Applies to:
- MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2008)
- MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2009)
- MacBook Pro (17-inch, Mid 2009)
Component affected:
- GPU power supply circuit component (C7771)
Symptoms:
- No power
Apple Repair program:
This issue has never been acknowledged by Apple.
The Issue:
A capacitor (C7771) on the power rail for the GPU/MCP fails. The graphics chip (GPU) has other functionality which are vital to the Mac functioning. Without power to this chip, the Mac is dead.
The Fix:
If you have soldering skills and the right microsoldering equipment, you can replace this capacitor yourself. You can also contact a company that offers board repair services.
My MBP 15in late 2008 is now definitively dead. At first, as I understood that it couldn’t switch on after pushing the ON/OFF element, I discovered that after letting it on my legs, the chassis was a little bit warmer and while attempting again and again to push on the switcher, finally the white led on the right corner lighted and I was happly surprised, because I still didn’t do anything or try to open it. After understanding that the temperature was the solution (not definetively) to my problem, I followed every time the same steps to use my MBP and it was sucessful for many months after the problem appeared for the first time, of course I needed to warm it on a hot surface like the heather of my room before and every time it required always more heat or longer time warming before it could be ready to be switched on. Finally it died after I left it for too much time on the top of a pot with boiling water.