New user here (PC builder, no less), just read through the whole thread- very interesting. Figured I would add my story...
My GF has a Macbook Pro, circa May 2008 with a Nvidia 8600M GT GPU. She has just recently been experiencing problems with her display. Some background: she leaves it on 24/7, and is in sleep mode except mornings (~8-9AM) and evenings (~5- 12AM).
One evening she pops it open and the display is blank- no video. I power the Mac down and I grab one of my Viewsonic monitors with a DVI to VGA adapter, plug it into the Mac, and power the Mac on to see if it's actually putting out any video... surprisingly the screen comes to life and all is well.
The next day, same drill- no display. Hook it up to the monitor, this time nothing. Start at step 1 again: turn off Mac, connect monitor, turn on Mac. Sure enough, attempt #2 is successful! Super, but going downhill.
Today I come home earlier than the GF, and attempt to wake the Mac... HD spins up, display is a no go. OK, been here before: hook up monitor, boot up, no display. OK, do it twice. Nothing. Third time is the charm (playing statistics)... no dice still. White flag is up when the GF arrives. She hits the power and with her magic Mac fingers, the beast awakens!! Great! Until the next time.
She is using it as I type this entry on my trusty, 8-year-old, handbuilt, forged, polished, PC. OK, maybe not forged or polished, but the other adjectives are true.
The eBay guy has some negative feedback but none about the 80 logic board repairs he's done on that model so I'd say it's the best option. Just be sure to remove the hard drive and back it up if possible, possibly remove any sexy pics of your girlfriend on there or other personal info before sending it. The drive can get damaged during shipping.
Also be aware that the repair most likely involves a used part because they were manufactured so long ago - they won't have made any new parts for a long time. The defect will appear in all machines after a given time and people have found that a replacement part can fail soon after a repair. They do give a 30-day warranty though.
I had to join to reply to your insensitive and ignorant comments.
Quote:
You were given four years from purchase date to take it in and get it fixed. That's plenty of time for any excuse.
As many times as you might repeat that Apple notified customers twice about this issue, it is not true. I purchased applecare with my 2008 macbook pro and had discussed problems numerous times. Never was I told about a logic board issue. Also never received ANY correspondence from apple regarding this issue. It should not have been difficult considering I had applecare on the computer. Fortunately, I talked to an exceptional senior advisor at applecare when my Nvidia crashed (this is after taking the computer to the genius goons at the Apple Store who fed me with so much misinformation it was sad. I received a new logic board and no only is the display back up and working but issues with the trackpad were also resolved.
I also have a MBP purchased in Dec 2007, ordered online and shipped, purchased AppleCare so they had my info, I have not moved. I have never received any notification about a faulty part, it should not be my responsibility to scour the web for possible recall information on a product, why would I think my brand new MBP would have an issue? I have received recall information in the mail for my car, why didn't apple go to the same lengths to notify it's customers?
Then you've had five years of use. Time to move on.
Wonderful! Now they'll be able to run the test again. Don't expect anything, though, even if it comes back 'Nvidia'.
I don't appreciate your condescending tone.
I just left my genius appointment and they are fixing my MBP at no charge to me. It would not boot so they couldn't run any tests but I went in prepared and stated the facts. It wasn't easy but I am determined... was there for an hour and 15 min, talked to a 'genius' and 2 managers.
I just left my genius appointment and they are fixing my MBP at no charge to me. It would not boot so they couldn't run any tests but I went in prepared and stated the facts. It wasn't easy but I am determined... was there for an hour and 15 min, talked to a 'genius' and 2 managers.
Well this just happened to my old laptop. I first found out about this at this time. I don't ever recall hearing about this before. It is the GPU failure for sure. I luckily had the MBP set up for remote screen sharing and could run it remotely without it's screen. The system report shows integrated graphics and no Nvidia card at all. I am way past the deadline of course so doubt that I will even try since they would probably not do it. At least it still runs without the screen...
It happen´t to my former great MBP also. It was 4 years and 3 months old. Not that old for a HW of this quality, I thought. This should have happen´t to me sooner, but unfortunately, it didn´t.
Apple Store and Service denied any wrongdoing, when I complained. Instead of that, I was given a flyer for the MB Air. Worst service that ever encountered to me. Apple didn´t want to serve me when I suffered from a MBP that costed me USD 2700 approx.
I repaired it by myself and re-heated the whole logic board with the bad connections. Now it works, if also with very bad performance (fans running all the time while switched on, battery now broken).
I use my good old MBP now as a simple means to print letters and pictures. It sits directly wired to the printer and waits for a job. That´s the only job, a product from Apple is good for...
A month ago my 2008 MacBookPro suddenly developed what I quickly discovered was the fatal NVIDIA fault. But after reading posts from other UK owners I realised that in the UK we have the additional protection of the Sale of Faulty Goods Act. I got confirmation of the fault from the Genius Bar (nice chap there, genuinely knew what he was talking about), contacted Amazon, from whom I'd bought the laptop, and explained that the Act covered the purchase of any product which turned out to have been faulty when dispatched for up to 5 years (Scotland) or 6 years (England). I cited the Apple website's admission of fault and the legal case between Apple and NVIDIA. Amazon took it up with Apple on my behalf, and Apple collected my laptop, repaired it for free and even as a goodwill gesture gave me a brand new battery! My MacBookPro was returned by courier promptly, politely, and fully fixed for free. I am very, very pleasantly surprised - all credit to Amazon and Apple on this occasion! I couldn't recommend this approach more. Just stay calm, be polite, and cite the legal obligation if you bought your laptop in the UK.
Hey There- I am wondering how it went with your scenario. Am having a similar experience and disappointed that despite 3 fixes noone even bothered to inform me of this "problem". Deception? or ignorance? both are crappy! Now I am finally informed but feeling powerless as I am out of the time frames. Help!
Same experience- never notified despite being easy to find. Am not in the habit of searching for problems before signs and symptoms. Nor am I a "computer person" who would know what to look for and where. My MBP has the doomed nvidia and has had 3 replacement logic boards and I have not heard a peep about the nvidia/apple catastrophe. Only found out today as I felt brave enough to search for the reason for my initialization error with inserted dvd's. What a freaking shock to discover all of this. My question is to anyone out there who experienced a resolution... are they replacing with anything other than the faulty nvidia's? And are your problems still resolved? I am/was a huge apple fan but believe reality has altered my perspective- time to peel the apple off my truck.
are they replacing with anything other than the faulty nvidia's?
The NVidia chips are soldered to the motherboard so they can only put in the same boards, which have the same defects. They stopped manufacturing them years ago so they'll run out of motherboards eventually.
I am/was a huge apple fan but believe reality has altered my perspective- time to peel the apple off my truck.
It was NVidia's fault, there's not much Apple could have done about it. A $1500 laptop bought in 2007 would be worth about $300 today so perhaps Apple could have offered a trade-in value against the purchase of a new Mac or iOS device for remaining people affected by it but it could affect as many as 5 million people and I think they've covered the legally required timeframe for support. It sucks to be on the receiving end of it but it's the same for Apple. They don't want unhappy customers and the cost has probably been over $1b to sort out and the fault of NVidia.
It affected PC users too because they used the same chips.
Doesn't change the fact that I've been to the apple store 4 times and 3 logic boards later no one has mentioned the word nvidia to me. That's not about windows or nvidia- that's apple.
I'm surprised that no one has mentioned NVIDIA in the three times you've been to an Apple store, as when I took mine the chap recognised the fault straight away and then ran the 'NVIDIA' test on it (although having read up before going, I was primed to ask about it). If you live in the UK then I can only recommend doing what I did. I don't know whether my logic board has been replaced with one with the same potential problem or not, but if it fails again then I will do exactly the same...
"The NVidia chips are soldered to the motherboard so they can only put in the same boards, which have the same defects. They stopped manufacturing them years ago so they'll run out of motherboards eventually." , from Marvin's response.
I took my MBP in with a black out and was told for $310 they could ship it to Memphis and no matter what's wrong that price would cover it. Actually made it sound like I was getting a good deal. When I got it back I was told I got a new logicboard. Then she got new symptoms within 3 weeks and they sent it back to Memphis under warranty. This time was told they replaced the logicboard and increased the RAM(?) am not a techie so just felt pretty darn grateful. Then it blitzed 5 weeks later and was told the logicboard was replaced. Now I get "initialization error" each time I insert a dvd so I googled it and voila... found out all this about NVidia. News to me. Kind of disappointed. My MBP is like an older nice car with very low mileage so to hear it's not worth much and has a terminal disease is a nightmare.
Doesn't change the fact that I've been to the apple store 4 times and 3 logic boards later no one has mentioned the word nvidia to me. That's not about windows or nvidia- that's apple.
I refuse to believe that. It's just not possible if you're actually having this issue.
4 times at the apple store with 2 different MBP's and not one word from the apple geeks? does not matter what you refuse to believe. tis my experience... not yours. any explanations for the lack of transparency while you're offering your opinions? don't get me wrong, i could never go back to pc or windows. i am just not as fanatic anymore.
"it's statistically improbable that they'd never actually SAY that it's statistically improbable that they'd never actually SAY that".
Read my lips- The symptoms were always similar and each time they did their diagnostics and some times they sent them away for work and sometimes they found nothing upon evaluating and sent me home. NEVER ONE WORD ABOUT MY MBP NVIDIA GRAPHICS CARD. PERIOD. I don't give a rat's ass about your statistics. My complaint is currently beyond the problems and culpability issue and about transparency of this issue with MBP's.
Comments
New user here (PC builder, no less), just read through the whole thread- very interesting. Figured I would add my story...
My GF has a Macbook Pro, circa May 2008 with a Nvidia 8600M GT GPU. She has just recently been experiencing problems with her display. Some background: she leaves it on 24/7, and is in sleep mode except mornings (~8-9AM) and evenings (~5- 12AM).
One evening she pops it open and the display is blank- no video. I power the Mac down and I grab one of my Viewsonic monitors with a DVI to VGA adapter, plug it into the Mac, and power the Mac on to see if it's actually putting out any video... surprisingly the screen comes to life and all is well.
The next day, same drill- no display. Hook it up to the monitor, this time nothing. Start at step 1 again: turn off Mac, connect monitor, turn on Mac. Sure enough, attempt #2 is successful! Super, but going downhill.
Today I come home earlier than the GF, and attempt to wake the Mac... HD spins up, display is a no go. OK, been here before: hook up monitor, boot up, no display. OK, do it twice. Nothing. Third time is the charm (playing statistics)... no dice still. White flag is up when the GF arrives. She hits the power and with her magic Mac fingers, the beast awakens!! Great! Until the next time.
She is using it as I type this entry on my trusty, 8-year-old, handbuilt, forged, polished, PC. OK, maybe not forged or polished, but the other adjectives are true.
So this problem drove me to this forum and this post. A new logic board seems like the catch-all problem-solver, but no thanks for 9 bills (http://www.ifixit.com/MacBook-Parts/MacBook-Pro-17-Inch-Model-A1229-2-4-GHz-Logic-Board/IF187-058?utm_source=ifixit_guide&utm_medium=guide_intro&utm_content=required_items&utm_term=macbook_pro_17"_models_a1151_a1212_a1229_and_a1261).
Ebay guy seems legit for $170 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/MacBook-Pro-A1260-A1229-A1226-A1211-logic-board-REPAIR-/230633002794?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35b2cc572a#ht_2688wt_983), however does anyone on this forum have experience with this eBayer? Are there any other viable options I can look at?
Thanks in advance for the help. I'll be sure to post back results if I go with the eBay fix, or otherwise - all based on your responses.
Thank you to Tallest Skil for the links!
The eBay guy has some negative feedback but none about the 80 logic board repairs he's done on that model so I'd say it's the best option. Just be sure to remove the hard drive and back it up if possible, possibly remove any sexy pics of your girlfriend on there or other personal info before sending it. The drive can get damaged during shipping.
Also be aware that the repair most likely involves a used part because they were manufactured so long ago - they won't have made any new parts for a long time. The defect will appear in all machines after a given time and people have found that a replacement part can fail soon after a repair. They do give a 30-day warranty though.
I had to join to reply to your insensitive and ignorant comments.
Quote:
You were given four years from purchase date to take it in and get it fixed. That's plenty of time for any excuse.
As many times as you might repeat that Apple notified customers twice about this issue, it is not true. I purchased applecare with my 2008 macbook pro and had discussed problems numerous times. Never was I told about a logic board issue. Also never received ANY correspondence from apple regarding this issue. It should not have been difficult considering I had applecare on the computer. Fortunately, I talked to an exceptional senior advisor at applecare when my Nvidia crashed (this is after taking the computer to the genius goons at the Apple Store who fed me with so much misinformation it was sad. I received a new logic board and no only is the display back up and working but issues with the trackpad were also resolved.
I also have a MBP purchased in Dec 2007, ordered online and shipped, purchased AppleCare so they had my info, I have not moved. I have never received any notification about a faulty part, it should not be my responsibility to scour the web for possible recall information on a product, why would I think my brand new MBP would have an issue? I have received recall information in the mail for my car, why didn't apple go to the same lengths to notify it's customers?
Originally Posted by HappyAcresKY
I also have a MBP purchased in Dec 2007…
Then you've had five years of use. Time to move on.
I was also able to get it to boot…
Wonderful! Now they'll be able to run the test again. Don't expect anything, though, even if it comes back 'Nvidia'.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
Then you've had five years of use. Time to move on.
Wonderful! Now they'll be able to run the test again. Don't expect anything, though, even if it comes back 'Nvidia'.
I don't appreciate your condescending tone.
I just left my genius appointment and they are fixing my MBP at no charge to me. It would not boot so they couldn't run any tests but I went in prepared and stated the facts. It wasn't easy but I am determined... was there for an hour and 15 min, talked to a 'genius' and 2 managers.
Originally Posted by HappyAcresKY
I just left my genius appointment and they are fixing my MBP at no charge to me. It would not boot so they couldn't run any tests but I went in prepared and stated the facts. It wasn't easy but I am determined... was there for an hour and 15 min, talked to a 'genius' and 2 managers.
Good. Congrats.
Well this just happened to my old laptop. I first found out about this at this time. I don't ever recall hearing about this before. It is the GPU failure for sure. I luckily had the MBP set up for remote screen sharing and could run it remotely without it's screen. The system report shows integrated graphics and no Nvidia card at all. I am way past the deadline of course so doubt that I will even try since they would probably not do it. At least it still runs without the screen...
It happen´t to my former great MBP also. It was 4 years and 3 months old. Not that old for a HW of this quality, I thought. This should have happen´t to me sooner, but unfortunately, it didn´t.
Apple Store and Service denied any wrongdoing, when I complained. Instead of that, I was given a flyer for the MB Air. Worst service that ever encountered to me. Apple didn´t want to serve me when I suffered from a MBP that costed me USD 2700 approx.
I repaired it by myself and re-heated the whole logic board with the bad connections. Now it works, if also with very bad performance (fans running all the time while switched on, battery now broken).
I use my good old MBP now as a simple means to print letters and pictures. It sits directly wired to the printer and waits for a job. That´s the only job, a product from Apple is good for...
A month ago my 2008 MacBookPro suddenly developed what I quickly discovered was the fatal NVIDIA fault. But after reading posts from other UK owners I realised that in the UK we have the additional protection of the Sale of Faulty Goods Act. I got confirmation of the fault from the Genius Bar (nice chap there, genuinely knew what he was talking about), contacted Amazon, from whom I'd bought the laptop, and explained that the Act covered the purchase of any product which turned out to have been faulty when dispatched for up to 5 years (Scotland) or 6 years (England). I cited the Apple website's admission of fault and the legal case between Apple and NVIDIA. Amazon took it up with Apple on my behalf, and Apple collected my laptop, repaired it for free and even as a goodwill gesture gave me a brand new battery! My MacBookPro was returned by courier promptly, politely, and fully fixed for free. I am very, very pleasantly surprised - all credit to Amazon and Apple on this occasion! I couldn't recommend this approach more. Just stay calm, be polite, and cite the legal obligation if you bought your laptop in the UK.
Hey There- I am wondering how it went with your scenario. Am having a similar experience and disappointed that despite 3 fixes noone even bothered to inform me of this "problem". Deception? or ignorance? both are crappy! Now I am finally informed but feeling powerless as I am out of the time frames. Help!
Same experience- never notified despite being easy to find. Am not in the habit of searching for problems before signs and symptoms. Nor am I a "computer person" who would know what to look for and where. My MBP has the doomed nvidia and has had 3 replacement logic boards and I have not heard a peep about the nvidia/apple catastrophe. Only found out today as I felt brave enough to search for the reason for my initialization error with inserted dvd's. What a freaking shock to discover all of this. My question is to anyone out there who experienced a resolution... are they replacing with anything other than the faulty nvidia's? And are your problems still resolved? I am/was a huge apple fan but believe reality has altered my perspective- time to peel the apple off my truck.
The NVidia chips are soldered to the motherboard so they can only put in the same boards, which have the same defects. They stopped manufacturing them years ago so they'll run out of motherboards eventually.
It was NVidia's fault, there's not much Apple could have done about it. A $1500 laptop bought in 2007 would be worth about $300 today so perhaps Apple could have offered a trade-in value against the purchase of a new Mac or iOS device for remaining people affected by it but it could affect as many as 5 million people and I think they've covered the legally required timeframe for support. It sucks to be on the receiving end of it but it's the same for Apple. They don't want unhappy customers and the cost has probably been over $1b to sort out and the fault of NVidia.
It affected PC users too because they used the same chips.
Doesn't change the fact that I've been to the apple store 4 times and 3 logic boards later no one has mentioned the word nvidia to me. That's not about windows or nvidia- that's apple.
"The NVidia chips are soldered to the motherboard so they can only put in the same boards, which have the same defects. They stopped manufacturing them years ago so they'll run out of motherboards eventually." , from Marvin's response.
I took my MBP in with a black out and was told for $310 they could ship it to Memphis and no matter what's wrong that price would cover it. Actually made it sound like I was getting a good deal. When I got it back I was told I got a new logicboard. Then she got new symptoms within 3 weeks and they sent it back to Memphis under warranty. This time was told they replaced the logicboard and increased the RAM(?) am not a techie so just felt pretty darn grateful. Then it blitzed 5 weeks later and was told the logicboard was replaced. Now I get "initialization error" each time I insert a dvd so I googled it and voila... found out all this about NVidia. News to me. Kind of disappointed. My MBP is like an older nice car with very low mileage so to hear it's not worth much and has a terminal disease is a nightmare.
I refuse to believe that. It's just not possible if you're actually having this issue.
4 times at the apple store with 2 different MBP's and not one word from the apple geeks? does not matter what you refuse to believe. tis my experience... not yours. any explanations for the lack of transparency while you're offering your opinions? don't get me wrong, i could never go back to pc or windows. i am just not as fanatic anymore.
Right; if you were there for the nVidia defect each time, it's statistically improbable that they'd never actually SAY that.
For something nVidia, not Apple, did?
"it's statistically improbable that they'd never actually SAY that it's statistically improbable that they'd never actually SAY that".
Read my lips- The symptoms were always similar and each time they did their diagnostics and some times they sent them away for work and sometimes they found nothing upon evaluating and sent me home. NEVER ONE WORD ABOUT MY MBP NVIDIA GRAPHICS CARD. PERIOD. I don't give a rat's ass about your statistics. My complaint is currently beyond the problems and culpability issue and about transparency of this issue with MBP's.
Good Day.