 100 percent culprate for these types of situations. Why is that not on automatic in built. So typical of a magician not actual tech work. This is so much of a stall to get you out of warranty in my oppinion and mind you I am a hardware expert. The US justice code states that hardware experts may have an oppinion in court as versus the none expert witness status people. So lets examin this reset pram and the computer works just fine till the pram is alerted again for hardware malfunction and is instructed to test the system more rigorous on post. So start up takes 30 min instead of seconds with a normal operational system. At least this was the solution of tech for my iMay 27 inch that I returned. I am a hard ware expert and you can not throw off my game with your hocus pocus. Apple should take responsibility and issue a recal. Should not have to go to court to make you admit a faulty system.

Also a typical finding of mine. I had mac books with nvidia chips and AMD chips and had systems with iMac and macbook pro flavor. All had interestingly similar graphics issues. Weaking up with garbled screens. Dancing green and white ants on screen. The one picel green and white or just bright going or seem to be going in circles. Screen going to black and white picsels dancing around as if there was no televidion signal in analog ara. Screen totaly going to black and back. Also the video enomoly you used to see in old brocken arkade video screens where the screen is slighty or extriamly shifted to right or left and doubled in picture. So is it the video manufacturer or the mother board logic board itself responsible. And if we are targeting the video manufacturer and just useing this as an excuse to switch to a lower priced part. Hmmmm that solved the problem having the same issue with AMD when it was switched to. Nice going Apple!

You know what the funny story is. You could drop that laptop from the empire state building and the ram would be the only thing still in there tight. That is how good those things are designed to be seated. And you think I am exagerating. This comes from a guy who buy a laptop for 2 dollars at a garage sale and went to the roof of a 4 stroy building and tossed it down. Mind you my friends were down there to video tape. Hahaha. The whole laptop in pieses and the ram chip still in the socket. What a surprise or was it just luck? So to me it is such a funny story to read that a tech would think that the ramchip is ever loose. Hahaha. I mean I would check to see if it is poped in right but to tape it after that is just horse beep.

Yes add my name to the list. I am sure this is going to keep growing but seems apple is not going to acknowledge this as a defect anytime soon. This a very common issue its been bitched about all over the web. There are even people advertising that they can fix this for as little as 100 bucks all over ebay.

Really apple should acknowledge this as god knows how many people are going to have to pay to get this factory defect fixed.

So if the test is deemed critical and they cannot reboot the computer then they don't cover the cost of repair even if this is the issue? This is what happened to me. I am considering getting a new laptop but they are so expensive and I only just finished paying off my last one last year.

Here is a something I found

http://logicboardmac.blogspot.com/

Thre are options I am looking into

Same Problem, blue screen.

Macbook Pro Early 2011 out of warenty since 612 days, try to call apple Care.

They don't want to heard a word. He lived for 1.000 days, in fact it's like a battery, one thousand cycle...

so get it fixed and sell it fast on Craigslist

A hot potato

Hi, I am new to this forum. I am a little disappointed as for weeks if not a month or so my 17" Macbook Pro was acting quite sluggishly. I thought it was a hard drive problem. Finally, this past Sunday the whole computer stopped working even though I had applied verifying and repairing the disk using Disk Utility. Anyway, I was able to access the hard drive by linking a thunderbolt connection between the Macbook and an iMac. I made an emergency back up and later I was able to boot from the iMac (Holding the Option Button) the Macbook partition and there did not seem anything wrong with the macbook's hard drive (accessed the account on Macbook). To make a long story short, I made an Genius Appointment at an Apple Store. In the store, they are telling me that they think the logic board is a problem and needs replacing.

I am losing faith that this Macbook's logic board will fail again and again and I will be left with a doorstop after my Apple Care warranty expires in 2015. They are even cheating me of a few days on Apple Care as it ends on the date I purchased the Macbook but I did not receive it until about 4 days later and that is where I thought the warranty should begin when I received the computer and set up the Apple ID information registering the computer. The warranty should begin when the computer is registered within reasonable time from the date of purchase I believe. I am not feeling comfortable with the Macbook now. I have a fear I won't be able to use it after the Apple Care warranty expires as the logic board may fail again perhaps 1 or 2 more times before the end of the warranty.

I guess you can't have faith in anything anymore and the Apples are becoming rotten at the core.

PCs may have bugs but Apples have worms rotting them at the core!

I started having problems on both my Macbook and iMac after upgrade to

10.9 Mavericks.

My Macbook is in for repair under Apple Care ... they say the logic board

needs replacing even though I thought it was the hard drive problem.

Now my iMac onto which I made a back up of the Macbook has failed.

I just shut the iMac down fully then I unplugged it from the surge protector.
I plugged it back in the surge protector and now it won't power on.

I makes no sense... the only common thing is Mavericks as I upgraded them

both.