MacBook Pro Logic Board Failure

Please dont limit to Nvidia card, the 2011MBP 15&17 in. used AMD chip sets integrated to the logic board. Some say they are the issue and some say lead free solder is failing. I believe the later as one fix is to resolder the logic board.

Hi grant. The 2011 15' mbp does not generall seem to have this problem. (though my friend's also had his battery swell and destroy his computer so he had to buy a new one.)

However, there are cetain models that have been giving users more of a headache then windows ME pre-isntalled computers of old. I've never had to deal with a laptop so much.

My uncles old, thick, heavy Mac laptop from over 12 years ago STILL WORKS (with a few battery replacements.)

my 2010 15in macbookpro with everything maxed began it's crashes on the first month.

Trying to get it fixed for 3 years, and they finally replaced the logic board after 3 years with their TS4****. I suffered for 3 years.

Now guess what. 4.5 months after the replacement. My CPU has died completely. This is a 2.2k computer. I could buy a PC every 1.5 year and just trash it when it gets out of date and buy a new one for the same price. I would have comprable performance, and would deal with way less issues.

We always used Apple because the cost of dealing with these problems isn't worth it on a regular PC. But my macbookpro has probably cost me more in man hours trying to diagnose and fix it than I paid for it. I have never seen a ******** computer. The difference is the terrible PC reps will just tell you your system is broken and to get a new one. Apple obfuscated their very common flaw (It literally happens on every single person who has my model and uses its capacity with games, video, editing, computing, etc.) Most people just deal with the restarts and crashes because they don't tax their system as much.

Why do you think Mavericks brought out all the hate? It attempted to use more of the computers resources, thus unearthing this inherent flaw in many of these macs.

I have a mid-2010 15" MBP, everything maxed. Applecare ran out in May. As you mentioned, it seems like once I installed Mavericks I went from occasional crashes to ridiculously consistent crashes when doing processor-heavy tasks like video editing.

I took it to the Genius Bar today, got it diagnosed, and the Logic Board failed and needs replacement. Got a flat-rate quote for $310, which isn't terrible, but still less than ideal, especially considering this flaw was probably there well before my Applecare ran out, but got worse because of the OSX update.

I called Apple Customer Care and they told me that whatever the store told me was it, and they couldn't make any exception based on this being a common problem (he didn't really acknowledge that it was a common problem either).

So, my question is this: I've seen some vague references to people getting their MLB replaced on their MBP by Apple at no charge after warranty/Applecare ran out. Is there a known way to get Apple to do this? I know I should have brought the laptop into Apple before the warranty ran out, but I didn't, and I'm about 90% sure it was failing while still under warranty (same crashes just less frequent). So I'm not trying to get over on Apple or anything.

Emirk and Andy-J-D.

You both have 2010 15" MBPs, so it's doubtful the problem "just happened." It's more like you found about the issue too late. Before you visit your local Apple Stores, I encourage you to study the logic board problems associated with 15" and 17" MBPs on this subforum alone.

Also, keep the temperatures down. It's no guarantee that the problem won't recur, but increased heat is associated with loosened solder. Make sure your temps are consistently under 150 degrees F.

Please post the results of your repair, and good luck. In the meantime, here's some reading material:

http://logicboardmac.blogspot.com

poikkeus1 thanks for the link and the tip about temps. I frequently run hot when editing/processing video, and I suspected it might have effected the MLB. Looks like I'll be paying for a replacement board and using a cooling pad when I get it back.

All 5 of my "Apple" computers have had hardware problems and 1 is a total lemon.

1984 Mac 512K

failed non-polar capacitor in video analog circuitry.

I replaced the cap with 4 ceramic caps in parallel.

Then lasted many years.

NeXT Cube 68030/68040

The magneto-optical drives failed.

The free dust filters were not enough

I still could use a working drive to recover some archives.

800MHz 15" PowerBook G4 Titanium (lasted long enough)

Failed hinge after a few years.

I replaced with stronger hinges from eBay.

Failed main board. Replaced with 867MHz from eBay.

2.4GHz 2007 MacBook Pro 17" (not a lemon since Apple fixed it for free)

Failed main board/GPU.

Still using this computer.

BTO early 2011 MacBook Pro 17" (expensive useless lemon)

Failed main board/GPU. Doesn't boot to login screen.

Apple hasn't manned up to the problem.

Swollen battery interfears with trackpad.

Would love to be using this computer.

I'm sorry but I could not discern your question, could you be clearer?

There is no question mark in the message.
Is that not clear?

So you are not asking a question?

I need not answer then.

Hello -

I had this issue with my MBPro 17, along with a Client and his MBPro 15.

The solutions for our now-working MBPros include:

1. Removing the internal optical drive. Our external units provide better performance without the heat buildup.

2. Replacing the internal hard drive with a fully solid state drive. Heat buildup greatly reduced.

3. Reflowed the main board solder to a very specific set of criteria, precautions, and considerations.

4. Removed the "mesh cloth" covering the top deck grille on the underside. Airflow improved.

5. Use Cooler Master NotePal U3 Laptop cooling pads with 3 moveable 80mm cooling fans, bought from Amazon for around 35$US. These pads are a solid aluminum grille, with totally easily adjustable fans powered via USB.

6. Purchased (10$US), installed, and use Marcel Bresnik's Hardware Monitor - MacUpdate.com was our source for this. Temperature Monitor is the temperature-only variant that is still free. Be aware that this software is not meant for 2013 or newer systems.

7. I now use a new metric for temperature management - keep it below 150 degrees fahrenheit – certainly. Working temperatures for me are around 95-110 degrees, without the cooling pad - your results may vary. I'm still tinkering.

During our forensic process (we're mechatronics' types), we encountered opportunities for applying better thermal paste (wasn't much used in manufacturing?) using Arctic Silver 5 cleaner, purifier, and paste. Read and follow the directions for whomever is doing the task.

We also noticed a lot of dust had seeped into the case during use beforehand - using the optical drive was considered a primary culprit.

Our template for our chosen process was inspired by my Alienware Aurora 17 gaming laptop, festooned with so much ventilation for its dual nVidia cards.

I'm considering programming a custom pattern to lathe out of the MBPro case for additional airflow, and using a better quality mesh when done. I think our logo cut as our grille would be kewl . . . .

In one MBPro, the optical drive space is empty. This is for the video producer, and we're considering adding an additional fan with case openings in that now vacant space.

In the other MBPro, the optical drive space is occupied by the solid state drive (Otherworld Computing OWC Mercury EXTREME Pro 6G) running Mac OS X Lion with a Boot-Camped Windows 7 Ultimate backed up with WinClonePro 4. This leaves the regular hard drive bay for regular platter hard drives usually running at 7200rpm, which we manually spool down when not needed, improving heat and power management. The hard drive bay can take whatever modular loadout we need, whether it'd be a native hardware-booting Kubuntu Linux or OSX 10.4 Tiger running something in Classic.

Of course, one could use another SSD or hybrid. In our case, other than the primary OS Mac/Windows production tools, platter HDs work quite well, whether for storing documents or other non-regular tasks. For instance, Kubuntu Linux is very fast without using a SSD. (I use Parallels and Fusion for testing and with tools not used often.)

When my MBPro failed, my story echoes a lot of what I've read here. For me, it happened during a critical urgent publishing project, with just the MBPro having the necessary tools for that stage at that time while we were in the process of upgrades and migrations. Thousands of dollars US lost when I had to make the call to transfer the contract to someone else.

I understand and relate to the anger and frustration.

It took months before we decided "enough" and spent the hordes of hours necessary in research and other efforts to develop our multi-piece jigsaw-seeming solution.

While the really kewlest event was seeing these MBPros come back to life, blinking on to "my date is something else" dialog boxes, we're still tinkering.

AND

We have backups, to the rule, "Three is Two, Two Is One, One is None." I personally like Four . . . .

I can't speak to what resources you all have access to.

We just didn't like the idea of, "go out and buy another one," when we felt there were more enticing options.

We were/are fortunate we could leverage our mechatronics resources and return valuable tools back to our digital workflow.

We took the attitude of iFixit, and asked, "what CAN we do?" and did it - when it's already been declared dead, there's nowhere else to go but to the Light . . . .

We took inspiration from days of yore, and Thought Different.

You've clealy given a lot of consideration to finding a way to fix LB problems, and prevent them from happening again.

I haven't experienced LB problems...yet. But you can take precautions:

1. Replace HD with an SSD - reduced heat and increased performance.

2. Use Cooler Master - the heat reduction isn't spectacular, but this keeps the temps from getting too high.

3. iStat Menus - to keep track of any changes in performance or heat.

4. Keep your temperatures low - while in use, under 120 degrees F, and never allow your machine to rise above 150 degrees F.

A few users reported LB issues just a few days after use. However, for most users, following the hints here will reduce the chance of having to perform the pricey LB repair.

Heat is the problem...FYI there is a company in NYC, L2 Computer inc., google them. If u remove your battery and HD, u can send the Mac in. They will refurbish the LB for $209. This saves u the trouble of removing the board. You also can send the whole unit in, but i removed my battery and HD as precautions. I am waiting to hear from L2 at this time, sent my MBP in aweek ago by ups ground. Be sure to add insurance. This is a good price if they can perform the fix. A SSD sounds like a good idea if it installs easily...anyone know? cost?....John

I just discovered that Apple may have cheated me out of 0.1 GHz

processor speed when my Macbook was repaired.

I just check the About Mac and see 2.4 GHz.... my purchase receipt

says 2.5 GHz

So maybe Apple lacks some integrity here... I am going to ask

why this change and I have not gotten back the Macbook I thought

I had bought unless there is something in the information

that is just inconsistent.

Good thing this thing is still under Apple care

or how Could Apple be so careless?

One Bad Apple was by the Osmonds!

Check Billboard or wikipedia if you don't believe me

--- I am channeling Casey Kasem or putting on my American Top 40 hat now.

They had to find a White group to imitate the Jackson 5's success the year

prior (1970) who had 4 straight #1 songs

I Want You Back #1 for 1 week

ABC #1 for 2 weeks

The Love You Save #1 for 2 weeks

and

their biggest hit

I'll Be There #1 for 5 weeks

yet the grammy for best new artist went to The Carpenters for

a #1 song (They Long To Be) Close To You #1 for 4 weeks in 1970

Please try not to challenge me on this. I got this!

It seems like I got One Bad Apple if Apple switched (even reduced)

the processor speed on me. I PAID for 2.5 GHz but after they so-called

repaired the logic board and the GPU causing that to fail, they put in

a 2.4 GHz processor it says now.

One Bad Apple to lack of integrity and they did not explain to me why

they reduced the processor speed. I wonder how much more money I spent

for the 2.5 GHz and if I can get reimbursed.

I had to file another Better Business Bureau case against Apple.