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The case of the fade & inverting MacBook Pro screen


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The case of the fade & inverting MacBook Pro screen
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tomoe
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
 
2008-09-18, 12:07

Over the course of roughly the past week, the screen of my MBP has taken a shit. It started with this obnoxious thing, whereby whatever was on the screen would jiggle up & down. Every so often, the would do weird things like truncate part of the bottom half of the screen, and also add an extra few millimeters at the top of the menu bar. Usually, this problem would go away after a few minutes of fussiness. Things became worse ~4 days ago. During the "jiggling", the display would sometimes freeze, then begin this slow bleaching to an all white screen that eventually became an "inverted" color space and then eventually fade to a static, blocky gray colored screen. Additionally, if elements would display, all the GUI elements would shift erratically, as if either the LCD or GPU had ADHD. Up until yesterday, this stuck screen would go away if I opened & closed the MBP lid a few times. Now, it's essentially stuck at this gray screen.

So, this leads me to think it's either A) bad LCD, B) bad GPU, or C) Something else. I ran Apple Hardware test last week, and it turned up nothing. Anyone else have input on what it could be? I remember hearing back in June or July that nVidia made a whole slew of dodgy 8600m, but I haven't been able to confirm if my MBP has the defective GPUs. I (stupidly) opted to not get AppleCare. Does anyone know if the Apple store charges just to diagnose what's wrong with an out of warranty computer? Or do they look at it and say, it's probably X and would cost Y dollars to repair?

Seen a man standin' over a dead dog lyin' by the highway in a ditch
He's lookin' down kinda puzzled pokin' that dog with a stick
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PB PM
Sneaky Punk
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Vancouver, BC
Send a message via Skype™ to PB PM 
2008-09-18, 14:16

What model MBP do you have? The ones equipped with the 8600M GPU are known to have issues. Nvidia has admitted that this mobile GPU had issues in some runs, even up to this summer. If your machine is less than a year old you can still get Applecare.
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tomoe
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
 
2008-09-18, 14:52

I don't have it near me, but it's from the Mid 2007 update, Rev 3, and has the 8600M GPU, according to System Profiler. But yeah, I bought it ~13.5 months ago, so AppleCare is a no go.


D'oh.

Seen a man standin' over a dead dog lyin' by the highway in a ditch
He's lookin' down kinda puzzled pokin' that dog with a stick
  quote
PB PM
Sneaky Punk
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Vancouver, BC
Send a message via Skype™ to PB PM 
2008-09-18, 15:07

From the sounds of things its a bad GPU, which would mean replacing the logicboard, which = expensive ($800+).
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Gargoyle
http://ga.rgoyle.com
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: In your dock hiding behind your finder icon!
 
2008-09-18, 18:47

you could always ask. I have had some luck with machines that are only just outside the warranty. Especially if it's a possible known fault.
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tomoe
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
 
2008-09-21, 16:58

Friday, I hooked up the MBP to an external LCD, and, surprisingly, everything is working fine, with absolutely no hiccups (which seems odd if it is a GPU problem). Once I have the time I'll bring it into the Genius bar, and see if I can charm my way into a free out of warranty. I just really hate going to the Apple stores here in NYC, they're a perpetual clusterfuck. If I can't get it repaired free, then I'll probably just run it via an external, or sell it to someone who wants it for parts. Paying $800+ to repair it is ludicrous, especially since that's what I would pay at the campus computer store for a new MacBook on education + closeout discount (assuming MB's are updated soon).

Seen a man standin' over a dead dog lyin' by the highway in a ditch
He's lookin' down kinda puzzled pokin' that dog with a stick
  quote
tomoe
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
 
2008-09-25, 09:21

UPDATE

I took the MBP to the Genius Bar today, and they said it's either the display panel, or the screen inverter. Thankfully, the problem replicated itself immediately. They ruled out the GPU because the laptop still displayed perfectly on an externally attached monitor.

So, the four rad things that happened.
  • Repair is covered by Apple since the MBP is still two days within warranty (even though I'm looking at my receipt, and it says 9/7/07)
  • I bought AppleCare at 28% off with the student discount (oh, if only everything Apple was 28% off)
  • There is the cutest, nicest freckled girl with ebony hair and bright blue eyes working at the West 14th store.
  • The Genius Bar was running very, very smoothly; I was in and out, having purchased AppleCare, within 15 minutes.

Seen a man standin' over a dead dog lyin' by the highway in a ditch
He's lookin' down kinda puzzled pokin' that dog with a stick
  quote
Gargoyle
http://ga.rgoyle.com
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: In your dock hiding behind your finder icon!
 
2008-09-25, 17:48

Glad to hear that you are getting it all sorted out. I know what you mean about sometimes the stores just not seeming to be running that well - I went to the new one here in Liverpool a few months ago just after it opened. The guy I spoke to answered all of my questions (relating to A/V cables for a mac mini) with "Not sure, let me try and find out".

I guess regardless of how good Apple's training programs are, new staff will probably always have some jitters for a few days.

OK, I have given up keeping this sig up to date. Lets just say I'm the guy that installs every latest version as soon as its available!
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