Death of a MacBook Pro...diagnosis?

Question

Level 1

5 points

Death of a MacBook Pro...diagnosis?

Late 2011 15" MacBook Pro running 10.11.3 (maybe 10.11.4, but I don't think so). It was upgraded after I bought it to 16GB RAM from OWC.

Has run perfectly for almost 5 years ... until last night.

Now what happens is I get the normal power-on log on screen, can select a user and log in.

Progress bar under user progresses for some time (not sure it finishes), then gray screen for a bit, then off, then on again and REPEAT.

It does not appear to be the hard drive because when I boot from a recent backup on an external drive: SAME BEHAVIOUR.

Any ideas what this might be and what it might cost to fix?

How much might an Apple store or an Apple-certified repair shop charge to estimate repair?

Funny thing is I was wondering recently whether it might be worth spending money on this old laptop by replacing the 750GB HD with an SSD (and putting in a new battery)!

MacBook Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11.3)

Posted on Apr 23, 2016 8:54 AM

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Answer 1

ManSinha

Level 6

12,171 points

Apr 23, 2016 9:19 AM in response to strathglass

Can you use Cmd+R when starting to get into the machine?

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Answer 2

Allan Jones

Level 9

68,588 points

Apr 23, 2016 9:26 AM in response to strathglass

I suspect you may qualify for this Apple Repair Extension program that repairs the computer at no cost to you:

http://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro-videoissues/

It extends warranty repair coverage for a specific issue until the end of 2016 or four years from data of purchase. Don't get hung up on the four year thing--plenty of people found Apple would fix their computer past that period. Simply ask politely.

I realize your symptoms to not exactly match those listed in the article but have them test it anyway. There may be symptoms beyond what are shown in the article

A "MUST DO" -- print out a copy of the article I linked and have it with you when you visit the Apple Retail Store or Authorized Service Provider. Some employees are not aware of these programs. Also, the extension program will almost never be recognized by third-party repair shops who are not affiliated with Apple.

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Answer 3

strathglass Author

Level 1

5 points

Apr 23, 2016 10:16 AM in response to strathglass

OK.

ManSinha - Tried CMd+R ... it starts off normally with the initial progress bar but then goes to a gray screen and hangs (after 45 minutes, no change!).

Allan - had heard of this issue before and felt lucky it had never hit me. The symptoms it is true do not seem similar, but definitely worth a shot!

I have a local repair shop authorized by Apple (they have done Macbook Air repairs under AppleCare warranty for me), so I assume they are good? Or am I best to bring it to a real Apple store? (Either one is convenient, but would prefer the local repair shop to the Apple store if all else is equal).

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Answer 4

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,305 points

Apr 23, 2016 11:32 AM in response to strathglass

strathglass wrote:

I have a local repair shop authorized by Apple (they have done Macbook Air repairs under AppleCare warranty for me), so I assume they are good? Or am I best to bring it to a real Apple store? (Either one is convenient, but would prefer the local repair shop to the Apple store if all else is equal).

It depends upon the individual. If you have faith in /himthem, use them. Apple genius bar technicians are of mixed quality just as any AASP technicians may be.

Ciao.

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Answer 5

strathglass Author

Level 1

5 points

May 5, 2016 10:37 AM in response to OGELTHORPE

Good news - this WAS covered by the warranty for the issue Allan Jones noted!

GIven 4+ years with zero issues until this sudden failure:

is it worth the risk to spend several hundred dollars on this repaired MBPro

to upgrade to SSD and add a new battery?

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Answer 6

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,305 points

May 5, 2016 10:59 AM in response to strathglass

strathglass wrote:

is it worth the risk to spend several hundred dollars on this repaired MBPro

to upgrade to SSD and add a new battery?

That is your choice. I have two late 2011 MBPs, both with 16 GB RAM and SSDs installed, and I want to keep them as long as possible. They may not be quite as fast and powerful as the new crop, but they can run anything you throw at them. I must confess that one of the main reasons that I am so partial to them is that they have the now discontinued 17" display. For MY needs, they are near perfect.

Ciao.

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Answer 7

strathglass Author

Level 1

5 points

May 5, 2016 4:17 PM in response to OGELTHORPE

I was more wondering what people's experience was with reliability of their MBP after this warranty upgrade ... especially if it was like my case where it was a sudden death after a long time of no issues. If the general experience is good, I would not worry about upgrading to SSD, but if there were lots of problems still after these warranty repairs ... then I would certainly hesitate before SSD upgrades.

Just got back the device tonight and I think there is something they didn't do correctly:

On reboot/login, and during shutdown/restart:

I get black screens that show various unix commands and results.

Like a debug mode was enabled but left enabled by mistake.

I will call them back on Monday.

Anyone know what this is or how to disable it?

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Answer 8

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,305 points

May 5, 2016 4:35 PM in response to strathglass

That sounds like VERBOSE mode:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201573

Ciao.

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Answer 9

strathglass Author

Level 1

5 points

May 5, 2016 5:05 PM in response to OGELTHORPE

Yes, it seems like that ... however your link indicates:

support.apple.com/en-us/HT201573:

Verbose mode causes text to display during startup and shutdown. The next time you restart your Mac, Verbose mode is no longer enabled.

Unlike what it states in bold above on the apple site, restarting in my cases does NOT end the verbose output!

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