A repair issue

[b.holmes999]

I recently acquired a broken Macbook from my girlfriend's family and I am trying to get it in working condition. She managed to get a free replacement as a gift before getting the other broken one in working order, but before this happened they took it by a mac store and had it looked at. The mac store said that the only issue with the computer was that the hard drive was broken and needed to be replaced. I would return the macbook to the store to have it looked at again but the nearest store is a good 2 hours from where I live, so that isn't very plausible.

I replaced the hard drive with a new 400gb part, and upon trying to get it to work, the computer won't boot up. All the parts that I touched (which isn't many as I assume you all know from changing hard drives that it only requires removing the battery and a small L-bar in the casing) have been replaced, and I was grounded and very careful for static.

The Macbook connects to the wall, the power cable will charge red for the battery and green on the actual plug. The battery check has power as well. When I press the power button on the laptop it doesn't even try and start. What part is this probably a problem with (If you all could give me a few possibilities if its not one thing definitely) and what would it cost to fix?

Thank you!

 

[eman]

The macbook should start even if you completely removed the hard drive. Is the hard drive sled (EMI shield) on the hard drive?

 

[KielderWolf]

Failure to start altogether is either a power or mobo (motherboard) issue.

You say the battery charge indicator shows orange/charging when connected with the battery in. Does it remain orange after several hours when the battery should have charged? If so you may have a power issue. A SMC reset might be useful, take out the battery and power cord and hold down the power button for five seconds then put the battery and cord back in, see if that helps; though if not is may still be a power issue.

If the charge indicator works as it should (ie goes green when the battery is full) you may have a mobo or logic board problem, in which case yeah you need to have an Apple technician look at it.

 

[b.holmes999]

I tried the SMC reset with no effect. I havn't left it charged up for long enough to know if the battery goes to full charge from orange to green. I'll try that next. Also my friend has a different power cord for his macbook, and theres a chance that maybe using a different power cord might be effective. I'll also try and use his battery to see if the battery in the macbook is just completely FUBAR.

If it does turn out to be a motherboard or logic board issue, about how much does replacing those cost? (Parts and estimated labor?) I was just wondering because before I take the long hike to a mac store, I'd like to know how much money I'd ballpark need to be prepared to drop.

 

[KielderWolf]

Normally a dead battery wouldn't effect the power management hardware and wouldn't cause a complete failure to boot. If you're getting a light from your power cord I would assume it's working, but hey you could always give it a go.

I don't know how much the mobo replacement scheme is Internationally but here in Britain it's £180 plus labour including tax. At a guess I'd say you would be looking at roughly $200US plus labour before tax.

I hope the trek isn't too far to your nearest Apple store. Until the new Newcastle store opens my closest store is Edinburgh a good 120 miles away, and I think I'd just end up mailing it in.