2011 MacBook Pro won't power up

[carmen617]

2011 MacBook Pro dropped off, system was crashing intermittently. I ran Apple Hardware Diagnostic and got a RAM error, 4mem/64/40000000. Opened the case, reseated the RAM, ran AHD multiple times and never got another error. Downloaded and ran Rember and it found no problem with the RAM. Shut down the machine, and now the dratted thing is dead - won't restart, no lights, no nothing. Tried reseating the RAM again, checked around for anything not connected, have tried different power outlets and a different power adapter, tried resetting the SMC, nothing.

Any suggestions?

 

[Markverhyden]

Remove the HD and ODD?
Disconnect the battery and use just the AC Adapter?

 

[carmen617]

Remove the HD and ODD?
Disconnect the battery and use just the AC Adapter?

Thanks, will give it a try.

 

[carmen617]

Thanks Mark, disconnecting and reconnecting the battery did the trick. Now, as far as what I should tell the client, any suggestions there? You clearly have a lot more Mac experience than I do, and I don't have the tools or expertise to do more than the basics (hard drive, RAM upgrades, updates, etc.). This computer belongs to a girl who is about to graduate high school and is off to college in the fall. Her parents say it "doesn't owe them a thing" but they want it to last until they get her a new college laptop in August. Any recommendations, or should I just charge them a diagnostics fee and tell them to get her college laptop a few months early?

 

[FremontPC]

Tough call. As I recall the 2011's had a GPU problem, but Apple has an active recall on that afaik. Roughly, if it acts up in front of one of their techs, they'll replace the logic board with an upgraded unit. If it does the same thing after a couple of logic board replacements, they'll replace the entire laptop with a new one.

 

[occsean]

Tough call. As I recall the 2011's had a GPU problem, but Apple has an active recall on that afaik. Roughly, if it acts up in front of one of their techs, they'll replace the logic board with an upgraded unit. If it does the same thing after a couple of logic board replacements, they'll replace the entire laptop with a new one.

Only the 15's had the GPU problem as they had a discrete GPU as opposed to the 13's integrated one. As for the REP it ended finally on December 31, 2016. I had a customer miss it by 45 days. I even went so far as calling in, escalating to Senior Adviser, and then to Customer Relations. They wouldn't cut a CS code for me under any circumstances.

At this stage of the game 2011 15 is a ticking time bomb

 

[Krynn72]

Tough call. As I recall the 2011's had a GPU problem, but Apple has an active recall on that afaik. Roughly, if it acts up in front of one of their techs, they'll replace the logic board with an upgraded unit. If it does the same thing after a couple of logic board replacements, they'll replace the entire laptop with a new one.

The Apple repair extension ended Dec 31, 2016, unless you bought it new less than 4 years ago.

The 2011 model is a low value item due to this very common failure. Does the no-power issue return when the battery is plugged back in? If so, just sell the repair as-is and let 'em know it needs to be plugged in (to the wall) when in use. Especially if its going to be replaced in a couple months regardless.

 

[Markverhyden]

Based on your previous posts @carmen617 you've got the basics down pat. Unfortunately, due to Apple's attitude, there is no really reliable aftermarket repair for their machine's as there is no reliable source of OEM parts. Also, do you have tools like Disk Warrior and Tech Tools Pro? They are reasonably priced. And DW does wonders with file system problems.

The reason I recommended unplugging the battery is that tends to interfere with an SMC reset. Apple's instructions for resetting SMC on laptops assumes an EU, not a tech. Even with laptops with no EU removable battery a tech can pop off the back and disconnect the battery.

Yes, they got their money's worth out of this machine. Going forward? If possible give it a little more test time. Give it a bunch of reboots and shutdown/power ups. A couple more AHT's in between. Those models are pretty reliable. Then move to usage patterns. The problem with many notebook users is they tend to just close the lid rather than shutdown. I've seen this problem with W10 laptops as well. They will store info in the hibernation file which gets corrupted and prevents a proper boot. If things look good then there should be few problems going forward and it should be good until the next upgrade.

Personally I'd discuss a possible upgrade if they want to keep the machine. I really like these as they have more ports as well as an opti drive. I've upgraded an original purchase, 2011 13" MBP, as well as a recently purchased used machine, 2012 13" MBP, to SSD and maxed the RAM. Boot times are within a few seconds of a top of the line MBP Retina. The good news is they use standard SATA connections so the drive price is much lower than M2's, etc.

What to charge? Not sure of your pricing structure. If it was me I'd be looking at something like $100 with a 30 day guarantee. Best of luck!

 

[occsean]

I've upgraded an original purchase, 2011 13" MBP, as well as a recently purchased used machine, 2012 13" MBP, to SSD and maxed the RAM. Boot times are within a few seconds of a top of the line MBP Retina.

My everyday carry is an upgraded 2011 13" i5. Bought it real cheap with the intentions of flipping it and started to like it. Damn solid machine for what it is.

 

[carmen617]

Based on your previous posts @carmen617 you've got the basics down pat. Unfortunately, due to Apple's attitude, there is no really reliable aftermarket repair for their machine's as there is no reliable source of OEM parts. Also, do you have tools like Disk Warrior and Tech Tools Pro? They are reasonably priced. And DW does wonders with file system problems.

The reason I recommended unplugging the battery is that tends to interfere with an SMC reset. Apple's instructions for resetting SMC on laptops assumes an EU, not a tech. Even with laptops with no EU removable battery a tech can pop off the back and disconnect the battery.

Yes, they got their money's worth out of this machine. Going forward? If possible give it a little more test time. Give it a bunch of reboots and shutdown/power ups. A couple more AHT's in between. Those models are pretty reliable. Then move to usage patterns. The problem with many notebook users is they tend to just close the lid rather than shutdown. I've seen this problem with W10 laptops as well. They will store info in the hibernation file which gets corrupted and prevents a proper boot. If things look good then there should be few problems going forward and it should be good until the next upgrade.

Personally I'd discuss a possible upgrade if they want to keep the machine. I really like these as they have more ports as well as an opti drive. I've upgraded an original purchase, 2011 13" MBP, as well as a recently purchased used machine, 2012 13" MBP, to SSD and maxed the RAM. Boot times are within a few seconds of a top of the line MBP Retina. The good news is they use standard SATA connections so the drive price is much lower than M2's, etc.

What to charge? Not sure of your pricing structure. If it was me I'd be looking at something like $100 with a 30 day guarantee. Best of luck!

Great, thanks, and that's exactly what I'll do. The machine is already upgraded - last year I put a 500GB Samsung SSD into it to help carry it through to the college buy. (Actually I love putting SSDs into these older Macs, they improve the user experience so much it makes me look like a hero). I was in the process of shut down, restart, call client when it decided to quit on me. I'll just charge them my normal flat rate and tell them it's as good as it's going to get for now, I think they will be fine with that.

 

[HFultzjr]

Not sure if it applies to this model, but I have seen flaky hard drive connectors/cables. Seems like it's a common problem that can cause intermittent issues on some machines. Easy fix.

 

[Krynn72]

Not sure if it applies to this model, but I have seen flaky hard drive connectors/cables. Seems like it's a common problem that can cause intermittent issues on some machines. Easy fix.

I deal with those all the time (have two in the the shop right now actually). But I don't think I have ever seen it cause issues with power.

That failure usually manifests itself in blinking ? Folders and weird symptoms when trying to reinstall MacOs or format the drive.

 

[Markverhyden]

My everyday carry is an upgraded 2011 13" i5. Bought it real cheap with the intentions of flipping it and started to like it. Damn solid machine for what it is.

Yep. Got tired of not having an opti drive and the extra ports. So I broke down and picked up the second machine since my first one went from my daughter to my dad.

 

[carmen617]

Yep. Got tired of not having an opti drive and the extra ports. So I broke down and picked up the second machine since my first one went from my daughter to my dad.

Truthfully, I can't understand the current Apple mindset with one stinking port for everything, forcing people to buy adapters if they want to, say, back up their computer at the same time as charging it. That's really not such an exotic combination, is it?

 

[Markverhyden]

Truthfully, I can't understand the current Apple mindset with one stinking port for everything, forcing people to buy adapters if they want to, say, back up their computer at the same time as charging it. That's really not such an exotic combination, is it?

LOL!!!

Apple does have a fairly good record with successfully predicting some technology charges, not all mind you. They were the first drop FDD's with the first iMacs as well as opti drives later on. I seem to remember reading something that Apple is betting that device inter-connectivity will be all wireless, but that's another discussion. But regular consumer needs are not the same as business or, in our case, IT people. In fact that's why I still have a couple of D630's with real serial ports. Those USB2Serial adapters are not bullet proof.