My MacBook Pro died!
December 30, 2010 8:14 PM Subscribe
My MacBook Pro stopped working two days ago. I turned it on one day and all it did was you heard the fan running, the disc drive in motion, and the light at the front lit (and lit solid when the lid is closed). Screen is off and there is no chime.
Ever since that it's all been the same. I put in a CD which it gobbled up, but it won't respond to any keystrokes and as such it won't eject it. In fact the CAPS LOCK key doesn't light up. I did all the troubleshooting steps to no avail. Not a RAM problem. Resetting PRAM and SMC didn't fix it.
This MacBook Pro is the late 2007 model which was bought back in July 2008, so it is out of warranty. It is in good aesthetic shape and was cared for well by me. I took it to college all the time.
I took it to the Apple Store and gave it to them. Repairs will cost $310 plus tax. I handed it over to the Apple Store as eBay doesn't sell it for much. I didn't pay yet and told them I will pay later. They will hold it in the store for 6 months according to the manager. I pleaded and pleaded and $310 was the bottom line.
I still have the paper that states the $310 repair thing and the diagnosis which is a bad logic board. The NVIDIA issue wasn't diagnosed which is on recall for out of warranty laptops of this model as the diagnostics wasn't able to be booted.
I work at a Staples part time and study in college. Soon I'm going to Brooklyn College for the Winter semester. I got full financial aid for the semester, not for the year as this is my first time getting financial aid as I'm living with low income earning relatives and not my parents as before who I will not speak to and they won't speak to me.
Also I thought about small claims court as many people have had this issue with their late 2007 MacBook Pros and if you search "MacBook Pro parts" on eBay, the majority are this laptop model MacBook Pros which died like mine did with the same exact symptoms and style of death. Lots of people had this happen with theirs and I'm as hopeless as they are.
Is there anything I can do other than paying $310?
Ever since that it's all been the same. I put in a CD which it gobbled up, but it won't respond to any keystrokes and as such it won't eject it. In fact the CAPS LOCK key doesn't light up. I did all the troubleshooting steps to no avail. Not a RAM problem. Resetting PRAM and SMC didn't fix it.
This MacBook Pro is the late 2007 model which was bought back in July 2008, so it is out of warranty. It is in good aesthetic shape and was cared for well by me. I took it to college all the time.
I took it to the Apple Store and gave it to them. Repairs will cost $310 plus tax. I handed it over to the Apple Store as eBay doesn't sell it for much. I didn't pay yet and told them I will pay later. They will hold it in the store for 6 months according to the manager. I pleaded and pleaded and $310 was the bottom line.
I still have the paper that states the $310 repair thing and the diagnosis which is a bad logic board. The NVIDIA issue wasn't diagnosed which is on recall for out of warranty laptops of this model as the diagnostics wasn't able to be booted.
I work at a Staples part time and study in college. Soon I'm going to Brooklyn College for the Winter semester. I got full financial aid for the semester, not for the year as this is my first time getting financial aid as I'm living with low income earning relatives and not my parents as before who I will not speak to and they won't speak to me.
Also I thought about small claims court as many people have had this issue with their late 2007 MacBook Pros and if you search "MacBook Pro parts" on eBay, the majority are this laptop model MacBook Pros which died like mine did with the same exact symptoms and style of death. Lots of people had this happen with theirs and I'm as hopeless as they are.
Is there anything I can do other than paying $310?
Response by poster: If I can get it back ASAP, what is the likelihood that I could be successful in a small claims case?
posted by antgly at 9:11 PM on December 30, 2010
posted by antgly at 9:11 PM on December 30, 2010
If the keyboard isn't lighting up, you have a power flow issue on the board well ahead of anything related to the video chip. Get it fixed. $310 is a reasonable repair for a logic board and labor.
posted by machaus at 9:17 PM on December 30, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by machaus at 9:17 PM on December 30, 2010 [1 favorite]
The NVIDIA issue wasn't diagnosed
An Apple Store can hook up your laptop to an external drive that is set up to test this specific NVIDIA problem. It takes a few minutes to run. I would ask for this test to be done. Can't hurt — you might end up with a free repair.
If I can get it back ASAP, what is the likelihood that I could be successful in a small claims case?
Probably close to zero. Your laptop was already out of warranty, so no one is under any obligation to do a free repair.
You'd be treated even more unkindly by Dell, HP or any other vendor, frankly. Those guys have zero sympathy for hardware defects in out-of-warranty gear. At least Apple does occasionally do hardware recalls, if the problem is serious enough.
So I'd ask for the NVIDIA test to be done. Maybe even get your laptop back and go to a different Apple Store to get this.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:37 PM on December 30, 2010 [1 favorite]
An Apple Store can hook up your laptop to an external drive that is set up to test this specific NVIDIA problem. It takes a few minutes to run. I would ask for this test to be done. Can't hurt — you might end up with a free repair.
If I can get it back ASAP, what is the likelihood that I could be successful in a small claims case?
Probably close to zero. Your laptop was already out of warranty, so no one is under any obligation to do a free repair.
You'd be treated even more unkindly by Dell, HP or any other vendor, frankly. Those guys have zero sympathy for hardware defects in out-of-warranty gear. At least Apple does occasionally do hardware recalls, if the problem is serious enough.
So I'd ask for the NVIDIA test to be done. Maybe even get your laptop back and go to a different Apple Store to get this.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:37 PM on December 30, 2010 [1 favorite]
This has happened to me with a MacBook Pro a few times and usually all it takes to repair is to take out the battery for a few minutes and then restart. But as for getting it back from the Apple Store now, I do not know.
posted by telegraph at 9:39 PM on December 30, 2010
posted by telegraph at 9:39 PM on December 30, 2010
For what it's worth, I had the NVIDIA problem on my MacBookPro and the Apple Store here just flat out replaced the entire motherboard (although mine, too, was out of warranty -- I've always had really great response from Apple when it comes to fixing known problems like this). Mine's been good as new ever since. I can't understand why your Apple Store is treating the issue differently.
Have you tried calling Apple's 800 number? Is the local Apple Store refusing to replace the board simply because the diag won't boot and prove the NVIDIA problem? Try calling the 800 number and making it clear that it's got all the symptoms of this known problem, yet the local store is refusing to do what corporate policy has been at all the other store locations (replace the board free of charge). It's worth a shot, if nothing else. And for future reference, call the 800 number first -- especially if it's a known problem like this one -- because they'll get the ticket started for you before you even step into the store.
Good luck!
posted by bitter-girl.com at 9:43 PM on December 30, 2010 [1 favorite]
Have you tried calling Apple's 800 number? Is the local Apple Store refusing to replace the board simply because the diag won't boot and prove the NVIDIA problem? Try calling the 800 number and making it clear that it's got all the symptoms of this known problem, yet the local store is refusing to do what corporate policy has been at all the other store locations (replace the board free of charge). It's worth a shot, if nothing else. And for future reference, call the 800 number first -- especially if it's a known problem like this one -- because they'll get the ticket started for you before you even step into the store.
Good luck!
posted by bitter-girl.com at 9:43 PM on December 30, 2010 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: bitter-girl.com: Nothing like that in their systems.
posted by antgly at 9:10 AM on December 31, 2010
posted by antgly at 9:10 AM on December 31, 2010
This doesn't sound like the NVIDIA issue. This is just a failed MLB, for a different reason, that exhibits similar issues. They would have ran the NVIDIA test as normal procedure generally, or if they felt the issue qualified. It clearly does not.
$310 is the flat rate repair charge to mail the machine to the Apple repair center, known as a depot repair. This is the cheapest way to replace the MLB.
The machine is OOW, and does not qualify under the NVIDIA repair extension program. $310 is more than reasonable, and they don't owe you anything else. Electronics fail. It sucks, but it happens.
You can call customer relations at 1-800-767-2775 and see if there is anything they would be willing to do for you, but it would be a huge favor on Apple's part. If you call, have the serial number of your machine handy, and be polite.
I work for an Apple Authorized Service Provider. This is the bottom line I'm afraid.
posted by BryanPayne at 10:16 AM on December 31, 2010
$310 is the flat rate repair charge to mail the machine to the Apple repair center, known as a depot repair. This is the cheapest way to replace the MLB.
The machine is OOW, and does not qualify under the NVIDIA repair extension program. $310 is more than reasonable, and they don't owe you anything else. Electronics fail. It sucks, but it happens.
You can call customer relations at 1-800-767-2775 and see if there is anything they would be willing to do for you, but it would be a huge favor on Apple's part. If you call, have the serial number of your machine handy, and be polite.
I work for an Apple Authorized Service Provider. This is the bottom line I'm afraid.
posted by BryanPayne at 10:16 AM on December 31, 2010
Response by poster: telegraph: I got my MacBook Pro repair cancelled. I just picked it up.
posted by antgly at 1:16 PM on December 31, 2010
posted by antgly at 1:16 PM on December 31, 2010
Just so you know, $310 for a logic board repair is really cheap. Just look at the price of replacement boards on eBay, and the labor involved in replacing a board is a pain in the ass.
posted by GnomeChompsky at 6:55 PM on December 31, 2010
posted by GnomeChompsky at 6:55 PM on December 31, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
When you dropped off your Macbook, you almost certainly signed a service agreement saying you would pay them for parts and labor on your out-of-warranty machine. There is no legal way for you to get it back without paying, so small claims court wouldn't work for you.
If you throw yourself at the mercy of the store manager, you might, might be able to get the laptop back with any repairs done removed; but given they've almost certainly already RMAed the dead board, probably not, and they have no legal obligation to oblige you.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. :/
posted by Andrhia at 8:50 PM on December 30, 2010