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Is Early 2008 Macbook Pro Dead?

S

Sparklebuns

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 25, 2014
11
0
Los Angeles
After 6 or so years, a new logic board, some memory upgrades, etc, my 17" macbook pro seems to have died, or is dying.

It's giving me some strange pixelated houndstooth looking madness upon start up, which sporadically changes pixel designs once it gets past the Apple logo start up screen. I have attached pictures, which are hard to tell the detail, but I'm pretty sure polka dots of any kind aren't good

It gets past the Apple logo, and then a weird pixelated version of the pinwheel just spins, and the computer doesn't quite get anywhere after that. Normal expectation would be the password screen.

The startup sound plays, and the fan works. Other than that, I don't have anything else I can really report.

If anyone has any ideas of what the problem is, if its fixable by myself, or a professional, and if so, what a guestimate might be as to the cost to repair...
That'd be top notch.

Thanks for listening
 

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Yep, looks like the GPU and no its not fixable :( Only a new logic board will fix it.
 
Fixed mine 3 times myself

Yes it's likely the defective GPU. I just fixed my for the 3rd time myself. This fix is not for the average user, it's quite involved. There's many YouTube videos how to fix it. In a nutshell, you basically "cook" your logic board in the oven to reflow the solder. Do a google search and you'll find many how to's.....hope that helps.
 
gooru2u said:
Yes it's likely the defective GPU. I just fixed my for the 3rd time myself. This fix is not for the average user, it's quite involved. There's many YouTube videos how to fix it. In a nutshell, you basically "cook" your logic board in the oven to reflow the solder. Do a google search and you'll find many how to's.....hope that helps.
Click to expand...

I wonder if there isn't a method of making the fix lasting longer (or even forever). Perhaps by adding a couple of minutes to the baking process? :p

I was tempted to buy a 2011 MBP with a broken logic board (radeongate) for just $200. Don't know if is worth it the experiment.
 
Not sure.....

brdeveloper said:
I wonder if there isn't a method of making the fix lasting longer (or even forever). Perhaps by adding a couple of minutes to the baking process? :p
Click to expand...

I just did this yesterday, but this time after much research about the characteristics of solder I experimented a little. I put the oven at 385 F for 8 mins, then went up to 390 for another minute, turned off the oven to let cool down a bit, and took out to finally cool down to reassemble. Total time in oven approx 10 mins. Apparently the permanent fix is to replace with the newer updated GPU chipset available....I have read of compatibility issues with some software though, this being why I didn't just buy another Logic Board from eBay or elsewhere. I'll just hang on to this MBP for another yr and it's time for an upgrade and I'll spend my $$$ then.
 
hamiltonDSi said:
It looks like the GPU so this means a new logic board.
Click to expand...
maflynn said:
Yep, looks like the GPU and no its not fixable :( Only a new logic board will fix it.
Click to expand...

I have an early 2008 MBP that I recently fixed with the baking process.

I was in the same situation, 6 years in and the gpu finally called it quits...until new life was breathed into it! It cost about $30 to get the right screwdriver set from Microcenter, a can of compressed air, isopropyl alcohol, and some new thermal paste.

It may be temporary, but you've got nothing to lose by baking it. If it works, just start backing up everything religiously every time you use the computer...in case it craps out again.

I followed this procedure:
http://russell.heistuman.com/2010/04/27/cooking-the-books-or-baking-my-macbook-pro-logic-board/



At the risk of increasing my bidding competition, I am now looking for a Mid-2012 MBP to replace my Early 2008. I believe the Mid-2012 is the last one to actually allow you to do such maintenance yourself.

The new soldered in - don't touch it - MBP's are not at all attractive to me. I NEED to be able to maintain my computer like this.
 
Last edited:
All of these use that junk old NVIDIA GPU, and aren't worth fixing. They will just come back and come back and come back, and if they have Samsung VRAM on the board it will die when you replace the GPU. Good luck finding that new in 2014. I wouldn't invest into fixing it.

In terms of baking, it is a waste of time. The issue is in the chip itself, the chip is dead, and will just be revived for a very short period of time. Don't even bother putting it in the oven, just heat it to 120c for a few minutes and toss it back in.
 
Yes the chip is defective as nvidia admitted this to Apple which Apple ended up extending the warranty for the gpu until end of 2012. Unfortunately mine died for the first time at the end of 2013. It's true the cooking of the logic board is by no means a permanent fix it's just to get by in a pinch if you don't want to drop $2000+ at the current time. How long it lasts, it varies. My 1st time lasted 3 months, 2nd time 7 months and I just did for the 3rd time so time will tell.
 
Sparklebuns said:
After 6 or so years, a new logic board, some memory upgrades, etc, my 17" macbook pro seems to have died, or is dying.

It's giving me some strange pixelated houndstooth looking madness upon start up, which sporadically changes pixel designs once it gets past the Apple logo start up screen. I have attached pictures, which are hard to tell the detail, but I'm pretty sure polka dots of any kind aren't good

It gets past the Apple logo, and then a weird pixelated version of the pinwheel just spins, and the computer doesn't quite get anywhere after that. Normal expectation would be the password screen.

The startup sound plays, and the fan works. Other than that, I don't have anything else I can really report.

If anyone has any ideas of what the problem is, if its fixable by myself, or a professional, and if so, what a guestimate might be as to the cost to repair...
That'd be top notch.

Thanks for listening
Click to expand...
The 8600GT graphics card has a known defect that causes all of them to eventually fail.

The only fixes is to either bake your logicboard or get a new one. The recall for them ended in 2012 so you're out of luck.

A logicboard replacement is either the $300 flat fee if the genius feels generous, or the whole $800-900 part + labor.
 
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