Resolved Early 2008 15" MacBook Pro booting issue

[RedCroissant]

Hello there,

I have an early 2008 2.4GHz 15" MBP with 2GB RAM and it is not booting.

I have tried booting from the HDD, booting from the superdrive, and booting externally. None of these work at all and don't get close to booting. What happens is that I have to hold the power button down and the HDD clicks, the superdrive clicks, and the external HDD clicks as well but after a quick high-pitched sound and a short span of time where the activity light is on, then it promptly stops responding.

My thought is bad RAM modules but would like some other opinions if possible.

Thanks for your time!

 

[keysofanxiety]

Do the issues persist after resetting PRAM/SMC?

If so, it's either RAM or Logic Board, so I'd pull out the DIMMs and try each one individually in each slot to see if it works a little better. Certainly quicker to troubleshoot than fitting a new Logic Board

 

[Idefix]

Is that the original Apple RAM?

Sounds more like the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT problem, which mine developed after 3 years. Almost the exact same symptoms. Here's some info:

http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/feedback/MacBookPro_video_failure.html#storytop

(mine's the posting from 8/20/2012)

Here's how I revived it temporarily 5 times, but the revive didn't stick:

"tried to wake the MBP, screen still black, sleep light at half brightness, closed the lid to sleep it, sleep light at full brightness but not pulsing, and left it to heat up all by itself for an hour or longer (after taking the battery out so it wouldn't get cooked) then disconnecting from power and let it cool completely. Revived it 5 times that way, over a period of 10 days, hoping to get some graphic problem for documentation."

It got Apple's replacement logic board and it's still working for a non-profit.

 

[CoastalOR]

Hello there,
I have an early 2008 2.4GHz 15" MBP with 2GB RAM and it is not booting.
I have tried booting from the HDD, booting from the superdrive, and booting externally. None of these work at all and don't get close to booting. What happens is that I have to hold the power button down and the HDD clicks, the superdrive clicks, and the external HDD clicks as well but after a quick high-pitched sound and a short span of time where the activity light is on, then it promptly stops responding.
My thought is bad RAM modules but would like some other opinions if possible.
Thanks for your time!

Bad RAM is normally 3 tones.
Here is some reference information that may help:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204267
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201255
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202768
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201518

 

[RedCroissant]

Do the issues persist after resetting PRAM/SMC?

If so, it's either RAM or Logic Board, so I'd pull out the DIMMs and try each one individually in each slot to see if it works a little better. Certainly quicker to troubleshoot than fitting a new Logic Board

I did try that as well and the thing is that it's not even getting to the apple logo at all. I hear the superdrive start to spin up, then the HDD click, and then rapid shutdown.

Is that the original Apple RAM?

Sounds more like the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT problem, which mine developed after 3 years. Almost the exact same symptoms. Here's some info:

http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/feedback/MacBookPro_video_failure.html#storytop

(mine's the posting from 8/20/2012)

Here's how I revived it temporarily 5 times, but the revive didn't stick:

"tried to wake the MBP, screen still black, sleep light at half brightness, closed the lid to sleep it, sleep light at full brightness but not pulsing, and left it to heat up all by itself for an hour or longer (after taking the battery out so it wouldn't get cooked) then disconnecting from power and let it cool completely. Revived it 5 times that way, over a period of 10 days, hoping to get some graphic problem for documentation."

It got Apple's replacement logic board and it's still working for a non-profit.

I hope that's not the case, but if it is then that sucks!

Bad RAM is normally 3 tones.
Here is some reference information that may help:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204267
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201255
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202768
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201518

I don't even get the tones though, which is another thing that worries me. The superdrive worked long enough to accept a disc but now won't eject it (of course). So most likely I will be taking this machine apart and trying to figure something out. At least the HDD isn't the culprit any more in my opinion.

 

[RedCroissant]

So this MacBook Pro is definitely affected by the GPU (unless both RAM sticks failed). I have no money to buy new RAM or to replace the logic board unless it's incredibly cheap. Does anyone here know a good source of information regarding replacement costs or where I can find the working replacement LB?



Thanks for anyone's assistance!

 

[RedCroissant]

An update to the story:



I was fixing this for a friend and in trying to find replacement logic boards for reasonable prices but also the authorized logic boards for this machine, the price differences were crazy. So I decided to call AppleCare instead and just go to the source in the hopes that this repair wouldn't be too expensive.



So my friend has taken the machine back after me trying whatever she was comfortable with me trying, and she is going to contact Apple to see if the machine is worth fixing based on the price.



Thanks to all of you that helped!

 

[Idefix]

Please report back on what Apple says!

I'm insanely curious--not even sure that Apple stocks the logic boards any more...your friend might be better off putting that money into a refurb, maybe a 13" MBP for $829, which comes with 1 year Applecare.

 

[RedCroissant]

Please report back on what Apple says!

I'm insanely curious--not even sure that Apple stocks the logic boards any more...your friend might be better off putting that money into a refurb, maybe a 13" MBP for $829, which comes with 1 year Applecare.

Yeah at this point it's going to be purely academic because I doubt that the costs involved with replacing the LB are going to be worth it to get the MBP running properly. Even though it's a great machine that can still run the newest versions of OS X, the fact that it's a C2D that costs more to repair than a more powerful 13" i5 (like you said) makes it something that just won't happen. But if Apple is feeling nice, and they happen to actually repair it for a reasonable cost, then that would be awesome!

If not though, I've already been told that I can have the machine after I return the HDD to them.

What other machines are the parts from this one compatible? If not any other than the SATA HDD, then that's too bad. I'm just hoping that something from this machine is salvageable.