Not your average Display Problem

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Hi,

I won't go into the details of how I acquired two MacBook Pro's, but here is my problem.

One MBP is a late 2013 A1502 13" Retina.
The second is an early 2015 A1502 13" Retina.

The 2015 MBP started having display issues, such as:

- Black screen when booting (leaving me unable to login, safe mode will not work either)
- EXTREMELY slow loading when booting computer in safe mode (I'm talking hours)
- Login, use computer for 15 minutes then screen flickers black. Close lid, goes away for a while and returns.

I tried resetting the NVRAM/PRAM and SMC on the 2015 MBP, thinking that might fix the black screen/lines and possibly the boot issues. Nothing.

Hardware test shows no issues (when I finally managed to boot it in diagnostic mode) So now I think faulty logic board.

The 2013 one works fine. I spilled water on it and Apple told me everything that had been touched was toast, including the display (there was a TINY dot of liquid where it connects to logic board, clearly no damage. Beware of Apple Geniuses).

So I thought I would try the 2013 display on the 2015 to see if it still worked as there is no information in the internet for such a procedure. The model A1502, yes true there is, but nothing for between these years.

Viola, it works! No flickering, no black screen, boots in safe mode. Perfectly fine working MacBook Pro.

Then I thought why not try the 2015 display on the 2013 (after repairing the liquid damage, of course). Same result as the previous transplant, it works. No flickering, no black screen, boots in safe mode.

So now I have two MBP's in perfect working condition.

My questions:

- How can a display affect the way a computer boots?
- Are the not completely unrelated?
- Is there something that may break down in the future?

I am only assuming that if I switch the displays back (unnecessary labour) the old problem will occur.

Does anyone have any insights to this? I find it very strange.

Thanks in advance.

Harley
 

chscag

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Welcome to our forums.

Well, you're either a magician or gremlins have infected your two MacBook Pros and you defeated them. :laugh

Seriously, I wish I could give you an explanation that made sense but I can't. In any event, it seems you now have two working machines. Good job.
 
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Well, the first line of your post was quite mysterious sounding ("I won't go into the details of how I acquired two MacBook Pro's"), so I'd personally wonder about what may have been done to these two MBPs in the past before they came into your possession. Perhaps for some bizarre reason the displays had been swapped, and thus you've actually put them back on the right computers?
 
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Or by switching them you tightened up a loose connection? Either way glad they are both working!

Lisa
 

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Or by switching them you tightened up a loose connection?

Lisa

That would be my guess.

I have a 2011 MBp where one of the columns of keys stops working for a few days and then works again for weeks and then stops working again for a while.
That's without doing anything to the Mac except to use it.
I assume one of the connections between the keyboard and motherboard is "flaky"
 

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