If you know you have this issue then sign up to the Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah, LLP ATI Macbook Pro case investigation straight away! Not sure, then read on and see if this sounds familiar...
The MBP was purchased online in the US in the summer of 2006 (first generation 1,1). It's the base model from that time, the 2.0Ghz that came with 512MB RAM (i've since gone to 2GB), an 80GB hard drive, matt LCD display and the ATI X1600 graphics chip with 128MB VRAM. The list price for this model/configuration was $1,999US but it was purchased with a student discount so was a little less than that. Although i now live in Australia i lived in America for about 17 years, mostly in or around Baltimore, MD. ...anyway...
I can't really remember when i first noticed things not being quite right. At first i didn't really pay much attention to it, the odd spec of dust 'inside' the LCD or odd line or shape appearing on the screen momentarily. It has been a slow but sure accumulative thing. As time went by the display anomalies became more frequent, lines that run through application windows, through scroll bars etc. sometimes they break up as you scoll and repeat themselves... Sometimes just a plain blue colour, sometimes multicoloured. The general quality of the display became poorer and poorer, dull uneven light, more dust and blotches etc.
I did enquire about these things at an Apple shop in Maryland but by then the MBP was out of warranty, i hadn't purchased the additional 'AppleCare', i had owned apple products in the past and have always been very happy with the quality and life span etc. (i still have a old 12" G3 iBook that runs great)... I was told at that time it was unfortunate 'wear and tear' within Apple specs and couldn't be repaired out of warranty with out paying +$s. So, not happy but i left it at that at the time.
As time has gone on i have become more frustrated and disappointed with the product and started to look around to see if there was anything i could do myself being as it was indeed out of warranty, may be a software 'patch' or firmware update or something, i looked into the price of replacement LCDs etc.... The more i looked online for a 'fix' the more i realised i wasn't alone and became more frustrated and disappointed in purchasing what i think now is a poorly designed produced, with sub-standard, defective and/or badly installed components from Apple. The general quality of the screen is worst now after only 3 years (mid 2009) than my 7 year old iBook, and worse than a cheap generic Windows based laptop (now running Ubuntu Linux) purchased about the same time... Not what one would expect from Apple, and certainly not at a premium price. The display anomaly issue is continuing to get worse, installing a non Apple software app called Fan Control has helped (after much research), but not cured, as the ATI graphics issue 'seems' to be heat related, certainly high temps will start the anomalies off. There isn't much i can do about the poor quality of the screen itself other than replace it, about $400 if i do it myself. At this stage i'm reluctant to put any more money into it.
The Apple forum i've been mostly following is this one, but i know there's been a lot of talk about this both on Apple forums and elsewhere. One thing that's been frustrating, and interesting at the same time, is the Apple have been editing or deleting certain posts that contain references to seeking legal advice!?!
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1697470
Read the whole thing through if you have time, it really shows what the issue(s) is all about.
I have been i touch with Apple recently (June 2009) about the issues with my MBP. After many photographs of the anomalies and many phone calls and emails later i was asked to take the MBP into the local AppleCare Centre (in Cairns, QLD Australia for me now). But again told by the 'tech' that it was 'wear and tear' and to be expected, he did witness a few anomalies whilst i was at the shop but he just said 'oh, that could be a third party software or hardware problem', i've been around long enough to know that cliché fob-off... The tech' was very blasé, almost seemed bored in fact, and not interested in my issue(s) at all... I did leave it with them for the day but was told upon return that 'nothing had happened', again that it might be 'software, or may be related to an external device like my external hard drive or printer'. I wonder exactly how much attention was being paid during this supposed 'testing'? Sorry but i lacked any confidence in the process after the initial attitude in the morning.
So, what do i "expect" as the tech' said... we'll, i do not expect a premium product to have such a short life span... One doesn't purchase a BMW only to find the paint fades and cracks after 3 years, or find you can't drive it in the rain without the windows open because the screen fogs up!?! Come on Apple... anyway, not happy.
The PR person at Apple i've been talking to, corresponding with, had been very attentive i must say. Even sent out a courtesy replacement set of install discs to run the Apple Hardware Test as i'd lost mine in the move (hardware test didn't show anything wrong btw).
Also, not a display issue but may be relevant. The battery was replaced as there was a recall for this model. Not sure where, when i heard about the recall but just walked into the Apple shop and got a replacement battery over the counter at no charge... More recently, again and accumulative thing first noticed over a year ago but got worse over time, the power supply cord to the laptop melted and after many emails, and some irate phone calls, was replaced by Apple. Not signs of a well manufactured product... more corner cutting?
I'm not sure what else to say at this stage. You can look through the Apple forums (not just the one linked above) and find hundreds of similar cases with graphics/screen related dissatisfied customers with these early model MBPs with the ATI X1600 chip (not the Nvidia issue, that was a different model and dealt with on Nvidia's call i think). As well as melting power supplies and exploding batteries etc...
Personally i think this range of MBPs have some serious design faults related to heating, and have serious manufacturing defects, and/or production quality. Apple may have, mistakenly or otherwise, used inferior components that may well have been installed incorrectly. Possibly Apple was trying to cuts costs, but at who's expense?
22 August 2009
Well, no more word from Apple PR even though i've sent in a few emails... I haven't had the time or inclination to run the system without any peripheral devices plugged in and just running Apple software to make triple 100% sure it isn't a third party device or software app that's the problem (i have had anomalies across all apps, including iTunes, Mail, iCal, etc.)... I am getting continued anomalies etc., more frequent 'black screens' of death, lock ups and freezes... and another odd thing that happens, the screen will slowly fade over 3 or 4 seconds and then freeze with a bleached out look!?!
3 October 2009
The saga continues... a few weeks back my battery dies, having been replaced once already. The Apple rep. i've been corresponding with sent me a voucher for about $50AUD off a new battery but i said i was reluctant to pay the balance of approximately $150AUD not knowing if the MBP itself was going to last much longer with the failing GPU/logic board issue. I finally got an old iMac G5 from a very good friend to cover me whilst my MBP slowly dies... Thank God Apple made great products prior to the intel switch! My little G3 iBook still runs great - 7 plus years and counting... Anyway, tested the MBP without external devices and only Apple software... same issue(s). Spoke to the Apple rep. re repair or replacement for my MBP but was told that i could get more tests done at the Apple Centre but if nothing was found to be at fault then i would now have to pay service charges... If Apple did find fault, they 'might' offer a discounted repair, but certainly not replacement, they didn't offer any ideas as to how much the discount might be at this stage or what my out of pocket expenses might be... but did say if i didn't accept their offer then i'd have to pay full service costs... I felt backed into a corner, which i didn't like so have left it at that.. i have the old iMac G5 that, all be it a bit slow these days, at least works... the little iBook, bit too slow for what i need... and an expensive piece of failed junk called an Apple MacBook Pro! Apple - CrApple!
November 2009
Latest from the Dead or Dying MacBook Pro saga... Well, lots of posts on the Apple forum still... and they, 'Apple', are still deleting and editing posts by the way... Some recent posts went back to the idea of re-applying the thermal paste, and one brave sole added a 'spacer' between the GPU and heat-sink (a coin of all things!)... Anyway, thought i'd have a go at this re-applying the thermal paste... not a task for the faint hearted as you'll need to take the whole frikkin' thing apart! But, a few hours later (and no screws or bits left over i might add)... started back up, had to reset the RAM once (it has been tempermental in the past so no great shock), but all looked good, temps were down - staying around the 50ºC mark... no noticable anomalies (though there were a few odd moments but so quick i couldn't be sure)... ran a DVD, a slide show in iPhoto, had FireFox up browsing, and a VirtualBox session of Windows XP running... all seemed good! Was in the process of typing up my report on the Apple forum and... PHUTZ! Black screen, no key response, fans still whurring, combo drive made a few whurring sounds after the black screen, but basically and most definately DEAD!
Along with many other posts in the thread for this issue on the Apple forum site, this recent one was 'removed' three times in a row... There were some useful links to other threads both on Apple and other sites so i thought i'd quote it here... obviously SFMS Law was mentioned and linked so that might have had something to do with it... although i've managed to post that link serveral times and not had it deleted by Apple... Sheez, what a mess!
knorven posted "Re: display anomalies" in "display anomalies" on Nov 5, 2009 9:50:39 PM.
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Another call to support and another brush-off. I have now shared my story with Shepherd, Finkelman,
Miller & Shah, a legal firm currently investigating this issue. ANY Mac with the X1600 GPU can be
affected,iMac or MacBook. If you are affected, PLEASE share your problem with these guys. There is no
way Apple are going to offer any assistance. We are on our own, so whether you live in the US or abroad,
go to http://www.sfmslaw.com/pages/cases.php?id=779 and tell them about your X1600 issues. Good luck
to all of you.This has also been posted in other forums regarding the X1600 graphic problems.
Apple Support links re Mac graphic problems:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1516765&start=0&tstart=0
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1467276&tstart=0
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2136365&start=0&tstart=0
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2181088
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1697470&start=0&tstart=0
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1974295&start=0&tstart=0
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2194641
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1878407&tstart=0
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2109263
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1726184&start=0&tstart=0
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2147082
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1609243&start=0&tstart=0Non-Apple links:
http://getsatisfaction.com/apple/topics/2006_imac_graphics_card_crash_freeze
http://torley.com/macbook-pro-with-ati-radeon-x1600-distorted-video-glitches
http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/imacrecall/
http://forums.macworld.com/index.php?/topic/114232-imac-lines-on-screen/
http://www.sfmslaw.com/pages/cases.php?id=779
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Well, i hope this will have been of some use to you. Although the general consensus is, that once started there is no cure, eventual system failure is certain. Even a replacement logic board will, eventually, die the same as the original because of the intrinsic design flaws, the poor quality manufacturing, and poor quality components used!
So, do you have a first generation MacBook Pro with the ATI X1600 graphics chip? Are you having display issues with it, strange things appearing on the screen or poor LCD quality with dust or poor back-light illumination? Then visit Apple Discussions and register your disatisfaction via Apple feedback. Also, sign up to the Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah, LLP ATI Macbook Pro case investigation.
Contact me if you have any questions or comments.