Chosen Solution
Hi! I’ve got a 15" aluminum Pro that is not behaving. Typically when powered on, the optical makes its startup noise, the screen stays black, and the sleep light glows. The chime noise does NOT sound. Occasionally when I try various things such as reseating/changing the RAM, pulling the battery, etc., I’m able to get it to power on, screen and chime and all, and to act perfectly. When it does this it stays working for most of a day, but just when I think it’s “fixed”, it goes back to black screen/glowing sleep light mode. I’ve ruled out AC, battery, memory, and the memory slots. My first thought is that this machine may have the Nvidia GPU issue, because it is within the range of machines that could potentially have the issue, and that issue is becoming more prevalent in general. However, I’ve dealt with many of those machines, and they usually do chime and act as if they are working, aside from the black screen, whereas this one goes into the odd mode I’ve described above, with no chime. There is no external video when it’s in this mode, but external video works fine when the machine is working. Does anyone have any ideas, and does anyone have an opinion as to whether or not this could still be the Nvidia issue? My next step is to replace the DC-in board, but if it seems likely to be the Nvidia issue I’ll take it to the Apple store instead (because it’s within the 4 year window, and they would replace the board if it qualifies). Thanks! John
It looks like the test may be available on Torrents. Will let you know if I can get a successful download. This would be a great time saving tool if we can get it. http://www.torrentreactor.net/search.php…
this is the best way to go there in apple store for checking if this model has Nvidia 8600M GT graphics then they will replace it within the 4 years of purchase of this laptop. MacBook Pro 15-inch and 17-inch models with NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processors MacBook Pro (17-Inch, 2.4GHz) MacBook Pro (15-Inch, 2.4/2.2GHz) MacBook Pro (Early 2008) These computers were manufactured between approximately May 2007 and September 2008.
This is going to be either a bad NVIDIA or GPU solders and needs to be reflowed. I own mobilemactechs.com and I do them all the time for $250.
You have bga problem, need rework or reballing this bga chip.This solve your problem. We are in Spain and we have a profesional bga rework machine to do this work,if you need contact us. www.netcomplanet.com Best regards, Pablo Figueira.
Hello. I’m wondering what the final solution was as I’m having the exact same problem. One addition, I noticed the mac running hot and see some damage to the plastic strip that runs along the hinged side. The damage may have been there previously and I just noticed it, or the machine could have gotten hot enough to melt the edge of the plastic. I’m not at all technically savvy, but I’ve been using macs since the beginning. If any answer could be broken down into layperson’s terms, that would be fantastic. Thanks in advance! MHP
