this is probably a silly question but......

is my Macbook for the scrapheap?

Hi, I'm currently using a macbook that I have had for 5 years and it is shutting down without warning. The position of the power cable seems to have an effect on this as sometimes the led on the cable does not come on until it gets repositioned. I have been doing things like pressing a heavy book against the port to get it to work and this sometimes works for a full day sometimes not at all.

It started happening a few months ago so I left it alone and started using a spare pc i had in my house (which has now been returned to its owner). When i came back to it it seemed to be behaving better but in the last few weeks the problem is worsening to the point where it will not stay on for more than 5 min and sometimes not at all.

I tried resetting the smc but this did nothing.

I know i should take it to a store for a check but the sad fact is I cannot afford it.

Any suggestions/idle speculation from someone who knows more than i do would be very welcome.

thanks in advance

Not a silly question, but certainly a silly thread title. It's far better to describe what you're posting about. You know, like a newspaper headline. You never see "Ya Gotta Read This!" for example.

Anyway, it sure sounds like your MacBook is on its last lap, so to speak. So your choice seems to be to pay to have it checked out, or pay to get a different computer. But, if it's possible, try a different power cable first.

Either battery or the motherboard is buggered. IMO.