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Am I Screwed?

Arkanok

Arkanok

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 13, 2007
552
115
Ok so last night everything was fine; I was using my mbp (2.2 sr) and when heading to bed, I put it to sleep by closing the screen as i usually do, then proceded to sleep myself. This morning I open it up to check my usual morning stuff but the screen didn't turn on... Ok no worries I figured, and tried turning it on by pressing various keys but nothing worked. So I held the power key till it shut down then re started it. I heard the startup sound but the screen still did not light up. WTF...

So now I'm starting to think maybe the backlight is toast, so I tried closing the lid to make it sleep again but it didn't seem to even go to sleep. Next, I tried plugging in my Lcd tv to at least use it as my monitor but that didn't work either!

So now I've got no way to display my computer and I'm freaking out! I've actually had to resort to using my iPhone to type this post out so forgive me if it doesn't all completely make sense of contain spelling errors.

Does anybody have any ideas as to how I can fix this or at least know why and how this happened please? I really can't afford a new computer nor any repairs at he moment.
 
Force a shut-down by holding the power key for a while, then try restarting. If that doesn't work you better call AppleCare or go see a Genius at the Apple Store.
 
You could try booting from the CD. Put the Leopard or Tiger CD (which ever you use) in the MacBook and restart it. Hold "C" While booting up.

If it is a MacBook, try plugging it into the AC Adapter. Could be low battery.
 
pablol said:
Force a shut-down by holding the power key for a while, then try restarting. If that doesn't work you better call AppleCare or go see a Genius at the Apple Store.
Click to expand...

Yeah I tried holding the power key to force shut down but it's not making any diff sadly. Yeah I'll have to see a genius later on but I can't do that till after work, and till then I'm gonna drive myself nuts trying to figure this out...

Just to add to my original post, the computer itself still seems to work as I hear some of the sounds of the apps that open on startup, so it's something to do with the screen. Can't be the screen itself though because as I mentioned, after plugging in an external monitor, it won't display... Graphics card maybe?
 
markojug said:
You could try booting from the CD. Put the Leopard or Tiger CD (which ever you use) in the MacBook and restart it. Hold "C" While booting up.

If it is a MacBook, try plugging it into the AC Adapter. Could be low battery.
Click to expand...

Yeah it's actually plugged in at the moment so it can't be the battery. I'll give the boot from cd and see what happens.
 
I'd take it in to apple and see if it was your video card. The 8600's are rumored to be problematic, and there have been many reported instances of failure on the earlier models due to manufacturing/design defects.

Apple and nvidia claim that they have fixed the problem with the more recent cards, but I'm not sure. It may be like plasma tv's where the first couple of generations had bad screen burn through problems. The later versions are supposed to have fixed this problem, but doubts persist.

There's a close to 1500 post thread on the subject:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/515067/

Here's an article reporting from the problem in summer 2008:

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/703/1028703/nvidia-g84-g86-bad

I bought a used mbp, and I specifically went with an older model with a top of the line ati card because I wanted to avoid this problem.
 
Sounds like the video card failed. Bring it to Apple and don't worry, warranty has been extended by Apple for any Nividia issue by a year hence even without AppleCare, you will be able to get it replaced.

You will be without your laptop for a few days, in my case, it took 72 hours before i had it back.
 
clyde2801 said:
Out of curiosity, do you have the 128 meg card as well, or was it a later one?
Click to expand...

I have the 128 one, is that the more problematic one? I hope the extension warranty still covers me, I think it's nearly two years that I've had this laptop...

Thanks for all the info everyone, I'll be making an appointment with a genius today.
 
It is, 100%, the video card. You've already proven that by connecting it to an external display. Another test you can do, just for peace of mind, is turn it on and shine a bright light on the display. If it's the video card you won't see a difference, if it's the backlight you'll see your background/log in screen/whatever.


Apple will replace the logic board.
 
amoda said:
It is, 100%, the video card. You've already proven that by connecting it to an external display. Another test you can do, just for peace of mind, is turn it on and shine a bright light on the display. If it's the video card you won't see a difference, if it's the backlight you'll see your background/log in screen/whatever.


Apple will replace the logic board.
Click to expand...

Hmm, that shine a light test sounds like a good idea. I'll do that momentarilly and let you know what happens.

Thanks for that tip!
 
it's a 8600GT problem that Apple has acknowledged.

from a positive perspective, i think you are lucky, not screwed. because if i were you, i'll be glad to have the video card failed sooner and get replaced, rather than having the problematic video card running on my pricey macbook pro without knowing when will it die..
 
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2377

Reference this article if they give you any trouble. As has been said, it's definitely your video card, you need a new logic board. They extended the warranty an extra year for this problem. It happened to me when my MBP was 3 months old. Good luck!
 
amorican said:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2377

Reference this article if they give you any trouble. As has been said, it's definitely your video card, you need a new logic board. They extended the warranty an extra year for this problem. It happened to me when my MBP was 3 months old. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Ok awesome, thanks for the link. I just made a reservation at the Apple Store to see a genius, I hope all goes well. While it's being repaired, it looks like my iPhone will have to stand in and act as my main gateway to the internet, lol.


aleni said:
it's a 8600GT problem that Apple has acknowledged.

from a positive perspective, i think you are lucky, not screwed. because if i were you, i'll be glad to have the video card failed sooner and get replaced, rather than having the problematic video card running on my pricey macbook pro without knowing when will it die..
Click to expand...

Yeah I can see what you mean, I guess it's almost like I'll have a new computer, but when it comes to stuff like this, I always get paranoid that when I go to the store to inquire about repairs etc that somehow they'll find a way to not honor the warranty.



Thanks everybody, good feedback. :)
 
what i'm afraid of apple repairing computers is you get the computer back with tiny scratches that doesn't get easily noticed but it's still there!
 
aleni said:
what i'm afraid of apple repairing computers is you get the computer back with tiny scratches that doesn't get easily noticed but it's still there!
Click to expand...

:eek:
Really? lol damn, well I hope that the folks at my local Apple Store are careful with it then.
 
Quick update for all that replied to me in this thread.

I just got back from my local Apple Store and told them my problem. The genius used an external hdd with some diagnostic app on it and within 5 minutes he plugged it into his machine and said "Ok, we've got to replace your logic board, and lucky for you it's covered free of charge by nvidia!"

So now in 72 hours I should have my computer back in my hands working like new. :)
 
Out of curiosity, how long has it been since you've bought your MBP? An engadget article said apple would replace the boards up to two years after the original purchase.

I'd like to know if it was over two years old. Thanks.

Oh, and congrats!
 
The Santa Rosa MBP came out in June 2007 with the NVIDIA graphic card (before that date they had an ATI card), hence all SR MBP are covered at least until June 2009.
 
Arkanok said:
So now in 72 hours I should have my computer back in my hands working like new. :)
Click to expand...

I love how he tries to turn it around and say its lucky that you're covered :confused:. There's no luck about nVidia making a whole dud line of graphics chips and i would expect nothing less than full warranty on them. :mad:

Anyway, good to hear that you got it sorted nice and easy.
 
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