Need some computer help

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mojopilot Nov 28, 2012

I have an older MacBook Pro, just older than the unibody ones. It's running lion if that matters. It is having an issue where it will not wake from sleep, or turn on if turned off. The screen is blank, the hard drive quickly makes its usual noise then stops and the cooling fan runs like normal.

I have attached an external monitor, no luck. I have removed the battery and disconnected the power, held the power button down for a minute or two. No luck with that either. I removed the ram, switched locations and even tested each stick individually in each slot. Again, no luck.

It has turned on a few times, although it seems to be related more to chance than to anything I do aside from simple persistence. On one occasion I took advantage of the situation and reformatted the hard drive and reinstalled the OS. That didn't help the issue any either.

It has been running slowly for quite awhile now, I suspected it was just trying to run lion with 2gb of ram, but maybe there was more going on.

Any ideas?
📽ʗяㅌョƿⓢӈṏ₩🤓 Nov 28, 2012

get a new computer !!!!
☠︎𝕰𝖆𝖘𝖙𝖜𝖔𝖔𝖉☠︎ Nov 28, 2012

Wasn't there a recall with the graphic card? I had the same problem and apple replaced the graphic card for free.
★〓⌖ Viper ⌖〓★ Nov 28, 2012

PM Johnny O, he works with some excellent Apple support engineers.
shaggysan Nov 28, 2012

On my older IBM/Lenovo laptops I would get a similar issues. Some could be fixed by reseating the processor and putting new thermal paste on between processor and hestsink.

One other issue could be the processor fan. Some laptops have more than one cooling fan in them. If the fan is not registering the correct speed or not spinning fast enough due to wear it could be that.

If a USB to VGA adapter will work on macs you could try that with an external monitor to see if the graphics card really is dead
mojopilot Nov 28, 2012

It seems to not be a screen issue, I've connected to my tv and that doesn't help. It's not turning on when I know it's off, no usual start up sounds, doesn't do the Mac tone...

Thanks for the direction, I'll pm Johnny.
Johnny O 💃 Nov 28, 2012

mojopilot wrote:
It seems to not be a screen issue, I've connected to my tv and that doesn't help. It's not turning on when I know it's off, no usual start up sounds, doesn't do the Mac tone...

Thanks for the direction, I'll pm Johnny.

Bad logic board, we have seen this many times. Not 100% sure unless we see it but it's very good chance that's what it is.
mojopilot Nov 28, 2012

That helps... With the new logic boards running about $300 for a used piece it's not what I wanted to hear, but it still helps. Do you have any idea what apple would charge to look at it to verify that is the problem?
Johnny O 💃 Nov 28, 2012

mojopilot wrote:
That helps... With the new logic boards running about $300 for a used piece it's not what I wanted to hear, but it still helps. Do you have any idea what apple would charge to look at it to verify that is the problem?

Most shops should be able to tell in 2-3 minutes flat. Be careful of buying used logic boards you may end up with the same problem in a few months.
mojopilot Nov 28, 2012

My thoughts exactly. But new ones are $800, I'd be better off with a new computer but its just not in the budget.

Thanks for the help!
shaggysan Nov 28, 2012

It's sucks it costs that much to fix a Mac. That's a very frustrating problem. But all brands no matter how nice or how much you spend will eventually have an issue somewhere.
mojopilot Nov 29, 2012

It was the logic board. Apple has a pretty cool deal, $310 to have it shipped off and made like new. Any problems they find are covered. Not bad at all considering they want $500 to do it in the store.

Thanks for the help!
☠︎𝕰𝖆𝖘𝖙𝖜𝖔𝖔𝖉☠︎ Nov 29, 2012

YOU wrote:
Wasn't there a recall with the graphic card? I had the same problem and apple replaced the graphic card for free.

My bad, i meant logic board.
W@sted🍻R@nger Nov 29, 2012

Call the "GeekSquad" @ Best Buy!