Mysterious Emergency ! - Macbook Pro completely died for days and then revived. Help

[jbarzelatto]

Hello people! I want to apologize for making this my first post asking help, but I dont know who else to turn to, and I will be active in the future

With that said, let me tell you my dilema which is costing me both money and a huge headache.

I have a Macbook Pro Unibody purchased in early 2011 and it has run like a charm. Now it happened that two weeks ago I was caught in a rain storm waiting for a bus with my laptop in my backpack. I am 100% sure the laptop did not get wet, but I guess there is a possibility some drops might have gone in but not really. The last time I had used it I just put the lid down and it went to sleep.

When I got home I found my laptop dead, wouldnt turn on, no fan, no signs of life. The only sign of life was the battery indicator showing that I had a full charge (which I did). I tried the SMC reset (or whatever its called) and every other reset that exists with key sequence and nothing. I opened it up, unplugged the battery for days, did the same with the RAM cards, the fan, and nothing. Finally decided it was time to make an appointment with a specialist. Right before I head out, I am putting the back plate and screws back on and just in case tried to turn it on, and ABRACADABRA! It turned on. Very happy, I waited for it to turn on, and then put the lid down to finish putting the screws on. When I checked to turn it on, nothing happened. Dead again. So I took it to the "Genius" Bar and the girl told me that the logic board was dead, but I wouldnt agree because of what had just happened!

I took it back home, opened it up, unplugged and plugged stuff and nothing. So I had to try to find someone selling a broken laptop to switch the logic board myself (lol), I just didnt want to pay Apple for this! So 5 days later, today, just now 5 minutes ago, I tried switching it back on, and guess what, ABRACADABRA #2 !

So please someone help me and please tell me you had the same problem. In the meantime I have disabled every sleep thing so it stays awake and plugged in. I cant afford it to die again, I use this computer for work, etc. Thank you !

 

[rikscha]

I would take it switched on to the apple store and let them play with it.
If they cant turn it on again afterwards, there might be a chance of making a case and get perhaps a free repair? Given that it is about a year old, I think your chances are quite good.

 

[Dangerous Theory]

Hmm, odd indeed. Perhaps there was a small amount of moisture inside conducting where it shouldn't. I would keep the laptop on as you are doing for a long while, maybe even run it at a high temperature to utterly dry it out.

 

[Macman45]

Sounds as though rain did get in, the logic board is shorting somewhere. It might dry out, but then corrosion can occur. I would do as suggested above, get it running and take it in.

 

[maflynn]

I was caught in a rain storm waiting for a bus with my laptop in my backpack.
...

When I got home I found my laptop dead, wouldnt turn on, no fan, no signs of life.

From the sounds of your issues, it does seem quite possible that your laptop got wet and shorted out.

You;ll not really know for sure until you take it to an apple authorized dealer, i.e., an apple store and have them check it out. There's no other options you have, other then getting someone to diagnose the problem and repair it

 

[JohnStar]

Does indeed sound like water hazard. However, it could also be a faulty logic board, or another component.

If you do not know already, there are sensors within your macbook that flag if water enters and voids the warranty. Thus, if you are still covered by warranty, I would bring in the mac for a check.

If you are not covered, and it is indeed water damage, be adviced that many macbooks recover completly from water damage. I am currently typing from one (happened a year go). Depending on the type of water, corrosion could be an issue long term. There are ways of cleaning the components with alcohol, but it rests on your technical ability. Since you suggested to replace the logic board yourself, you might be able to do this operation.

 

[greenchiliman]

While you still have it alive, you ought to back up your entire hard drive, especially since you are using it for work. We don't want you to come back in a day/week saying that it is dead and now you need your files.