Early 2008 MBP screen not turning on

I have a 15 inch early 2008 MBP that the screen will not turn on. When i power on, the hard drive makes a sound that its turning on, but then nothing happens, there is just a black screen. The indication light is on, but again, nothing on the screen. I have tried pulling out the battery, resetting everything i can reset, but still nothing. Any ideas?

Hi B,
You may have the NVIDIA issue. If you have the GeForce 8600M GT GPU it is covered under the free repair program. Bring the MBP to an Apple Store or AASP for free testing. If Apple's free test confirms the issue, repair is free. Read all about it here: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2377
There have been stories of, ummm, "uninformed" workers, so print out the article, familiarize yourself with it, and if you meet resistance, politely/firmly stand your ground and ask for someone higher up the food chain if need be. The GPU is part of the logic board, so "repairing" it means replacing the logic board (Some workers have tried to play word games, saying the logic board needed to be replaced so it wasn't a covered repair because it wasn't just the GPU. Grrrrrr!). Good luck!

Similar Messages

Early 2008 MBP screen turns off/on (not NVidia issue)

My MBP is an early 2008 A1260 15" and the screen suddenly turns off and on. Originally I thought it was the NVidia issue but that doesn't seem to be the case because I can hook up an external monitor and get video. I took it apart to check any loose video cables on both the logic board or behind the screen itself and everything seemed intact. I even pushed everything firmly in to make sure the connections were making good contact. The backlight also lights up but without any image so the inverter is not to blame either. Then as I figure it's simply the LCD that has gone bad and i'm using my comp through the external monitor the screen suddenly turns back on and works. Later shuts off and back on. This makes me think it's a faulty cable however everything is connected properly and there were no signs of damage to the video cable.
Any suggestions as to what to check or this could be? I don't want to pay nearly $150 to replace the LCD screen if that's not it. :/

Allow me to elaborate the situation...
Taking in to Apple = $350
Purchasing a new display and replacing it myself = $150
New video cable = $30
Taking it to Apple = No.
I can fix computers on my own but I am a bit stuck on this slightly odd situation so I would greatly appreciate any replies to not include the response, "Take it in to Apple."
I appreciate the suggestion but that's not going to happen after I already took it in thinking it was the NVidia issue and there found it was a display problem.
You're right that it seems it's a component that's failing but that's why I am asking, which other components should I check? Any other similar issues? Etc.
Thank you

Early 2008 MBP will not start up to Mac HD only to "OS X Utilities"

Running 10.8.5 with all updates as of 10/25.
Last night (10/25) I updated iTunes. The computer appeared to be working as normal. This morning the system will only boot up to OSX Utilities. I ran "Verify Disk" and verified disk permissions on all volumes indicated in the left column (Mac HD and Mac OS X Base System). The disks were verified and repaired.
I have four choices: Restore from Time Machine Backup (I don't have this back up), Reinstall OS X ( I don't have enough HD space), Get Help Online (have not found my similar problem yet) and Disk Utility ( tried as noted above - system appears to be ok).
I'm going to the Genius Bar tonight, but was wondering if anyone had any suggestions prior to me going. Thanks for any thoughts!
PS: just guessing, but I feel it may be the hard drive. I am assuming its not the logic board since I can still sort of start up.

Called AppleCare, it's the HD. New computer or a new HD.

Early 2008 MBP, can't install OS X

My Early 2008 MBP has a dual hard drive configuration. The stock HDD has all my documents and data on it, the SSD that used to have OS X installed had to be formatted. I tried to use Recovery Mode to reinstall OS X, but the install screen stops at the very end of the installation and says that it could not download the necessary files for the installation. I have tried installing on both of the hard drives even with previous versions of OS X only to yield the same result.

WiFi only shows when there is no Ethernet cable connected and it shows during the Boot Process so you can chose and log in to your WiFi SSID.
1) Right you more then likely bought it with Lion Pre-Installed. But the Early 2011 models originally had Snow Leopard Pre-Installed until Lion came out. Early 2011 models were released in February 2011. Lion came out in June I think and then the late 2011 models came out in October. The the Early "Mid" year 2011 models came with both version of OS X, Snow Leopard and Lion. Depending on when it was manufactured.
2) if you already downloaded and installed Lion a week, or so, ago why are you doing it again? What problem did or are you having that is making you re-install?
Whatever that problem is may be the ROOT cause of the downloading problem you are now having. Like not being able to write to the drive. A HDD failure.
Do you have an external drive laying around? If so connect that external and point the download to that drive and see if it completes and then starts the install. Back up whatever is on that external.
If the download does complete and the install starts then you know it is a problem with the internal drive.

HI! early 2008 MBP 4,1 startup or power up Failure! HELP! thks!

I have an early 2008 Macbook pro 4,1. The computer was sleeping all night, and when I pull up the screen to use it, the Mac apparently was running but no screen on it, so I try to increase or decrease de light on the screen but nothing happened, so I force it to shut down with the power bottom, then I tried to power it up, and it really does for 2 to 3 seconds, and it shut down... there is nothing at screen. What i did to troubleshoot with no results: press de power bottom for 5 seconds with no mega safe adapter and battery - press de left shift + option + command + power bottom with the megasafe adapter - I did take the HDD - took de RAM memory.
Another thing: When I took the Ram memory the MB stayed beeping like telling me that there was no memory, but it didn’t shut down. I had to shut it down myself...
Any suggestion please!? Thanks a lot!

The early 2008 MBPs had serious videocard problems which you may be experiencing. You will need to go to an Apple Store or service provider to have the MBP tested which may cost you. The problem is that the 4 year extended video card warranty has long expired for all these models so getting a free repair is not likely.
Some discussions to peruse.
https://discussions.apple.com/message/17901599#17901599
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2377
https://discussions.apple.com/message/16921827#16921827

Screen not turning off

why is my screen not turning off during a conversation - when I put it to my ear the screen does not turn off and I touch the hold and all the other buttons while talking. I tried switching it off and restarting it .
thx

Try a reset, hold home button and sleep/wake button down together until phone shuts off. Release the buttons when this happens and the phone should come back on. Give it minute to turn on completely and then do a test call to see if it is still happening. May need to do a restore but definitely back up the device before doing that.

Why is my iPhone screen not turning off?

Why is my iPhone screen not turning off?

Sorry, my previous post was meant for another thread.
You can try resetting your iPhone by simultaneously pressing and holding the Home and Sleep/Wake buttons until you see the Apple Logo. This can take up to 15 seconds so be patient and don't release the buttons until the logo appears.
Try again to see if the problem persists.
Message was edited by: Alfred DeRose

I have an iPod touch 2G and I can't set up a passcode lock. I hit "Turn Passcode on" and then enter the passcode I want. Then it brings me back to the Passcode Lock Screen, NOT turning on my passcode.

I hit "Turn Passcode on" and then enter the passcode I want. Then it brings me back to the Passcode Lock Screen, NOT turning on my passcode. Now this iPod touch is a gift from my family, used before me. I set up my iTunes account, but when i view my Apple account it's not showing up. Is this the reason my iPod isnt working? Please help.

The users guide says:
Passcode Lock
By default, iPod touch doesn’t require you to enter a passcode to unlock it.
Set a passcode: Choose General > Passcode Lock and enter a 4-digit passcode, then enter the passcode again to verify it. iPod touch then requires you to enter the passcode to unlock it or to display the passcode lock settings.
Turn passcode lock off: Choose General > Passcode Lock, enter your passcode, and tap Turn Passcode Off, then enter your passcode again.
Change the passcode: Choose General > Passcode Lock, enter your passcode, and tap Change Passcode. Enter your passcode again, then enter and reenter your new passcode.
Try:
- Reset the iOS device. Nothing will be lost
Reset iOS device: Hold down the On/Off button and the Home button at the same time for at
least ten seconds, until the Apple logo appears.

My 2008 macbook will not turn on. the light on the corner is on. not flashing but on. its fully charged and has lion on it. please help! my classes start Monday and i need it before then!!

my 2008 macbook will not turn on. the light on the corner is on. not flashing but on. its fully charged and has lion on it. please help! my classes start Monday and i need it before then!! It will turn on for a coupe seconds, and then turn off.

Take it into an Apple store for evaluation.

2 issues concerning early 2011 mbp:screen no reaction after turn on the lid and airport

the first issue is more serious.Ive read other posts related to this and still cannot figure it out.I dont why the screen wont turn on as i open the lid-the black screen.I turbulently press the keyboard and still no reaction.what i do is to mandatory press the turn-on button and make it shut down,restart it following.and im sure the battery doesnt run out.moreover.my college's wireless is wpa2 authentication.as long as i close the lid and reopen it,the airport requires the password.the PROBLEM is i enter the correct one but i dont have access to network.i have to "disconnect" it and reconnect,thus render me make the network available.you see the main reason is the lid.literally as i close the lid,something goes wrong...
any ideas would be appreciated.thx

SOLUTION!!! from an AppleCare advisor and it worked!!!!
MBP SMC reset
Shut Down Computer
Shift
Control
Option
Power Button
Hold all and count to 10, then release
and power on

Early 2008 MBP w/ NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processor fail

My beautiful Macbook Pro 17" (early 2008) just started getting stripes on the screen and randomly shutting down; research and a call to a local Mac repair person say this is the known problem with the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processor.
What do I do now considering the class action suit in the States, and it being 2014? Do I take it to my nearest Apple store and request a fix/replacement?
I've been a Mac user since the early 6100, moved to my beautiful G4 ('Albert', as he was lovingly known), then on to the eMac 800. Bought the Macbook Pro 17" in May 2008 because I needed it to travel with but now it's presenting with vertical stripes and will suddenly shut down for no reason.
Have a Mac Mini which is my main machine, but I really need the MPB for when I travel abroad.
I don't think it's fair that the machine I bought, which I now I find out has a known issue with the graphics card, won't get dealt with because Apple closed the replacement programme in December 2012 (according to this page on Apple MacBook Pro: Distorted video or no video issues). And if it's a known faulty piece of hardware that was installed in their machines, how can there be a time limit on the replacement? If I only use my machine once in a blue moon that means it will, logically, fail much later that a person who uses a machine every day, so why do I lose out. I spent just the same amount of money to buy the new machine as everyone else so where are my consumer rights?
If there's an Apple representative that would like to respond and resolve my issue, I would be grateful. I can take my machine to the nearest Apple 'genius' bar tomorrow for the diagnostic to prove it's a faulty Nvidia graphics processor.
I'm hoping my dad with his Dell PC, which he bought in 2005 and is still running, is not right to scoff at my Mac love!
With kind regards,
Tracy Shorrock
@Freelancealot

Hi Kappy,
I found my nearest UK store in Solihull, but it tells me there's no availability for appointments with people with Macs until Friday at 4pm!!! I'll be leaving the country on Thursday and need this sorted out before then.
I don't want to delay my flight, drive all the way to Solihull to be told my MBP is out of the time perioid available for the replacement programme. What exactly do you mean by 'take it in for a service'? If it's the Nvidia card as everything points to, what will they do?
Thanks for your time, and suggestions.
Cheers,
Tracy

Early 2008 MBP powers on for ~5 secs then locks

I'm hoping someone can give advice as to what may be the matter with my MBP (other than it being toast). It's an early 2008 model. 2.5 Ghz Penryn + 512 MB GPU.
Here's the story. A small amount of tomato juice was spilt over the computer. It mainly got into the logic board, but it was not extensive. I took it to a repair shop, since my warranty is void, the best they could offer (aside from an estimated $1450 repair job) was to clean it. Instead of paying ~$250 for having them clean the system, I did it myself.
After the spill, nothing powered on. Even when I plugged in the ac adaptor, there was no green light. After cleaning the logic board + all components, the ac adaptor shows a green light, it actually showed the orange light and charged my battery!. If I remove the battery and ac then either plug in the ac or battery, the computer starts to power on. I hear the fans and cpu, then the hard drive starts to spin. Within ~5 secs though it sounds as if the HD locks and then everything shuts off. The display does not turn on / flicker during this time. I believe there should be not issue with the display since the spill was local to only the logic board and DC sound in board. Also,I know the hard drive works because I pulled it and backed up the contents.
I'm wondering if I reconnected something wrong and am causing some short out when powering on. There were two plugs that seemed odd and I wasn't sure what to do with them. One comes from the left part of the display. It is a black wire that does not seem to have any place to connect to. It is bound with two other wires that connect to the wireless card. The second connector is on the logic board. It is in between the RAM and optical drive. There is a 330V transistor(?) next to it and the word power is labeled near it. It looks similar to the connector on the logic board that the keyboard plugs into. I can't find any documentation online (nor plugs in my system) that would go with this connector. I'm not sure if either of these two issues could cause my system not to power on.
Obviously, I recognize that there is a high chance that some part of the logic board is shot, but seeing that I have restored some function thus far, I'm interesting in hearing ideas of what might be be causing this short out other than needing to replace the logic board.
Thanks in advance!

Hi S.U.,
Thanks for the reply! You brought up some good points. I have been following the ifixit & powerbookmedic guides, however the photo examples for the macbook pro differ from macbook pro. Specifically, the connection to the ethernet port. I have three wires where all other examples I've seen have 2 wires. There are labeled connection to the wireless card for black and blue (with gold connector tips). However there is a middle wire that I can't find anywhere to go, it has a black insulation tip. Perhaps I can post a picture tonight to demonstrate exactly what I mean.
I used de-ionized water to clean the components. I made sure that I got every residue removed. I waited 1 1/2 days till I reassembled the unit. I don't have the tape replaced for many areas. That is to say I don't have the clear orange tape replaced. The more solid black sticky covers that went over the DC sound board and one small part of the logic board were fine to reuse. I was concerned that this might cause a short out and tried to start the computer without completely closing the top (keyboard base) so that nothing would touch the parts of the logic board and other components that once had orange tape covers.
I don't think the CPU nor GPU were damaged as there was no evidence of spill residue near the chips (although I guess they could have been damaged in the initial short out).
I don't get any lights whatsoever when turning on the unit. I just hear the fans and potentially the cpu. The hard drive starts to spin too. Then what sounds like the hard drive locking (a decently loud click) occurs, then everything stops. In order to have this process reoccur, I need to unplug all power sources then replug; simply pressing the power button will not get the unit to try to turn on again.
It really seems like a short out. Another reason I think its a short out is that the time window of the hard drive locking and everything stopping is slightly variable (between 5-10s).
I also tried resetting the RAM.
I'll post pics tonight and perhaps you or someone else will see something obvious that I'm missing.
Thanks,
Mike

MBP will not turn on

I came home one evening from being out and discovered that my laptop would not turn on. I would press the start button, then hold it down and I would hear the normal start up noise but as soon as I removed my finger from the button the power would just cut out. I tried keeping my finger there in hopes that if I got the start up screen it would work from there, however, after about 5-8 seconds the light from the release button would flicker out and all noise would cut. I tried leaving it for a night thinking maybe it will be better in the morning with no luck. I tried taking the battery out and putting it back in, nothing. I tried pluging it in with the adapter AND the battery to no avail, then I tried just the power adapter, still nothing.
Ever since I got my laptop it would get extremely hot, hot to the point where holding it up or touching above the keys would feel like it was burning me. I probably should have gotten that checked out when I first got it less than two years ago but i just assumed it was the usual since i had heard that laptops, in general, get very hot. Back in late March/early April my left fan began to make a lot of noise, first it was quiet and I thought it was the typical clicks and stuff that comes with time in computers but then it developed into a giant roar that sometimes would last for half hour before calming down. I went to get it checked out and was told that it was a bearing loose in the fan and that this seemed to be common for MBP. I didn't have the money at the time to replace it so I've been trying to save up to replace it because I don't have Apple Care.
About a week before my laptop decided to stop working I got this single purple pixel line through the left half of my screen. If i just shut my laptop and reopen it it would go away so I didn't think much about it.
I've been told that my problem may be the board and that it needs to be replaced. Again I don't have Apple Care. I'm a university student about to return in 3 weeks and I need my laptop for my studies. I'm very upset that this has happened and that I paid nearly $3000 for a laptop that has lasted me less than two years, especially one with Apple's reputation for great quality and long lasting products.
Message was edited by: j.ferris
Message was edited by: j.ferris

"...and that I paid nearly $3000 for a laptop that has lasted me less than two years,..."
I haven't seen that level of $$ in many years. What did you buy?
It seems you have had numerous issues. Did you take it to the genius?
To protect your investment you should have purchased AppleCare.
Take it to an Apple store or AASP and find out what's wrong and how much.
Consider it lesson learned.

IMac early 2008 occasional screen flicker with external monitor

I am experiencing flickering with my early 2008 iMac when driving an external monitor. My Thinkpad is flawless when pushing out to the monitor.
It will be fine, but occassionaly (every 5-20seconds) the screen gives a little flicker, about 1/4 of a second in duration.
Also, sometimes, there is no flickering, it depends on what is being displayed, which makes me think video card. I am using the 2400XT and my software is up to date.
ROM Revision: 113-B2250H-259
EFI Driver Version: 01.00.259
I am thinking about trying to source a 2600pro that came on the more high end version of my iMac and swap out the graphics card. I also want to drop a 2TB hdd in it, so I figure I might as well kill 2 birds with one stone, or kill 1 iMac with 2 simutaneous upgrades if I am unlucky! (o_O)

iMacs are not designed to have the graphics cards upgraded. If your old card is bad and you feel competent to exchange it for the same one that's really your only GPU option. Apple never said the iMac GPU's were upgradeable and frankly I've never heard of anyone successfully upgrading an iMac GPU.
As far as the adaptor well you could bring your system into an Apple Store and have it checked out by a Genius, it's a free service. I don't know how to make a reservation in Japan but I'm sure you can from the Japanese Apple site. The link in the US is:
http://www.apple.com/buy/locator/service/
I'm providing that so you can look for something equivalent.

Early 2008 MBP source drive won't boot after cloning

I cloned the original/source drive, via USB, Carbon Copy Cloner, to a Crucial MX100 256GB SSD. The clone process completed without errors. I powered down the system to do a start-up from the USB drive to see if it would boot. The computer will not start from the source drive and holding the Option key to select a boot drive never gets that far.
I can hear the optical drive try to spin up, the status light blinks quickly like it is trying to start and then quits, remaining a steady light. I have tried Cmd + R at boot without success. Tried the PRAM reset, also the SMC reset.
There is plenty of room on the source drive, at least 160GB. The target drive is the same size as the source drive.
Prior to cloning the source drive and powering down, the computer was operating flawlessly. This an early 2008 model with the 2.5Mhz processor.
Any recommendations? I am hesitant to remove the source drive and install the cloned SSD for concern that I'll end up with some other trouble.
I do not have a start up disk. BTW, the OS X is Yosemite, the most recent version, .10, I think.
Thanks,
Bob

wsev1955 wrote:
I have a HP Pavilion Dv4170us laptop added some new upgrades to it.. max RAM 2GB... a new battery... and I bought a 160GB samsung IDE drive to replace the origional 100GB drive...Using EZ Gig II software and usb drive adapter I successfuly cloned the smaller hard drive but when I swaped them out it won't boot windows xp.. just a black screen with the blinking curser at the top left corner... using my windows xp pro disc.. i ran the system recovery and tried first fix mbr command... then I tried fixboot.. I also looked for the boot.ini file which is not in the C: root drive...I only found a back up copy of it in the windows/pss folder... this is on both drives.. so the cloeing copied it all... but the origional drive will boot and the new one won't... I even tried reinstalling XP as a repair installation...still nothing... any ideas??
Hi,
Can you see the new hdd in the BIOS?
Dv6-7000 /Full HD/Core i5-3360M/GF 650M/Corsair 8GB/Intel 7260AC/Samsung Pro 256GB
Testing - HP 15-p000
HP Touchpad provided by HP
Currently on Debian Wheeze
*Please, help other users with the same issue by marking your solved topics as "Accept as Solution"*

Early 2008 MBP screen not turning on

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