Macbook Pro Issue

[bsacbob]

Hi All

Has anyone had the same issue as i am having with my MBP, the graphics become distorted and the whole screen pixelates into green and blue and then freezes. after hard reset vertical lines appear then the machine comes up with the message to restart again, i have done this many times and still get the same message.

The machine was purchased in Aug 2007 and is the 15 inch model, i have found some info on apple support, that points to Nvidia prob's under http://support.apple.com/kb/HE37

has anyone had any success in Thailand with this, i live in Chiang Rai.

Cheers

[wildframe]

Classic signs of a GPU failure I'm afraid. Whilst I haven't experienced this with a MBP I have had the same problem on 2 of my Nvidia equipped Dell M1330's. On the M1330 it usually necessitates a mainboard replacement. I have had 3 year total care warranties on mine so haven't had to pay a thing for mainboard replacements on both. Contact your local Apple centre and ask how much to replace the GPU.

Hope this helps. Cheers.

[nikster]

Yeah totally, the NVidia chips shipped with laptops at the time had a very high failure rate over time. Guess you have one of those that are affected. Search google if there was ever a recall of the model that you have, there might have been, and, if so, you can probably get it fixed for free at an Apple store.

Same if you have the 3 year extended warranty (which BTW you should always get).

The authorized Apple dealer in Chiang Mai will do it though knowing them, they might need some convincing.

If you have none of that stuff, then you might want to see if there are people online specialized in repairing these - I think there are some Mac shops in the USA that would do it. Official Apple prices would exceed $1000 for a new logic board and so won't be worth it, better get a new unibody MacBook Pro for not much more.

Last recourse is sending a whiny message about the injustice in the world pertaining to your now-broken expensive Apple product to [email protected] - since this is a known problem with the NVidia chip the Apple support will know that it's not your fault in any way and that really the only honest thing would be to replace those faulty parts for you free of charge. They might do it as a courtesy. Alternatively, whining at an official US Apple store could have the same effect.

Edited January 17, 2010 by nikster

[bsacbob]

THanks for the info guy's the syptoms look like a few other i have found on the internet, and it looks like i have a faulty chipset, i have spoken to my local Apple shop (well not that local 3 hours drive away in Chiang Mai) and they ask me to call in so the could run a diagnostic and see if it is indeed the Nvidia. If this is the case i hope those nice people at Apple with cough up and pay if not i will resort to whining to Apple as nikster suggested.

Nikster it sounds you have not much faith in the Apple shop in Chiang Mai, should i go tooled up !!

[nikster]

THanks for the info guy's the syptoms look like a few other i have found on the internet, and it looks like i have a faulty chipset, i have spoken to my local Apple shop (well not that local 3 hours drive away in Chiang Mai) and they ask me to call in so the could run a diagnostic and see if it is indeed the Nvidia. If this is the case i hope those nice people at Apple with cough up and pay if not i will resort to whining to Apple as nikster suggested.

Nikster it sounds you have not much faith in the Apple shop in Chiang Mai, should i go tooled up !!

Not sure what you mean by that but I've had some run-ins with them that were less than pleasant. One time, I had to do some serious convincing to get them to replace a faulty screen. The issue was a bit hard to see but the store manager implied I was using a "trick from the internet" to make it appear faulty which was ridiculous. And Apple fixed it under warranty anyway so I don't know whey they made so much trouble.

The other one was that they replaced the screen on my first MacBook Pro, not under warranty, the screen failed exactly 2 weeks after the warranty had expired. 20k baht! From now on I'll always get the 3 year extended one... anyway, they replaced the screen, however, as it slowly emerged, they had in the process removed one of the temperature sensors from my mainboard - it was just gone. They did not admit to that as unfortunately the only fix was to replace the entire logic board for over $1000. So I sent a complaint to Apple, and eventually the regional manager for Asia intervened and sent out a logic board free of charge, from Singapore. The store installed it and all was good again.

So yeah in hindsight... come "tooled up" whatever that means

[sleepyjohn]

I would ask firmly for a replacement out of guarantee or not, one expects more than a lousy year for a major non-moving component.

I gave my girlfriend an iBook whose screen went like yours. it turns out to be another very common fault and it's one big chip on the board whose multi-ball soldering comes loose. I added pressure with a ten baht coin from the inside, and it's even been done by making a fire on the chip with alcohol in a nightlight can sitting on the chip and watching a sample piece of solder placed there to melt (it's then hot enough). Still works after many months.

Don't know if something similar can be done Good Luck.

ps: nothing but good service from Apple CM though replacements from Singapore can be pathetically slow that's Apple not them.

Edited January 21, 2010 by sleepyjohn

[bsacbob]

Thanks guys for your input, turns out we have a nice new apple shop in chiang rai. The very nice people in there after a long debate agreed to send it to BKK and repair it foc, I only have to pay 500 baht shipping cost, I can live with that and my faith in Apple is now restored.

[nikster]

Thanks guys for your input, turns out we have a nice new apple shop in chiang rai. The very nice people in there after a long debate agreed to send it to BKK and repair it foc, I only have to pay 500 baht shipping cost, I can live with that and my faith in Apple is now restored.

Fantastic!

[schmutzie]

That's very lucky. I don't see how anyone could expect Apple or an Apple affiliate to support a PC component when you haven't purchased a warranty.

That's why they sell AppleCare and this should be in anyone's budget when shopping for Macs.

The only exception is when a systemic failure, eg. a batch of faulty motherboards or batteries are detected, in which case Apple will usually offer a replacement program. But this rarely happens until major customer dissatisfaction has been registered or petitioned.

Having said that, the general build quality seems much better these days.

But expect failure - it's really something that applies to all PC hardware which is essentially what a Mac is.

Sorry if this comes across as a wise-ass comment.

[bsacbob]

Thanks for your super sharp response, but if you had taken the time to read my OP you would have seen the comment in the foot of your last paragraph applies in this case.

Failure i don't think so, I pick up my MBP Friday FOC

[schmutzie]

Thanks for your super sharp response, but if you had taken the time to read my OP you would have seen the comment in the foot of your last paragraph applies in this case.

Failure i don't think so, I pick up my MBP Friday FOC

Was this meant for me? I don't get it. I read your OP. I stand by my comment: Expect failure, so protect against it.

You state that your laptop is now in BKK for repair. Since it requires repair that to me would imply that it has a fault.

You did not state whether this service was provided under AppleCare or whether you had purchased this or not. Only the purchase date.

Good luck and I hope you will have a perfectly working MBP by Friday.

[nikster]

Without re-reading the thread, he said it was fixed by Apple free of charge. And clearly it was one of those systemic component failures you yourself referred to.

[Tedhead]

Just thought I'd belatedly chip in on this issue, as I've just been through exactly the same process as bsacbob. My MacBook Pro started to freeze showing a green screen. Took it to the local Mac-approved shop here in Dublin and they said it's a known problem with the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processor.

Basically, everyone has a MBP warranty that covers the first year. But because the NVIDIA graphics processor on MBPs made between May 2007 and September 2008 are known to have an unusually high long-term failure rate, that part is covered by an extended 3 year warranty. In other words, your MBP might be out of one-year warranty, but any graphics card failure within the first 3 years of purchase is automatically covered and you'll get it replaced for free.

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2377

I'm currently using my trusty Powerbook warhorse, which has never let me down, and the MBP comes back from Apple repair tomorrow. No charge to replace the logic board, just something like 40 euro for courier/transport costs. As long as the GeForce 8600M GT graphics processor fails within 3 years of the original purchase, you should get a new logic board installed for free. That applies whether you're in Thailand, UK, Ireland or wherever.

Incidentally, one neat little trick that I learned in the course of this experience is to boot up from the original install CD and hold 'D' down on the keyboard. That will then bring up a panel to allow you to run a hardware test, either basic or extended. You can do it on any Mac you have, even if you're currently not experiencing problems, and it will alert you to any hardware issues that might be bubbling under.

Edited January 28, 2010 by Tedhead

[bsacbob]

Thanks for that Ted, i actually printed off the TS sheet to give the guys at the Apple shop and like you only paid for shipping.

Thanks for the shortcut tip, but does this pretty much do the same as Techtool Deluxe ?

Edited January 29, 2010 by bsacbob

[Tedhead]

Thanks for that Ted, i actually printed off the TS sheet to give the guys at the Apple shop and like you only paid for shipping.

Thanks for the shortcut tip, but does this pretty much do the same as Techtool Deluxe ?

I don't have Techtool Deluxe Bob, but having had a look at it on the interweb, it looks like a much more sophisticated program. The hardware test that you can run via your install disk is much more basic. It was useful for me though, as I wrote down exactly what the results of the scan said (yaddayadda....video controller....yadda...loads of numbers...) typed it into my Powerbook and then printed it off. Then when I went to the Mac shop, I told the tech guy the symptoms and the guy took one look at the print-out, wrote down "video board 3 yr warranty" on a docket, slapped it on the MBP and handed a carbon copy to me.

I should imagine the only benefit of the start-up disk hardware test was that it enabled me to run the test when the system wouldn't boot up at all from the hard disk. That and the fact that I didn't have any other diagnostic software to speak of. But Techtool Deluxe looks like a much more comprehensive tool.