MacBook Pro 17" has no video, black screen when turned on.....help!

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MacBook Pro 17" has no video, black screen when turned on.....help!

Hello there....

I'm hoping this isn't the 'black screen of death'....

My MacBook Pro 17' was fien allday yesterday, no worries. Then in the evening I put it to sleep and then after a good 5 minutes realsied I needed to check something in my Email and went to put it on...and nothing.

The battery is full and when I press on the power button, I hear thef ans starting, hear the hard drive attempting to boot up and the scree nis just black, just like if was turned off.

I've looked around and have tried to reset the PRAM (by holding at the same tiem Command, ALT, P and R) but nothing.

Need some help please as all my work is on the mac!

Any ideas please?

A worried Illustrator :S

macbook pro, 2.4 ghz intel core 2 duo, 2gb 667 mhz ddr2 sdram Mac OS X (10.5., Mac OS X (10.5.6)

Posted on Feb 21, 2011 11:45 AM

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Answer 1

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GeekBoy.from.Illinois

Level 4

2,829 points

Feb 21, 2011 11:51 AM in response to RIKIN PAREKH

Do you have any display if you connect an external monitor to the DVI output port?

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Answer 2

RIKIN PAREKH Author

Level 1

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Feb 21, 2011 11:57 AM in response to GeekBoy.from.Illinois

Hi there GeekBoy,

Thanks for your reply dude:)

Don't really have access to another external monitor... 😟
R

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Answer 3

Allan Jones

Level 9

68,606 points

Feb 21, 2011 1:11 PM in response to RIKIN PAREKH

Try an SMC reset. Instructions here:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964

There are three options depending on what Mac you hae. The silver-key MacBook Pro uses the first option: Resetting the SMC on Mac portables with a battery you can remove.

If that does not work AND you were connecting to the internet via wirelss when the computer refused to wake, see my post in this thread:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2754758&tstart=0

That process cleans up unused saved networks that can sometimes prevent wake-from-sleep.

A

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Answer 4

RIKIN PAREKH Author

Level 1

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Feb 22, 2011 12:13 AM in response to Allan Jones

Morning there Allan 🙂

Thanks for your reply to my post....I tried this out but still nothing 😟

The screen is still black (just like as if it was turned off), the fans does runa wee bit and so does the hd then nothing. The Caps lock lights don't turn off or on...argh!

Any other ideas?
Regards,
Rik

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Answer 5

RIKIN PAREKH Author

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Feb 22, 2011 12:02 PM in response to RIKIN PAREKH

Hi there all,

Figured I'd try and see if I can find a video of what is happening to my MBP and the closest I could find is this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03nRXZ7KiCg&feature=related

When I turn it on, the fans do seem to start up and so does the hd alittle then after the stand by light DOES turn on ( I think I posted before that it didn't) and stays constant.

I've removed the battery, left it for a while, tried to perfom a PRAM resett and a SMC resett but nothing appears on screen....

Any ideas anyone please?! This is driving me nuts!

Kind regards,

R

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Answer 6

Allan Jones

Level 9

68,606 points

Feb 22, 2011 12:54 PM in response to RIKIN PAREKH

I'm beginning to think it's the nVidea curse:

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2377

You need to take it to an Apple Store or AASP for a specific test to determine the state of the video chipset. If it flunks the test, Apple will replace the logic board for up to four years from date of purchase without cost to you. Four years is starting to get close form many affected MBPs--you should act soon.

This should not affect your hard drive but you should have a backup just in case. Borrow another Mac with FireWire ports and use FireWire Target Disk Mode to access your hard drive from the other Mac. FWTDM will basically turns your computer temporarily into a external hard drive that can be mounted on other Macs.

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Answer 7

RIKIN PAREKH Author

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Feb 22, 2011 1:20 PM in response to Allan Jones

Allan :

Yikes, I too think so.

Wedirly, prior to your email I made a reservation to see my local Apple store/Genius Bar this Saturday. Crikey, I'm hoping they can fix this as I need the work and the MBP bad asap.

"This should not affect your hard drive but you should have a backup just in case. Borrow another Mac with FireWire ports and use FireWire Target Disk Mode to access your hard drive from the other Mac. FWTDM will basically turns your computer temporarily into a external hard drive that can be mounted on other Macs. "

-Great advice sir, I shall do this asap!

I'll post up a follow up here just incase anyone else is having this problem/ curse let upon them.....why oh why Nvidia ?

Thank yuo Allan for your helpo and I shall post back asap!

Regards,
Rik

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Answer 8

RIKIN PAREKH Author

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Feb 26, 2011 12:01 PM in response to RIKIN PAREKH

Hi there guys,

Well, took my MBP today to Apple. Saw a Aple Genius and he attempted to run a test on it to decide if it was the NVIDIA issuse but it wouldn't work. He called a colleauge over and showed it to him. I was told that it looks like, and is the NVIDIA graphics card problem. HAd it checked in and the 'Logoc Board' will be replaced, all free of charge. Looking over at the bill, it would have cost around a good £700 to get this replaced.

Anyone else who has these issues:

- Distorted or scrambled video on the computer screen
- No video on the computer screen (or external display) even though the computer is on

and if your mac is one of the below:
MacBook Pro 15-inch and 17-inch models with NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processors
MacBook Pro (17-Inch, 2.4GHz)
MacBook Pro (15-Inch, 2.4/2.2GHz)
MacBook Pro (Early 2008)

get it seen by a genius at apple and hopefully it should work out for you asap.
i'l post a follow up asap once i get my mac back.
regards and thanks,
rik

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Answer 9

RIKIN PAREKH Author

Level 1

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Mar 4, 2011 2:26 PM in response to RIKIN PAREKH

Hi there guys,

Well, turns out it was the Nvidia curse!
Got said MBP back today and it's working like new.

So if anyone gets this problem, take it back to Apple asap!

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Answer 10

Apr 9, 2011 8:20 PM in response to RIKIN PAREKH

Hi there guys Master Mac user,
Me too having prob with my screen.my MBP 2.4ghz 15".It was ok when booting up the screen was bright and the apple logo was there but when load the os(10.5.8) the screen turns black and the keyboard was light on.When i try to attach external monitor i can see everything and I can use the mac book at no problem.But why my LCD screen turns black when i didn't use the external monitor.Did anyone can help?

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Answer 11

Jul 13, 2011 10:54 AM in response to RIKIN PAREKH

I have this same problem with my 17" MBP - Early 2008.

I'm writing from Brazil, so I took my computer to Apple Brazil, they don't want to change the logic board, because they are saying that my computerdoesnt show some kind of code needed to send to Apple US to replace the part.

Does anyone know how I can contact Apple U.S. to make this claim?

Sincerely, Alexandre de Carvalho

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Answer 12

sundery

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Aug 29, 2011 3:45 AM in response to RIKIN PAREKH

I'm having the same problem with my MBP 15" (early 2008): after sleep mode it doesn't wake up, even after restart... so the GPU is broken. I went to AASP (I live in Ukraine) and they said they can't do anything cause my MBP's cover was disassembled not in AASP. So yes, it was, cause my MBP is 3,5 years old, warranty was over 2,5 ago, and of course, I had to clean my Mac, to lubricate coolers, but there were no AASP that time in my region and even in my country (Ukraine). So now I called in Main AASP in Ukraine, and they said that will help me to repair at no cost with my local AASP, but they can't guarantee at least beacause if the code will not match. In that way (if code will not match) they advise me to contact USA Apple, only they can help me in this situation. So, I'm waiting for a call...

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Answer 13

Oct 8, 2011 5:00 PM in response to RIKIN PAREKH

Wah! Same thing happened to my 15"' had everything replaced only to have it happen AGAIN!!

I'm concerned now... As the Logic board was replaced less than 3weeks ago.

The only difference this time is when it reboots (w/out video) you can hear the chime, last time there was no chime only the sound of the fan running.

So, if it's all replaced again, free of charge, will I find myself back at Apple two weeks later with the same issues? Is this Apple's, Planned Obsolescence? :(

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