Completely dead macbook pro.

[whosdnc]

Hi everyone, my macbook just stopped working. Laptop is a Macbook Pro Mid 2009, with the intel 2.56ghz processor. The battery went to 0% while it was charging, i closed the lid, and someone unplugged it. Since then, it did not turn on even when I unplugged the battery. I removed the RAM, HDD, and battery and still no success, tried to smc reset it but to no avail. I may suspect that the motherboard died, but its unlikely.

 

[Alpha Centauri]

Same model I have, almost. I wouldn't throw any money at it unless you absolutely must, in which case I'd probably change the DC-in board and fit a new battery (a half decent one will be tough to find).

Perhaps it's time to let it go peacefully?

 

[whosdnc]

just bought it from someone 3 or 4 days ago, so thats not possible

The MagSafe light is green, so I don't think its the dc-in board

 

[Alpha Centauri]

The MagSafe light is green, so I don't think its the dc-in board

I've had everything repaired/ replaced, on occasion multiple times.

I did once have a faulty DC-in board, caused by an internal short of the original T-pieced MagSafe cord. The symptom was a constant green light (no switching to orange) when the battery was obviously not fully charged. That's the reason I mention it.

iFixit has a guide on changing it here. It's for the 15", they've one for the 13" also. Not sure what you have.

 

[whosdnc]

Thank you, I have the 13". The battery light indicator flashes multiple times. I also forgot to mention that the battery charged from 10%-35% very slowly, like extremely slow.
It also showed this every time it was plugged in:

Is the battery the culprit of this, or the dc-in board, as you mentioned in your reply?

 

[whosdnc]

Thank you, I have the 13". The battery light indicator flashes multiple times. I also forgot to mention that the battery charged from 10%-35% very slowly, like extremely slow.
It also showed this every time it was plugged in:

View attachment 2142227

Is the battery the culprit of this, or the dc-in board, as you mentioned in your reply?

Plugged the laptop at 1AM, when it was at 10%, and unplugged it at 10AM, it had 35% of battery.

 

[Alpha Centauri]

Thank you, I have the 13". The battery light indicator flashes multiple times. I also forgot to mention that the battery charged from 10%-35% very slowly, like extremely slow.
It also showed this every time it was plugged in:

View attachment 2142227

Is the battery the culprit of this, or the dc-in board, as you mentioned in your reply?

Hard to say, especially since you cannot look into SystemPrefs to ascertain the battery condition. Does the previous owner say anything when it was last replaced?

Discounting the charger itself, also having reset the NVRAM, try an new battery as a starting point. In my case, green light on MagSafe prevented charge dropping below 25% but wouldn't turn orange to charge above that either. "Battery is not charging" was also my alert but I did have an obvious short and had a replacement charging brick and DC-In board.

 

[Mike Boreham]

Hard to say, especially since you cannot look into SystemPrefs to ascertain the battery condition. Does the previous owner say anything when it was last replaced?

"Service Recommended" in his screenshot is a bit of a giveaway about the battery health, but if it will charge up to 35% I wouldn't expect that to stop it booting at all, especially if plugged in.

OP...Bit of a long shot, but do you have the AHT (Apple Hardware Test) disc for it? I managed to download and make one on a USB stick a while back.

Did you try Safe Boot...another long shot.

My experience of Macs of this vintage dying is that it can be frustrating experience, with inconsistent behaviour. I scrapped an old Mac which wouldn't boot, tried it a month later and it booted. But only for a while, then it wouldn't.

 

[MBAir2010]

what were the terms of this exchange?
can you return or have the buyer fix this MacBook?

just the slow battery charing is an indication there is something wrong with the MacBook
my 2010 MacBook Air has a bad battery (service recommended) for years
but never too that long to charge.

your headline stated: "Completely dead MacBook pro"
is this MacBook working now?
how did you get the 35% photo?

 

[Alpha Centauri]

OP: to clarify. It went to 0% as in post #1, slowly charging to 35% but not booting any longer?

OR

the MBP only charged to 35% (post#5) initially, it dropped to 0% when it was unplugged and then won't power on any longer?

It's probably obvious and maybe I'm misunderstanding but I've been looking at it from a purely battery/ charging POV.

 

[rovostrov]

Have you tried resetting the SMC & PRAM?

 

[whosdnc]

OP: to clarify. It went to 0% as in post #1, slowly charging to 35% but not booting any longer?

OR

the MBP only charged to 35% (post#5) initially, it dropped to 0% when it was unplugged and then won't power on any longer?

It's probably obvious and maybe I'm misunderstanding but I've been looking at it from a purely battery/ charging POV.

the MBP charged to 35% initially, it dropped to 0% when it was unplugged and then won't power on any longer, thats the exact issue that I've had.

 

[whosdnc]

"Service Recommended" in his screenshot is a bit of a giveaway about the battery health, but if it will charge up to 35% I wouldn't expect that to stop it booting at all, especially if plugged in.

OP...Bit of a long shot, but do you have the AHT (Apple Hardware Test) disc for it? I managed to download and make one on a USB stick a while back.

Did you try Safe Boot...another long shot.

My experience of Macs of this vintage dying is that it can be frustrating experience, with inconsistent behaviour. I scrapped an old Mac which wouldn't boot, tried it a month later and it booted. But only for a while, then it wouldn't.

that was a photo I've got off Google, just to give a hint to what was happening with my battery

 

[whosdnc]

what were the terms of this exchange?
can you return or have the buyer fix this MacBook?

just the slow battery charing is an indication there is something wrong with the MacBook
my 2010 MacBook Air has a bad battery (service recommended) for years
but never too that long to charge.

your headline stated: "Completely dead MacBook pro"
is this MacBook working now?
how did you get the 35% photo?

bought it second hand, seller told in the post that it was "locked" (mbp tried to download el capitan from apple servers, and was requesting icloud account)

 

[whosdnc]

"Service Recommended" in his screenshot is a bit of a giveaway about the battery health, but if it will charge up to 35% I wouldn't expect that to stop it booting at all, especially if plugged in.

OP...Bit of a long shot, but do you have the AHT (Apple Hardware Test) disc for it? I managed to download and make one on a USB stick a while back.

Did you try Safe Boot...another long shot.

My experience of Macs of this vintage dying is that it can be frustrating experience, with inconsistent behaviour. I scrapped an old Mac which wouldn't boot, tried it a month later and it booted. But only for a while, then it wouldn't.

shouldn't the mbp turn on when the battery is unplugged and the magsafe plugged in?

 

[rovostrov]

Reset the SMC of your Mac - Apple Support

The SMC is responsible for managing power on your Mac. Resetting it can resolve certain uncommon issues related to power or thermal management.

support.apple.com

 

[Alpha Centauri]

bought it second hand, seller told in the post that it was "locked" (mbp tried to download el capitan from apple servers, and was requesting icloud account)

Ohoh...it's now really sounding like a bag of hurt. Urge you to try return it and get your money back!!!

 

[Alpha Centauri]

Reset the SMC of your Mac - Apple Support

The SMC is responsible for managing power on your Mac. Resetting it can resolve certain uncommon issues related to power or thermal management.

support.apple.com

The OP's initial post "tried to smc reset"

 

[JokoWidodo]

why would u buy a super old laptop

 

[TimmuJapan]

It's probably the battery or the logic board. Try the machine with a brand new battery? You can get new batteries for that model pretty cheap online. The instructions for a SMC reset are also extremely specific for that model, so follow the instructions on Apple's website carefully.

I have bought computers online before that turned on a few times, before going belly up as a dead logic board. If it does turn out to be a dead logic board, and if you want to try and resurrect it, there are some last ditch things you can try before throwing it out.

1) Bathe the logic board in Isopropyl Alcohol - then see if it turns on after completely drying out.
2) Cook the logic board in the oven -->read about this online and proceed with extreme caution.

The last ditch things mentioned above sound totally nuts, and they are, but you can read stories and see Youtube videos about people doing crazy 1) and crazy 2) to bring a logic board back to life. I would research, watch videos, and read about this as much as possible before actually trying.

Hope it is just the battery!!!!

You Can Fix A MacBook By Baking It In An Oven Like A Pie

It's getting hot in here, so take out your logic board.

www.businessinsider.com

 

[Mike Boreham]

shouldn't the mbp turn on when the battery is unplugged and the magsafe plugged in?

Yes, that is what my first sentence was meant to say. It should run off wallpower alone, or off battery alone if really reached 35%.

 

[whosdnc]

It's probably the battery or the logic board. Try the machine with a brand new battery? You can get new batteries for that model pretty cheap online. The instructions for a SMC reset are also extremely specific for that model, so follow the instructions on Apple's website carefully.

I have bought computers online before that turned on a few times, before going belly up as a dead logic board. If it does turn out to be a dead logic board, and if you want to try and resurrect it, there are some last ditch things you can try before throwing it out.

1) Bathe the logic board in Isopropyl Alcohol - then see if it turns on after completely drying out.
2) Cook the logic board in the oven -->read about this online and proceed with extreme caution.

The last ditch things mentioned above sound totally nuts, and they are, but you can read stories and see Youtube videos about people doing crazy 1) and crazy 2) to bring a logic board back to life. I would research, watch videos, and read about this as much as possible before actually trying.

Hope it is just the battery!!!!

You Can Fix A MacBook By Baking It In An Oven Like A Pie

It's getting hot in here, so take out your logic board.

www.businessinsider.com

Thanks, I will try to buy another battery and see if its the culprit.

 

[whosdnc]

why would u buy a super old laptop

Because I am a student with a very short budget, and a preference for the unibody macs.

 

[Ruggy]

Is it possible that the problem is with the charger? It won't charge the battery and it won't run off the mains: could well be.

 

[JoeDezibel]

It is always amazing how illogical some people behave. Especially when you have no or little money, you should not buy anything used that you can throw away directly when it is broken. Since an installment payment is the lesser evil. So at least has warranty.
By the way, it sounds like your battery is broken. Get a cheap one from ebay to rule out this error.