Any MAC repair smarties out there?

[TheSnowman]

I have an older MacBook Pro, but this thing has always still ran fast. I had no intentions of upgrading it either. A few weeks ago, whenever I'd be playing any kinds of videos online, rather it be youtube, or netflix, it would kind of hiccup and freeze every now and then. Well, it finally hung up and when I rebooted, it just booted to a grey screen.

I did a ton of checking online, but no one seems to have ALL the same issues. Here's what I know.

• I can't find my original install DVD's (probably 7+ years old in a box somewhere)
• I updated to Lion a few months ago and that's as high as my system will let me go.

• I AM able to boot up in safe mode and navigate and do things like normal.
• I can set it up as a "target" and pull files to my iMac no problem, and it recognizes it no problem.
• I do not have any other issues with the machine, nor had I added any new hardware of any kind that should have led to this.

So I guess my main question is, does it sound like it's some kind of a hardware issue. I've read things about the video cards being out, but they had other problems when people had that, like not even being able to get into safe mode.

If I could find my original discs I'd just pop that in and start from scratch, but seeing how I can't find those...do I have any other options to narrow this down? I guess I could always go to an Apple Store (2 hours away) worst case scenario, but just wondering if I can at least point to a problem where I am now.

 

[cgsigns_jamie]

What version of OS X?

If its a newer one you'll have a recovery partition you can boot to. If you can run disk utility and try repairing the permissions and see if that fixes it.

If you don't have the recovery partition you'll need to find a CD to boot to so you can run disk utility.

 

[LenR]

Try to repair disc permissions. If a ton were repaired restart the computer. If it restarts then see how it behaves. Clone the drive ASAP. If your drive is less than 4 or5 years old you might want to consider getting Alsofts' Disk Warrior, a great utility that repairs directory damage and identify disk issues. If you can't repair DPs and your hard drive is over 5 years old replace it with an SSD. OWC has a deal that includes a case and usb cable for your old drive. I put one in my MBP that was 6 or 7 years old and it runs so much faster it's ridiculous. Some drives die all at once and others will drag you down with them over time as your computer does weird stuff.

 

[WYLDGFI]

Zapping the P-Ram may help also. CMD-OPT-P-R on boot...let it chime 2 or 3 times. If you are running Lion...def try the utilities there. My personal fav utility application is Techtool pro...find its a bit better than Alsoft.

 

[TheSnowman]

It is running lion, but started out on Tiger originally. I put a 500 gig HD in it probably two years or so ago. I've never ran any of this stuff you guys are talking about (other than doing that reset that clears out all time settings and other details, I did that). I'll do some google searches with what you told me and see if I can get anywhere. Thanks for the tips.

 

[OldPaint]

do you need to fix MACS???? WOW..... didnt know they have problems..snicker snicker))))

 

[sinetist]

In Safe Mode see if you can run Disk Utility to repair permissions (as has been suggested) ... that might help.

 

[Typestries]

I bet it's a hardware issue. Especially if it's not the unibody style case, which I'm betting it's not. As they age, the torsion that takes place from grabbing it by the edges and moving it around, combined with aging solder joints, can cause this behavior. I've read about reflowing the board and replacing thermal paste, but never bothered, opting to part them out on ebay.

 

[TheSnowman]

Yea, that may be the way I go. She lived a solid 7 years with no issues...so I've got no problem with that kind of life on it. Every other computer I've had even desktops normally crap out after 5 years if I even keep them that long.

 

[TheSnowman]

Permission Repair didn't do anything different for me, although it fixed stuff. I finally found my original Tiger disks, so I'm going to install them and see if I can eventually upgrade back up to Lion. Gonna be a long day. My guess is in the end I'm going to throw the thing in the dumpster anyway.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

Permission Repair didn't do anything different for me, although it fixed stuff. I finally found my original Tiger disks, so I'm going to install them and see if I can eventually upgrade back up to Lion. Gonna be a long day. My guess is in the end I'm going to throw the thing in the dumpster anyway.

You know, in the end, I wouldn't feel bad after 7 years of what I can gather to be faithful service. 7 - 10 yrs seems to be the normal lifespan on mine. Power supplies are usually the things that kill mine though.

If you go Mac though again, I would try to stay away from the ones that have everything soldered on making replacement harder, if you even have that option anymore.

 

[TheSnowman]

I can't even get it to boot up with the tiger disks. I think it knows I want it to install it, but it just then goes to a blue screen and does nothing. She's had a good life...served her purpose...may be time to put her down.

I bought an iMac last year, so I'll probably just use this and my iPad a little more. It wasn't being used for important stuff since I got the iMac anyway. Too bad...

 

[CES020]

I don't know if this helps any, but I'll share my experience with it. I bought a used laptop to flip that had a bad logic board. Someone spilled water on it. They removed the hard drive.

I bought it, shipped it off to have the logic board repaired and ordered a replacement drive.

Got it back, plugged the replacement drive in and got the same thing you're describing. Gray screen, can't make it boot up, etc.

I was trying to load Lion on it. No matter what, it couldn't see anything. Then I bought the original install discs for it. I fired it up and it took them right away and finished the install fine. Then I upgraded to Lion. I do know that it required the original discs, and nothing else would work. I think I have 2 or 3 versions of the OS on disc and that's the only one that would work, the one that came with it. Don't know why, but it worked.

If that means anything to you, then good. If not, then sorry I couldn't help.

I've flipped 1/2 a dozen or so of them now. They are generally super easy to repair. I bought my niece one that the guy said the trackpad wouldn't work on. He practically gave it away because he said it was useless without that working. Brought it home, took it apart and turned an adjustment screw 1 turn, put it back together, worked like a champ. 12 months later, she's still using it. I actually like working on them.

 

[TheSnowman]

Haha, funny you say that. Probably the first month I had this, I spilled a FULL can of Root Beer all over the keyboard. I couldn't believe it. Ended up everything still worked (other than sticky keys) so I ordered a new keyboard, and it's been fine seven years later.

I did find my discs and I've been trying all kinds of boot things all day long, and I was about to throw in the towel, but wanted to get my disc out of the drive, so I kept trying to boot it again (I was getting some panic error now). Well, after the panic error a couple times, it just loaded up installer, and right now I'm at 90% installed.

Not sure if this'll fix it or not...but it's sure a lot further than I've been so far. Hopefully I can just keep upgrading till I'm back up to Lion, and get some more life out of this beast.

 

[jrsc]

have you considered just taking it to an apple store and asking them? They should be able to tell you the problem in a few minutes and if its software they will probably fix it for free right then.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

have you considered just taking it to an apple store and asking them? They should be able to tell you the problem in a few minutes and if its software they will probably fix it for free right then.

That's after about a 3 hr wait though. The lines at the couple of Apple Stores that we have are outrageous and it seems like they are constantly that way.

 

[TheSnowman]

Plus I'd have $100 in gas to get to the nearest one and back. Not an option. I'll just throw it away before messing with all of that business. I'm back up to Snow Leopard, updating, then I'll reinstall Lion. So far no problems booting up, so I'm hoping I wiped out wherever the problem was.

 

[CES020]

That's after about a 3 hr wait though. The lines at the couple of Apple Stores that we have are outrageous and it seems like they are constantly that way.

Not quite. You sign up for an appointment and you walk in when your appointment is and they normally take you within a couple of minutes of your scheduled time. When your about to be called, they actually send you a text message as well. It's very efficient.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

Not quite. You sign up for an appointment and you walk in when your appointment is and they normally take you within a couple of minutes of your scheduled time. When your about to be called, they actually send you a text message as well. It's very efficient.

The difference between when you make the schedule and when that time actually comes is where that looooooonnnnnnnggggggg wait comes in. And don't think it's going to happen any sooner by getting there when the doors open up either. I've seen a 2 hr wait just walking in the door as soon as they open.

Thankfully I know a certified tech though, so I don't have to go to the Apple store for repair work. I'm just usually there either looking for accessories for Alicia's computer or phone. Which getting a sales rep for that is like pulling teeth as well on occasion, but hardly the time wait as it is for service. Which I can understand.

 

[CES020]

The difference between when you make the schedule and when that time actually comes is where that looooooonnnnnnnggggggg wait comes in.

Must be different where you are. I can make an appointment fairly easily and it's normally within a couple of hours, which works out nice because I can schedule when I need to be there, walk in, and it's done. Granted, I've only used it a few times for damage to my phones from my own fault, but it's always been about as convenient as any support I've ever had to get, but things might be different where you are.