Macbook Pro A1211 no video

[quinnlaup]

Hey all

Just got a Macbook Pro A1211 in today which "seems" to boot but there is no screen output. I say it seems to boot because i hear the chime at startup. So far i have tried to get output using a DVI adapter (not the apple mini one) and pressing the "fn" button and "f7" but cant get output. I'm not sure if its a backlight issue as there is nothing on the screen at all. I would really appreciate any further suggestions.

kind regards

quinnlaup

 

[anonymous Mac Tech]

I would really appreciate any further suggestions.

PRAM reset then reseat RAM and try known good RAM for starters...

 

[Three Dog Net]

We just had an A1229 in here for the same exact thing. Had the thing for almost a month banging our heads against the wall. (The customer was on vacation, and in no hurry for it, so we would tend to it when things were slow.)

It's more than likely a reflow fix, just like the HP laptops with nVidia chipsets that do the same thing. We haven't acquired a reflow machine yet, but we found this trick on ifixit.com, and by God, it worked. Since the issue is bad circuit on the logic board, both we and the customer considered the thing dead to rights, so this solution was a "nothing to lose" endeavor. lol

So we turned computer on, heard the gong, everything started up just fine, minus the picture, of course. Then we turned it upside down so that the screen hung over the edge of our bench, keys on the bench. Then, we covered the laptop with a quilt, folded up to just cover the machine. Then we let it run for 3-4 hours. Afterward, we took the quilt off, shut it down, and let it cool down to normal "off" temperature.

Once it was cold, we hit the power button and OMG we had picture! We kept it running all day for about a week afterward, surfing, watching you-tube. One day we played a movie on repeat. Really put it through normal useage. Not so much as a hiccup. Customer picked it up almost 2 weeks ago, and he called Monday and told us everything was still working fine.

Yes...I'm serious. and yes, I'm just as flabergasted as you are.

 

[anonymous Mac Tech]

We just had an A1229 in here for the same exact thing. Had the thing for almost a month banging our heads against the wall. (The customer was on vacation, and in no hurry for it, so we would tend to it when things were slow.)

The A1229 is part of a repair extension program offered by Apple. If the machine met certain criteria, that more than likely would have been taken care of free of charge by Apple. Here are the details. The OP has a A1211 which is not covered, but still it's a good possibility the OPs machine needs a GPU reflow.

 

[quinnlaup]

Guys thanks as always for your quick responses

A GPU reflow/reball was what i feared the most but i am not sure this model has Nvidia GPU according to the link below it has ATI???

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook_pro/stats/macbook-pro-core-2-duo-2.16-15-specs.html

@Anonymous Mac Tech

To reset the PRAM do i remove the battery disconnect the mains then hold on the power button before putting the battery back in and powering on? I apologise for my ignorance in advance and really appreciate you taking the time to help me out.

@Three Dog Net

I've seen those fixes for XBOX as well they are a variation on the "Heat Gun" technique which i have also used on laptops with Nvidia GPU but they all came back in within 4 months so you may well get that one back!!


kind regards

quinnlaup

 

[Tintern Tech]

Hold down cmd, alt, P & R at boot. Wait for the chime. Keep holding. Wait for the second chime. Let go. PRAM reset.

 

[Three Dog Net]

@Three Dog Net

I've seen those fixes for XBOX as well they are a variation on the "Heat Gun" technique which i have also used on laptops with Nvidia GPU but they all came back in within 4 months so you may well get that one back!!

From my very brief experience, and more my research, reflowing in general is more of a temporary fix altogether. From what I understand, the circuit broke for a reason, typically crappy design and engineering. But I'm sure there's a few lucky people out there who had it reflowed and it worked forever.

We're looking to get a reflow machine this month so we can stop sending those HP dv's away. Any suggestions on a good one?

 

[quinnlaup]

Hey guys

tried resetting the PRAM and swapping out the RAM but still have no output does anyone have any further suggestions???

kind regards

quinnlaup

 

[quinnlaup]

Update

removed the logic board to check out the GPU it is an ATI chip not Nvidia am i right in thinking that this rules out the possibility of a reflow being required. Also not sure if it is related but when i removed the logic board i noticed an excessive amount of thermal paste on the CPU GPU and the one in the middle. I would really appreciate any further thoughts!!!

kind regards

quinnlaup

 

[Jimmy G]

To force the macbook pro computer to display video on an external monitor.First plug a USB keyboard and mouse into the computer.Power on the computer,close the lid after you hear the start up chime.If you still don't get any video on external monitor ,you may have a pre-post failure. Swap the memory out with known good memory to rule out a memory related problem.Another test is the keylock test- Press the Caps Lock key and verify its green LED comes on.If it does not -I would suspect a pre-post failure.
Veowkane

 

[quinnlaup]

@Jimmy G

thanks for your suggestions tried new RAM still no output also tried forcing it to display on the external screen as you described but got no output either. However the CAPS LOCK led does light when pressed after the chime.



In addition i decided to try and boot the system using a bootable disk although i have no output i can hear the system reading the disk. I am hoping that this indicates a display issue as opposed to a mobo issue??? I have also ordered a mac mini DVI connector to see if i can get output externally using it (previously i used the normal DVI port). Obviously i realise i am making a massive assumption here but hopefully the mini DVI connection will give me external output.


kind regards

quinnlaup

 

[anonymous Mac Tech]

@Jimmy G

thanks for your suggestions tried new RAM still no output also tried forcing it to display on the external screen as you described but got no output either. However the CAPS LOCK led does light when pressed after the chime.



In addition i decided to try and boot the system using a bootable disk although i have no output i can hear the system reading the disk. I am hoping that this indicates a display issue as opposed to a mobo issue??? I have also ordered a mac mini DVI connector to see if i can get output externally using it (previously i used the normal DVI port). Obviously i realise i am making a massive assumption here but hopefully the mini DVI connection will give me external output.

It's a wasted effort unfortunately. If there is no video out through DVI, there more than likely won't be any through mini DVI. It's a GPU, logic board issue. The cheapest way to fix it is going to be an AASP depot mail-in for a replacement logic board. You could try the reflow/reball method, but I'm not sure its going to be any more cost effective or how long it will hold.