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Common to have to replace a logic board on a June 2007 MBP 15"?

H

HBeachguy

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Hi everyone, new to the posts here.

I purchased a MBP 15" from the Apple store in June 2007 as my first Mac ever. I'd been a PC user for the past fifteen years. Over the weekend I got the kernel panic gray Restart screen after seeing distorted graphics on my screen. After several cycles restarting the MBP the screen stopped displaying any graphics whatsoever. Both the screen and the backlit keyboard went dark although I had power and could hear the machine trying to boot.

Today I saw Apple's post about the NVidia chip issue which appeared to exactly match my symptoms. After speaking with Apple's Genius bar today they tested and confirmed that the NVidia chip is not causing the issue. Instead, they told me I need to replace the logic board.

I did not buy AppleCare at time of purchase largely because I'd never had any catastrophic hardware failures with PCs before, and I (naively?) expected Apple's quality to be higher than PCs.

Now my confidence in Apple's MBP products is tainted. I wouldn't expect this type of issue on a machine only about two years old. Are these types of quality issues common on Macs, especially logic board replacement issues? At this point I don't believe I can buy an extended warranty, so if my machine exhibits further problems after Apple replaces my logic board I'm afraid I may end up with a $2100 paper weight. And I actually have really enjoyed my MBP up to now.

Thus far, my first-time experience with a Mac has been less-then-stellar. I don't know if I'd spend the money to buy a Mac again...

Thanks everyone.
 
HBeachguy said:
Hi everyone, new to the posts here.

I purchased a MBP 15" from the Apple store in June 2007 as my first Mac ever. I'd been a PC user for the past fifteen years. Over the weekend I got the kernel panic gray Restart screen after seeing distorted graphics on my screen. After several cycles restarting the MBP the screen stopped displaying any graphics whatsoever. Both the screen and the backlit keyboard went dark although I had power and could hear the machine trying to boot.

Today I saw Apple's post about the NVidia chip issue which appeared to exactly match my symptoms. After speaking with Apple's Genius bar today they tested and confirmed that the NVidia chip is not causing the issue. Instead, they told me I need to replace the logic board.

I did not buy AppleCare at time of purchase largely because I'd never had any catastrophic hardware failures with PCs before, and I (naively?) expected Apple's quality to be higher than PCs.

Now my confidence in Apple's MBP products is tainted. I wouldn't expect this type of issue on a machine only about two years old. Are these types of quality issues common on Macs, especially logic board replacement issues? At this point I don't believe I can buy an extended warranty, so if my machine exhibits further problems after Apple replaces my logic board I'm afraid I may end up with a $2100 paper weight. And I actually have really enjoyed my MBP up to now.

Thus far, my first-time experience with a Mac has been less-then-stellar. I don't know if I'd spend the money to buy a Mac again...

Thanks everyone.
Click to expand...

Even if it was related to the nVidia chip... they would still have to replace the whole logic board. The chip is soldered onto the board and the only way to replace the chip is to replace the board.. I say.. go and get it replaced if it's malfunctioning. You have nothing to lose.
 
How much are they quoting you for the replacement? If it very much you might just want to purchase a newer Mac and part your current one out on ebay.

I would NOT sink much money into a two year old laptop.
 
Apple quoted me $310, and after I spoke to the store manager he told me that the work would normally cost closer to $600. So the manager said they got me a good price. (Of course, I'd hoped Apple would cover the repair under the NVidia tech bulletin.)

But that occurred to me, too, about how much money is reasonable to put into this type of repair on a two-year old machine.
 
I'd probably go for it - $310 sounds ok. You could look at it extending your laptops life for another year (if you get that out of it) and then just buy a new laptop when it finally gives up the ghost.
 
You have no video right? It's video card related!

Don't settle for whatever BS the Genius is trying to feed you; you should know the video card is soldered on the motherboard, so if it is not a video card issue, then why the heck are they replacing the motherboard for? Make sure you question their decision very carefully.
 
june 2007 version here

just had my replaced
no graphics problems, but it would not charge the battery anymore or sleep

they replaced the logic board / some i/o thing / keybaord / top case / dvd drive (it wasn't burning DVDs anymore)
310 + tax
but got it with my AmEx, so I filed the claim with them and they are going to pay for it

with that nVida thing, all repairs should be free
 
YES! I've got a 2007 Macbook Pro too! Finally someone with the same problem. Mine expired literally a week after the warranty and I had to pay $1500 to get the damn thing fixed😡.

Mine just got no video at all. ("Turn on computer. Hear sounds. Hear iChat starting up. Blind navigation with keyboard shortcuts can get iTunes running."). Screen was dead black.

Do you think I should go back now and try to get this thing a "retro" warranty?
 
Same exact symptoms happened to my Early 08 MBP.
Happened few days ago, restarted and never booted up again.

Machine's screen just stays black.

I'm afraid if i take it to the genius bar, it might actually pass the nvidia test and have to pay for the logic board replacement.

🙁
 
Wow, this seems to be happening to a lot of people.

I'm in the same boat - July 2007 15 MBP. Screen went 'dead' a few weeks back - I heard the computer boot up, drive spinning, etc, but the screen was just black.

Took it to the store, they sent it away and replaced the logic board. I had applecare and they didn't tell me if it explicitly was the video card or not. They did plug my computer into an ipod at the store which was supposedly the 'NVidia test' - but they didn't tell me if it passed or failed.

That said, if the same thing happened and I didnt have applecare and they told me that I had to pay $310, I would fight with them until they replaced it. Or at least until they proved that the video card was not the problem/ did not cause the problem.

And I'd be especially skeptical after reading this thread and seeing how many people had similar problems...
 
I'm sad to say that my 2.2 MBP is also seeing something similar. I put my computer to sleep last night and when i tried to start it back up i got a black screen. When i tried a hard reset i still got the Black Screen of Death. I don't have apple care either but i have an appointment with a genius in a few hours to see if it is the graphics card.
 
HBeachguy said:
Hi everyone, new to the posts here.

I purchased a MBP 15" from the Apple store in June 2007 as my first Mac ever. I'd been a PC user for the past fifteen years. Over the weekend I got the kernel panic gray Restart screen after seeing distorted graphics on my screen. After several cycles restarting the MBP the screen stopped displaying any graphics whatsoever. Both the screen and the backlit keyboard went dark although I had power and could hear the machine trying to boot.

Today I saw Apple's post about the NVidia chip issue which appeared to exactly match my symptoms. After speaking with Apple's Genius bar today they tested and confirmed that the NVidia chip is not causing the issue. Instead, they told me I need to replace the logic board.

I did not buy AppleCare at time of purchase largely because I'd never had any catastrophic hardware failures with PCs before, and I (naively?) expected Apple's quality to be higher than PCs.

Now my confidence in Apple's MBP products is tainted. I wouldn't expect this type of issue on a machine only about two years old. Are these types of quality issues common on Macs, especially logic board replacement issues? At this point I don't believe I can buy an extended warranty, so if my machine exhibits further problems after Apple replaces my logic board I'm afraid I may end up with a $2100 paper weight. And I actually have really enjoyed my MBP up to now.

Thus far, my first-time experience with a Mac has been less-then-stellar. I don't know if I'd spend the money to buy a Mac again...

Thanks everyone.
Click to expand...

I had the same problem with the same model ~3 months ago. Apple replaced it for free. Sorry.

.. and no, these are the same types of problems you would be having with any laptop, regardless of manufacturer. (The nVidia chip which causes the problem was widely used by most major manufacturers)
 
You want to talk about the Nvidia 8600M GT graphics card? i have a 2.2ghz 15" mbp my orinial card failed a week ago I got it replaced and after a day fo use the replacement is starting to fail. this will be my third repair in two and a half weeks. I think my machine is a lemon
 
Got mine back last week from a graphics card failure.
They gave me the print out of the failing nVidia test as well as what they were replacing.

Remember people come here to find solutions to issues, or worry about what could happen. Fact is, there are a ton of people out there perfectly happy with their Macs.

A dead nVidia chip requires the logic board to be replaced...gotta love fully integrated boards (not to be confused with integrated graphics).

But, I'm happy to have it back and working...I don't blame Apple....nVidia screwed a lot of other companies as well...its just when it finds its way into a premium product (if you consider Apple premium) does the sting hurt more.

Either way, $300 or so for this repair is cheap...I've heard avg.s of the said $600 or so.

All in all, get it repaired, overlook this small hiccup and continue to enjoy your Mac. I've had an issue here or there with my Mac and with Apple in general, but not only have I had more positive experiences the fact that they can trouble shoot a lot of the issues over the phone is nice...as in they know their product inside and out.

Enjoy. Sorry about the frustration...I feel ya (my comp was out for a week and a half).
 
This is my exact same problem, except mine still tries to start up and then kernel panics. I haven't lost the video entirely yet. I can run text based apps all day long. As soon as I try to do something that is GPU-accelerated, it crashes. I have a very good feeling that it's the graphics chip.

The last time I brought it in, the tech ran the nVidia test and it passed and on top of it, it worked for like 3 days. Then it died again.

Mine did it earlier this year, like Feb or so.
 
I just went to the apple store yesterday and my video card was indeed dead. They are replacing the logic board. Hopefully it doesn't happen again.
 
Prologue: Thanks everyone for your comments. Greatly appreciated.

I picked up my MBP yesterday after Apple replaced the logic board. It was a $310 cost but the machine is working well. In fact, it's faster than before. The downside is that my data was blown away since they reformatted my hard drive.

Knock-on-wood no more issues, though.
 
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