Got a MBP yesterday from post office and took it to apple store to test for nvidia issue even thought the card is working fine but the test shows error code 14 they said to turn in for replacement at no extra charge...AppleCare is the best 
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So are all MBP owners with the 8600m GT cards screwed?
- Thread starter jjahshik32
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So my applecare is expired and I've had my MBP just over 4 years. My logic board is bad I believe because of the nVidia chip, should I risk sending it in to Apple?
Best case scenario - they replace the logic board for free under the nVidia warranty.
Worst case scenario - I get charged $300 because it's some other problem but I get my working MBP back.
Best case scenario - they replace the logic board for free under the nVidia warranty.
Worst case scenario - I get charged $300 because it's some other problem but I get my working MBP back.
I did, the guy said he couldn't diagnose it - he needs to send it out for the final diagnostic. The only thing I get is the light on the front and the hard drive spinning.
that is sooo odd. i had a early 2008 2.5ghz mbp. bought it in mid 2008...
i went to an apple store in long island, ny around a year ago... mine wouldn't boot... would turn on, but no image... just dark screen. took it to an apple genius and told them it's prob nvidia issue... guy busted out an old ipod [classic] connected via USB and proceeded to boot up via the ipod... the ipod ran the diagnostics and spit out conclusion that it was nvidia issue...
maybe they don't carry this tool @ the apple store anymore...
suxs
Apple will fix it if its faulty
They replaced mine almost a year ago because I was also affected by it, and I've heard that they've extended Apple Care for those with that particular issue. Run a harware test at the first sign of failure (screen glitches), and it should let you know if it's faulty. Apple will do the exact same thing & they should replace it if you haven't done anything to void the warranty.
They replaced mine almost a year ago because I was also affected by it, and I've heard that they've extended Apple Care for those with that particular issue. Run a harware test at the first sign of failure (screen glitches), and it should let you know if it's faulty. Apple will do the exact same thing & they should replace it if you haven't done anything to void the warranty.
As far as I know the period that Apple will do free logicboard replacements due to the Nvdia issue is 4 years, (it was originally 3, but they extended it by one). So according to that, unless something has changed you are out of luck, but it is still worth asking nicely as you never know.
Apple not fixing them for four years
They are not fixing the problem for two years, not three years and not four years.
You go to an Apple Store and power on your computer and if the overheating created a problem where the motherboard can't boot, they say it's a problem on your logic board but not anything to do an inch away from the Nvidia chip.
They tell you this with a straight face. And then will offer you a repair price for the "logic board." You know what you get with it: a Nvidia integrated graphics chip.
It's because Nvidia had Apple bend over, then took a charge back with no recourse and now Apple is telling its customers to bend over because it doesn't want to absorb the cost itself.
Meanwhile people are blowtorching the Nvidia chip, air gunning the Nvidia chip and putting the whole damn motherboard in the oven and they go back to working.
None of which would be possible if it was the logic board gone bad.
They are not fixing the problem for two years, not three years and not four years.
You go to an Apple Store and power on your computer and if the overheating created a problem where the motherboard can't boot, they say it's a problem on your logic board but not anything to do an inch away from the Nvidia chip.
They tell you this with a straight face. And then will offer you a repair price for the "logic board." You know what you get with it: a Nvidia integrated graphics chip.
It's because Nvidia had Apple bend over, then took a charge back with no recourse and now Apple is telling its customers to bend over because it doesn't want to absorb the cost itself.
Meanwhile people are blowtorching the Nvidia chip, air gunning the Nvidia chip and putting the whole damn motherboard in the oven and they go back to working.
None of which would be possible if it was the logic board gone bad.
Apple just replaced the motherboard one month after the 3 years of applecare expired on my late 2008 MBP. The genius repaired it under applecare and never mentioned the video card issue. It runs super hot now over 70C. I installed SMC Fan Control to turn up the fans, they usually run around 2k rpm and I need to turn them up to 3-4K just for basic tasks. I am guessing this new motherboard will not last three years as it is prone to running hot. How hot are these supposed to run?
I also just had my logic board replaced out of my 3 year warranty (3 months after warranty), HK authorized repair diagnosed the problem right away and replaced my logic board, it works great now.
After thoroughly cleaning the fan and the exhaust vents, oiling the spindle of the fans, and reapplying the thermal compound of the cpu chips, my MBP idles (91% idle according to istat) at around 49C. So your logicboard would be running very hot if your computer is idling, and still hot if you are doing intensive tasks. How hot is your cpu running? I wonder if your heat pipes are properly thermal pasted onto the cpu.
My mbp once ran almost that hot at idle when the fan vents were clogged with dust. Are yours clogged?
OK, I have an issue with my pre-unibody 2.4 ghz MBP. The computer chimes, light illuminates, but the display does not come on. After a minute or two it shows up in the Finder of my other Mac and I can use Screen Sharing to mount the MBP's desktop on my other Mac. Does this fit a description of an 8600 failure, and if so, do you think Apple would do something about it free of charge at this point?
Sounds like it. In screen sharing, go to the System Profiler, look at the Graphics/Display. If it doesn't show an adapter or if your PCIe lane width is less than 16x, then you probably have an 8600 GT issue.
Apple will cover the repair until 4 years after your original date of purchase.
Go in to an Apple store, tell the Genius that you suspect the 8600M GT issue and they'll run diagnostics that will flag the issue if that's what it is.
Could be. My early 2008 MPB 2.4 had different symptoms that I thought were caused by the Nvidia issue. I only had one year of Applecare, so it was way out of warranty by 1.5 years. I told the Genuis I suspected it was the Nvidia problem, but they tested and said it wasn't. I agreed to have it sent back for the $310.00 logic board replacement.
Here is what my Genius diagnosis stated.
Verified with KG power adapter. Unit has trickle power for 1 - 2 seconds, and then powers off. Unit does not POST / does not display video.
They recommended sending it to depot for logic board replacement which I agreed to.
When it came back I was not charged. The Applecare summary stated they replaced the logic board and that the symptom was Graphics Process Issue on MLB.
Applecare was extremely fast. I dropped it off on April 14th and had it back 4 days later.
That is precisely what happened to mine when my 8600m failed. They should replace the logicboard for free, do not take no for an answer.
My HK Apple authorized repair center's technician knew exactly what the problem is after i described the problem, so it is definitely a well known issue.
I got my 2007 repaired for free since it was suspected the gpu was broken. However it turned out it wasn't the gpu but the mainboard. The repair was free anyway. Hail Apple service!. I only hope my new logic board has a gpu as reliable as my former one ;-)
Since its been official that all 8600m GT cards are defective that we can only prolong the gpu failing..
Ok so this makes me feel like I've just gotten kicked in the crotch for the 2nd time. So this means the 3 year apple care I bought might be a lottery pick.
For the people who hardly ever games and reaches a low temperature of their gpu cards would take much longer for the gpu to die and what if your gpu dies a year after the 3 year warranty~
This has ruined my day, no week, no month.. no year~!!
Apple Replaces/Upgrade/or fixes ANY MacBook Pro Affected from this GPU issue from 4 YEARS from the purchase date, unless your on first gen mbp, you should be able to take it to the Apple Store and have em fix it.
For me it was all of a sudden, no symptoms at all. After 3 years and 3 months, I thought my MBP was immune to the GPU probably, then one day, I restarted it... the power button light came on, the gong was sounded, then nothing else.
I have an early '08 Penryn 2.4ghz 8600GT 15" MBP. I don't have any symptoms of the card being bad, and I've gamed on it many times before, to the point where its too hot on the bottom to touch to bare skin and it shuts itself down.
I still use it to this day, any symptoms I should look for? Can I run the test that the store uses myself?
Thanks.
I still use it to this day, any symptoms I should look for? Can I run the test that the store uses myself?
Thanks.
Since its been official that all 8600m GT cards are defective that we can only prolong the gpu failing..
Ok so this makes me feel like I've just gotten kicked in the crotch for the 2nd time. So this means the 3 year apple care I bought might be a lottery pick.
For the people who hardly ever games and reaches a low temperature of their gpu cards would take much longer for the gpu to die and what if your gpu dies a year after the 3 year warranty~
This has ruined my day, no week, no month.. no year~!!
I wen't to the Apple Store after I had this dreaded problem with my computer and the tech told me the warranty on the 8600m GT was extended to 5 years even if you did not buy Applecare. They acknowledge the problem and take care of it. Go Apple !