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So are all MBP owners with the 8600m GT cards screwed?

panzer06 said:
...

Cheers,
Click to expand...
Thanks, I'm probably going to go this route. Crossing my fingers for the best!

colonelsanders said:
...

Just my two cents.
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Well, basically by top case, I mean that the keyboard and trackpad are completely unresponsive. Backlight works, but not the keys or trackpad at all. I was getting slight artifacts before the keyboard died, but I was still in school, so I continued to use it with an external mouse and keyboard since I couldn't be without my laptop during finals.

As far as the screen went, they said something about seeing pressure points. On my Genius Bar work authorization form though, they listed the keyboard/trackpad and observed graphics artifacting on the sheet, but nothing about the screen, and nothing but "normal wear and tear" under cosmetic condition. I never got a chance to test if there were artifacts when using an external monitor yet, so if I'm able to, I'll definitely try to get that happening and make record of it.

When I go pick up my laptop again from the Apple Store, I'll be sure to bring up these points with them. Considering the GPU test wouldn't even run, and the list of problems states "Observed graphics artifacting," I hope they don't give me too much trouble. If not, I'll try to ask for a replacement if all goes well, though I assume I'd have to speak to a manager.

Thank you for the advice!
 
Good news ladies...

MacBook Pro: Distorted video or no video issues


MacBook Pro: Distorted video or no video issues

Symptoms
In July 2008, NVIDIA publicly acknowledged a higher than normal failure rate for some of their graphics processors due to a packaging defect. At that same time, NVIDIA assured Apple that Mac computers with these graphics processors were not affected. However, after an Apple-led investigation, Apple has determined that some MacBook Pro computers with the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processor may be affected. If the NVIDIA graphics processor in your MacBook Pro has failed, or fails within :Dfour years:D of the original date of purchase, a repair will be done free of charge, even if your MacBook Pro is out of warranty.

What to look for:

Distorted or scrambled video on the computer screen
No video on the computer screen (or external display) even though the computer is on
Specific products affected:

MacBook Pro 15-inch and 17-inch models with NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processors
MacBook Pro (17-Inch, 2.4GHz)
MacBook Pro (15-Inch, 2.4/2.2GHz)
MacBook Pro (Early 2008)
These computers were manufactured between approximately May 2007 and September 2008
Click to expand...
 
Eddyisgreat said:
Good news ladies...

MacBook Pro: Distorted video or no video issues
Click to expand...

Yay, 4 years free GPU repairs for everybody. Boo for not even doing a recall or provide a different motherboard with newer GPUs. I don't even care about getting a brand new replacement, if I could get the same motherboard but with 9400m instead, it'll be fine.

Does it really cost less to continue to do this than to redesign a new motherboard?
 
At least folks who stuck with those cursed Macs will receive something for their troubles. Definitely better support from Apple than from any of the other manufactures.

Cheers,
 
hello,

What is the current status in the UK? I have some symptoms!
Ill probably go at Regent Street store to see someone there.

Do they try to "fake" the problem with other logic board problem(s)? Or pimp up the bill with other things?

My MBP is like new! I only use it once a month as I have an uMB and Mini from work.

On the phone they told me that they are putting a "new GPU, better than the old that produced over that period", almost impossible...

Is there a way to get a replacement or I have to wait to die again?

Thanks
Tasos

PS: any problems with upgraded HDs and RAM?
 
Varoudis said:
hello,

What is the current status in the UK? I have some symptoms!
Ill probably go at Regent Street store to see someone there.

Do they try to "fake" the problem with other logic board problem(s)? Or pimp up the bill with other things?

My MBP is like new! I only use it once a month as I have an uMB and Mini from work.

On the phone they told me that they are putting a "new GPU, better than the old that produced over that period", almost impossible...

Is there a way to get a replacement or I have to wait to die again?

Thanks
Tasos

PS: any problems with upgraded HDs and RAM?
Click to expand...

The warranty only applies to the GPU repair, they can't charge you for other work unless you approve the work. You need to tell them not to do additional work beside the GPU repair.

There's no new GPU, it's the same one. You'll have to wait till it dies and dies and dies before you can get a replacement.

You'll have to put the stock HD/RAM back in, they don't like aftermarket parts in pre-unibodies before they made it okay and it can void the warranty if they see it.
 
I have a January 2008 build 2.2 GHz MBP. This is my 6th Macbook, and despite its imperfections, probably my favorite one. For every previous Mac product I have purchased, I've used my Visa card. A few years ago, I used the Visa's warranty service to replace a failed Macbook. Back then, their service was wonderful.

Fast forward to today. My MBP started having graphics artifacts in January of this year. However, it did not fail the NVIDIA test so it was deemed a logic board issue. I decided to have it repaired through the Visa warranty I purchased.

Now.. I dropped my charger on my case and caused a small (<5 mm radius) ding on the top shell. Also, my superdrive stopped working after I bumped it. So I definitely had some cosmetic damage to the case, but neither I nor several Genius bar reps thought it was significant enough to cause a logic board malfunction.

Anyhow, as many of you know, Genius bar service reports are pretty detailed. They wrote up the cosmetic damage, with an explicit addendum that my laptop issues would still have been covered by Applecare or Apple's 1 year limited warranty. When I submitted this service report to Visa though, they harassed the hell out of me. Not the VISA customer care I was used to from my experience with them about 3 years ago. After going through about 4 different Genius bar visits to get repeated confirmation for the VISA warranty people that my Macbook SHOULD be repaired, they finally approved me for a Tier 1 repair - which is 310 dollars. This repair would have fixed my logic board but not my superdrive.

I thought shoot this probably the best I'll get from them, so I sent it in to the Apple Service Center. The next day, I got a call from them. Apparently, my MBP graphics card FINALLY failed the NVIDIA test after about 6 months of me knowing it was malfunctioning. They offered to do a 1-time only full repair in light of the fact. For me, that was Tier 3 and costs about 1000 dollars. I thought I was really lucky to only pay 300 for a 1k repair, but when I went to the Apple store today to pick my MBP up, it rang up as 0 dollars for the entire repair. Fully replaced mobo, top and bottom casing, superdrive and some ancillaries. Looks, feels and runs great. Time and time again, I've doubted Apple. But every time, without fail, they've gone above and beyond my expectations.

Long story short (sorry) - I'll be buying Applecare next time I buy a Mac product, and staying away from the Visa extended warranty service. Word of advice to those that have bought warranties through credit cards - they are becoming unreasonably stringent. If you have even the smallest dent, I would cover it up with a sticker or something before having the service report done. Going to reformat now, kudos to anyone that actually read all that.
 
MikhailT said:
The warranty only applies to the GPU repair, they can't charge you for other work unless you approve the work. You need to tell them not to do additional work beside the GPU repair.

There's no new GPU, it's the same one. You'll have to wait till it dies and dies and dies before you can get a replacement.

You'll have to put the stock HD/RAM back in, they don't like aftermarket parts in pre-unibodies before they made it okay and it can void the warranty if they see it.
Click to expand...

I think it was OK to change them before unibody! I think I checked it before doing it!?!?!
 
Varoudis said:
hello,

What is the current status in the UK? I have some symptoms!
Ill probably go at Regent Street store to see someone there.

Do they try to "fake" the problem with other logic board problem(s)? Or pimp up the bill with other things?

My MBP is like new! I only use it once a month as I have an uMB and Mini from work.

On the phone they told me that they are putting a "new GPU, better than the old that produced over that period", almost impossible...

Is there a way to get a replacement or I have to wait to die again?

Thanks
Tasos

PS: any problems with upgraded HDs and RAM?
Click to expand...

The ram is fine but I would but the hd back. It is questionable if it voids the warranty or not. I put my original hd back in.

They claim the rev 2 board does not fail. I was told that by the "genius" This morning then i showed him the paperwork from my last gpu failure when they put in a rev 2 board. After that he said this was a rare case. I say bs.
 
Cool Runnings said:
********, these parts always have been user replaceable
Click to expand...

Not hard drives, they were not permissible before the unibodies. You can check it yourself. Memories yes, but if you still have the stock ram, it's best to put it back in as they'll annoy you about it. It happened to me twice (i forgot to change it back the second time) and they busted my balls about it even thought it had nothing to do with the issues. They actually put in new stock ram and gave me back the old ram, probably cuz they put back 2GB and I had 4GB.
 
MikhailT said:
Not hard drives, they were not permissible before the unibodies. You can check it yourself. Memories yes, but if you still have the stock ram, it's best to put it back in as they'll annoy you about it. It happened to me twice (i forgot to change it back the second time) and they busted my balls about it even thought it had nothing to do with the issues. They actually put in new stock ram and gave me back the old ram, probably cuz they put back 2GB and I had 4GB.
Click to expand...

Yes, I have now read the manual and it only guides you to change the memory and doesn't mention anything on the HDD. So i guess i was wrong on that :eek: sorry...
 
Will the new logic have some kind of warranty apart from the GPU??
Lets say the new logic fails in something else after 2 months...

thnx
 
Varoudis said:
Will the new logic have some kind of warranty apart from the GPU??
Lets say the new logic fails in something else after 2 months...

thnx
Click to expand...

I believe it is a 90 day warranty on the board if you don't have apple care or it expired.
 
Guess I'll just add my story here, though it is nothing new.

March 2008 17" MBP was put to sleep one night and would not wake from sleep the next morning. When powered on I could hear the machine working and I heard the startup chime but the display didn't seem to be working. Keyboard backlight would not work, apple logo did not light up (obviously), latch light stayed on constantly.

No video even when hooked up to an external display. The HDD was accessible as a target disk and I was able to move files to and from it while in TDM.

Took it to an AASP and they diagnosed it as failing whatever GPU test they run. Replaced the needed part at no charge due to this being a known issue (as per the link people have posted from Apple's site).

Now I will be promptly selling it (with full disclosure) and buying a different laptop before it happens again.
 
^^^Exact thing happened to my 17" MBP C2D late-2007 just this morning. Everything was fine and no signs of problems until today.

Taking it in to the Apple Store tomorrow. What did they replace, if you don't mind?
 
My logic board does need replacing again. My repair is on hold because this particular logic board is out of stock. Does anyone know how long it usually takes them to get more stock in?

Seems a bit odd that they would run out, I would have thought they would use some kind of automated inventory system. Are there really that many people needing logic board replacements? :(
 
creative78 said:
My logic board does need replacing again. My repair is on hold because this particular logic board is out of stock. Does anyone know how long it usually takes them to get more stock in?

Seems a bit odd that they would run out, I would have thought they would use some kind of automated inventory system. Are there really that many people needing logic board replacements? :(
Click to expand...

Well there are several variations of the mbp logic board depending on cpu speed/cache and gpu memory. Often "legacy" products such as ours, or ones with newer iterations, will have to be stockpiled and called up to your local store.
 
Thanks for selling us junk! We paid good price and we got defects...

I have a late-2008 MBP (2.53GHz) and I only tried the faster chip a few times. Since my girlfriend is using it most of the times, the computer is switched on the basic chip and we don't dare to risk it.

But I have to say - that computer with it's pathetic battery life, with its constant fan noise and with its faulty graphic chip is one hell of an overpriced piece of trouble. When the upgrade came out, I was so upset to see the price drop.

There are only two things about it that I like - the screen (apart from the fact that super-glossy is a terrible thing) is better than any 13" one that I ever had. The other is the ExpressCard slot.
 
kernkraft said:
I have a late-2008 MBP (2.53GHz) and I only tried the faster chip a few times. Since my girlfriend is using it most of the times, the computer is switched on the basic chip and we don't dare to risk it.

But I have to say - that computer with it's pathetic battery life, with its constant fan noise and with its faulty graphic chip is one hell of an overpriced piece of trouble. When the upgrade came out, I was so upset to see the price drop.

There are only two things about it that I like - the screen (apart from the fact that super-glossy is a terrible thing) is better than any 13" one that I ever had. The other is the ExpressCard slot.
Click to expand...

Units with 8600 don't have switchable GPU. Only the 8600.

Cheers,
 
kernkraft said:
I have a late-2008 MBP (2.53GHz) and I only tried the faster chip a few times. Since my girlfriend is using it most of the times, the computer is switched on the basic chip and we don't dare to risk it.

But I have to say - that computer with it's pathetic battery life, with its constant fan noise and with its faulty graphic chip is one hell of an overpriced piece of trouble. When the upgrade came out, I was so upset to see the price drop.

There are only two things about it that I like - the screen (apart from the fact that super-glossy is a terrible thing) is better than any 13" one that I ever had. The other is the ExpressCard slot.
Click to expand...

panzer06 said:
Units with 8600 don't have switchable GPU. Only the 8600.

Cheers,
Click to expand...

The computer you are referring to don´t have the faulty chip. It's a nVidia 9600m GT in those machines
 
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