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MacBook Pro only turns on during sunny days?

Apple MacBook Pro "Core 2 Duo" 2.6 15" (08) Specs

Identifiers: Early 2008 - BTO/CTO - MacBookPro4,1 - A1260 - 2198

Ok, I just want to start by saying that I have already scoured the iFixIt forums and the rest of the internet in hopes of solving my issue. While iFixIt has actually helped me in solving my issue temporarily, I still have not been able to completely eradicate my problem. So let me begin by giving some background...

I bought my first MacBook Pro back in October of last year (2010) from eBay. It was used, but appeared to be in excellent condition and came with an SSD, so I went for it. It is the most recent model of the aluminum MacBook Pro's (the A1260) before Apple began producing the unibodies.

Anyway, never had a single problem with the computer up until a couple weeks ago. Maybe sometimes the computer would not wake from sleep, but nothing a good hard shutdown couldn't fix. Now, just a couple weeks ago, I come home after work to turn on my computer and nothing happens. The night before I had actually disconnected the Mac from the magsafe connector because a couple days before we had gotten some power surges and I was being extra cautious. But it didn't turn on. I tried everything: switch batteries (I have two), reset the SMC, reset PRAM, power cycle, make sure the memory was seated correctly, tried other power adapters, etc. I scoured the iFixIt forums for answers, seeing that some people have experienced the same problems... and the answer was almost always a bad logic board. However, after several attempts to get the computer to power, I was finally able to get the white light to blink.

I work at my university's IT department and I know how to get in contact with Apple Support without having to pay the phone service fee when your Mac is not under warranty. Anyway, after an hour on the phone with an Apple Supervisor I was unable to convince him that my nVidia graphics chip had died and needed to be replaced.

Since the computer was definitely turning on (I had a white light), the answer that the logic board was dead didn't seem right to me. Power seemed to be the issue after reading many problems on the iFixIt forums, and I switched out the left I/O board from a known good MacBook Pro A1260 and tried to boot. The computer booted, white Apple screen and all. This pleased me, because the department can always get theirs fixed for free since it is still under warranty. However, this was not the end of my problems, because after a couple days the computer, once again, failed to boot, giving me that white blinking light. So, it wasn't the I/O board after all? Not sure, but after wiggling some cables around inside, making sure everything was snug, I got the computer to boot again. And, once again, after a day or so, the Mac fails to boot.

I find it hard to believe that the logic board is dead. The computer booted... I even got to install Lion on it yesterday and watch several TV shows last night in HD. The computer works... there must be something loose or something that can be fixed that doesn't cost $900. Does anyone else experience this? Is there a way I can get my nVidia GPU to "stop" working and produce the code necessary for an Apple repair? I think it's insane that Apple won't fix MacBook Pro's with nVidia GPUs even though the GPU themselves don't fail completely. I've read online that sometimes the computer will not boot without all the parts in working order (i.e. SuperDrive, GPU, CPU, etc.).

Please feel free to ask any questions. I am extremely tech savvy and have literally exhausted all of my options short of replacing the entire computer.

Risposto! Visualizza la risposta Anch'io ho questo problema

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Bump. Any ideas?

da

Bump. Anyone?

da

+ one of the most well stated problems I've seen. I wish I had an answer that was half as good. I do have a "final solution", that will work but let's see if we can't figure it out first. Please tell us about the SSD drive and its location. Also the RAM configuration and brand (brands). The last three figures of your serial number.

da

Thanks mayer - As an computer technician myself I can truly appreciate a nicely outlined and detailed problem. Details help you help me, and that's my goal. I only wish my customers were as detailed as myself. :P

The SSD drive is located where any hard drive disk is located on the MacBook Pro A1260, on the left side of the computer under the Left I/O Board. The specifications for the SSD are as follows:

Corsair SMFSSD-128D1 128.0 GB

Firmware 1.0

Interface: USB (Serial ATA)

Transfer Mode: SATA/300

Memory specifications are as follows:

BANK 0/DIMM0 - 2 GB - DDR2 SDRAM - 667 MHz - Status: Ok

BANK 1/DIMM1 - 2 GB - DDR2 SDRAM - 667 MHz - Status: Ok

Both are Crucial brand memory sticks.

The last 3 figures of my serial number are: YK0

da

I would like to stress how much I have babied this computer - never once dropped it, spilled beer on it, etc. No smoke, excessive heat, etc. I'm its primary and only user. It's a beauty of a machine. There's really no reason I can think of for it to be behaving like this. While my first thought was there might have been water damage caused by the previous owner, several times "under the hood" have yielded no signs of water corrosion on the logic board or any other part of the computer.

da

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Soluzione Prescelta

The very first thing that hit me was that you drained that battery all the way down. I have this model and if I leave it on or it goes to sleep and the battery completely drains it will not start or do anything till it has about twenty minutes of charge. I can plug it in, hit the start button, wake away and as soon as it has some charge it will start up on its own.

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Is there any pattern to the blinking lights?

da

Like I said before: Sometimes the white light goes bright, then just dim and stays dim. Other times, it is a constant, consistent blinking white light. It does boot up with the battery and without the battery, but also sometimes fails to boot with and without the battery. I also use the 85W Magsafe Adapter that came with the machine.

da

I was hoping for an answer that would give me a clue to your problem.

da

Well in short, no. Most commonly and recently I have seen just a steady white light. No patterns or anything. Is there anything else I can answer to give you a better idea?

da

Last resort. I went to this last week myself on a 2009 MacBook. Apple replaced the logic board, the screen, the LVDS cable and the bottom case.

You can go directly to Apple for a "Flat Rate" $280 fee. Note, if you go to a ASP -Authorised Service Provider, they are not bound by the flat rate and it will probably cost double or triple. The flat rate is not meant to make money but keep customers. Here's where to contact them: http://support.apple.com/kb/HE57

da

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I've heard quite a bit about ssd reliability issues, what model ssd is it?

I have the same computer, and I've had some major issues with batteries. Will it boot without the battery plugged in?

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I haven't heard any issues with SSDs and Macs since I've had it, other than Apple's lack of support for 3rd party SSDs [even under Lion :'( ]. Like I've stated above, it will boot with and without the battery, plugged in or otherwise. Sometimes if the computer is not plugged in and on battery power it will boot to the Apple logo and then shut off. But upon connecting the Magsafe and try another boot, it will fully boot to the login screen. Everything I've experienced and read on the IFixIt forums point to a power or GPU issue. Either the MacBook Pro isn't getting enough power or the GPU fails and therefore the computer fails to boot.

da

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Did you try to run the computer without the top case attached by powering it directly from the logic board ?

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Hi,

I am having the same problem with my Macbook Pro 2011 model. The gist of it is this. It turns on sometimes and sometimes it just doesn't bother to. The sleep light either keeps blinking or shines, then dims.

Currently, it has turned on and now I am afraid to turn it off. Even went to the Apple service center. Those people diagnosed it as the fault of the logic board which I don't think is the case. I am not willing to spend so much on a good-for-nothing machine anyways.

But, I just want resolutions to my problems. Otherwise, I think I would have to sue Apple for selling me a product with a manufacturing defect. Urgent help needed. Please help me!

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Daniel S sarà eternamente grato.
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