HD dead - again in 3 months?!?! Or is it logic board problem

Hi all,
I purchased my iBook about 1.5 years ago. In July I had to replace the HD. The Apple Store took care of it. Now just 3 short months later, it appears to be having a similar problem. I'm very frustrated with this!
Last night it froze up while on the internet. I ended up doing a force shutdown - nothing else worked). It restarted with the flashing question mark folder. I've tried several things, but it's sure looking like the HD again. Hopefully someone can suggest something I haven't tried yet. In general, whatever I've tried, the HD doesn't seem to be located - %@#@?*.
Here's what what I've tried today:
1) Boot from install disk (to repair permissions, etc, but didn't locate HD)
2) Disk Warrior - didn't locate HD
3)Reset PRAM
4) Startup manager
5) Safe mode
6) Seems like I've tried more than that, but at this point I've lost track....
I haven't reset the PMU....at this point, would it make a difference?
Again, I'm VERY frustrated that this is happening again. The iBook is great, but so far it's required a lot more TLC than my Windows PC (it pains me to say that).
Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help!

One thread that seems to be quite common is that once you have sent your laptop to have it repaired, it is likely to fail again. It is as though either the total problem is not fixed properly or the job is done in a manner that will eventually cause a subsequent failure, such as leaving out screws, pinching or improperly routing cables, poorly connected connectors, inadequate application of heatsink compounds etc.
My suggestion would be to take it apart your self and see what there is to see. Maybe your hard drive cable is damaged. Maybe it was never put on securely when the drive was replaced.

Similar Messages

(HELP) Dead MacBook Pro.. possibly something to do with the logic board.

I had been noticing my MacBook Pro's performance degrading lately.. for example whenever I dragged a file into a folder it would lag for 5-6 seconds and then copy over. It started to bug me so I guessed that maybe a reinstall would fix the problem. After reinstalling and rebooting, I got no video on the display.. keyboard wouldn't work.. only things that happened was the disc drive made a sound, light came on the font and could hear the HDD spinning a little.
I then took it to the Apple store as thats what Apple told me to do on the phone. So we took the loverly 3 hour drive(there and back) to the closest Apple store just to have the man take it out the back for 2-3 minutes and then come back to say "It's possibly the logic board that is dead".
I am out of warranty by 2-3 months and so he told me I would have to pay £700 or so to repair. As a full-time student I don't have that kind of money.. I don't even have £60. - I find it annoying how they didn't even fully check the problem out.. just a "possibly the logic board".
So what if I manage to click my fingers and have £700 appear right before my very eyes? I pay for the new logic board just to find out thats not really the problem? or maybe have the same thing happen again right after the 90 days that logic board is covered for? meaning I have to fork out another £700.
I am a massive fan of Apple.. I love their products. I have brought so many products of theirs.. now just 2-3 months after my warranty runs out.. I get this. They didn't even say sorry for selling me a faulty product and didn't offer to help out in any way. When I spend £1,299 on something I expect it to last A LOT longer than a year and 3 months.
I need my MacBook Pro very badly for College but now I can't do my work and if I want to do my work, I have to pay £700 for it.
What do I do? Who do I talk to? Is it possible to get it fixed without having to pay that kind of money?
I can't settle for anything less than a Mac. I love the OS way too much and need so many of the apps that are Mac-only. So no way am I going to forget this and buy myself some cheap PC CrapTop.
- iTomath

Unfortunately, if you cannot boot from the disc, it won't be possible to do any diagnostic tests yourself.
It might be worth getting a second opinion. Is there an Apple authorized repair shop anywhere near you? If so, possibly you could take it there and see if they can diagnose it. You may need to pay a small fee for them to do this. But possibly someone might take a little more time with it and be able to give you a definitive diagnosis.
I'm grasping at straws, but you might be able to try resetting the SMC:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1411?viewlocale=en_US
I don't know if this would help or not--there are not many things to do when the computer is unresponsive and you can't use the keyboard or a disc.
Unless the problem was reported to Apple while the MBP was still under warranty, I don't think there is any way that Apple would be able to fix it under warranty. Did you ever take it in for any problem under warranty that might relate to its current situation?
I don't know if you might be up for trying to fix it yourself. If you are, here is a site that might be of help:
http://www.ifixit.com/
You have my sympathy--this has to be an exceedingly difficult situation for you. I will continue to think about this, and will post back if anything comes to mind.
Good luck!

Two MacBook Air logic board failures in less than 8 months

Hi All,
I purchased a new MacBook Air in early 2011. 14 months later the logic board needed replacement. 8 months after that the logic board needs replacing again. I don't take the Air into extreme temperature/humidity environments. The computer has never been dropped or had anything spilled on it. This is the 4th latop I've owned since 1995, but all of my previous laptops have been PCs. Is this normal for Apple? Any suggestions on how to avoid yet anoter $280 repair (because of course the latest logic board failure is out of warranty from the initial logic board replacement 8 months ago...)?

Let me get this straight - you consider the need to have the logic board replaced twice in less then eight months on a computer that is less than two years old to be a good deal?!? Both logic board failures were diagnosed at an Apple Genius bar in person. It shouldn't matter if it was the hard drive, battery pack, or whatever. To have a major harware component and its replacement fail twice in a very short period of time is inexcuseable! I can understand the first failure - someone has to lose the quality control lottery. However, to have the exact same component need replacing twice strongly suggest shoddy manufacturing/rebuilding.
Are logic board failures so common on Mac Airs that the discussion is about the best repair price and not the frequent failure rate?

What's wrong with my drive? Dead Drive? ATA controller? Logic Board?

Hi!
I have had a problem with my iBook G4 1.33GHz for a while now. I've tried a few times to fix it and then have given up thinking replacement was the best option. I'll try to be brief but this saga has actually been going on for over 2 years.
The basic problem is that the computer finds the HD intermittently. The problem used to occur after the computer had booted and was on for maybe an hour. A friend of mine removed the drive and had it running in a separate enclosure for a few days. It seemed fine-all disk checkers like Disk Warrior checked it out just fine. He reinstalled the drive and gave me back the computer. Within a few days, it froze like before. Upon restart I just get the question mark folder.
That was almost 2 years ago. I've tried a few different things to see what was the problem but to no avail. Here's what I have tried:
-Booting into target disk mode-the disk does not mount.
-Booting from a CD-even if I hold down the C key, it prompts that this is going to be a new install and when I get to the screen to pick the volume, the HD does not appear.
-Tried the shim trick as indicated at:
http://coreyarnold.org/ibook/?p=20
Some earlier symptoms included video issues so this made sense.
-Took apart yesterday to make sure the drive connected well. It didn't work at first but later booted from hard drive.
-Since it booted, I restarted in Target Disk mode and ran Disk Utility from my iMac. There were some errors but DU was able to fix them all. Restarted iBook no problem.
-Ran Apple Hardware Test overnight in loop mode. After 18 rounds, nothing came up.
-Ran SMART Reporter and got green.
-Thought everything was ok so I ran Software Update. First round went fine. I ran it a second time knowing that some updates can be incremental. Upon downloading, computer froze and since then I am back to square one-no booting.
-Took apart today to see if there was any corrosion on the ATA chip as mentioned in this article:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2310290&tstart=0
as the thread mentioned a lot of stuff I was experiencing.
-Reassembled after finding nothing.
-Now the computer does not boot whatsoever-it tries to eject disk in optical drive and then nothing else-no sounds, no video, etc.
So what does all of this mean? I thought the earlier indicators were a dying drive but when my friend checked it out and found nothing, we were stumped. He actually suggested the ATA controller. The not wanting to boot from a CD really bothers me. What does that mean? I have never seen that in 20 years of using Macs.
Oh and if it matters, this computer was formerly fixed as it did have the dreaded logic board problem.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you!
Brian

Hi again!
So this is with the new board? Was there sectoring of the lines?
If so that's the graphics chip most likely.
Yes. However, since this has gone on for a while and I never finished taking care of it, I can't remember all the details like sectoring of the lines.
The problem used to occur after the computer had booted and was on for maybe an hour.
So it freezes? That does sound like a GPU problem esp as it happens after an hour or so. (thermal flex causing separation of BGA)
Normally, yes. I have also gotten the kernel panic screen (You must restart your computer now). When it froze this morning, I had started to download a System Update. The clock ran, but I couldn't force-quit anything. What about the fact that the drive doesn't mount in Target Disk Mode?
You could pull the board and send it for reball.
I've also found a few boards on eBay that so far are less than the reball, but unless it was already reballed, then I run the risk of this happening again in the future, right?
Thanks again for your help!
Brian

Is my logic board dead? I can't see a hard drive

My G4 Powerbook (FW800, 1.25GHz model) stopped booting last week, and showed the question mark folder. I ran disk utility from the Tiger CD, and it doesn't "see" the drive. Same with system profiler. Under ATA it shows my Matshita CD-RW, but no hard disk.
Figuring the hard disk is dead, I replace it with a Hitachi 5K160.
The result is the same - neither disk utility nor system profiler can "see" the drive. I also tried target disk mode, and the firewire host couldn't see it either.
This leads me to suspect the logic board, perhaps specifically the ATA controller. However, this doesn't quite make sense, since if the ATA controlled was dead why would the CD-RW drive work?
There are no jumpers in the new drive (just like the old one), which makes it a master.
thoughts?
thanks.
G4 PowerBook Mac OS X (10.4.8)

i've seen dead drives - clicking, buzzing and not accessible that passed all tests including fsck command.
often tests won't find errors.
if 2 different dirves are not recognized by Disk Utility it's either drives, drive cable (rare but possible) or logic board.
another way to test drives is to put them into FireWire external case (probably can get one for $20) and try to format them that way.
if drives work and boot the machine, it's likely either drive cable or logic board problem.

I refurbished my macbook air 7 months ago because there was a problem with the steady state drive. Now my battery seems to be dead again. How long does the warranty last? Do I need to pay for a new battery?

I refurbished my macbook air 7 months ago because there was a problem with the steady state drive. Now my battery seems to be dead again. How long does the warranty last? Do I need to pay for a new battery?

As I wrote Apple will diagnose an Apple product even if it is out of warranty for free. That should be your first step to find out if the problem is the battery or something else.
Once you have Apple telling you a 7 month old battery is defective (if that turns out to be the case) then it becomes a game of horse trading. You'll need to speak to the tech and when he tells you there is nothing he can do you will need to speak to the tech manager and when she says most likely there is nothing they can do you go to the store manager, etc. It is unlikely (though possible) that they will give in easily you need to be firm, polite and let on that you're willing to accept a partial reimbursement.
So again the first step is to find out what is wrong.
good luck

Dead for no apparent reason - logic board AGAIN?

So last night, after I had installed all my software updates and restarted successfully, I decided to pop in a new airport card b/c mine had been giving me trouble (and I wanted to find out whther it was the card or the logic board that was failing)
Well. I found out. The thing successfully shut down without a problem, and replaced the card without a problem, plugged it in. hit the power button. nothing. nothing nothing.
not even a hum or a chatter.
I've been poking through the discussions here, and I understand that this is likely a logic board failure.
I've already had my logic board replaced, twice I think. The funny thing is that my poor 'book worked for 3 yrs. without issue and now it's been failing close to once a year.
I'm kind of at a loss as for what to do, I really can't afford to keep getting it fixed like this! Also, I have two exams this week, and yup, of course I take all of my notes on my laptop. Distressing, to say the least.
Well at least that was cathartic.
ibook G3 Mac OS X (10.4.7) there's no option for 10.4.8.... also, dead.

If it's the recognized logic board failure, it will usually start up at least. You may have to wait overnight for it to start up again. I did on two of my three logic board failures.
You may know that enough Dual USB G3 iBooks suffered from this problem that Apple began the iBook Logic Board Repair Extension Program in January of 2004. Check out the FAQ page and if the symptoms look familiar, give Apple a call. If your iBook qualifies, it's a free fix.
If you are past the three-year time limit, try calling (800) 767-2775 and ask for Customer Relations (NOT Customer Service--they can't help you) and ask them to please make an exception to the three-year limit in your case.
If the answer from Apple is absolutely, positively, "NO!" DT & T Computer Services in Fremont, California offers the cheapest repair I've found. They have a six-month warranty on the repair.
Good luck!

N86 - Battery Dead Twice within 6 months time

Hi, I own a N86 at July 2009 and replace battery once in Sept 2009. Now 28 Nov my battery dead again. Seems like my battery dying every 2 months. NOKIA PLEASE RECALL THIS BATTERY!!!

It's not a question of heating the battery up once and it dying. Lithium-ion cells are slowly killed by oxidation and that increases at elevated temperatures. Given that most smartphone batteries are already being run ragged by going through their complete capacity every day (whether charged in one go or charged several times), it doesn't take much time sitting in a glove box in a warm part of the world before the battery will keel over.
I absolutely agree that only doing full discharges isn't great for the battery's lifespan, and batterires should be charged frequently instead, but six months is a heck of a short time.
Help I'm trapped in a sig factory.

I am running Mac OS X Lion on a brand new Mini. Every now and then, my keyboard goes "dead." The mouse still works but can't type. If I restart, everything is fine again. Is there anything that will fix this problem?

I am running Mac OS X Lion on a brand new Mini. Every now and then, my keyboard goes "dead." The mouse still works but I can't type. If I restart, everything is fine again. Is there anything that will fix this problem?
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I'm having exactly the same keyboard issue. Certainly nothing has ever enhanced my concentration while coding like suddenly becoming unable to type.
I'm seeing a great many devicemgr and rake errors in my system log. I don't know if they're related. How 'bout you?
If you're unfamiliar with the system log…
Open /Applications/Utilities/Console.
If necessary, choose View > Show Log List.
system.log is at the top of the FILES section.
Try searching it for hot words like DEBUG, FATAL, and aborted.
I've found some discussions that would tend to indicate my errors are postGres related – I'm running OS X server.
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I just got my computer working again after 6 months of being without it, and now iTunes is saying it is not authorizable? How do I fix this?

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Log in to iTunes, go to "view your account info" on the itunes store, deauthorise all five, (Please Note: this can only be done Once every 12 months) and then re-authorize your current Computers one at a time.
Authorise / Deauthorise About
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1420

I have the ipad3,and I plug my charger in to charge my ipad and it comes up with the charging battery sign charges for a few minuets and then the white apple sign loads up into the screen then my ipad goes dead again,I hope someone can help:)

I have an ipad 3, when I plug my charger in the ipad comes up with the sign to say it is charging and then the apple sign loads up as if the ipad is about to come on,but then the ipad just goes dead again,I've tried holding both buttons down and I have also tried charging it over night but still nothing is working.
I hope someone could help:)

When you say you tried holding both buttons, did you mean you held both the power and home buttons until the apple logo appeared, ignoring the red slider if that appears? If so, exactly what happens?
You may need to take the iPad and charger to an Apple store genius bar to be tested by the techicians.

HT201363 Dear Reader I have forgotten the answers to my security-questions. So it says that i will get an e-mail to reset my questions, but i have not gotten an e-mail? So i tried it again (after a month) and it still doesen't work. I really need to know

Dear Reader
I have forgotten the answers to my security-questions. So it says that i will get an e-mail to reset my questions, but i have not gotten an e-mail?
So i tried it again (after a month) and it still doesen't work. I really need to know what's wrong :/
Thank You for helping me

Alternatives for Help Resetting Security Questions and Rescue Mail
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     3. Apple ID- Contacting Apple for help with Apple ID account security.
     4. Fill out and submit this form. Select the topic, Account Security.
     5. Call Apple Customer Service: Contacting Apple for support in your
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How to Manage your Apple ID: Manage My Apple ID

Y500 motherboard dead after only 18 months

My $1000 laptop is dead after just 18 months. The motherboard is unrepairable and my hard drive has stopped working. It has been having issues starting for at least six months but now it is dead for good. I'm pissed because Lenovo won't work wih me to repair it. They want almost $600 for a new motherboard and hard drive. That's without them actually touching the laptop. For that price I can just buy a new laptop. You can be sure it won't be a Lenovo. Apparently, they are ok with people paying a premium for their products that last less than half te lifespan of their competitors. I am so angry right now.
Moderator comment: Post edited to conform with the Community Rules.

Sorry for your problems, cadabra, but this is the iBook Discussion. We're all Mac users just like you. If you have a technical question about iBooks, we'll try to help. If you need to know how to get your backed up files onto your iBook, we can help with that too.
John

I have a Macbook air which has had to have the mother board replaced twice. It is starting to crash again a few months after the last disaster. It is out of warranty and I am out of luck. The computer freezes frequently. Any recommendations?

My Macbook air has had to have the mother board replaced twice. It is starting to malfunction again -- it frequently freezes when I am on the internet. The screen also pixelates when I go from one page to another. The warranty is expired. Any recommendations?

Hi angier,
How long has it been since the last logic board replacement? Was the previous repair(s) done by Apple directly or via an authorized service provider? If you're on MLB #3 and you're still seeing the same or very similar problems, I'd contact the place that did the service last, especially if it was in the past 90 days.
When you get a repair done through Apple, even if the machine is out of warranty, the service (and parts) carry a 90-day limited warranty. From my experience, Apple is often times flexible on this window as well especially if it's been a repeated repair.

New logic board, and new display, but now completely dead.

Hi guys,
I've got an iBook G3, running 10.3.9.
In December 2006, the logic board failed, so I bought a MacBook, because I didn't have time to be offline waiting weeks for Apple to replace the iBook's logic board.
After much badgering, Apple reluctantly replaced the iBook's logic board under the extended warranty program.
While the iBook was with the Apple repair store, they replaced the display for new as well, even though I didn't ask them to, and even though I wasn't charged for it.
I presume that was because the store discovered that the display was duff enough to be replaced under another extended warranty program.
When I got the "repaired" unit home, with a brand new logic board, and a brand new display, I turned it on, and it seemed to be working fine, so I turned it off, and continued to use my MacBook.
A few weeks ago, the second logic board on my MacBook failed (another long horror story entirely), so I began using the iBook for the first time since it had been "repaired" some six months earlier.
Almost immediately, the iBook began exhibiting a major problem, specifically that I'd be typing away, and suddenly the display would go black.
I could just about see the icons and documents on the screen, but the unit was unusable.
So I pulled restarts, full shutdowns, disk utility, zapped the PRAM, etc, all to no avail.
It seemed to be an intermittent problem.
For example, sometimes, from a cold start, the unit would work for two or three hours until the display went black.
Other times, I'd pull a cold start, and it would go straight to the black display.
By chance, I discovered that if I gave the iBook a shake, the display would come back on.
But then it would go black after a second or two.
And then with another shake, it would come back on for a second or two.
And then it would go black after a second or two.
And then with another shake, it would come back on, sometimes for a couple of hours at a time.
So I figured that it must be a cable which, during the installation of the logic board, and/or the new display, wasn't seated correctly by the technician.
I phoned Apple, and told them about it.
They said that because I had reported the issue beyond 90 days since the logic board had been replaced, it was no longer Apple's problem.
I explained to Apple that I hadn't used the iBook for six months, because I had a MacBook.
After much badgering, Apple has agreed to replace the logic board if it's faulty.
However, Apple has refused to replace the NEW display, even if that's also faulty.
Apple is also insisting that I have to pay all the labor charges.
Meanwhile, I've noticed that the iBook is now incredibly hot.
I mean, the MacBook is infamous for running hot, but this "repaired" iBook makes my MacBook feel like a block of ice by comparison.
I don't remember the iBook running so extremely hot before the "repair."
Which has made me notice that during the last few weeks, I've never heard the iBook's fan come on.
I presume that an iBook has a fan ?
Please confirm.
Therefore, another loose cable ?
Today, the display went black again, as usual.
So I gave the iBook a shake.
But this time, nothing happened.
No display.
No fan.
No hard drive spinning.
Just silent and dead.
What do you reckon, guys ?
Duff logic board ?
And/or duff display ?
And/or duff fan ?
And/or duff cabling by the technician ?
As far as I'm concerned, I don't see why I should have to pay for yet another repair, to correct hardware and/or workmanship which was so bad that after only three weeks of ACTUAL use since the "repair", the unit is now completely dead.
All opinions and advice gratefully received.
With thanks and best wishes,
Michael
London, England

Hi S,
Many thanks for your helpful and swift response.
I agree with you regarding the likelihood that these problems would have surfaced immediately during normal usage, regardless of how much or little time had passed since the repair.
As advised, I will inform Apple Customer Relations UK about the new developments.
Indeed, when I resubmit the iBook, I'll include a print-out of this discussion.
I agree with you about the fan.
Prior to the failure of the first logic board, I ran that iBook for YEARS, without noticing any heat issue.
Indeed, if there had been such incredible heat, then I'd have searched these discussion boards, and reported it to Apple HQ.
Therefore, the astonishing heat is definitely a new development since the "repair."
Consequently, I take on board your comments about the lack of a working fan since the "repair", which I shall also mention to Apple HQ.
As for running the Apple Hardware Test, the unit is completely dead.
The power cable is green, but the unit is now completely silent and black.
I also note your suggestions regarding the cable which connects the display to the rest of the unit, which I shall also mention to Apple HQ.
No repair sheet was ever given to me by the Apple Repair Centre (ARC).
Indeed, no receipt was ever given to me when I delivered the unit to the ARC, nor was any paperwork ever given to me when I collected the unit from the ARC.
However, Apple HQ can see on their screen that the logic board and display were both replaced for new by the ARC.
What else was and wasn't done by the ARC is a mystery.
I'll phone the ARC and ask for copies of any and all paperwork, so that I can submit it all to Apple HQ, which I note is your recommended option, rather than returning the unit to the ARC.
However, the complicating factor is that with the exception of the logic board, it is my understanding that Apple is denying any liability on any part of the "repaired" unit, including the brand new display.
If I understand Apple HQ correctly, they're now saying that all other hardware and labor costs will be mine.
I'm sure I could buy a WORKING second-hand iBook G3 for the same price as a repair, if not cheaper.
Therefore, perhaps I should return the unit to the ARC, and give them the opportunity to correct their previous workmanship, at their OWN cost.
Because as far as I'm concerned, the ARC had two customers during the repair: Apple and the end-user, as evidenced by the fact that the ARC has invoiced its first customer Apple for workmanship which was clearly not up to Apple's own standards, and the ARC has then delivered the unit to its second customer, the end-user.
In addition, regardless of Apple's 90 day warranty on repaired hardware, UK law includes the Sale of Goods Act 1979, and other relevant legislation: http://www.dti.gov.uk/consumers/fact-sheets/page38311.html
Furthermore, if the ARC is completely unhelpful, I could jump all over them, by writing to Apple HQ, with cc's to the UK editions of MacWorld, MacFormat, and MacUser magazines.
As advised, if the unit goes to Apple HQ, I will suggest that the unit is looked at carefully during disassembly, to see if errors were made during the ARC "repair."
I'm always polite when on the phone to Apple, because I love the company so much.
Indeed, even though during the last twelve months, I've been having very bad luck with the iBook, as well as with a MacBook which has exhibited so many problems that Apple has now agreed to replace old for new, I still love my Mac.
And joy, sweet joy, I've just seen on the TNT courier's tracker website, that my replacement MacBook, built by Apple in Singapore, then flown to Arnhem in Germany, then flown to Northampton UK, then delivered to Heathrow UK, left the Heathrow depot 30 minutes ago, for delivery to the customer.
And the sun is shining.
Thank you again for all your kind and wise advice.
With best wishes,
Michael
London, England

HD dead - again in 3 months?!?! Or is it logic board problem

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