Helen Johnson

After about 2 months out of action, I finally have my MacBook Pro back and working. Got a whole new logic board in order to fix the Distorted or No Display problem with the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics cards (see my previous post: Update to my Macbook Pro blank screen problems for details). Was told that the logic board cost $1800.26 AUD, but thanks to Apple I got it replaced for free (which the tech guy made a big deal out of).

So far it has been working fine, which is so good. I really missed my setup, my 1920 resolution and TextMate. Hopefully there won’t be anymore problems, but at least I know now that Apple is honouring their word on the NVIDIA issue here in Australia and that I still have about another 10 months warranty on the graphics card to cover that problem if it strikes again.

After posting about how my 17″ MacBook Pro has become a paperweight Apple now has a support article about MacBook Pro: Distorted video or no video issues in relation to the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processors. This sounds exactly like the problems I am having and luckily even though I am out of my 1 year warranty, the cover for this issue on the NVIDIA chip has been extended to 2 years.

So my Macbook Pro is now in the shop and I will hopefully find out in the next couple of days if the NVIDIA problem is actually what is wrong with it. And if it is the problem, then they will replace it with another NVIDIA chip for free (which could have the same issues as it will also be a NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT).

But I am hopeful that I can get a few more months work out of it seeing as Apple saw fit to not upgrade (much) the 17″ Macbook Pros at the recent launch of the new Macbooks and Macbook Pros. Yes there technically is a “new” 17 Macbook Pro, but they have not upgraded it enough for me to fork out that much money when it still has the same NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics card and the rumours are for new new 17″ Macbook Pros sometime early next year.

If you have experienced this problem share your story and leave a comment below, you might be able to help out another frustrated Mac user.

UPDATE: My MacBook Pro is back and working

My 17” MacBook Pro is a paperweight

I turned my laptop off after a day’s work and brought it home, went out for a few hours, and when I turned my macbook on later there was no screen. The hard drive was running and the keyboard was active. I had experienced a few funky things with the macbook, where it wouldn’t wake up from sleep and stayed on a blank screen before, so I held down the power button to turn it off, and tried it again. Still just a blank screen. I eventually gave up and left it for the night. The next day the same thing, no screen.

So I did some research and came across a surprising number of fellow macbook users with the same or similar symptoms, such as a thread on the apple forum: MacBook Pro Blank Screen.

I tried all of the suggestions in the thread and actually got it to work again by using another mac to delete my sleep image (see my comment here for instructions: how to delete my sleep image). But alas, the joy was short lived. The next day, blank screen again and this time the same fix did not work again because there was no sleep image to delete.

Now of course I was 1 month out of the 12 month warranty and the only “official” fix left was to replace the most expensive part, the logic board (i.e. the motherboard). I was quoted $1200 AUD for the logic board, not including installation. But after doing more reading it seems that some people had the same problem again even after getting a brand new logic board. Now it seems that this could all be the fault of a dodgy nvidia chip.

Luckily I can still get to my files, by connecting another mac via firewire and using target disc mode (hold down T while your mac is booting and the other connected mac will be able to see it as an external drive).

So I’ve been working on my trusty Asus F3 which is about 2 years old now. It’s been handling things quite well, but I miss my 1920 resolution and 4gb of ram. I’m not a rabid mac fan, but I did like my MacBook Pro and it suited me and my work well. So now I am waiting to see if/when there are new Macbook Pros coming (the rumour is for October 14) and that hopefully they will have improved nvidia chips in them.

UPDATE: Update to my MacBook Pro blank screen problems

UPDATE 2: My MacBook Pro is back and working

So there have not been many posts lately; between work, trying to buy a house and my MacBook becoming a paperweight there hasn’t really been much time for anything else.

When making this site I wanted to be able to easily manage and update it while still being able to design it exactly how I wanted. I could have just made the website with static html pages, but then I would have had to update them manually and if I wanted to blog or do quick news updates then I would have to add some additional blog software. So after some research and a few tests I found the best solution to be Wordpress.

Wordpress is much more than just blogging software; it’s a powerful CMS (content management system). The main thing that makes Wordpress different (and great!) is the ability to add “pages” just like you would add a post. These pages act like normal static html pages, but you can manage and update them through the Wordpress admin. You can even make custom templates for different pages so that they behave or look different (I’m using a different template for my portfolio pages). And you can make parent / children pages to create depth and organise your website and navigation properly.

Best of all, I have found Wordpress to be quite easy to use and versatile enough to suit my needs. You don’t really need to know html and css to use it (there are plenty of themes you can download), but if you do then there is so much you can customise and play with.

So here are my top 5 reasons to use Wordpress:

1. It’s easy to set up and use
2. It integrates blogging and CMS
3. You can customise templates, css etc as much (or as little) as you want to create your website just the way you want it
4. There are great plugins out there for you to use to help you get the most out of your Wordpress website
5. It’s free

Happy wordpress-ing!