02-24-2010, 10:52 AM

Hello all,

As suggested above, I have a problem with my MacBook Pro.

It is a few years old and the specs are:

MacBook Pro 15 inch
Intel Core Duo 1.83 GHz
2048 / 80 GB / superdrive
OSX 10.6

I am having a problem with the screen, quite similar to the pictures in this link:
Weird MBP Screen issue - Pink / Purple hue + horizontal lines

Now I say similar because my problem can be fixed by giving the MBP a solid tap.

It seems to happen randomly and as far as I can tell it is not related to cpu load and or heat.

When it happens, the screen freezes, the cursor will not move but you can adjust the brightness. The system does not freeze as when the screen comes back the movements of the trackpad will have been implemented.

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

02-24-2010, 11:41 AM

Looks like a cable or graphics card about to go problem to me.

02-24-2010, 11:59 AM

Thank you for the reply, I was thinking a cable myself as hitting would not resolve a graphics card problem?

02-24-2010, 12:08 PM

Yeah , I just mentioned the graphics card part due to the fact its a known issue on them. But since you disturb the inside when you hit it and it goes clear again , I would first check the cable. It does go up into the screen and bends when you open and close the lid. that would be the first place i'd check if I was no longer under warranty.

02-24-2010, 12:26 PM

Thanks, I will open it up and have a look, I will report back as it may help others.

02-24-2010, 02:05 PM

You may be eligible for a free repair from Apple. On certain MacBook Pros there was a known problem. Apple now covers that problem for three years even if you are out of warranty. Call Apple. You may be very glad you did.

02-25-2010, 10:50 AM

Thank you, I will contact them on the off chance. I am guessing they will say they cant help as the MBP is aprox 4 years old and I am not the original owner. Worth a try in any case.

I was thinking, if the problem happens when connected to an external display, and the external display shows no problems, that would rule out the more serious graphics problem, would it not?

Cheers for all the help and suggestions so far.

02-25-2010, 11:07 AM

Originally Posted by godskitchen

Thank you, I will contact them on the off chance. I am guessing they will say they cant help as the MBP is aprox 4 years old and I am not the original owner. Worth a try in any case.

I was thinking, if the problem happens when connected to an external display, and the external display shows no problems, that would rule out the more serious graphics problem, would it not?

Cheers for all the help and suggestions so far.

The tapping which fixes it makes me think it is something loose... now that doesn't mean it is just a loose cable.. it could still be a cracked circuit on the video card or a solder that has a micro crack in it on the video card.

I'm guessing if you open it up and see that connectors are all good then its a more serious problem on the card itself... which will likely only get worse until it completely bites the dust.

02-25-2010, 11:50 AM

I see lots of good tips & suggestions here for you to explore. I also think if you have an external monitor to use for a test, that too is worthwhile.

02-26-2010, 12:04 PM

Bit of an update here guys........ I have not taken the MBP apart as yet, I have however discovered that it will only come back to life when you tap/hit to the left of the trackpad.......where the HDD is.......

I have attached some pictures of what happens.......email address blocked out.

Could it be a hard drive problem?

02-26-2010, 12:36 PM

Hard drive won't cause video static like that. Im not sure how the logic board is run inside your mbp. Video card sitting there as well? i'm not exactly sure where yours runs. But what I will say. Try an external monitor first of all. If it still does it , its gotta be something with the video or logic board. If it goes away then you know its the cable to runs to the monitor. Trial and error my friend.

03-09-2010, 05:20 PM

It is me again guys, a quick update and in need of info......

I opened up the MBP and can not see anything the strikes me as wrong, all the cable seem to be inserted correctly......

The only thing I can see that seems out of place (compared to other MBP pictures and common sense) is a small metal loop/hook between the Inverter and Left Fan cables on the motherboard.

See the attached picture.....and attached picture found on the internet where the loop looks different/more correct.





Does anyone know what this pin is and could it be the cause of my problems?

Cheers guys

03-15-2010, 06:03 AM

Does anyone have any idea about the above post?

03-15-2010, 03:27 PM

From the shots it looks like there is an awful lot of dust in there... Its possible that some of the dust is causing some shorting between some of the contacts. I would start with spraying some canned air in there and trying to get some of the dust blown out.

04-01-2010, 05:21 AM

Hello again all, I am back with details to report......

When I opened up the MBP, I checked all the most obvious places, cables and the like. Nothing seemed to be wrong, anywhere.

As I said, the only thing that stood out as being amiss was that copper colored "pin".......it looked as if it was bent too much/too little when comparing it to other pictures I found on the internet. Plus it just looked wrong, in as much as it did not look manufactured.

So I spend a little time on it, manipulating it until it looked like the pictures I had for reference................

Well that was weeks ago......and guess what........I have been using the MBP everyday and the problem has never come back.

I can only deduce that the "pin" was at fault, that would explain how hitting the MBP would fix the problem for a while.

As for how the pin got that way..........I have no idea!

Thanks for all your help guys and I hope this might help someone in the future.