View Full Version : 17" macbook pro dead after two months on charge but not used.
rusty sparrow
10th Oct 2016, 05:31
This macbook has been working fine since I bought it new about seven years ago - went to switch in on the other day and it's completely dead. Battery shows full charge - and I tried replacing it. No fans on - no sign of life at all.
Any ideas?
Background Noise
10th Oct 2016, 08:07
I worked through this page recently, for different symptoms from yours, but there is some guidance for no power, and a link to Apple's limited help, and a link to resetting the SMC which may be worth a try.
How to fix a Mac that won't start up: 10 fixes for a Mac that won't turn on - How to - Macworld UK (http://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac/10-steps-take-when-your-mac-wont-start-up-or-turn-on-3423817/)
rusty sparrow
10th Oct 2016, 21:23
Thanks Background Noise - tried those suggestions but it's completely dead so I think a trip to the Genius Bar is called for.
7 years old !!! Time for a new one.
Loose rivets
10th Oct 2016, 23:29
Can I have the old one please? Pretty please. :p
My first laptop was an insurance write-off Vaio. Win 95. It was written off after being sent to Brussels, a Sony place that had a dour man telling me a new M-Board would be 950 quid. "But, but, it only cost about that with all the kit."
He didn't care and then told me how the warranty was void if they found even one fingerprint inside. I gave up on him but not the computer. Finally I repaired the (vandalized) print and got it going. Student friend had got her payout so was happy for me to keep it.
rusty sparrow
11th Oct 2016, 11:26
Sorry LR - I've got 8GB of memory and a flash drive in it and it work wells. I'll possibly get one with a failed display from ebay and cobble a new one together. Good for another few years - it will retire when I can!
Well being an Apple product you can be sure that whatever repair is required, it won't be taxing.
PDR
SpringHeeledJack
12th Oct 2016, 11:05
7 years old !!! Time for a new one.
Heresy! Whilst I can appreciate the urge to replace and renew equipment at the first opportunity, for me if something 'just works' it's often less trouble in the long run to keep going. I too have an 'ancient' MBP that has been pimped up a bit and it still does a sterling job for my needs. The software does seem to be pleasing less sites, due to them upgrading their systems and configuring them towards the newest OS's, but I c an hold off spending over £2K on the newest steed for a while yet ;-)
To the OP, please let us know what the geniuses have to say. I hope that it's not the logic board which often renders the repair angle dead in the water.
rusty sparrow
12th Oct 2016, 11:10
Looks like a logic board failure. These appear quite common but repairs outside the apple network are around a £1-200. The fix is to reflow the soldered joints to the processor - one website recommends putting the board in a domestic fan oven http://ales.io/2014/03/09/how-to-bake-a-mac.html
SpringHeeledJack
13th Oct 2016, 09:39
Sorry to hear that mr sparrow, but at least the price has come down, when I checked for a friend last year it was £500+ for the logic board and then extra for miscellaneous items making it almost not worth it for their older MBP. As for the baking solution, you'd have to be feeling very confident the day you'd contemplate that :-)
EEngr
13th Oct 2016, 16:29
Possibly a dead CMOS battery?
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Core+Duo+PRAM+Battery+Replacement/297
rusty sparrow
14th Oct 2016, 07:34
Hadn't thought of that - but running Mac OS on cheaper and more repairable windows laptop looks like a better long term prospect How to run OS X on a PC - How to - Macworld UK (http://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac-software/how-run-os-x-on-pc-3632329/)
finncapt
15th Oct 2016, 09:34
I've managed to breath life into an old HP laptop by putting it in the oven (for my father in law).
It worked for a few more months but eventually became more trouble than it was worth.
The only purpose for doing it was that he, against my better judgement, had free upgraded it to win 10.
To extract an address book from win 10 (it stores them in a different method to previous versions) is a pain otherwise - even removing the drive and reading it with a linux distribution did not work.
May have been my lack of knowledge but I suspect not.
That aside, if the fan does not come on I would initially be thinking of a power failure of some kind.
rusty sparrow
7th Mar 2017, 16:37
Just had this returned after repair by eFix Ltd - 0333 577 0622
www.Macbook-Repairs.co.uk who charged me £130 diagnose the fault and then fix it by replacing the failed tantalum capacitors on the logic board. Repair took less than a week and they kept me informed all the way. Highly recommended if you have a crippled Mac!
India Four Two
8th Mar 2017, 02:12
rs,
I missed this thread when you first posted. I'm glad to hear you got it fixed.
I have an Early 2011 17" MBP, which had a problem that turned out to be the second GPU on the mother board (sorry, Apple - logic board). I had the GPU replaced by a local Apple repair shop for a very reasonable price.
It occasionally crashes, so I suspect there is still a logic board problem. When it finally dies, I'll get the board replaced - I don't want to give up the 17" matte screen.
I upgraded to a 1 TB SDD and it is adequately fast for my needs.