MBP screen won't come on, and other issues

[leekohler]

Oh boy. I really feel bad for a friend of mine who just seems to keep having issues with his 2.2 Santa Rosa MBP. He called me this morning to say that he opened up the computer and nothing happened. The screen was black and the computer seemed to be asleep. He tried a hard restart and the light on the front of the computer came on, but no start up tone or anything.

We're going to the Genius bar later today, but if you guys have any idea what it is, let me know.

 

[monoxera]

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/807108/

Nvidia failed GPU post in that thread

 

[leekohler]

Thanks. Sounds like that's it. I appreciate it!

 

[leekohler]

Just thought I'd let you guys know- we took the MBP to the Apple Store armed with the failed video card knowledge, but it was the logic board that failed.

Now here's the weird part- my friend didn't have Apple care, but they are going to fix the machine, including the logic board AND anything else that could be wrong, for the same price as Apple care. I had not heard of this before, and logic boards are much more than that! Do you think that they are now getting a huge influx of failed logic boards on these machines, and that's driving the reduced repair cost?

 

[fs454]

It's not the logic board, it is in fact the Nvidia 8600M GT graphics chip.

They call it a logic board failure because the graphics card isn't removable from the logic board(same with the processor), so to repair it, a new GPU is needed, which is sitting on a brand new logic board with a CPU as well.

Sucks. I've already had it happen once out of Applecare before the announcement and they did waive the $1000(!) repair fee and have it done in one business day. I'm fearing the next failure.

 

[leekohler]

It's not the logic board, it is in fact the Nvidia 8600M GT graphics chip.

They call it a logic board failure because the graphics card isn't removable from the logic board(same with the processor), so to repair it, a new GPU is needed, which is sitting on a brand new logic board with a CPU as well.

Sucks. I've already had it happen once out of Applecare before the announcement and they did waive the $1000(!) repair fee and have it done in one business day. I'm fearing the next failure.

Are you sure? I took the page from their own website with us to the genius bar and told them I'd done some research on the subject. If that is indeed the case, I will raise hell with them.

 

[tominuk]

My experience in the UK

I had a late 2007 MBP, in early 2009 the NVIDIA chipset failed.

I did some research the same as yourself and took it to my local apple store genius bar. After 7 days of testing (I assume there was a backlog) they told me the 'logic board' had failed, i.e. the integrated chipset had gone. I was out of warranty and no Applecare but as this is a know issue they would repair if free of charge.

Three, yes three logic boards later and still no joy (the 'genius' blamed it on cheap chinese components) so they gave me a brand new unibody MBP.

Obviously I was very happy but they did have my laptop for over a month so well deserved I think. In all it cost that store nearly £5,000 in repairs and the replacement.

 

[monoxera]

Dude, OP you are getting ripped. They are asking for you to pay???
GPU is in fact soldered onto the logic board and the symptoms that you indicated are EXACTLY the same as mine and the 30 other users here on macrumors forums.

You better print out that 3 year warrant for the 8600M GT and take it to the Apple Store. If that doesn't work, I suggest you throw a tantrum at the Apple store lol
But srsly, call apple and tell them about it ...

 

[Technologist]

Just thought I'd let you guys know- we took the MBP to the Apple Store armed with the failed video card knowledge, but it was the logic board that failed.

Now here's the weird part- my friend didn't have Apple care, but they are going to fix the machine, including the logic board AND anything else that could be wrong, for the same price as Apple care. I had not heard of this before, and logic boards are much more than that! Do you think that they are now getting a huge influx of failed logic boards on these machines, and that's driving the reduced repair cost?

The Logic Board contains the GPU, CPU on it and cannot be separated. The defective GPU will cause the Logic Board to fail. Apple replaces all of it for free. If you find a Apple store that's not willing to do the work for free then take it to another store and don't pay a penny.

 

[KingYaba]

but they are going to fix the machine, including the logic board AND anything else that could be wrong, for the same price as Apple care.

Well, that's at least $350. Let me guess that they told you it was a service fee, right? Funny thing is I'm having the same issue with the very same Macbook Pro in pretty much the same week. Or day?