overheating 2011 MBP 15

[djneils98]

having nightmares with my macbook pro.
the gfx chip died a couple of weeks ago. had it replaced by a repairer and now the machine is very unstable - seems to be crashing and overheating - can't even load an OS (crashes during internet re-install of lion with a back screen with thin vertical blue lines down it)
going to take it back to the shop today but I noticed theres a screw missing (see pic)
could this screw have anything to do with these issues?

 

[New_Mac_Smell]

It's really unlikely that a mounting screw would be significant in causing overheating. But given that (I'm assuming) the repair shop has missed that, I would wonder if they'd missed anything like an SMC cable or whatever is in there too. Definitely take it back and see what they think.

 

[djneils98]

It's really unlikely that a mounting screw would be significant in causing overheating. But given that (I'm assuming) the repair shop has missed that, I would wonder if they'd missed anything like an SMC cable or whatever is in there too. Definitely take it back and see what they think.

thanks for the prompt reply,
what does the SMC cable do?

 

[New_Mac_Smell]

thanks for the prompt reply,
what does the SMC cable do?

I honestly don't know enough about the specific hardware of the Macs to comment on whether it even has one or not. But on PC's, the fans are connected to the motherboard and usually have a 3-4 pin setup so that it can monitor temperatures and regulate the fan speed accordingly. I'd imagine Macs have something similar at least. So as I said, as they'd missed that screw I would question if they'd missed or broken some kind of connector. If they open it up and retrace their steps they could find something.

It could of course be entirely unrelated but as you said you'd had pretty significant repair work recently and it's started after this, it would be highly likely to be related in some way.

 

[tanphu194]

Turn on the machine with the cover opened and see if both fans are running.