Q: MacBook Pro Logic Board Failure

Lenn,

Were there any warning symptoms?  Was the failure the same as the last time it went on you.  I'm wondering what to look out for or if there's anyway to protect it.  Of course even thinking like this is irritating as I would hope the machine could be used normally without worry.  I guess if it's going to fail it would be good if it did while the 90 warranty is in effect.  Heck I don't want it to fail at all. I was hoping it was a bad batch manufactured in mid 2010 when I bought my MBP.  I don't like to hear it still happening with newer logic boards as well.  Any theories you'd care to put forward?

The last few weeks the MBP froze a few times. I had to use the power button to shut it down. Then the other night it froze and the graphical distortions started. After rebooting it worked for a few minutes then it froze again with the weird graphic "artifacts." Probably a bad GPU like last time. Since the GPU is part of the logicboard they have to replace the entire logicboard again.

I'm not sure if Apple uses new or refurbished parts when they fix a Mac. Especially one that isn't in production anymore. Since heat plays a huge part in the longevity of a logicboard using a refurbished part may not be such a good idea.

I have an early 2008 15" MBP. Many of these came with the faulty NVidia 8600M GPU that have been causing so many problems. Since yours doesn't contain this defective GPU you are much better off.

I don't think it's reasonable to embed the graphics card into the logic board. When a replacement is needed, not only does it cost the price of “both” cards, it also is a waste of components/material! Splitting both cards would have resulted in cheaper replacements and a better handling of the components to change (think about the Earth's health)…

But any company's first goal is not to preserve the nature, right?

Actually, you don't have to replace 'both';  there are plenty of places making good business out of replacing the GPU in the logic boards of the faulty INVIDIA Macs at a fraction of what Apple wants to replace the whole lot, despite the Logic boards being fine.  Apple denies there are 'undiagnosed' GPU issues while whole companies are basing business strategies on it!  It would be funny if it weren't reprehensible, eh?

(In rersponse to a post a few pages back) I reckon 'always make the best' is clearly something any company aims for, but if you use a batch of recognised faulty components, you shouldn't screw your own loyal userbase over to save the manufacturer of the original components (NVIDIA) the price of a replacement.  That's what's at the base of all of this, and obviously has led you to go back to PC.  Good idea, HP's response to this NVIDIA isue was far better.

We're seeing two issues here: first, it's issues with certain 2007-8 MBPs that may need replaced logic boards, based on a legal settlement; second, it's general problems with failing logic/graphics boards.

If you have the former, you'd best visit your Apple Store/Genius Bar to see if you qualify for the extended warranty program.

If you have the latter, visiting your Apple Store/Genius Bar is important - but it's doubly important to be proactive. Recent MBPs can run hot, and that can be a danger sign. Hot systems lead to weakened solder, which can result in eventual logic/graphics board problems.  Even if you recently had a logic/graphics board replaced, running your MBP hot will cause the same failure, time after time.

Some Apple Stores are aware of the problem and may be more understanding of the issue.

I tried calling apple, going into a apple store, calling apple again.  My macbook pro is from 2008 and the extended warranty for the logic board just expired in December so every try they told me a base fix of $310 is the best they could do.  This is in my opinion unacceptable considering that it is know that the problem is caused by a defective part; I know eventaully computers fail but after only 4 years a expensive computer should still work.  I started searching fixes and ended up taking apart the computer, baking the logic board in the oven, and putting new thermal paste on the processors.  Put it back together and it works!

Poikkeus,

Strange thing is for 4 years I pushed the CPU quite a lot doing video encoding,games, ect. It lasted almost 4 years. Since Nov '12 and the new logicboard I haven't done 1 video encode or played 1 game on it. Just email, browsing and watching movies. And that 2nd logicboard only last 2 months. Go figure.

SeeClarity,

Congrats on the home fix!

Not sure I would have had the guts to put my logicboard in the oven ;-)

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people living in the us could ask david wynn miller to look into these issues

I reported back in November 2011 how my logicboard, hard drive and battery all failed to the point i couldn't boot and since I had a dent on my computer my Macbook Pro was repaired as a Tier-3 Accidental Damage, thank god the tech was understanding and didn't charge me the ridiculous $1300 for the repair.

Last month, December 20 2012 Logic board and Hard Drive failed yet again and it was fixed after a week and I got it back the last day of my AppleCare. Now the computer seems to go to a sleep that it doesn't wake from and the HDD keeps spinning and the only way to get out of it is a hard shut down.  On reboot it says you had a problem etc. So I'm guessing I have yet another unpredictable crash of my computer which will be the 3rd time. I assume I have a 90 day extension of these specifice parts, any tips on how I can recreate this for the "geniuses" or contact Apple for a mail in? Its a Mid 2009 Macbook Pro 15 2.66 core 2 duo. I had to wait a week for the repair because the logic board was being shipped and still I got stock with a crap version.

Well... So it seems that the Logic Board issue is far more widespread than just the 2007-2008 Nvidia models. I have had an early 2011 15" MacBook Pro (2.00 GHz, 500GB 5400rpm HDD, AMD Radeon HD 6490 and a recent upgrade to 16GB DDR3 1333MHz RAM), and it's logic board appears to have been fried. I thought the issues with the display (screen going black on and off, screen distorsion, etc...) were the cause of the Razer Mice Drivers, as it is known to have this type of issues, but so it seems it was the warning of the inevitable death of my Logic Board. I took it to an AASP and they told me that so it seams the fans got dirty to the point were it wouldn't let air in at all, it eventually fried the GPU and thus the whole logic board. They told me fixing the machine was not worth it, they told me an estimate would be 800$-1,000$ for a repair, and I'm 18, I can't gather that kind of cash in such a short time, so it seems my MacBook Pro is pretty much errm--Dead. Unfortunately, switching to a PC would be pretty unproductive, as I use Aperture to manage my photos, so I guess I'll have to sell my MacBook Pro for repair parts, impressively the computer is barely 1 year old, it was just a month and a half after my warranty expired, I feel cheated, it's like the computer was programmed to do this <after> the warranty expired, no apple care, possively my greatest regret -EVER. My next buy will probably be an iMac, as I find that it will have far less issues with heat, and knowing that my father's 2009 27" iMac is still running strong without any issues at all, I think apple should implement some other cooling solution to their computers, in my opinion it's their greatest disadvantage, the computer will run hot you try or not. A word of advice for 15" users: Clean your fans once every 5 months to stop this type of issues, I surely didn't see this comming, although I knew I eventually would have to clean those fans, but I didn't think it would happen so soon. Bottom line I'm stuck with a near-perfect, yet not-working MacBook Pro, if the GPU wasn't soldered to the logic board I would have had some luck replacing it, but the costs are too high to actually make me want to repair it. Sadly, I can't get to a genius bar, as where I live there are no Apple Stores (actually, not in the whole country), but there's various AASPs, which are bloody expensive (50$ for MDP to DVI?-really?).

I just wrote a 2 page article of my experience with this issue & I think it got deleted by Apple. :-)  I agree. You should be covered no matter what, as long as your MBP is the same model with the same NVidia Graphics processor, Years of Model or Years of Warranty should not matter.