Problem looming with MacBook Pro Late 2008?

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Level 1

13 points

Problem looming with MacBook Pro Late 2008?

This morning I had some ominous occurrences with my Mac Book Pro. When I got it out, the battery was quite warm, even though I had turned it off last night before connecting it to the charger. (It's never warm when it's not using the battery.) Then, when I pushed the power button, nothing happened until after several pushes. Eventually it did start up and seems to be working OK, but I'm worried, could this be a sign of a problem? I lost a hard drive a few years and don't want to repeat that trauma. Any ideas? Thanks!

MacBook Pro

Posted on Nov 30, 2012 6:59 AM

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Answer 1

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Courcoul

Level 6

18,558 points

Nov 30, 2012 7:03 AM in response to MarthaT

At the very least, I'd run an Apple Hardware Test and see if it picks something up. Try resetting the SMC too, as power seems to be involved in the issue.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1509

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

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Answer 2

thomas_r.

Level 7

31,989 points

Nov 30, 2012 7:04 AM in response to MarthaT

I would not expect the battery to be warm after charging overnight while the machine was powered down, though. Even if the battery was absolutely empty when you plugged it in, it should have completed a charge well before you got up this morning (unless it was a very short night's sleep) and had a chance to cool off from any heating that might have occurred during the charging process. So it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to get it checked out by Apple.

Is this an original battery? If not, how old is it?

One precaution you should definitely take, just in case there is some kind of hardware issue, is to be sure you are backing up your computer frequently.

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Answer 3

MarthaT Author

Level 1

13 points

Nov 30, 2012 7:07 AM in response to thomas_r.

It is an original battery. And yes, I am religious about backups after my previously mentioned disaster. Thanks, I will try your suggestions and report back.

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Answer 4

MarthaT Author

Level 1

13 points

Nov 30, 2012 7:07 AM in response to Courcoul

Thanks, will try your suggestions.

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Answer 5

thomas_r.

Level 7

31,989 points

Nov 30, 2012 7:09 AM in response to MarthaT

It is an original battery.

That may be part of the problem, then. 4 years is an awfully long time in terms of laptop battery lifetime.

Try this: open System Profiler (or System Information if you are running Mac OS X 10.7 or later), found in /Applications/Utilities. Under Hardware in the left-hand list, select Power. What does the battery information show?

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Answer 6

MarthaT Author

Level 1

13 points

Nov 30, 2012 8:01 AM in response to thomas_r.

Here is the battery info:

Battery Information:

Model Information:

Serial Number: 6N8470F0Q13E

Manufacturer: SMP

Device name: bq20z951

Pack Lot Code: 0000

PCB Lot Code: 0000

Firmware Version: 002a

Hardware Revision: 000a

Cell Revision: 0100

Charge Information:

Charge remaining (mAh): 3976

Fully charged: Yes

Charging: No

Full charge capacity (mAh): 4041

Health Information:

Cycle count: 436

Condition: Normal

Battery Installed: Yes

Amperage (mA): 0

Voltage (mV): 12449

System Power Settings:

AC Power:

System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10

Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10

Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10

Automatic Restart On Power Loss: No

Wake On AC Change: No

Wake On Clamshell Open: Yes

Wake On LAN: No

Current Power Source: Yes

Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes

GPUSwitch: 2

Battery Power:

System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 15

Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10

Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 2

Wake On AC Change: No

Wake On Clamshell Open: Yes

Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes

GPUSwitch: 2

Reduce Brightness: Yes

Hardware Configuration:

UPS Installed: No

AC Charger Information:

Connected: Yes

ID: 0x0100

Wattage (W): 85

Revision: 0x0000

Family: 0x00ba

Serial Number: 0x007279e9

Charging: No

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Answer 7

thomas_r.

Level 7

31,989 points

Nov 30, 2012 8:12 AM in response to MarthaT

That's not a terribly high cycle count, and the condition reports as "normal," so there's not an obvious problem with the battery.

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Answer 8

MarthaT Author

Level 1

13 points

Nov 30, 2012 8:47 AM in response to Courcoul

OK, I reset the SMC. With all this stuff, the power button seems to be working fine. Also ran Techtool, repaired permissions and did a backup. Everything worked fine.

Tried to run AHT but it didn't come on using the D key restart.

Have not yet had a chance to dig out my original install disk, which is where I believe it is for my Powerbook Pro late 2008.

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Answer 9

Courcoul

Level 6

18,558 points

Nov 30, 2012 10:29 AM in response to MarthaT

Odd. Did you change the internal drive sometime within the Mac's lifetime?

Since the Early 2008 models, the AHT has been residing in a hidden corner of the hard drive; I recall having a bet with my local AASP who insisted that the DVD was needed and lost when I ran the AHT without optical media on my now-dead Early 2008 MBP. If you changed drives or did a low-level format, you would of course lose the AHT copy and would have to resort to DVD 1.

Just to cover all bases, since yours has a removable battery, have you taken it out and verified it is not swelling?

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Answer 10

MarthaT Author

Level 1

13 points

Nov 30, 2012 11:52 AM in response to Courcoul

OK, I installed/reinstalled the apps that came with my install disk and found AHT upon restart. Did a test and it found no problem. Have not checked the battery yet. If it were swelling, would it still be able to operate normally? If my battery is on borrowed time, would I be wise to just replace it. or would that be a waste of $$$?

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Answer 11

thomas_r.

Level 7

31,989 points

Nov 30, 2012 11:57 AM in response to MarthaT

Well, as I said, there's not an obvious problem with the battery, but as old as it is plus with the heat issue you saw, it's probably wise to get it checked out by Apple anyway. Otherwise, if it's not giving you any trouble, shows no signs of swelling and still lasts reasonably well when you use the machine unplugged, I wouldn't bother replacing it just yet. Keep an eye on it, though.

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Answer 12

MarthaT Author

Level 1

13 points

Nov 30, 2012 1:44 PM in response to thomas_r.

Thanks much for your help!

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Answer 13

MarthaT Author

Level 1

13 points

Dec 20, 2012 8:48 AM in response to MarthaT

OK here's an update. Took Mac to the Apple Store and had them run diagnostics. No problem found. They erased the HD and did a clean reinstall of the OS. And my back worked fine! So I'm back in business and happy.

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