Nvidia problem with 2008 Macbook Pro in Spain

Call apple!

voxbcn said:

After searching the forum I assume that it is the Nvidia problem, but as I`m currently living in spain the local dealer only suggests a logic board replacement for around 650,- EUR - Reading the past posts it seems that this is a common problem that is usually resolved by Apple.
Any suggestions on how to proceed ?

Click to expand...

If your problem is due to the NVIDIA issue, Apple will fix it free, as long as you're within 4 years from the date of purchase.

MacBook Pro: Distorted video or no video issues

same problem

Hello everyone,

I seem to have the same issue as voxbcn. I bought a Macbook Pro in March 2008 (2,5GHZ C2D, 2GB, 250GB, GF8600). The pre-unibody model.

This is a short history:

- In July 2008 it had been in repair for a graphics card issue, under warranty.
This link shows exactly how it looked like, and the problem only occured sometimes. After the repair I still had the problem, but a reboot would always solve it. Since I didn't have AppleCare, I had no choice but to live with it.
http://blog.mclaughlinsoftware.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/MacBookProDisfiguredView.jpg

- March 2011: After using my MBP, I closed the laptop and went to sleep. The morning after it was dead. When pressing the power button, the fans will start to spin and then immediately stop. If I hold the power button, the fans keep spinning. There's no light.
I went to an Apple Reseller in Spain and paid for a diagnose. They told me the problem was the logic board and the heat dissipation. Repair would cost me €1014. I obviously didn't let it repair and bought a new one instead. I kept my old MBP in the drawer until now. The Apple Reseller took out the HD which I now use as an external drive.

- My new MBP got stolen a while back, and although the new retina MBP looks great, I would love to get my old one back to life. I started to look on the internet and found out about this nvidia problem! I think the faulty GPU might have been the cause of my broken logic board and I'm really angry the Apple shop didn't tell me about this. Instead, they tried to sell me a new one.

My question to you guys:
- Do you think, based on my description, that the problem could be the nvidia issue? Is the issue I had in 2008 related to the faulty nvidia GPU?
- If yes, can I still get a free repair? I know that we passed the 4 year coverage but the problem has been identified last year, and I can prove this.

Thank you for you advice

I called Apple but they told me I had to prove it's the GPU fault that causes the logic board to die.

I had this issue in July 2008: http://blog.mclaughlinsoftware.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/MacBookProDisfiguredView.jpg
Is that according to you a symptom of the Nvidia issue described by Apple here?
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2377

The guy on the phone told me that if I could prove the problem, further steps could be taken.

However, if the computer doesn't boot at all, the Apple Reseller isn't going to be able to determine the cause right? (since they first have to boot the mac from an external harddrive) Is there any way to find out what whas the cause of the failing logic board?