Chosen Solution

Greetings, everyone. Michael here from Panama CIty Beach, in sunny Florida. What I lack is experience with the powering which I can hopefully glean from the experts/experienced folks in this very cool group. I’ve signed-up for the newsletters and will make it a point to contribute helping others paying forward as best as I can. Thank you in advance for any assist you may offer. Current Issue:

  1. 2006 vintage A1260 MBP with reliable service history suddenly will not start. Has some 1-2 sec fan and SD noise, but that’s it.
  2. Typically keep in sleep mode. After three days on battery with ‘cool pad’ forgetfully plugged in powering 2 external fans - batt died. Power Button Observations:
  3. Pressing Pwr Button momentarily - fans start fast then spin down; SD awakens; sleep light bright 1 sec, then goes dim for 1 sec, then out.
  4. Holding Pwr Button for 10 secs continuously (as with forced shut-down) the Sleep Light does the following: a. 1-2 secs steady bright b. 2-6 secs steady dim c. 6-7 secs flashing dim d. 7-8 secs off e. 8-9 secs on dim f. 9-10 secs off Current Power Conditions:
  5. Primary Battery charged all green light on
  6. Spare Battery charged
  7. New 85W AC/DC charger w/green light functioning What I’ve Tried:
  8. Followed Apple troubleshooting and restarting bulletins
  9. Start-up on batt alone, batt & power adapter, power adapter alone
  10. Reset SMC
  11. Read for hours looking for troubleshooting tips
  12. Suspect Logic Board and/or Power adapter internal connector issues from what I’ve read Background: Had my MBP since ‘06 and since replaced OEM HD with SSHD Nov ‘11; removed everything to clean cabernet spill Mar ‘12; replaced bottom tray/case May ‘13. Machine fully functioning up ’till yesterday. Found this forum this morning and did my research but am unable to discern if start-up problem is with my A1260’s Logic Board or power adapter connection. I’ve tinkered around with my MBP upgrading OEM HD to SSHD, adding memory and changing the lower shell so do have some humble experience with the internals. I use my 1260 daily to keep-up with our four daughters and 4 grand daughters as well as research and write. We are an iFamily and when I priced a replacement 15" Retina MBP with similar specs (!!!) >$3.5K I realized that ain’t gonna happen on our retirement budget. So, using my lovely bride’s MacBook, I’m attempting due diligence to get my antique back up and running. If you can lend a hand . . . In appreciation, Michael

I would be willing to bet this is the nVidia 8600 video processor issue. Apple is no longer providing a free fix on this. There are several companies providing a repair for this problem on eBay. You might also contact Apple and see if they will do a reasonably priced “flat rate” repair on this. There is enough documentation and precedence to take Apple to small claims court and win. You can always mention this and ask Apple for a “exception” since you are a multiple Mac user and long time customer. There’s tons of documentation on this site and others, just do a search for “nVidia 8600”.

The extreme heat caused by the processor affects the soldering of the Nvidia 8600. The problem is solved with a “reballing” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaJTHhK0E… Rolando.