Dead MacBook Pro

MagicBoy

MagicBoy

MagicBoy

Soldato
Joined
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South Manchester
I think the GPU just went. Bah. :(

15" late 2011 2.2GHz ordered on launch day. No AppleCare.

Scrambled display for a half second when scrolling down a webpage in Safari then the screen went black. Powered the Mac off and back on, it chimes and there are green lines across the display. Fans start screaming, sticks at a grey screen and it powers off after about a minute. So that's 99% certain a bad AMD graphics chip then. On the upside target disk mode is working.

I'll be booking a Genius appointment and taking it in this week I hope...
 
Not cheap - £500 and that was with a 3rd party (although mine was for a 17 inch). Be prepared for the worse I'd say. I keep a really close eye on mine for temps now...
 
Depends how proficient you are with taking things apart, but if they quote that cost then it may be worth breaking out a heat gun and attempting a cheap fix on the GPU. If you replace the TIM and use an aggressive fan profile then it may buy you some time.

i appreciate that's not a long term solution, but it may help you.
 
£1600 worth of laptop really should last longer than two and a bit years. I'm not going to pay to get it fixed without a fight and without some assurance it won't fail in the same way.

My old 2006 MBP is still going strong with it's second owner, as is the alu MacBook that followed that. The 2011 should have a similar lifespan.
 
An update :

Had a nice chat with a gent on the genius bar. Mac passed all the basic diagnostics, well where you could read them through the green lines across the screen. After a second opinion a faulty graphics chip was diagnosed. Quoted £400 for a replacement logic board with 90 day warranty. Asserted my expectations for the product then had a chat with his manager. Apple are covering the cost of a replacement logic board.

So far, so good. My faith in Apples customer service is mostly restored. :D
 
MilanoChris said:
Does the sale of goods act not cover Apple products?

Glad you got a result in the end though.
Click to expand...

It does, and that's effectively what I'm using. I was dropping a large hint and giving Apple the option to do the honourable thing rather than kicking off.

I worked the other side of a customer service desk for the purple shirt brigade in the 90s. Being polite but firm gets you much further than not being polite. Apple store staff must see enough pain the bum customers without me adding to it.
 
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MilanoChris said:
Does the sale of goods act not cover Apple products?

Glad you got a result in the end though.
Click to expand...

As above, the sales of goods act isn't a warranty. Also, if you go into Apple and start waving the law around they tell you to deal with their legal department, so the 'disappointed customer' role is the best one to play.
 
Who in there right mind would spend £500 on a replacement board when a) it will end up with the same year GPU fitted and B) It's just a stupid amount of money. When you consider that people replace the GPUs with a later model one for around £150 ;)
 
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I'm not getting involved in the little ongoing spat.

For information - Apple emailed me the job sheet later that day and it was nearer £500 due to VAT on top.

Having looked into it a bit further in case it does go again I personally wouldn't go anywhere near a short term fix. There's a few companies around that will either reball the GPU with leaded solder or replace it entirely for sensible money. Bodging it with heat, be it the xbox towel trick, a domestic oven or a heat gun is only going to damage a logic board that can likely be salvaged by a professional with the correct equipment.
 
My 2007 MBP spent a good amount of time in the oven...
It's essentially a broken bit of kit, no harm dragging some extra life out of it.
Just as likely fail again when being fixed by the professionals (if it's a known issue, like in my case).

Decent that you stood your ground and got it fixed. Sounds like it just depends on the particular Apple store whether they give you decent treatment. :)
 
MagicBoy said:
An update :

Had a nice chat with a gent on the genius bar. Mac passed all the basic diagnostics, well where you could read them through the green lines across the screen. After a second opinion a faulty graphics chip was diagnosed. Quoted £400 for a replacement logic board with 90 day warranty. Asserted my expectations for the product then had a chat with his manager. Apple are covering the cost of a replacement logic board.

So far, so good. My faith in Apples customer service is mostly restored. :D
Click to expand...

Result! And glad Apple came through for you. Which store did you go to if you don't mind me asking?
 
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