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Is my logic board fried?

Remove the battery from your MBP, letting it sit/cool for about 5 minutes. Put the battery back in and restart.

I've personally seen this on 3 different, late model MBP's, 2 of which were replaced by Apple. If this doesn't solve the issue, I'd get on the phone ASAP and politely but with a purpose, express your concerns (for a machine that's 2 days out of warranty), and for a $2000+ machine I'd spend the time to take it down to the closest Apple store if asked to.

I'm a firm believer in AppleCare, especially for their notebooks. Good luck
 
jmpmntwnty3 said:
Go get an estimate from where?
Click to expand...

From the Apple Store.

Even if you have warranty, you complain about the slow repair. If you don't have warranty, you complain about the quality of the computer and how they are ripping you off.
 
jdwingnut said:
Remove the battery from your MBP, letting it sit/cool for about 5 minutes. Put the battery back in and restart.

I've personally seen this on 3 different, late model MBP's, 2 of which were replaced by Apple. If this doesn't solve the issue, I'd get on the phone ASAP and politely but with a purpose, express your concerns (for a machine that's 2 days out of warranty), and for a $2000+ machine I'd spend the time to take it down to the closest Apple store if asked to.

I'm a firm believer in AppleCare, especially for their notebooks. Good luck
Click to expand...

Unfortunately the battery removal didn't work. I'll leave it off tonight and try again in the morning to see if it works. This whole thing has damn near turned me off to apple notebooks.
 
jmpmntwnty3 said:
Unfortunately the battery removal didn't work. I'll leave it off tonight and try again in the morning to see if it works. This whole thing has damn near turned me off to apple notebooks.
Click to expand...
I would hazard a guess that you've been bitten by the Nvidia GPU defect that others have been complaining about
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/515067/
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1478474

Since your warranty just expired, Apple might offer to replace your logic board free of charge, as they have for others. Otherwise, it seems like they're charging a flat fee ($350, I think) for the repair.

If you're really angry about this, maybe you ought to consider writing an article about the issue on your blog. The more exposure this issue gets, the better.
 
IT'S HEATING UP!

More and more GPU failures. Keep 'em coming! I can't wait for the recall so we can sleep tight at night knowing our MBPs aren't prone to failure :/
 
Update:

The nearest Apple store is maybe 1.5 - 2 hours away, so I won't be able to set up an appointment with a genius, but fortunately for me, in Greenville we have this great place called "iPlace," which is damn near close to an official apple store. The apple support guy over the phone even knew about it.

I won't be able to make it there until Thursday at the earliest, and if it is indeed a problem with a logic board, I'm going to have to pay for the cost of the board and possibly for labor as well, since my MBP is out of warranty as of 2 or 3 days ago, and I didn't purchase apple care, and now it looks as though I'll never be able to.

This whole apple experience has been great up until this week. I've recommended so many friends and family members to switch to apple, and now it looks as though this will be my first and last apple computer purchase. I don't think I've ever heard of a motherboard on a PC laptop going out. Windows may be an inferior operating system but at least the PC hardware manufacturers don't install crap motherboards into their machines.
 
jmpmntwnty3 said:
This whole apple experience has been great up until this week. I've recommended so many friends and family members to switch to apple, and now it looks as though this will be my first and last apple computer purchase. I don't think I've ever heard of a motherboard on a PC laptop going out. Windows may be an inferior operating system but at least the PC hardware manufacturers don't install crap motherboards into their machines.
Click to expand...

They do. Even on this forum there're some stories about it, and it's a Mac forum.
 
Well, I guess I stand corrected in regards to the motherboards of PC notebooks dying. I guess the only difference is you can take the damned thing anywhere to get it fixed. Apple requires you to drive to the nearest apple store, which in my case, is nearly 2 hours away. Not very convenient.

And the fact that I'm just 2 days over my warranty shouldn't prohibit me from being able to take advantage of a free logic board replacement. Yes, I should have purchased applecare, but a logic board is like the brain of the damn computer. Harddrive failure, okay. RAM failure, fine. Airport screwing up, I can live with that. At this point, I have a silver brick with a pretty apple on it.

Not cool...
 
jmpmntwnty3 said:
And the fact that I'm just 2 days over my warranty shouldn't prohibit me from being able to take advantage of a free logic board replacement. Yes, I should have purchased applecare, but a logic board is like the brain of the damn computer. Harddrive failure, okay. RAM failure, fine. Airport screwing up, I can live with that. At this point, I have a silver brick with a pretty apple on it.
Click to expand...
Try calling Apple Customer Relations (767-2775) and tell them your warranty just expired a few days ago. I've seen people claim this sometimes works better than going through Tech Support.
 
Don't give up quite yet. You can find out if the logic board still functions by seeing if the computer will go into target disk mode. (Obviously you'll need another Mac with a firewire port.

See if that works. If it does, then DiskWarrior may save your ass by rebuilding the directory. I've seen it plenty of times.
 
Your best bet is to call either Customer relations or go to your local Apple Store.

DO NOT WAIT, and I cannot stress this enough. Call or go as soon as possible, otherwise, they may not do the repair for free or it will cost a ton.
 
jmpmntwnty3 said:
Oh, by the way. I didn't purchase applecare because I think the whole idea of it is bogus
Click to expand...

I'm sure you don't think it's so bogus anymore.

I can't figure out why people will spend $2000+ on a computer but not the $300 (or less, if you look around) for the extended warranty. If you use it even once, it pays for itself. You don't even have to buy it right away, since your wallet will most likely need a break after the busting it takes at the Apple store. You could save up for 11 months and buy it.

Also, the motherboard on my sister's Compaq died. It does happen.
 
Queen of Spades said:
I'm sure you don't think it's so bogus anymore.

I can't figure out why people will spend $2000+ on a computer but not the $300 (or less, if you look around) for the extended warranty. If you use it even once, it pays for itself. You don't even have to buy it right away, since your wallet will most likely need a break after the busting it takes at the Apple store. You could save up for 11 months and buy it.

Also, the motherboard on my sister's Compaq died. It does happen.
Click to expand...

Back in the days when I got my PowerBook G4, $2000 for this machine that still moves at a decent pace, still looks beautiful, and is going on 5, I didn't even bother with AppleCare. Who cared really? No one reported any problems, Apple issued recalls as needed, the chances of your computer was slim to none. Apple was honestly looked at as the perfect brand.

Now days, QA has gone down. Design flaws are not acknowledged. Maybe I'm living the past, but there's about a 30-40% your computer will need to be serviced in the first four years, creating a need for AppleCare.
 
IIRC, the GPU is soldered to the logic board, so replacement would be the only solution for repair. :(

Wouldn't be loose cabling, as it didn't work with an external monitor. The connector is soldered. No cable to come loose.

In the short term, try the FW port access. Ethernet may even be a possibility. Use it to get your files off the computer so you can at least continue to get things done, even if it means using the campus computers.

As others have said, contact Apple ASAP on this matter, as it's a known issue, whether they will officially admit it or not. Worth a shot at least. Even if they charge the $350, it's far cheaper than buying a new logic board and labor.

Good Luck. :)
 
If must pay for the repairs, I would suggest selling your MBP (part-it-out) and purchase a refurb MBP:

Refurbished MacBook Pro 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
15.4-inch widescreen display
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Learn More
• Save 35% off the original price
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MysticMage said:
Back in the days when I got my PowerBook G4, $2000 for this machine that still moves at a decent pace, still looks beautiful, and is going on 5, I didn't even bother with AppleCare. Who cared really? No one reported any problems, Apple issued recalls as needed, the chances of your computer was slim to none. Apple was honestly looked at as the perfect brand.

Now days, QA has gone down. Design flaws are not acknowledged. Maybe I'm living the past, but there's about a 30-40% your computer will need to be serviced in the first four years, creating a need for AppleCare.
Click to expand...

Sorry, but I'm not buying that Macs were problem free back in the days. My older sister had a PowerBook and it got sent into Apple for repairs for a fried logic board, which would only recognize one of the two sticks of RAM.

Point is, laptops are much more prone to issues than desktops, at a much higher price. I'm a grad student, so I can understand not having the extra cash up front. But over the course of a year, really? It's worth it. Not only is it piece of mind, but it will increase your resale if you're so inclined. I've seen so many posts by people who supposedly can't be without their laptops for one day because of work/blogging/whatever, yet skipped AppleCare. It's gambling. Hardware malfunctions sometimes, it's a part of dealing with electronics. Is it aggravating? Hell yes it is, but it's better to be prepared than to skimp and be screwed later.
 
bad board

every computer company has had motherboard failures in laptops. i had a hp and the board went bad after 4 days. Hp replaced it and the replacement lasted less than 2 months. always get the extended warranty on all laptops that cost more than $500.
 
I'm gonna pay to get it fixed, keep it for a few months, buy another one when I get the cash, and sell this one on ebay for cheap. It's too late for me to get applecare on this thing, and I don't want to go through this again...
 
jmpmntwnty3 said:
I'm gonna pay to get it fixed, keep it for a few months, buy another one when I get the cash, and sell this one on ebay for cheap. It's too late for me to get applecare on this thing, and I don't want to go through this again...
Click to expand...
Have you contacted Apple?

If not, it would certainly be worth the effort. If so, and they said you'd have to pay full price for a logic board replacement, try again. Especially since others have been in the same situation, and were able to get it for $350USD IIRC. ;)

Good Luck. :)
 
nanofrog said:
Have you contacted Apple?

If not, it would certainly be worth the effort. If so, and they said you'd have to pay full price for a logic board replacement, try again. Especially since others have been in the same situation, and were able to get it for $350USD IIRC. ;)

Good Luck. :)
Click to expand...

They quoted me a price of $320 bucks. The place I'm taking it to doesn't honor those prices unless you have applecare or are under warranty. I have neither, lol. The place I'm taking it to, by the way, isn't an official apple store but it is recognized by apple and is an authorized reseller/servicer.
 
jmpmntwnty3 said:
They quoted me a price of $320 bucks. The place I'm taking it to doesn't honor those prices unless you have applecare or are under warranty. I have neither, lol. The place I'm taking it to, by the way, isn't an official apple store but it is recognized by apple and is an authorized reseller/servicer.
Click to expand...
:confused: This seems weird to me.

What does this place want for the repair?
(I'm assuming it's considerably more). :(

Assuming this is the case, and you have, or can arrange transportation, I'd drive the 2hrs and let Apple do it. Or mail it in, as the time is already lost. So save the money.
 
jmpmntwnty3 said:
They quoted me a price of $320 bucks. The place I'm taking it to doesn't honor those prices unless you have applecare or are under warranty. I have neither, lol. The place I'm taking it to, by the way, isn't an official apple store but it is recognized by apple and is an authorized reseller/servicer.
Click to expand...

Apple quoted you $320 to replace your motherboard?

Out of warranty?

With no Applecare?

And you turned their offer down?

I just lost all sympathy...
 
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