Macbook pro died now what...

[aereinha]

My logic board on my early 2008 Macbook Pro has died. The local apple repair place says they cannot prove it is the bad graphics chip because it does not post. Anyways I was wondering what people thought about my options. Repair it for $699+tax or replace it. How much do could I get for spare parts from it since everything else on the laptop is perfectly fine? I do not have a lot of free cash right now which is why I am debating on repairing it versus replacing it.

Thanks,
Tony

 

[hcho3]

My logic board on my early 2008 Macbook Pro has died. The local apple repair place says they cannot prove it is the bad graphics chip because it does not post. Anyways I was wondering what people thought about my options. Repair it for $699+tax or replace it. How much do could I get for spare parts from it since everything else on the laptop is perfectly fine? I do not have a lot of free cash right now which is why I am debating on repairing it versus replacing it.

Thanks,
Tony

1. I assume u have no warranty.

2. Talk to apple to replace it at cheaper price.

3. If that doesn't work, then sell your MBP on craiglist or ebay. If you can get a reasonable money for it, then buy a refurbished model.

 

[JTSmeed]

If you're comfortable taking apart, you could try baking the logic board.

cooking-the-books-or-baking-my-macbook-pro-logic-board/

I actually just did this to a late 2008 MBP yesterday. While the one I baked wasn't completely dead, it did seem to fix the graphics issue I was having.

If not, you might be able to find a logic board replacement on eBay for less -- maybe around $300-$400.

 

[steadysignal]

at this point I would consider replacement. a three year old machine requiring 7 bills to replace is not a great play.

 

[davmcn]

If you're comfortable taking apart, you could try baking the logic board.

cooking-the-books-or-baking-my-macbook-pro-logic-board/

I actually just did this to a late 2008 MBP yesterday. While the one I baked wasn't completely dead, it did seem to fix the graphics issue I was having.

If not, you might be able to find a logic board replacement on eBay for less -- maybe around $300-$400.

That's actually really cool.

 

[Consultant]

Try an Apple Store, or try again.

 

[jdreier]

I second the apple store route. My early 2008 mbp logic board fried and they replaced it for free.

If that doesn't work, it's probably time to get a new computer. I'd rather spend $700 towards a new mbp than a 3 year old one you've already spent probably $1500 on.

 

[pna]

If you take it in to an apple store, and there's no obvious physical damage to the unit, they will offer you a flat rate repair for about $350, shipping included. As part of the process you'll ship the machine overnight to their repair facility in TX, they'll fix anything and everything wrong with it (as if it were under Applecare), and send it back to you. Typically repairs take 5-7 days.

I just did this for my original core duo mbp. Given that it's so old (6 years), it was taking them a while to get a replacement logic board. After about 10 business days they just offered me a discounted replacement. The discount was 50%, so I ended up getting a $2000 brand new mbp for $1000. If I had wanted to, another few days would have allowed the replacement for my old logic board to arrive and I could have continued that way as well.

Yours is newer, so I suspect they can fix it much more quickly. It's a good deal, all things considered.

 

[Wanderer509]

If you take it in to an apple store, and there's no obvious physical damage to the unit, they will offer you a flat rate repair for about $350, shipping included. As part of the process you'll ship the machine overnight to their repair facility in TX, they'll fix anything and everything wrong with it (as if it were under Applecare), and send it back to you. Typically repairs take 5-7 days.

I just did this for my original core duo mbp. Given that it's so old (6 years), it was taking them a while to get a replacement logic board. After about 10 business days they just offered me a discounted replacement. The discount was 50%, so I ended up getting a $2000 brand new mbp for $1000. If I had wanted to, another few days would have allowed the replacement for my old logic board to arrive and I could have continued that way as well.

Yours is newer, so I suspect they can fix it much more quickly. It's a good deal, all things considered.

that is a mad deal, consider applecare costs around that price for 3 years of coverage. i hope i dont have to go through this but if i do i will keep what u said in mind!

 

[neenja]

dont give up! mine JUST recently died on april 16. Took it in for repair and got it back april 19 in working condition!

Mine had the exact same problem, powers up but does not chime (post). I tried everything and googled everywhere for a solution and decided to just make an appointment and bring it in. I also printed this out just in case: http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2377 (its regarding the video card problem)

Just converse with the genius that helps you and it should be fine. The guy ran some diagnostic tests on my mbp and basically typed up a report saying the device powers on but no video shows up. Got his manager to override the repair costs and waived the fees (was around $575). Took 3 days and I got back my mbp and it is up and running.

A friend of mine had the exact same problem 2 months ago, he went into one store and they told him they would charge him. So he left and went to another apple location and they did it for free.

Dont give up! weird, my name is also tony. nice to meet you OP ;D

 

[aereinha]

Thanks for the suggestions so far. I would take it to an Apple store but unfortunately the closest Apple store is over 5 hours away. I am in west Texas and I drove it two hours to get it to the closest Apple repair place.

 

[aereinha]

Maybe I also wasn't clear enough about the problem. The reason why they said that it is probably the logic board is that it does not get past post. The caps lock key does not light up which apparently means that it does not boot correctly. The guy thinks it is logic board not graphics.

 

[neenja]

it 99% is the logicboard. even so, bring it in and they will replace it freely.. but yeah.. 5 hours is quite a long way

any way you can get a friend to do it? maybe ship it to someone that lives closer? its a heck of a lot cheaper than paying $300-$600 to fix.

 

[Macsavvytech]

My logic board on my early 2008 Macbook Pro has died. The local apple repair place says they cannot prove it is the bad graphics chip because it does not post. Anyways I was wondering what people thought about my options. Repair it for $699+tax or replace it. How much do could I get for spare parts from it since everything else on the laptop is perfectly fine? I do not have a lot of free cash right now which is why I am debating on repairing it versus replacing it.

Thanks,
Tony

Definitely don't reappear it (they often break again), go back the store and demand a replacement. Ask what evidence they have that it isn't the GPU, if they have none again demand a replacement. If they won't ring apple directly.

 

[Frankydan100]

If you're comfortable taking apart, you could try baking the logic board.

cooking-the-books-or-baking-my-macbook-pro-logic-board/

I actually just did this to a late 2008 MBP yesterday. While the one I baked wasn't completely dead, it did seem to fix the graphics issue I was having.

If not, you might be able to find a logic board replacement on eBay for less -- maybe around $300-$400.

What an amazing article, cant believe people have baked their logic boards in the oven. Amazing reading all the success stories too after the article. I wonder who came up with the idea? It definately wouldnt be the first thing id think of if my logic board failed.

 

[rheistuman]

Maybe I also wasn't clear enough about the problem. The reason why they said that it is probably the logic board is that it does not get past post. The caps lock key does not light up which apparently means that it does not boot correctly. The guy thinks it is logic board not graphics.

I'm not a n00b and I know I don't know everything--but in my 20+ yrs of working with and on Macs, I've never heard an Apple tech say something like it "does not get past post." Does that mean it is attempting to start up? Does it chime? Is there any video (gray screen with timer spinning)? What do you mean by "post"? Also haven't heard of the "caps lock" not lighting as an indicator of not booting correctly. It would only light if you are getting to a certain point in the booting process which indicates to me that your system isn't totally dead and therefore not really a candidate for baking.

The reference above by JTSmeed to baking the logic board (I'm actually the writer of that article) was applying to MBP users who cannot boot their systems at all. Which means the Apple tech is not able to run any tests to determine what is wrong and just issues the blanket statement that it has to be a dead logic board.

If your MPB is actually able to chime or produce any video, you should try to make the extra effort to get to an actual Apple Store. I had the same 5-hour driving issue (only to Seattle in my case) when my system first had problems and had to resort to a local Apple tech (which quoted me $1200 to replace logic board). A new Apple Store opened up locally the next time the issue happened and I was able to bring it in then, but I had already baked it and at first they were saying there wasn't anything they could do. I pressed the issue after several more bakes and visits and they have finally agreed to replace the logic board for $310 and they agreed to do it in-store rather than ship it out to Apple Repair Center to save time (overnight rather than 5-7 days). In your case, you'll probably want to opt for the Apple Repair Center because they will drop-ship the repaired MBP to your home address and save you having to make the 5-hour trek again.

You just have to compare the gas and drive-time to (I'm assuming) Dallas/FTW area and paying only $310--maybe even free if they find it falls under Nvidia issue (which its not sounding like it from what you've mentioned) vs. paying $699 or more for a new MBP.

 

[alexxn]

My logic board on my early 2008 Macbook Pro has died. The local apple repair place says they cannot prove it is the bad graphics chip because it does not post. Anyways I was wondering what people thought about my options. Repair it for $699+tax or replace it. How much do could I get for spare parts from it since everything else on the laptop is perfectly fine? I do not have a lot of free cash right now which is why I am debating on repairing it versus replacing it.

Thanks,
Tony

I used http://www.dttservice.com/macbookprosilver.html to replace my logic board - $350 with a 6 month warranty, it's worked perfect since December.

 

[tcphoto]

Call Apple Care and explain the problem. They will most likely send you a box and have a Service Center look it over. Isn't it worth a shot?

 

[Tonepoet]

Which model is it? If it's a higher end model with all the trimmings a repair might be worth it but if it's lower endone, you can't get apple to replace it gratis and you can't fix the problem yourself, I'd sink the money into a new computer now while the new Macbook Pros are still relatively new. I mean $350 is a considerable chunk of change and in about another year, it'd be about time to get a new computer anyway, meaning the rest of its value would've mostly diminished. It'd be especially sad if you spent the money to have it fixed, had it working again for a few months and had it break down once more.

On repairing it yourself, what'd you and the Applecare guy do together? Did you just turn it on to show him the problem or did you guys actually try booting it from the DVD drive too? A simple HDD replacement would be a very, very cost effective solution that might not cost you more than $50...