Late 2008 MacBook Pro 17" broken screen display

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Level 1

0 points

Late 2008 MacBook Pro 17" broken screen display

I have been using my old MacBook Pro (A1261) for some design work since 2008. It's been a good sport and I love it dearly. Unfortunatelly, recently my screen started working intermittently. This week it has died completely. I am not convinced it's worth having it repaired as it might cost more that the laptop itself. Could anybody help me view my display using another laptop or TV? I have previously been able to view it's display on my LG TV (even when the mac displayed wasn't working) using the DVI External Display Port but I have changed my display settings so I am unable to connct it now. I have also been able to detect its display on my Mac Book Air but again, I must have changed the setting because I get no luck this time. I have been using BootCamp and most of my design work sit in the Windows part (pardon my lack of IT jargon) so perhaps I could retreive it using a PC???😕 Any help would be much appreciated

Posted on Oct 17, 2013 7:06 AM

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Answer 1

RatVega™

Level 4

2,005 points

Oct 17, 2013 8:53 AM in response to Macduck01

You are right about the cost of screen replacement if you have it done (by Apple $700-600, by others $400-500, approximately.) I spoke to my (authorized independent) Mac repair shop when a friend trashed his screen and my Mac guy told me to replace it for him (I'm a geek) because I could do it for under $200 in parts and the DIY instructions on ifixit dot com. If you're a little geeky and have a couple of tiny tools, you can too.

Your other option is to use the mini displayport to hook up to a HDTV or external monitor. I can't tell you the exact procedure because this is the Mac Pro forum, not the MacBook Pro forum and I don't know all the details for those tiny machines. I figure if you wrote that post you can also read, so I'd suggest reading the Mac Help files that are included in the OS. It can't be that hard.

good luck

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Answer 2

Macduck01 Author

Level 1

0 points

Oct 17, 2013 2:35 PM in response to RatVega™

I have tried dvi to hdmi (this laptop comes from an era previous to mini displayport) but can't manualy detect the display - for obvious reasons. I am in the correct forum (I can read this much, thanks) so maybe someone could help me after all.

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Answer 3

Raydoggy

Level 1

8 points

Aug 2, 2016 4:06 PM in response to Macduck01

Hi MacDuck,

I was wondering if you still have the broken screen, I need it for an art project, so if you wouldn't mind giving it too me, it would be greatly appreciated, of course I will cover postage.

Best wishes

Ray.

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