Advice required. Suspected logic board issues

[Evanmegaw]

Hello All,
Firstly thank you for taking the time to read this, i know life is busy and i appreciate your time. 🙂

Okie dokie..
A little history..
Brought second hand "Macbook pro 15" 2.53Ghz Mid 2009"
All seemed Dandy.
Played music at full volume, noticed music pausing momentarily intermittednetly
Turned music down, problem solved. (potential amp/logic board issue?)
Began loading photos to iphoto, continually crashing with wheel of death. (re-boot necessary)
Garage band crashing. (re-boot necessary)
Updated ISO..
Didn't resolve problems
Have since stopped using iPhoto and garage band
Music still pauses if the amplifier is maxed.

Macbook specs.
Processor 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory 4 GB 1067 MHz DDR3
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce 9400M 256 MB
Serial Number W8931FCW7XJ
Software OS X 10.8.5 (12F45)

Basically I'm researching replacing the logic board to fix these problems..
Do you think this will work?

Cheers Evan

 

[Gav2k]

Hello All,
Firstly thank you for taking the time to read this, i know life is busy and i appreciate your time. 🙂

Okie dokie..
A little history..
Brought second hand "Macbook pro 15" 2.53Ghz Mid 2009"
All seemed Dandy.
Played music at full volume, noticed music pausing momentarily intermittednetly
Turned music down, problem solved. (potential amp/logic board issue?)
Began loading photos to iphoto, continually crashing with wheel of death. (re-boot necessary)
Garage band crashing. (re-boot necessary)
Updated ISO..
Didn't resolve problems
Have since stopped using iPhoto and garage band
Music still pauses if the amplifier is maxed.

Macbook specs.
Processor 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory 4 GB 1067 MHz DDR3
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce 9400M 256 MB
Serial Number W8931FCW7XJ
Software OS X 10.8.5 (12F45)

Basically I'm researching replacing the logic board to fix these problems..
Do you think this will work?

Cheers Evan

Personally I would run the hardware test first. The issues your describing point to a failing hdd not logic board.

 

[Evanmegaw]

Personally I would run the hardware test first. The issues your describing point to a failing hdd not logic board.

I've ran the hardware test. passed multiple times.
Hard drive comes up fine.. even had it changed out and tested with a new hard drive

 

[maflynn]

Did you try installing a fresh clean copy of OSX? Could be a bug in the App or OS.

 

[Evanmegaw]

Did you try installing a fresh clean copy of OSX? Could be a bug in the App or OS.

Yes, re-installed initially. Then upgrades. Problem remains

 

[thekev]

Yes, re-installed initially. Then upgrades. Problem remains

What are resources like during that time? For example on a new install is it still indexing things? Look at cpu and ram on activity monitor when you you experience stuttering. If hardware tests are coming up fine, that would be the next place I would look. Ram wasn't upgraded. Otherwise I would have suggested testing that.

 

[Evanmegaw]

What are resources like during that time? For example on a new install is it still indexing things? Look at cpu and ram on activity monitor when you you experience stuttering. If hardware tests are coming up fine, that would be the next place I would look. Ram wasn't upgraded. Otherwise I would have suggested testing that.

OKay..

With normal applications open < safari, iTunes, VLC, mail open.

PLaying music at full

CPU
%user 1.75
%system 6.25
%idle 91.7 (going up to 92.5)

System memory
Active 1.91GB
Inactive 1.79GB

Disk Activity (spiking to max with stutter)
Data read 32kb/s when playing without stutter
96kb/s when stuttering
Data written 6.9mb/s when stuttering

itunes computer usage 1.7% wehn not stuttering and 2.2 when stuttering

I changed RAM to two 4BG sticks (total 8) and it still stuttered

 

[thekev]

I changed RAM to two 4BG sticks (total 8) and it still stuttered

Blah. I'm not sure then. On ram I meant if you bought it used and someone else had upgraded them, I would check for failing sticks. I didn't mean amount that time, although I do sometimes get stuttering when "free" is low in activity monitor. Even if it says there's a lot of inactive, if you're heading into pageouts, that will cause stuttering. There are times where I really wish OSX was more aggressive about freeing up inactive memory in the background.

 

[Evanmegaw]

Blah. I'm not sure then. On ram I meant if you bought it used and someone else had upgraded them, I would check for failing sticks. I didn't mean amount that time, although I do sometimes get stuttering when "free" is low in activity monitor. Even if it says there's a lot of inactive, if you're heading into pageouts, that will cause stuttering. There are times where I really wish OSX was more aggressive about freeing up inactive memory in the background.

YEah checked failing sticks..

My computer mate thought it was the part of the logic board concerned with powering the amplifier and when it drives it at full.. the logic board fails.. momentarily.

Could it be a dodgy processor? Ram Chilled but processor a lil sketchy

 

[niteflyr]

A real shot in the dark here. iPhoto crashes may indicate graphics issues. I believe 2009 MBP's had selectable graphics in energy saver prefs. Might try switching graphics. Not sure how this would apply to sound issues though.

 

[thekev]

A real shot in the dark here. iPhoto crashes may indicate graphics issues. I believe 2009 MBP's had selectable graphics in energy saver prefs. Might try switching graphics. Not sure how this would apply to sound issues though.

I don't think that model has graphics switching. The early ones required a hard reboot to change between integrated and discrete where integrated was an option.

YEah checked failing sticks..

My computer mate thought it was the part of the logic board concerned with powering the amplifier and when it drives it at full.. the logic board fails.. momentarily.

Could it be a dodgy processor? Ram Chilled but processor a lil sketchy

It would be the first time I've seen that. CPUs aren't a common point of failure, especially if you aren't overclocking. You wouldn't be able to overclock on a mac.

 

[niteflyr]

I don't think that model has graphics switching. The early ones required a hard reboot to change between integrated and discrete where integrated was an option.

That's exactly what I'm taking about. Not live switching. I know the 2009 MBP I used to have had this capability. It required a restart when switching between the two in energy saver prefs. In a lot of ways, this is better for troubleshooting than the newer models with live switching.

 

[Evanmegaw]

That's exactly what I'm taking about. Not live switching. I know the 2009 MBP I used to have had this capability. It required a restart when switching between the two in energy saver prefs. In a lot of ways, this is better for troubleshooting than the newer models with live switching.

My mid 2009 MBP doesn't have that capability in energy saver Prefs 🙁

My hard drive was also removed and tested using an external method, at the computer shop, it was put through its paces and passed no problem.

We also swapped out the RAM..

So CPU's aren't a weak point.. is there a way i can begin troubleshooting to narrow things down.. Maybe a clean?

Or do i Flog this macbook off and buy the macbook black off my mate? It's a bit of a step back.. but his works perfectly fine with iPhoto/garage band/ music at full… It could be too much hassle and mucking around the get to the bottom of my issues.. plus investing in a new CPU or Logic board could end up being a waste of money..

 

[Evanmegaw]

I can make the stuttering become more frequent and longer if i start opening things on my computer.. Photo Booth.. mozila.. the computer starts really sketching.. Is this the fault of the CPU?.. or rAM

----------

THE part of "DISK ACTIVITY" under Activity monitor is refering to the HDD?

BEcause its peaking when the stuttering occurs..

 

[niteflyr]

I seriously doubt this is a CPU issue. It still sounds like RAM or HDD. Try your RAM modules 1 at a time in different slots. Perhaps you have a bad slot/connection. If you can get your hands on a SSD to try out, that might breathe new life into this machine.

I also recall some 2009 MBP's having issues with the SATA cable to HDD.

 

[Evanmegaw]

I seriously doubt this is a CPU issue. It still sounds like RAM or HDD. Try your RAM modules 1 at a time in different slots. Perhaps you have a bad slot/connection. If you can get your hands on a SSD to try out, that might breathe new life into this machine.

I also recall some 2009 MBP's having issues with the SATA cable to HDD.

RAM has been tested, as you said, one and then the other in both slots, plus a boost of RAM to 8GB, nothing changed.

HAvent checked the SATA cable… would it be best to buy a new one?

Oh one other thing.. the hard drive has been upgraded to a 500GB.. so its not the original.. would the SATA cable be a different size according the the different size HDD?

 

[niteflyr]

HAvent checked the SATA cable… would it be best to buy a new one?

Oh one other thing.. the hard drive has been upgraded to a 500GB.. so its not the original.. would the SATA cable be a different size according the the different size HDD?

Same SATA cable. I think the SATA cables are relatively cheap on ebay. Might be worth a shot.