Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

AreanFSL

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 7, 2007
257
56
Hello Everyone -

To begin with, I own a MBP Intel Core Duo 2.0/2 Gigs of ram. I've had this laptop for roughly 18 months and do not have Applecare. I take extreme good care of all my stuff and still baby it till this day. I have NEVER bumped the laptop against anything, accidently dropped it too hard on the desk or anything similar along the lines. Essentially, looking new!

About 2 days ago, I was working with my laptop and I closed the lid which made the computer go to sleep. Everything all normal & no appearance of anything!
Around mid-night, I opened the MBP's lid to check my email. (Computer awakes, I can hear the Superdrive awake) then boom, a blank screen. The monitor did not turn on then burn out, it was always off. Similar to if you dim your monitor all the way. I can still see the desktop however, there is no light. If I take my flashlight and point it to the desktop, I can see everything.

Now I need your help! I called a few places, and they described it is the Inverter board or could be the fluorescent bulb that is damaged. My reasoning for the inverter board is faulty is because when a fluorescent bulb goes out it, it tends to flicker at first. Researching this forum, I noticed most MBP users LCD's that go out, they flicker but, mine just went out and I can still see the desktop. Where can I order the inverter board? I tried powerbookmedic.com but they're out of stock. I will change the inverter board myself because it will be quicker and I need to use my laptop. It is currently hooked up to an external monitor until I can get this fixed.
I'll appreciate all the responses and thanks in advance.
 

TheStu

macrumors 65816
Aug 20, 2006
1,243
0
Carlisle, PA
Hello Everyone -

To begin with, I own a MBP Intel Core Duo 2.0/2 Gigs of ram. I've had this laptop for roughly 18 months and do not have Applecare. I take extreme good care of all my stuff and still baby it till this day. I have NEVER bumped the laptop against anything, accidently dropped it too hard on the desk or anything similar along the lines. Essentially, looking new!

About 2 days ago, I was working with my laptop and I closed the lid which made the computer go to sleep. Everything all normal & no appearance of anything!
Around mid-night, I opened the MBP's lid to check my email. (Computer awakes, I can hear the Superdrive awake) then boom, a blank screen. The monitor did not turn on then burn out, it was always off. Similar to if you dim your monitor all the way. I can still see the desktop however, there is no light. If I take my flashlight and point it to the desktop, I can see everything.

Now I need your help! I called a few places, and they described it is the Inverter board or could be the fluorescent bulb that is damaged. My reasoning for the inverter board is faulty is because when a fluorescent bulb goes out it, it tends to flicker at first. Researching this forum, I noticed most MBP users LCD's that go out, they flicker but, mine just went out and I can still see the desktop. Where can I order the inverter board? I tried powerbookmedic.com but they're out of stock. I will change the inverter board myself because it will be quicker and I need to use my laptop. It is currently hooked up to an external monitor until I can get this fixed.
I'll appreciate all the responses and thanks in advance.

Sounds like what happened to my buddy's 2GHz Core Duo MacBook Pro. The inverter went out, he got it from PowerBookMedic, and I replaced it for him, works like a champ now.

You might try ebay, they have a store on there that might have them.
 

AreanFSL

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 7, 2007
257
56
TheStu - Thanks for the quick response!! Anyone else have similar problems? Where else can I order this part from?
 

AreanFSL

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 7, 2007
257
56
Thanks, anyone else?

Thanks, anyone else know where I can order one? Anyone else with my problem? Common/uncommon
 

Watermonkey

macrumors member
Oct 27, 2006
96
0
NE Washington State
Try Tigerdirect.com. They carry all sorts of stuff. If all else fails, I bet you could just call Apple and beg them to extend the warranty for you or at least sell you the part.
 

eman

macrumors 6502a
Nov 5, 2007
695
0
In the great white north
It's hard to say for sure exactly what the problem is. But, the inverter lights up the light in LCD panel. Your cheapest fix is to replace the inverter located in the LCD panel and if that doesn't work then the light is burned out in the LCD panel itself. You would be then looking at replacing LCD panel. Could also be a loose wire, but not likely.

You can find a guide here for the macbook pro:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8237/macbookpro
There server is slow so be patient.

Currently there is no macbook pro inverters on ebay. Interestingly, the macbook pro inverter looks just like the macbook inverter. I don't know if they are interchangeable.
You could call Apple. I do have an spare macbook inverter.

Powerbookmedics have a macbook pro inverter for $70 and the link is below.
http://www.powerbookmedic.com/MacBook-Pro-Inverter-Board-Assembly-p-16873.html
 

TheStu

macrumors 65816
Aug 20, 2006
1,243
0
Carlisle, PA
It's hard to say for sure exactly what the problem is. But, the inverter lights up the light in LCD panel. Your cheapest fix is to replace the inverter located in the LCD panel and if that doesn't work then the light is burned out in the LCD panel itself. You would be then looking at replacing LCD panel. Could also be a loose wire, but not likely.

You can find a guide here for the macbook pro:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8237/macbookpro
There server is slow so be patient.

Currently there is no macbook pro inverters on ebay. Interestingly, the macbook pro inverter looks just like the macbook inverter. I don't know if they are interchangeable.
You could call Apple. I do have an spare macbook inverter.

Powerbookmedics have a macbook pro inverter for $70 and the link is below.
http://www.powerbookmedic.com/MacBook-Pro-Inverter-Board-Assembly-p-16873.html

The MacBook Pro inverter is significantly different from the MacBook, trust me I have held both in my hand (I was going to put mine in my friend's MacBook Pro but they are not compatible) so... that wouldn't work.
 

AreanFSL

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 7, 2007
257
56
Thank you :apple: enthusiast. I have ordered the inverter and I'll update with the progress.
 

AreanFSL

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 7, 2007
257
56
It has been a week or so since I have replaced the damaged part & I forgot to update this thread.
Yes - turns out it was the inverter! It works perfectly fine, except for the fact that I scratched my pristine condition MBP while taking off the case for install. It is centimeter small but, I will order a new case because I'm an anal owner!

Thank you to those who commented! :apple:
 

muntinalexa

macrumors newbie
Apr 29, 2009
1
0
dropped my macbook pro

The exact same thing happened to me when I dropped my macbook pro. The screen was extremely dark and initially I thought it was just a black screen. Then, when holding a flashlight up to it, I could make out the entire desktop and see the mouse moving and everything. Do you think it is the inverter I need to replace? And how much did that cost you?
 

xTheDreamer

macrumors newbie
May 5, 2010
2
0
Do the Apple Store/distributor repair this inverter board problem or are they going to give you a new Macbook instead if it's a brand new macbook?
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.