HD replaced, logic brd replaced 2x, still have same problem

rcronin · Jan 7, 2008

Hiya everyone,

Anyone out there that wants to give me some ideas about this, I would greatly appreciate it!

I've been posting a bit about this in other people's threads and had another bad sign today. I have a a MB that I bought new last December. After about 3 weeks I started having problems with random shutdown. When I would shut the top (the clamshell) it would randomly shutdown. What happens is that I close the clamshell and a moment later I hear the chime that happens when you start up and the light in the apple on the top flickers. When I open the clamshell it spontaneously starts back up - I see the blue back ground and gray box that says it's starting the OS. Sometimes it wipes out my desktop background image and the default blue background is there until I redo it in system preferences.

After a month or so of this I called Apple and they walked me thru the disk permissions/verify/repair process. That fixed it for a week. And it came back. I called Apple a few more times, but they just said they didn't know and try to keep track of it. The problem continued. Last Summer it started happening more often. I bought more RAM, I had 2 512's and upgraded to 2gigs. The problem continued and in the Fall I bought an extended care plan and took it in for a diagnosis. They found the HD was bad and replaced it. I did a clean install of the OS and reinstalled selected apps and files as I needed them. That fixed the problem for about 2 weeks. I took it back and they found the logic board was bad and replaced that. That fixed it for about two months. Then it started again. They replaced the logic board for the second time, which was a week ago. ... and the problem started again today. I was using email, closed the clamshell and the whole computer shutdown. When I called about it today they said they would send it to Apple and if it came back again (that would make it the 4th time) then they would help me see about compensation from Apple.

Anyone who can help me understand how this could happen please jump in. It is beyond me to understand how 3 logic boards in a row not only could be faulty, but faulty in the exact same, VERY rare way.

OK, I'm off to post a question about the best way to synchronize my HD with my external drives since Apple is going to wipe the HD.

rcronin · Jan 8, 2008

Someone suggested to me that maybe it's the wiring in my house. I live in a 70 year old house with old wiring. Maybe all the plugs aren't grounded and that's damaging the logic boards. Is that possible?

cwa107 · Jan 8, 2008

rcronin said:
Someone suggested to me that maybe it's the wiring in my house. I live in a 70 year old house with old wiring. Maybe all the plugs aren't grounded and that's damaging the logic boards. Is that possible?

Unlikely. Your power adapter conditions, and provides DC power to your MacBook. It would buy the farm before your MacBook would.

IMO, a faulty logic board should present far more severe problems than what you're seeing. My guess would be that the switch that detects the lid closure is defective.

BTW, is this an Apple store that is diagnosing this or is it an Apple authorized repair center?

rcronin · Jan 8, 2008

cwa107 said:
Unlikely. Your power adapter conditions, and provides DC power to your MacBook. It would buy the farm before your MacBook would.

IMO, a faulty logic board should present far more severe problems than what you're seeing. My guess would be that the switch that detects the lid closure is defective.

BTW, is this an Apple store that is diagnosing this or is it an Apple authorized repair center?

It's been an Apple authorized dealer. I've been to the the Apple store and called them a lot and didn't have any luck. So I switched to the authorized dealer.

When they "run a diagnostic" would that switch be included? If that's it and all this other stuff was replaced, what a waste! Is that switch something that could fail sporadically? And after the previous LB replacements it stopped for several weeks at a time.

That's a relief about my outlets and wiring, b/c if this is my house, I'm going to be responsible for this! Ack!

cwa107 · Jan 9, 2008

rcronin said:
It's been an Apple authorized dealer. I've been to the the Apple store and called them a lot and didn't have any luck. So I switched to the authorized dealer.

Just my opinion, m'kay? I'd take it to an Apple Store. I get the distinct impression that those folks may be less than qualified for their jobs.

When they "run a diagnostic" would that switch be included? If that's it and all this other stuff was replaced, what a waste! Is that switch something that could fail sporadically? And after the previous LB replacements it stopped for several weeks at a time.

Not necessarily - particularly if it's an intermittent mechanical issue. Switches are moving parts, so definitely a wear/breakdown prone part.

That's a relief about my outlets and wiring, b/c if this is my house, I'm going to be responsible for this! Ack!

Just as an aside - If your house has wiring that old, you should definitely have it evaluated by an electrician, especially if there's no ground on the outlets. Wiring that old can be a fire hazard. Also, if you don't have GFCI outlets near the sinks, tubs, etc, it can be really dangerous, particularly with kids in the house.

rcronin · Jan 9, 2008

cwa107 said:
Just my opinion, m'kay? I'd take it to an Apple Store. I get the distinct impression that those folks may be less than qualified for their jobs.

Not necessarily - particularly if it's an intermittent mechanical issue. Switches are moving parts, so definitely a wear/breakdown prone part.

Just as an aside - If your house has wiring that old, you should definitely have it evaluated by an electrician, especially if there's no ground on the outlets. Wiring that old can be a fire hazard. Also, if you don't have GFCI outlets near the sinks, tubs, etc, it can be really dangerous, particularly with kids in the house.

Yep, yep and yep. BTW, I think I have properly grounded outlet near the water in the house, at least. I want all the wiring redone, it's old cloth coated wiring. I've been advised to do it all or don't touch it. To do it all will could be as much at $5000. gulp. It makes me crazy. I want the house to be safe. Well, I think I just hyjacked my own thread.

k2snowboards88 · Jan 9, 2008

I had the same problem with my computer. To fix it, i followed these directions http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303319

It fixed my problem for good. I hope it can for you too.

cwa107 · Jan 9, 2008

rcronin said:
Yep, yep and yep. BTW, I think I have properly grounded outlet near the water in the house, at least. I want all the wiring redone, it's old cloth coated wiring. I've been advised to do it all or don't touch it. To do it all will could be as much at $5000. gulp. It makes me crazy. I want the house to be safe. Well, I think I just hyjacked my own thread.

Unless there's a dedicated run to those outlets, it doesn't matter if the outlet is newer (and has a third prong) or even if it has a Reset/Test button on it, it's likely not grounded. A lot of DIYers replace the outlets over the years thinking that they're getting the benefits of newer outlets, but don't realize that just changing an outlet does nothing without new wiring.

Sorry, it's my fault for the thread hijack, just wanted to make sure you're safe.

rcronin · Jan 9, 2008

cwa107 said:
Unless there's a dedicated run to those outlets, it doesn't matter if the outlet is newer (and has a third prong) or even if it has a Reset/Test button on it, it's likely not grounded. A lot of DIYers replace the outlets over the years thinking that they're getting the benefits of newer outlets, but don't realize that just changing an outlet does nothing without new wiring.

Sorry, it's my fault for the thread hijack, just wanted to make sure you're safe.

That is REALLY good to know. I didn't replace anything, it was done before we bought the house. But I DID think they were safer. I'll have to have them checked out and see if the wiring was updated. I really appreciate the hijack, lol.