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Totalled MacBook Pro?

C

CassandraAnne

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 10, 2009
5
0
So the other day I went to open my early 2008 15" MacBook Pro and it wouldn't turn on. The Apple logo wasn't lit, or the capslock key - the only sign of life was the front latch light. Did everything possible according to the troubleshooting tips I found here and on Apple's support page. Called Apple and after 40 minutes, they told me that the logic board was probably messed up stemming from the time a YEAR ago when I was walking home from work and my computer bag strap broke and it fell 2 feet. They said that the repairs would cost around $1300 plus shipping (there's no Apple store around me) plus $100 in labor fees. My Apple Care ended in March.

So this is really upsetting. I'm a web designer and I need my computer. I'm considering just getting a newer refurbished 13" MacBook Pro - it would be cheaper!

I was wondering if you guys knew if I would be able to extract my files and programs from the harddrive of the '08 MBP. If so, is it something I can have my computer whiz brother do or should I drive the 3 hours to an Apple store to have them do it?

Advice please!
 
take out the hard drive and sell this one on ebay for parts...atleast you will get some money...then buy the new ones...

sorry to hear about your loss:(
 
pukifloyd said:
take out the hard drive and sell this one on ebay for parts...atleast you will get some money...then buy the new ones...

sorry to hear about your loss:(
Click to expand...

Thanks. I've been pretty bummed about it.

Do you know how I could extract the information on the old HD?
 
You should have no trouble getting info off the harddrive. I do this at work daily.

Like others have stated all you need is a cheap enclosure, pop the harddrive out of your broken computer, put it in the enclosre and plug it into the new computer and drag and drop everything off of it.
 
saying it's a logic board failure is such a copout as it could be any of a ton of things that's wrong, diagnosing it over the phone is BS, saying it was because of a fall 1 year ago is BS and a $1400 repair is BS.

take it to a (good) repair shop with some credentials and get an actual analysis or do it yourself and try to diagnose the problem, if it's a replaceable part it will be a hell of a lot cheaper
 
Isn't this one of the 8600mGT MacBook pros that have the extended warranty for a faulty GPU? And how bad is the damage?
 
silencer88 said:
Isn't this one of the 8600mGT MacBook pros that have the extended warranty for a faulty GPU? And how bad is the damage?
Click to expand...

That's what they thought when I first got on the phone with them. But I don't even get a chime - no matter what I do. I put my start disc in to see if that would work and all it does is spin and stop. They thought it was a power issue because the Caps lock key & the Apple logo on the back won't light up. When I put my ear up to the computer when it's "on".. I don't hear anything.

There's some niks on the right hand side and the metal is bent in a few places. It's obvious that it's been dropped.
 
chill. said:
saying it's a logic board failure is such a copout as it could be any of a ton of things that's wrong, diagnosing it over the phone is BS, saying it was because of a fall 1 year ago is BS and a $1400 repair is BS.

take it to a (good) repair shop with some credentials and get an actual analysis or do it yourself and try to diagnose the problem, if it's a replaceable part it will be a hell of a lot cheaper
Click to expand...

From the symptoms provided, a logic board failure is the most obvious point of failure. Whether or not it is a result of the drop is hard to prove as it worked for a period of time afterwards but it is certainly very possible/probable. Small fractures to components can mean they work for a while but eventually they will probably fail eventually.

When you turn your Mac on, you normally hear a startup chime (dependent on the audio volume when it was last shut down). This isn't just to let you know it has turned on - it indicates the computer has passed POST (Power On Self Test). The POST chime indicates that the main functional components of the system are functional and that the minimal system is functioning. A minimal system contains very few components - in very general terms it would be: power supply, motherboard, CPU, RAM(, a speaker, and a power button). To relate this to a pre-unibody MacBook Pro this would mean you require: 85W AC adapter, left I/O board, logic board(, speaker, and top case), and if you connect JUST these components in a MacBook Pro (pre-UB) you have a minimal system and will hear the POST chime on boot. If you do not hear the chime one of those components is not functioning.

By looking at the OP's symptoms further we can see that: the light on the front is functional so the computer has power, and power is flowing through at least the power adapter and the left I/O board to get to that light. When listened to, there is no drive activity and the fans do not spin up. So the 2 possible points of failure here would be left I/O board (not providing power to the logic board) and the logic board (not functioning). Of these 2 components, the logic board is the most obvious component to produce the re

Now, you could certainly take it to a store and get it tested (Apple charge a $99 diagnostic fee) for the left I/O board but I think you would probably be best putting that money towards a new machine.

Sorry to hear about your computer :(
 
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