Flickering and weird screen problems

[Lukewarmwinner]

Hi guys

A friend of mine got a cMBP from 2008. It works great but lately the screen is behaving weirdly. The symptom are:
- The light from the LED at the bottom of the screen is really visible - more than ever
- It sometimes just black out and takes about 15 sec to wake up (the screen not HDD)
- Occasional flickering
- Brightness-regulation doesn't work

I've tried resetting pram and SMC. It worked for a while when I did the pram, but after 10 min the symptoms started again.

Are there any other methods/tricks to be tried out, or is a defect in graphics, only to be solved at a repair?

Cheers

 

[T5BRICK]

Depending on when it was manufactured in 2008, it may have the NVIDIA 8600m GT GPU with the associated issues.

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2377?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

Only one of the symptoms you listed sounds like this issue though.

It's worth taking it in to an Apple store just to see if they know of a problem.

 

[Lukewarmwinner]

Yeah, not sure if that's the problem.. Also it's a 13" which doesn't seem to be affected.

Other thoughts?

 

[Mattjeff]

That sounds a little like mine. I had a similar issue back in 2010 I believe and apple replaced my 8600. I had mine still under warranty but if i'm not mistaken apple had a replacement program back then as well.
I'm currently trying to find out about getting another new one because just recently my screen has... well its just gone kinda ******* on me. It will flicker or freeze my screen with colors all wrong.

 

[Lukewarmwinner]

That sounds a little like mine. I had a similar issue back in 2010 I believe and apple replaced my 8600. I had mine still under warranty but if i'm not mistaken apple had a replacement program back then as well.
I'm currently trying to find out about getting another new one because just recently my screen has... well its just gone kinda ******* on me. It will flicker or freeze my screen with colors all wrong.

But I guess they won't touch this one, since its from 2008 right?

I sounds like only a graphic-repair will do the trick and no user solutions..

 

[msommy]

I just posted about the same problem. This must have been written while I was writing mine as it was not here. Either way...my screen is flickering, I can't type without it flickering. It is driving me crazy. It has to be a some issue that is affecting many. I do not understand. oh well.

 

[Mattjeff]

But I guess they won't touch this one, since its from 2008 right?

I sounds like only a graphic-repair will do the trick and no user solutions..

Yea, I'm fairly certain it's not something I can fix which is sad. I was hoping this computer would last longer for the price I paid.

 

[T5BRICK]

Yeah, not sure if that's the problem.. Also it's a 13" which doesn't seem to be affected.

Mid 2009 was the first year with the 13" MacBook Pro. Is it possibly the aluminum MacBook? They look nearly the same.

 

[Lukewarmwinner]

Mid 2009 was the first year with the 13" MacBook Pro. Is it possibly the aluminum MacBook? They look nearly the same.

Nah, then it might be from 2009. It has written 'MacBook Pro' on the bezel so I'll guess it's not the unibody. But that doesn't really change anything, right?

 

[Mattjeff]

Here's a picture my MacBook Pro doing it's spastic screen issue. Does anybody know what this could be from? is it the 8600 dieing or maybe the logic board? I had a problem with it before but I don't remember what it actually did because this was back in 2008. If it helps the first time I did this my music was still playing. I couldn't tell this time if the sound still worked because I didn't have anything going.

Edit: So as of now my computer will not even start up. It turns on but I can't even get the login screen before it freezes with all these weird colors. Attached is now a photo which shows it frozen on a loading screen. Does anybody know what's wrong?

 

[T5BRICK]

Here's a picture my MacBook Pro doing it's spastic screen issue. Does anybody know what this could be from? is it the 8600 dieing or maybe the logic board? I had a problem with it before but I don't remember what it actually did because this was back in 2008. If it helps the first time I did this my music was still playing. I couldn't tell this time if the sound still worked because I didn't have anything going.

Edit: So as of now my computer will not even start up. It turns on but I can't even get the login screen before it freezes with all these weird colors. Attached is now a photo which shows it frozen on a loading screen. Does anybody know what's wrong?

It most likely is the 8600GT issue.

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2377?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

 

[Mattjeff]

It most likely is the 8600GT issue.

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2377?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

I just called the AppleCare representative and they told me it is no longer in even the four-year repair bracket. This means all I have to replace the 8600 or I'll have to order my Mac Mini. Last time I had them repair the 8600 a few years back I remember the repair bill, which I didn't have to pay for, was over $1200. Looks like I'll be getting a mini… Yay. This MacBook Pro was supposed to last at least six years, it's very disappointing that it didn't even make it to 5.

 

[T5BRICK]

It is possible to have the logic board itself repaired. Basically it just needs to be baked to reflow the solder on the GPU. At one point I remember seeing the URL to a site that offered the service, but I'm not finding it right now.