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Screen Flicker/Half Grey in late 2007 MBP

S

s55lear

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 12, 2008
11
0
I have a late 2007 MBP (15", 2.2ghz, 120gb hd)...I did search the forums but only found flickering screens with the new unibodies....

and it seems to have a grapics card issue, but i'm not positive. Well I'm out of applecare and im afraid of a 500+ genius bar bill.

Here are my symptoms:
Sometimes when I startup the machine from cold or warm boot, the screen will either come in halfway grey and the top half is the only usable part, or sometimes it will have light faint grey lines throughout the screen and will jump and flicker on and off. Sometimes worse and sometimes less. Sometimes it won't even do it at all. I would say probably about 1/10 boots it will do this.

Now, I just put in 4gb of ram from crucial in it about 2 months ago and this problem has been happening for about 1 month now, could it be this, if not,


Anybody have any ideas?!
 
i have this too! i searched not too long ago as well and had trouble finding the same issue. unfortunately i have no idea what it is, as is why i came here to hopefully find out.

we may have the same mbps as well, since mine is 15" from August 2007, and i am well out of warranty as well. also, [i'm assuming unrelated] my battery seems to be dropping off dramatically and just randomly shutting off. i'll plug back in and power on, and find the battery reading at 89-98% which makes no sense to me. i only mention that since its started to peter out at the same time this screen problem came up.

also note though - usually the gray screen goes away after a while. today however it took a reboot for the grey to go away. the upper 1/3rd is the only usable part with sometimes 2/3rds uniform gray and sometimes a completely gray rectangle in the bottom third, a less gray but still static screen in the middle third and the usable top third.

i'll post pics to maybe see if this is the same as yours, or if anyone knows what this is from.
 
DSCF0800.jpg


DSCF0855.jpg


DSCF0857.jpg


DSCF0856.jpg


does this seem to be the same as what you're experiencing?
 
So i just take it to the genius bar and apple will immediately recognize it as a GPU issue and replace it even if it is out of warranty?
 
s55lear said:
So i just take it to the genius bar and apple will immediately recognize it as a GPU issue and replace it even if it is out of warranty?
Click to expand...

First, the problem must manifest itself on external monitors in addition to the built in LCD and second, the system must fail this test that Apple runs to supposedly identify the defective 8600 GPU. If it does, your warranty (as it relates to this issue) is extended an additional 12 months for a total of 24.

Unfortunately, many times these symptoms are related to failing LCDs and are not covered. Good luck.

Cheers,
 
ok. i just read that other thread with the person having trouble getting apple to replace their GPU. Is there any way for me on my own to test whether or not this is the issue or if it is a screen thing?

The only thing I can think of is to maybe connect the laptop to an external display. Being that my laptop is the only computer I have right now - i might be able to find a friend with a desktop - but they're most likely Dell's? Could that work [sorry if thats ridiculous - just goes to show how much i don't know about this stuff]?

Also - If I make an appt at the genius bar - will I be charged? Being out of warranty I thought it was $30-50 just to get AppleCare on the phone or get them to look at your machine in the store?

I just want to know what I'm looking at since if this ends up being something out of pocket, it might be a while before i can get it fixed - if my mbp lasts that long. :/
 
sakca015 said:
ok. i just read that other thread with the person having trouble getting apple to replace their GPU. Is there any way for me on my own to test whether or not this is the issue or if it is a screen thing?

The only thing I can think of is to maybe connect the laptop to an external display. Being that my laptop is the only computer I have right now - i might be able to find a friend with a desktop - but they're most likely Dell's? Could that work [sorry if thats ridiculous - just goes to show how much i don't know about this stuff]?

Also - If I make an appt at the genius bar - will I be charged? Being out of warranty I thought it was $30-50 just to get AppleCare on the phone or get them to look at your machine in the store?

I just want to know what I'm looking at since if this ends up being something out of pocket, it might be a while before i can get it fixed - if my mbp lasts that long. :/
Click to expand...

Find someone who has an external monitor (preferably one with a DVI connection, otherwise you will need to use the VGA adapter that came with your MBP). If your display is fine connected to the monitor, it is not the 8600 GPU issue.

Don't know whether you are charged at Apple Stores. I tend to use a local Apple Authorized Service Center and got to know the techs.

Cheers,
 
I found a support article on apple's website.

Looks like this is covered under warranty even if you are out--for those that haven't resolved this issue yet.

I made a gunius appt for tomorrow to check and we'll see how it goes from there!

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2377
 
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