Macbook white A1181 No video no chime

RandyW

I purchased a used white macbook for $60. I don't know the history of the macbook. The macbook power on, the white power light on the right side stay on when plugged into the wall socket. The battery needs to be replaced. I can hear the fans spinning. There is no video or no chime. I plugged an external vga monitor to the macbook, nothing came on the screen. Can the macbook be saved? How should I go about trouble shooting the macbook? Does the GPU requires reballing? Is the logic board toasted?

John

I'd remove the battery...it will only complicate the situation.

First, reset the PMU. Do this by powering off the machine completely, and then holding the power button down for 10-15 seconds, until you hear a fan sound, see the sleep light blink, and hopefully hear a solid tone. This sometimes "wakes up" a computer that is stuck in certain conditions.

If that doesn't do it, I would then look at the RAM. Many A1181s have a faulty RAM slot, and when they do, they behave as you are describing. If RAM is removed from the bad slot, it generally alleviates the condition. To test the slots, power on with one slot empty, and if that doesn't help, power on with the other slot empty.

The board could be bad, but there's a very good chance it's got a bad slot, in which case it could potentially be a functional machine, just with only one working slot. A1181s don't generally have GPU issues, and it isn't a model that benefits much from reballing.

Good luck, and let me know the results of trying the above.

John

RandyW

Thank you John, I removed the RAM per your trouble shooting. The macbook is now running. As the RAM slot is unrepairable, I will need to find a 1gb memory stick and a new battery.
Thank for the help. Another macbook saved.
RandyW

John

Great to hear it worked out! There are lots of white MacBooks out there in that condition that can literally be working again in a matter of 5 minutes.

You can even put in a 2GB memory module if you want, since even the Core Duos can take a max of 2GB. If by chance it's a Core 2 Duo and you put 2GB in it, you can even run Lion. So even with a bad slot, as long as you max out the RAM, these partially defective machines can still live productive lives.

Thanks,

John