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What do you guys think?

Hello, First I'm sorry to just bump off like this. I figured it's better to just merge to this discussion rather than creating a new one.

Ok. So I have this 2.6 Ghz 15" MBP late 2008 with the nVidia GeForce 8600Gt 256Mb.

I've been going back and forth to the Apple Store for repairs. These are the lists of repairs that I've been getting for the past year.

- Logic Board (somewhere in 2009)
- Superdrive died (somewhere in May 2010)
- Logic Board (First week of August 2010)

And now, guess what? I received the MBP earlier this morning and after using for around 4 hours it just went black again and won't even start. If you turn it on, its LED would just blink 3 times and keep doing that forever (It is the same symptoms as the last repair.

What do you think Apple would do this time? Are they going to replace it?

TO be honest, I'm starting to get sick with this laptop.

All comments would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
 
Hello, First I'm sorry to just bump off like this. I figured it's better to just merge to this discussion rather than creating a new one.

Ok. So I have this 2.6 Ghz 15" MBP late 2008 with the nVidia GeForce 8600Gt 256Mb.

I've been going back and forth to the Apple Store for repairs. These are the lists of repairs that I've been getting for the past year.

- Logic Board (somewhere in 2009)
- Superdrive died (somewhere in May 2010)
- Logic Board (First week of August 2010)

And now, guess what? I received the MBP earlier this morning and after using for around 4 hours it just went black again and won't even start. If you turn it on, its LED would just blink 3 times and keep doing that forever (It is the same symptoms as the last repair.

What do you think Apple would do this time? Are they going to replace it?

TO be honest, I'm starting to get sick with this laptop.

All comments would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

It'll be your third logic board replacement, you can ask for a new laptop, it doesn't hurt but make sure you are insistent with them about a new laptop because it's not fair that your laptop is failing three times within a year.
 
Anyone with a success story following the just released graphics update from apple? Someone at the forums posted that after the update his MBP s basically dead. I'm waiting to see if more early 08 owners have the same problem.
 
Yeh Ive installed the Graphics Update yesterday, my 2.5 Penryn March 08 went kaput. Black screen on startup, nothing helps. I took out my ssd and took out crucial ram, replaced with stock, will go to apple store today to get it fixed/replaced. I assumed they would run out of spare parts by now, but I see that they still have plenty of boards available after reading this thread. Oh well we'll see. I do have a dead pixel on my screen though, and I need to replace my battery for the 2nd time already. In any case I only have apple care until March 2011, this definitely does not make me feel comfortable that these GPUs are so prone to failure.
 
Yeh Ive installed the Graphics Update yesterday, my 2.5 Penryn March 08 went kaput. Black screen on startup, nothing helps. I took out my ssd and took out crucial ram, replaced with stock, will go to apple store today to get it fixed/replaced. I assumed they would run out of spare parts by now, but I see that they still have plenty of boards available after reading this thread. Oh well we'll see. I do have a dead pixel on my screen though, and I need to replace my battery for the 2nd time already. In any case I only have apple care until March 2011, this definitely does not make me feel comfortable that these GPUs are so prone to failure.

the issued will be covered up for atleast four years from purchase date. It was extended a few months back.
 
Hello, First I'm sorry to just bump off like this. I figured it's better to just merge to this discussion rather than creating a new one.

Ok. So I have this 2.6 Ghz 15" MBP late 2008 with the nVidia GeForce 8600Gt 256Mb.

I've been going back and forth to the Apple Store for repairs. These are the lists of repairs that I've been getting for the past year.

- Logic Board (somewhere in 2009)
- Superdrive died (somewhere in May 2010)
- Logic Board (First week of August 2010)

And now, guess what? I received the MBP earlier this morning and after using for around 4 hours it just went black again and won't even start. If you turn it on, its LED would just blink 3 times and keep doing that forever (It is the same symptoms as the last repair.

What do you think Apple would do this time? Are they going to replace it?

TO be honest, I'm starting to get sick with this laptop.

All comments would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

I just got my 2008 2.4 c2d replaced this last week. I also had 2 failed logic boards in a week, after they told me my hard drive was dead and I need to reformat it, then my ram was bad, I had a chat with the manager of the Apple Store and let him know my dissatisfaction with the way my repair was handled. He offered me a 2010 2.4 i5 unibody for my troubles.
 
Well… I'm going for it. If it fails I'll have to send it to Apple since I'm very far from the nearest store at the moment. Wish me luck and I'll come back to report any news, good or bad (hopefully good).

edit:
update complete, up and running on an early 08 mbp.
 
just updating, since my GPU got fried after the update, apple will send it in for repair and will replace the mobo, as well as the battery and hopefully the screen since it had a dead pixel
 
just updating, since my GPU got fried after the update, apple will send it in for repair and will replace the mobo, as well as the battery and hopefully the screen since it had a dead pixel

Really? Wow, this update seems to have broken quite a few ones. I did it and I'm still up and running but if I had waited a few more hours and seen your comment and a few others out there I wouldn't have applied the update, just for the fear of it.
 
Well, I think it finally came my way. My SR 2.2 15" MBP has been running really hot for as long as I can remember. Tonight, I synced my iPhone—which included lots of pictures, conversions, faces... you know, processing—and uploaded some photos (more processing). Close the lid, go downstairs, open the lid, and...

Black Screen. Fans start. Optical drive whines. Hard drive spins, I'm pretty sure. No picture.

Sucks. I'm teaching a class at the local college that starts in a couple of days. I was kinda planning on using my computer. Ugg.

UPDATE: yup, it's the gpu. Out a week for repair.

UPDATE X2: Got it back—shipped to my house—in less than 72 hours. Not bad.
 
My screaming fans since the new logic board have been fixed. The palm rest temp. sensor connector was reseated and now the machine is as good as new. How long it will last is another matter. I suppose another 3 years will do but if it's still doing it's job in another 3 years then why should I buy a new one.
 
Well, this is my THIRD failed 8600... I am going to insist on a new machine, this is utterly lame.

You should. My graphics card failed again yesterday, and it was my third failure (4th graphics card). The funny thing is that the last time I had my graphics card replaced in April 2010, the "genius" told me that they replaced the card with a rev2 card that supposedly did not have any of the problems of the failure prone cards. I told him that the last time I had my card replaced the tech told me the same thing and that it had failed as well but he just repeated himself over and over again...Anyways, I called applecare and told them that I'd had a lot of repairs done to my computer, especially the graphics card issue and that to fix my graphics card would've constituted a third repair for the same problem and they agreed and they are sending me the base 2.4 ghz core i5 macbook pro. I also got the matte screen because my original one had it, and apparently it only comes in a hi-res version. Anyways, you should definitely call applecare if you're under warranty and ask for a replacement. I think you could even get the 17" model, because it is the only one that has an express card slot which the 07 macbook pros have. They have to give you a model that is equal to your old machine spec wise ie discrete graphics or whatever. I got lucky in that this occurred 20 days before my applecare ran out haha.
 
I'm quite amazed that some of you are already past your third failure when mine hasn't gone once. Mind you I really don't do anything on my MBP that would stress the graphics chip. Serious question, do those of you experiencing the failures game on your laptops?
 
lol, i wish mine failed a couple more times so that i could get a brand new 17' matte MBP, I don't care if its an i7 or i5.

But forcing it may be dishonest so i'm leaving it up to luck, at least we just got another year of peace of mind.
 
I'm quite amazed that some of you are already past your third failure when mine hasn't gone once. Mind you I really don't do anything on my MBP that would stress the graphics chip. Serious question, do those of you experiencing the failures game on your laptops?

They should be able to play games if they want. Sad really that this is still happening. I suppose they'll keep extending the warranty until all of the affected systems are dead or obsolete.

Cheers,
 
I'm quite amazed that some of you are already past your third failure when mine hasn't gone once. Mind you I really don't do anything on my MBP that would stress the graphics chip. Serious question, do those of you experiencing the failures game on your laptops?

I game a lot on my laptop, and have had problems. I called :apple: and I will be passing by them soon.

Symptoms I had were:
  • Frame rates are generally lower than they used to be when playing games in Windows
  • Computer runs hotter
  • Fans run more
  • PCI-e lane width gone from x16 to x8 and x1
  • Games can no longer be played full settings (Now I have to lower the setting on the same games)
  • Flickering then display freezes, (system remains running)
  • Waking from sleep sometime keeps the display dim or off, and I would have to press the brightness keys.

AnonMac50
 
They should be able to play games if they want.
I don't dispute that. I'm just trying to work out the reason why mine seems to have a longevity beyond that of other affected MBPs, so as better to predict if it's likely to fail any time soon.

Thanks for the response though, and to the others that answered.
 
My girlfriends 8600GT was replaced twice, sent in once more but the techs "failed to reproduce the issue, then the screen was replaced, and now the screen light won't go on. All 4 issues were separated by about a month. It's driving her crazy. I was assured a MBP replacement would come next if the the fourth repair didn't fix it. I'm waiting for a reply now. Do you think they are just replacing the faulty 8600GT mobo's with used ones and hoping for a statistical win?
 
I don't dispute that. I'm just trying to work out the reason why mine seems to have a longevity beyond that of other affected MBPs, so as better to predict if it's likely to fail any time soon.

Thanks for the response though, and to the others that answered.

Abandon all hope at ever predicting the possibility/timing of the 8600 failing. Better to assume it will and enjoy it while you can.

Cheers,
 
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