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MBP possibly broken?

T

total90

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 25, 2009
27
0
I've had MBP for bout 1~2 years, and it was working all good.
then it happened today out of nowhere, I've had it sleep with the screen closed and went out, just like what i used to do. but now i opened it up, the screen is complete black. I tired the brightness control to see if thats the problem but out of luck.
so I shut it down, press the power button again, then the apple start up sound would play, but no response from the screen. There is sound when i press the "f4" and "f5", so im assuming its working internally. (not sure)
caps lock and num lock will light up fine as well.

I have NO IDEA what happened to my MBP.
please, if you have anything in mind, just shoot it and I will try it on my MBP.
Helps are appreciated!
 
total90 said:
I've had MBP for bout 1~2 years, and it was working all good.
then it happened today out of nowhere, I've had it sleep with the screen closed and went out, just like what i used to do. but now i opened it up, the screen is complete black. I tired the brightness control to see if thats the problem but out of luck.
so I shut it down, press the power button again, then the apple start up sound would play, but no response from the screen. There is sound when i press the "f4" and "f5", so im assuming its working internally. (not sure)
caps lock and num lock will light up fine as well.

I have NO IDEA what happened to my MBP.
please, if you have anything in mind, just shoot it and I will try it on my MBP.
Helps are appreciated!
Click to expand...

How about some details as to which MBP it might be?
Say Year, model, specs etc...
 
I never like hearing things like this. Though if you've only had it for two years, Apple Care or your Pro Care card should easily take care of your problem.

If you don't have Apple Care, then buy Pro Care.

I would also recommend upgrading your MacBook Pro maybe later this year.
:apple:



total90 said:
I've had MBP for bout 1~2 years, and it was working all good.
then it happened today out of nowhere, I've had it sleep with the screen closed and went out, just like what i used to do. but now i opened it up, the screen is complete black. I tired the brightness control to see if thats the problem but out of luck.
so I shut it down, press the power button again, then the apple start up sound would play, but no response from the screen. There is sound when i press the "f4" and "f5", so im assuming its working internally. (not sure)
caps lock and num lock will light up fine as well.

I have NO IDEA what happened to my MBP.
please, if you have anything in mind, just shoot it and I will try it on my MBP.
Helps are appreciated!
Click to expand...
 
SSkky Reader said:
I never like hearing things like this. Though if you've only had it for two years, Apple Care or your Pro Care card should easily take care of your problem.

If you don't have Apple Care, then buy Pro Care.

I would also recommend upgrading your MacBook Pro maybe later this year.
:apple:
Click to expand...

You can't buy AppleCare after the initial 12 month warranty is over,
and ProCare isn't the same thing as AppleCare. Besides, the OP states his/her machine is one to two years old, that means if the OP doesn't already have an APP cover, it might be an expensive repair job (assuming it's a hardware issue)
 
I've had that issue with my laptop before (not a MBP) which was caused by a faulty USB driver. Nonetheless, I had to clear the CMOS for it to reset.
Unplug the computer and remove the battery. Press the power button a few times, hit the keys a little, and wait for about an hour (you could probably wait less, but maybe give it a full hour so you don't have to try again). Plug it in, see what happens. If not, it's probably something more serious (I would guess RAM or video).
 
My answer to total90 was under the assumption that when buying the MBP they would have bought the Apple Care (which would cover the machine for 3 years). While typing I assumed they might have skipped that idea and I recommended Pro Care.

Either way total90 should buy Pro Care, and then think about upgrading to our beautiful new unibody pros. [If your reading this total90, make sure you buy Apple Care]
:apple:



UltraNEO* said:
You can't buy AppleCare after the initial 12 month warranty is over,
and ProCare isn't the same thing as AppleCare. Besides, the OP states his/her machine is one to two years old, that means if the OP doesn't already have an APP cover, it might be an expensive repair job (assuming it's a hardware issue)
Click to expand...
 
SSkky Reader said:
My answer to total90 was under the assumption that when buying the MBP they would have bought the Apple Care (which would cover the machine for 3 years). While typing I assumed they might have skipped that idea and I recommended Pro Care.

Either way total90 should buy Pro Care, and then think about upgrading to our beautiful new unibody pros. [If your reading this total90, make sure you buy Apple Care]
:apple:
Click to expand...

Excuse me, but what do you think "ProCare" is?
And how does having it, fixes the OP's problem?

:confused:
 
Have you tried plugging an external monitor in to see if that works?

My old Windows Laptop went through a stage of this were it thought that it was suppoesed to be outputting to an external monitor. When i plugged one in it started up, i then went back into control panal and told it to use the built in display.

Hope this helps
 
total90 said:
I've had MBP for bout 1~2 years, and it was working all good.
then it happened today out of nowhere, I've had it sleep with the screen closed and went out, just like what i used to do. but now i opened it up, the screen is complete black. I tired the brightness control to see if thats the problem but out of luck.
so I shut it down, press the power button again, then the apple start up sound would play, but no response from the screen. There is sound when i press the "f4" and "f5", so im assuming its working internally. (not sure)
caps lock and num lock will light up fine as well.

I have NO IDEA what happened to my MBP.
please, if you have anything in mind, just shoot it and I will try it on my MBP.
Helps are appreciated!
Click to expand...

Try this (reset the SMC) couple have become corrupted.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1411
 
total90 said:
Wow! thanks for all the reply guys!

I've read through and I do not have apple care. and I dont have the plug to external monitor as well...

well as I quoted I will try that solution first, only to find it HOW to do it since my screen is black already?
Click to expand...

Hey dude, does your screen remain black even after a restart? If the actual display is working (without the backlight) you should be able to see the desktop under bright lights. If it's completely off, nothing will show.
 
UltraNEO* said:
How about some details as to which MBP it might be?
Say Year, model, specs etc...
Click to expand...

Hmm it wasnt the new MBP; it's the 15 inch model and its 2.4ghz core2duo 2gb 256mb vram/160gb 5400 rpm.
it says 2007 (copyright) at the bottom
 
UltraNEO* said:
Hey dude, does your screen remain black even after a restart? If the actual display is working (without the backlight) you should be able to see the desktop under bright lights. If it's completely off, nothing will show.
Click to expand...

ive just tested it and notice that my keyboard lighting works.

well i used a flashlight to light it up from behind the screen but nope, the screen itself is pitch black.
 
UltraNEO* said:
Excuse me, but what do you think "ProCare" is?
And how does having it, fixes the OP's problem?

:confused:
Click to expand...

I dont know how to take this comment if you mean it seriously or not? So appologies if i have miss-understood, but pro care is a service available in the UK. Its apple care basically for pros, you can walk into an apple store with no appointment, show your pro care card (literally just hold it in the air if you want to be arrogant) and you get an assistant or be pushed to the front of the genius cue. I can't remember the extra details but it can cover a few macs as well not just one.
 
mattyb240 said:
I dont know how to take this comment if you mean it seriously or not? So appologies if i have miss-understood, but pro care is a service available in the UK. Its apple care basically for pros, you can walk into an apple store with no appointment, show your pro care card (literally just hold it in the air if you want to be arrogant) and you get an assistant or be pushed to the front of the genius cue. I can't remember the extra details but it can cover a few macs as well not just one.
Click to expand...

I reside in China btw.
 
Im not sure if this is a problem, but i tried to shut the power off by press and hold the power button; wait til the battery died, and then turning it on. when i turn it on, as i said above, theres mac startup sound, and the "sleep light" on the screen opening button lights up. wondering if its normal for y'all.
 
Screen may have burnt out.

You do have the nVidia 8600GT, which are deemed to fail at much higher rates. So if it is that which has blown, you do have an extra year's cover.

Mine blew in October last year - took out my screen with it.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/576270/

Sounds like you have similar symptoms.
 
Kilamite said:
Screen may have burnt out.

You do have the nVidia 8600GT, which are deemed to fail at much higher rates. So if it is that which has blown, you do have an extra year's cover.

Mine blew in October last year - took out my screen with it.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/576270/

Sounds like you have similar symptoms.
Click to expand...

okay, by reading ur post i do see some connections between your problem. so i have some questions.

do u think my macs video card died and my screen burnt out as well?
will the apple official store cover this for me?
will trying to reset the SMC hurt my mac? (i.e files lost)
if I am letting it go for a repair about my problem, will my files be gone?
 
total90 said:
1. do u think my macs video card died and my screen burnt out as well?
2. will the apple official store cover this for me?
3. will trying to reset the SMC hurt my mac? (i.e files lost)
4. if I am letting it go for a repair about my problem, will my files be gone?
Click to expand...

1. Possible, though my screen was playing up before hand, so not sure if it was a coincidence or the GPU failing that triggered the screen to blow.

2. If the GPU has failed, you have an extra year's warranty, so it will be covered. I'n 99% sure that it is your GPU that has failed.

3. No - read up on what the SMC is here and what PRAM is here.

4. Apple, as does any other manufacture, recommends backing up all data before a repair. So, if possible, boot your Mac up in Target Disk Mode and connect it to another Mac by FireWire. If you can't, then you might be able to do it at the Apple Store - take down an external hard drive or something and use a floor Mac as a bridge.
 
total90 said:
I've had MBP for bout 1~2 years, and it was working all good.
then it happened today out of nowhere, I've had it sleep with the screen closed and went out, just like what i used to do. but now i opened it up, the screen is complete black. I tired the brightness control to see if thats the problem but out of luck.
so I shut it down, press the power button again, then the apple start up sound would play, but no response from the screen. There is sound when i press the "f4" and "f5", so im assuming its working internally. (not sure)
caps lock and num lock will light up fine as well.

I have NO IDEA what happened to my MBP.
please, if you have anything in mind, just shoot it and I will try it on my MBP.
Helps are appreciated!
Click to expand...

Try booting from your Mac OS X install CD.

I ran into this about half a year ago (without any apparent reason). It was as if the system was working but I couldn't for the life of me get the screen to show anything. I needed to reinstall Mac OS X for my machine to come back up. I just assumed some update or file corruption messed some graphics driver.
 
wahgnube said:
I ran into this about half a year ago (without any apparent reason). It was as if the system was working but I couldn't for the life of me get the screen to show anything. I needed to reinstall Mac OS X for my machine to come back up. I just assumed some update or file corruption messed some graphics driver.
Click to expand...

If that were the case, then his screen would light up until OS X loaded..
 
Kilamite said:
4. Apple, as does any other manufacture, recommends backing up all data before a repair. So, if possible, boot your Mac up in Target Disk Mode and connect it to another Mac by FireWire. If you can't, then you might be able to do it at the Apple Store - take down an external hard drive or something and use a floor Mac as a bridge.
Click to expand...

just a lil personal worry... if i let the apple store have my mbp backed up, wouldnt they be able to browse through my files and personal info?

well to conclude, since i cant do **** about my mbp, so i'll guess i will bring it to the store and repair it for me. hopefully i dont have to pay...
 
total90 said:
just a lil personal worry... if i let the apple store have my mbp backed up, wouldnt they be able to browse through my files and personal info?
Click to expand...

I mean you actually do it - just ask if you could use one of the display Macs to copy a few files off your dud Mac.
 
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