Hi, thanks for any help (MBP won't charge intermittently)

[gabagool]

Hi
Im new to Mac. My son gave me his Macbook Pro a few months ago and I am still learning how to use it. So, if I ask something idiotic, its because Im an idiot still. ANd thank you for taking the time to teach me how to solve this problem. Here goes.

My Mac is not charging. The first thing that went through my mind was that my charger (magsafe 85w) was shot. I had bought my OTHER son a brand new macpro so I plugged his BRAND NEW charger into my older notebook. His brand new charger didn't work either. So now, I figure its something with the book itself. A few days later, for sheets and giggles, I plug my old charger back in and PRESTO!! Its working again.

So, may a long story short. Every few weeks, I can't get the charger to work and then it miraculously starts working again. I am now on day three on NON WORKING. I've cleaned the connections, that didn't help. I tried to reset the power by holding the power button down, nada. I even took it to an apple fix it guy and BOTH times, the charger that wasn't working STARTED TO WORK, so they said nothing was wrong.

Any ideas?? Should I insist they open the machine up? ANY help would be great. The LAST thing I want to do is go to a hideous apple store in the mall. The fix it guys are located near me, so I don't mind going to them.....But I would love to be able to find the answer myself.

Thanks everybody. I appreciate it very, very much.

 

[S.B.G]

There may be something wrong with your battery; it could need replacing. Download Coconut battery and then post the readout.

 

[M-5]

Alright, so I'm pretty sure you meant that you plugged in your other son's charger for his "MacBook Pro" and not his "Mac Pro" into your MacBook Pro.

Since the brand new charger wouldn't charge your older MacBook, then yeah it probably doesn't have to do with the actual charger. Perhaps it could be the outlet you're plugging the charger into? I don't know, that could be a possibility.

Though I'm thinking it would be your computer. My friend has also said that her charger won't charge her MacBook Pro sometimes as well, and then it will work on other days.

 

[gabagool]

Guys

Thanks for the real quick response. As far as this coconut battery, do I download it on my Mac, which I can't right now, cause it is kapoot and I can't charge it. Or can I download in on my PC?? Sorry, Im so new to all this.

Also, I've tried different outlets. It just hit or miss. I'll get a months time of great recharging and then NADA, sometimes for an hour or so, and somethings for days, like now.

 

[S.B.G]

Guys

Thanks for the real quick response. As far as this coconut battery, do I download it on my Mac, which I can't right now, cause it is kapoot and I can't charge it. Or can I download in on my PC?? Sorry, Im so new to all this.

Also, I've tried different outlets. It just hit or miss. I'll get a months time of great recharging and then NADA, sometimes for an hour or so, and somethings for days, like now.

Yes it's a Mac only program, very small in file size. I guess if your battery is currently dead, you'll have to swap it out with another if you can or keep messing with the charger until you get it to charge again.

 

[plumosa]

I have a powerbook that will often stop charging after a while (after its fully charged, luckily)...

In order to 'reboot' the charging, I just unplug and replug and its works just fine. That may be why it always works when you take it into the apple store

 

[M-5]

But if it's a problem with the battery, shouldn't the computer still function without a battery if it's connected to the charger?

 

[GGJstudios]

This should answer most, if not all, of your battery/charging questions: Apple Notebook Battery FAQ

 

[S.B.G]

But if it's a problem with the battery, shouldn't the computer still function without a battery if it's connected to the charger?

Not necessarily. I don't know if this is the case with Apple laptops or not, but if the battery is part of the electrical circuit of the machine, it will require the battery be inserted for operation. If the battery isn't part of the circuit, then in theory it should be able to be removed and the laptop still should work while plugged in.

But again, I don't know for sure how they are wired. I'm not about to try using my MBP without the battery. I have no reason to and I don't want to risk ruining anything.

 

[GGJstudios]

But if it's a problem with the battery, shouldn't the computer still function without a battery if it's connected to the charger?

Not necessarily. I don't know if this is the case with Apple laptops or not, but if the battery is part of the electrical circuit of the machine, it will require the battery be inserted for operation.

Read the FAQ I posted, particularly the last section on A/C Power.

 

[gabagool]

Hi
Thanks again for all the info, I 'll read up so I don't ask anything silly.

If my son's brand spankin new charger didn't work, its got to be INSIDE this thing. I guess I'll take it to the tech again......I've gotten to really, really love this machine so I hate parting with it.

One last question. If you were to buy another Macbook Pro, could anyone of you tell me how exactly you would put it all together, you know, screen size, memory type, ram......money no object. Oh, and any essential software (i know its personal)

Thanks to all for your time.

 

[S.B.G]

Hi
One last question. If you were to buy another Macbook Pro, could anyone of you tell me how exactly you would put it all together, you know, screen size, memory type, ram......money no object. Oh, and any essential software (i know its personal)

Thanks to all for your time.

If it were me and money was no object, I would get a 15" screen (which I have now) because for me 15" is the perfect size for a laptop. 13" is starting to get too small and 17" is too big. I'd max out the RAM either through Apple or get the least amount of RAM through Apple and then max it out myself with after market RAM for cheaper as some folks do. As for the HDD, I think 500GB - 1TB is fine. As for software, iLife comes with it and you can get iWork rather cheap so that is about all I would need.

Again all that is personal preference and what I listed is what I would get. Others have difference needs/wants.