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Strange - MBP went blank

Sdahe

Sdahe

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Oct 26, 2007
1,725
25
San Juan, PR
Hello guys,

Yesterday I was working with my MBP in one of my client's office and the computer went blank. The screen turn to black and it was still ON. I had to press the ON/OFF button to shut the computer.

What could cause this?
 
A shot in the dark here. Any magnets that was near the lid? Due to the magnetic latch that controls the sleep function it can cause havoc and put the screen or computer to sleep. Watch out for those magnetic bracelets.

Other than that we have the regular crappy Nvidia chips. You have the famous NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processor. Apple have an exchange policy for that card.
 
Frosties said:
A shot in the dark here. Any magnets that was near the lid? Due to the magnetic latch that controls the sleep function it can cause havoc and put the screen or computer to sleep. Watch out for those magnetic bracelets.
Click to expand...

That makes sense... I had the computer in a metal table.
 
Frosties said:
Other than that we have the regular crappy Nvidia chips. You have the famous NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processor. Apple have an exchange policy for that card.
Click to expand...

Where can I find more information about this exhange policy?
 
Now is acting the same way even if the computer is not touching any metal at all. It goes blank and comes back in a second or two.... or when I click a key. Is like if the computer goes to sleeping mode even if I'm working with it...

What could be causing this?
 
If you have it on minimum brightness, when the display dims, it will just turn off.

Also, make sure that your display isn't set to turn off the display after a very short period of time in power saving under system preferences.
 
geoffreak said:
If you have it on minimum brightness, when the display dims, it will just turn off.

Also, make sure that your display isn't set to turn off the display after a very short period of time in power saving under system preferences.
Click to expand...

not my case... don't have the screen on minimum brightness and the power saving is not set to a short period of time...:(
 
Does closing the laptop and opening it back up have any effect?

It could just be as simple as a loose cable, but you won't know until you visit an Apple store.
 
geoffreak said:
Does closing the laptop and opening it back up have any effect?

It could just be as simple as a loose cable, but you won't know until you visit an Apple store.
Click to expand...

The strange thing is that when I have it connected to the Apple Cinema doesn't act wierd...
 
Are you referring to the internal screen not acting weird, or the ACD? Do you even use the laptop screen when connected to the ACD?
 
geoffreak said:
Are you referring to the internal screen not acting weird, or the ACD? Do you even use the laptop screen when connected to the ACD?
Click to expand...

I'm saying that the laptop does not act wierd when is connected to the Apple Cinema Display. It only acts wierd when is by it's own...
 
Is this happening whilst connected to a power supply or running on batteries? It sounds to me like the computer is just turning the display off to save power, as someone else stated.

I've experienced the infamous 8600M GT failure before, but what happens with that is that the screen never turns on again after it turns off. It seems unlikely that it's the GPU causing the trouble.

The repair program documentation can be viewed here: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2377
 
Well, today in the morning the screen went black and never came back... I took the computer to the Apple Authorized Service Provider (AASP) and tomorrow they will tell me what's going on...
 
Sdahe said:
Well, today in the morning the screen went black and never came back... I took the computer to the Apple Authorized Service Provider (AASP) and tomorrow they will tell me what's going on...
Click to expand...

Oh dear... well they should definitely give you a new logic board if it is indeed the GPU problem (sounds like it is now). If they don't automatically replace it, refer them to that webpage on the Apple Support website. When I took mine into my local Apple Store I brought a print-out of the page to make sure they had no excuses. :rolleyes:

Good luck!
 
MarcBook said:
Oh dear... well they should definitely give you a new logic board if it is indeed the GPU problem (sounds like it is now). If they don't automatically replace it, refer them to that webpage on the Apple Support website. When I took mine into my local Apple Store I brought a print-out of the page to make sure they had no excuses. :rolleyes:

Good luck!
Click to expand...

I just called and one of the techs told me that they are still working with the computer to know exactly what it is... he told me that maybe it has nothing to do with the video card. OMG!... I think is going to be bad news... :(
 
Well, as long as you have AppleCare, you won't have to pay for repairs. Worst case scenario is your computer is toast and you get a brand new one covered by AppleCare.;)
 
geoffreak said:
Well, as long as you have AppleCare, you won't have to pay for repairs. Worst case scenario is your computer is toast and you get a brand new one covered by AppleCare.;)
Click to expand...

Well, I don't have Apple Care in this computer... so I'm toast!!!
 
Okay so my Macbook pro would not boot . the light on front was on and hardrive noise but nothing on screen...

So i took it to apple store and got seen by the head genius (hmmm).

And because it wont boot and they have the diagnostics to see if it is the graphics chip on a usb drive he could not confirm that because it cant read/start the drive... and told me he could do nothing and it would be a new logic board and cos i am out of warranty and applecare it would be £700.

Morning!

So i took it to the "mac and pc centre" manchester a certified reseller service centre for a second opinion and see if they could repair for less...

So they confirmed the logic board needed changing but they asked apple if i could be done under warranty and apple said thats fine so its here after 2 days in the shop all repaired...i am happy...

Macbook Pro is FIXED!!! FOR FREE!!!
 
Dont give up make them change it!! They cant prove its not the graphics chip thats caused the problem..
 
Well, they just call me and is the screen... They told me is going to cost $1,035 to change it for a new one... :(

It's hard to believe.. I take really good care of my computer and the screens dies with two years of use.. wow!!!

What should I do?... I can still use it with th ACD dought

Is it time for a new MBP?...
 
Sdahe said:
Well, they just call me and is the screen... They told me is going to cost $1,035 to change it for a new one... :(

It's hard to believe.. I take really good care of my computer and the screens dies with two years of use.. wow!!!

What should I do?... I can still use it with th ACD dought

Is it time for a new MBP?...
Click to expand...

I'm surprised that it's the screen causing the problem... Your model, like mine, has an LED backlight, which doesn't fade and has an extremely long life span.

Since they're charging so much for it to be fixed, you may as well get a new MacBook Pro (if it's within your budget, of course). Otherwise I'd just use it in closed-lid mode with your ACD.

You might find that third-party repair shops will replace the screen for less, though. You could even replace it yourself. I think a screen off eBay is about $450-500/£250-400. They're pretty easy to replace if you have the correct screwdrivers, a free afternoon and a set of instructions (from iFixit, for example).

Obviously, make sure it's the right screen! They always say which models they're designed for, though.

For once, I'm gonna say it's a shame it's not the GPU messing up! :(
 
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