Any way to save this old MacBook Pro from 2007? (Dead graphics card)

[samotivad]

I own a MacBook Pro 2007 that ran well for 5 years and then suddenly got a black screen 5 years later in 2012. I took it to the Apple store at the time but they wouldn't fix it because it was just over 5 years old. They did tell me that the graphics card was dead though, because they couldn't hook it up to an external monitor either.

It's been a number of years since then that I shelved this particular Macbook because I didn't have the time to look into the matter more and I move country a lot.

Now I have the old Macbook with me again and I'm trying to figure out what to do with it. It seems a shame to just throw it away. Is there any way you think I could get the graphics card fixed or fix it myself? The intention would be to eventually put Linux on it just to be able to give it some more life.

Otherwise I guess I could take it apart and sell pieces of it. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts anyway.

 

[Amethyst1]

The only permanent fix is to physically replace the dead graphics chip with a newer, revised version. All other solutions (such as baking the mainboard) are temporary.

 

[samotivad]

I don't have the skills myself to solder chips etc. What kind of price range would you expect a repair shop to charge for a service like that? Several hundred I suppose?

 

[Amethyst1]

I believe @dosdude1 charges $150, new chip included.

 

[samotivad]

That's really a lot less than I would have guessed. I live in France so probably wouldn't be able to benefit from DosDude1's service but thank you, it's good to have a rough idea of what could be charged.

 

[Amethyst1]

You're welcome - when assessing the cost, keep in mind you'll need to get your hands on a new revised graphics chip first (good luck!). And then have a repair shop do the replacement.

 

[TheShortTimer]

Finding a replacement logic board is also an option to consider if you're confident enough to undertake replacing the board yourself. This was my solution after experiencing a similar issue with my MBP 2006. I found a replacement logic board on eBay that belonged to a later revision which meant it wasn't affected by the GPU failure and as a bonus also had a faster CPU.

 

[SecretSquirrel]

That's really a lot less than I would have guessed. I live in France so probably wouldn't be able to benefit from DosDude1's service but thank you, it's good to have a rough idea of what could be charged.

I remember reading awhile ago that he was happy to take international work if the sender was happy to take the delivery risk. He just needed the logic board. It was a couple of years ago so might be worth a PM to him to check...

 

[unclemiltie]

I've had a couple of these fixed, I still have two that are going strong

The issue is the GPU chip and getting it reflowed or re-balled isn't really the best option. What you need to do is find someone who will replace the chip with the newer version of the same chip.

I got mine done by a guy in Florida who I found on ebay. I think it was about $90 or so when I had it done a few years ago. I did have to take the motherboard out and send it to him to get hat price, if you send them the whole unit you have to pay to have them take the system apart.


Anyone who has the right equipment to replace a BGA device can do it assuming they can get their hands on the replacement chip.

 

[bobesch]

As a temporary fix you can remove the logic-board and apply mild heat (140°C for 10 minutes).
Be sure to remove all plastic parts, that could melt (like the two plastic-clips at the back-end of the board)
(Never ever go for nonsense like reflowing or reballing, since the problem isn't a problem of the BGA-soldering-connections between the GPU-chip and the logic board. It's a problem within the GPU-chip, that tends to be mended by applying well tempered heat of 140°C for 10 minutes - a temperature that is securely below melting point of solder and below boiling point of flux.)
You'll need good thermal-paste for reassembling.
All procedures will take about 2-3hs.
After applying mild heat to recover the GPU, the PCIe-Lane-width will be back at x16. You may check the PCIe-Lane-width regularly after the "repair-fix": if it's going down below the x16, then the GPU is about to fail again.
After the fix you'll have to take care, that the device/GPU does not overheat again (aluminum-stand, fan-control).
Replacing the GPU is the only permanent repair, but will cost about 100-150 bucks.