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Sell your MacBook

John

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John
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  • Hello! If you go into the settings, on the right side you should see an option to "use side switch to", and the options are "lock rotation", and "mute". If you change this to "lock rotation", you can then fl…
    in Ipad--shifting perspective issue Comment by John December 2012
  • Thanks for the post. It could be a lot of things, but my primary concern is to first figure out whether or not your hard drive is going bad, and to save your data. I would immediately back up anything valuable you have stored on your computer, and…
    in What is wrong with my MacBook--HELP!! Comment by John December 2012
  • Hi Jill! Sorry for the delay. Yeah, at this point it's probably safe to say it's a board issue. There isn't always an answer, unfortunately. Board-level repair is possible, but it requires electrical engineering expertise that people on our leve…
    in Macbook power issues Comment by John November 2012
  • Hi Devitol! Thanks for the post. Unfortunately I don't get a lot of new-ish machines, so you're way ahead of me in terms of experience with i5s. I've found several white unibody machines with a sticky power button, and since the power button is e…
    in MacBook Pro 13" Troubleshooting Comment by John November 2012
  • Hi Smeet! Thanks for the question. I think the main problem here is that you have not really ruled out any parts as definitely bad or good, so you are looking at the whole situation in its totality and the problem is never getting any smaller. Tr…
    in Macbook power issues Comment by John October 2012
  • The 15" aluminum topcase has separate wiring on the underside for the power button, and the trackpad and keyboard. The fact that you were able to power it on means the power button cabling is working, and also that the topcase is properly secu…
    in Trouble shooting top case Macbook Pro 15 2.6 Silver Keyboard Comment by John September 2012
  • Hi! I'm confused as to what exactly was backwards...the topcase connector will only connect to the board in one direction. Regardless, I would first disconnect the machine from power and battery and let it sit overnight. Often a machine will reta…
    in I messed up, Need Some Help with 15" 2008 Early MBP Comment by John August 2012
  • Hi Cleef! Unfortunately I don't have a service manual for that model, since it's fairly new, so I can't give specifics. Perhaps someone else will see your post and comment. However, I will say that they are usually very similar -- two silver dots…
    in Need help finding Power Pads to boot MacBook Pro without keyboard! Comment by John August 2012
  • I'd strongly recommend this iFixit screwdriver kit: http://www.ifixit.com/Tools/54-Bit-Driver-Kit/IF145-022 It's ridiculously cheap for what you get, and it's also far more complete and higher quality than comparable kits. And if you find that yo…
    in Tools For MBP Comment by John August 2012
  • Not really, unfortunately, because the board goes right on top the keyboard. I mean, you could leave the optical out, put the board in, connect the minimum number of connectors and only secure it with a screw or two, then prop the machine up on its…
    in Keyboard Backlight Comment by John July 2012
  • Hi! Unfortunately this is a skill I have yet to master, and as I've mentioned in various posts, it's very difficult to get it quite right. I think they were probably assembled by machine initially, so it's not as if there are markers that simply n…
    in Keyboard Backlight Comment by John July 2012
  • I would buy this one from LaptopAid. They are the best seller of Apple parts. Prices are always fair, and they know what they are doing and have an awesome return policy in the rare case that there is a problem. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Macbook-A1…
    in Which Core2Duo Logicboard for Black CoreDuo Macbook Comment by John July 2012
  • Unfortunately, no, it's not possible to figure out what kind of connectors without going into the machine, as far as I'm aware. Apple has never been good about providing this kind of information, and there is just no resource, especially for that k…
    in Which Core2Duo Logicboard for Black CoreDuo Macbook Comment by John July 2012
  • What you describe is the lack of a backlight. The fuse can be the cause of this, a bad screen can be the cause of this, bad cabling can cause this, and it can also be due to a bad board. The information on what's been done thus far has been vague,…
    in Recently purchased MBP 13in no video! Comment by John July 2012
  • No problem, glad it worked out! Sounds like a trashcan worth keeping an eye on! :-) It might be worth investing $10 in a rubber keyboard protector. Personally I hate typing on them, but my girlfriend has one on her MacBook, and it's definitely k…
    in Dead Macbook Comment by John July 2012
  • Also, make sure to buy a NEW topcase, because although you may be able to find an "as-is" topcase for $20, chances are it will have the exact same issue you are trying to resolve.
    in Dead Macbook Comment by John July 2012
  • Awesome, congrats! See -- that "repair" place either had no idea what they were doing, or didn't care! This is a VERY common issue on these machines, and they should have known to try this. Anyway, yes, you have outlined the correct pos…
    in Dead Macbook Comment by John July 2012
  • This is a white unibody MacBook, correct? Not a 13" unibody MacBook or MacBook Pro? It's the only one I can find with "late 2009" designation. I wouldn't trust anyone, honestly. I don't trust any diagnosis that I haven't personall…
    in Dead Macbook Comment by John July 2012
  • Hi Tim! First step is to make sure it's actually the board. The power button connects to the keyboard, and the keyboard connects to the board, which often means that when a keyboard is fried via liquid damage, the connection to the power button is…
    in Dead Macbook Comment by John July 2012
  • It sounds like the backlight is still completely out. If you turn the lights off and see no light emitting from the screen at all, then that is the situation. I would not pay a cent to anyone who gave you back a computer with no backlight...they h…
    in Recently purchased MBP 13in no video! Comment by John June 2012
  • Is there any backlight at all? In other words, when you are in a completely dark room with the computer, can you see the light of the screen glowing? If not, it's a backlight issue, and I still have to wonder if the microfuse issue I mentioned is …
    in Recently purchased MBP 13in no video! Comment by John June 2012
  • A group of keys is controlled by each small wire in the keyboard ribbon cable, so if a few keys in a row do not work, that generally means the electronics behind them got fried, and there really is no way to recover a keyboard in that state. If a s…
    in Macbook Pro Coffee damage, partial keyboard shutdown. Comment by John June 2012
  • When you say you tested your LCD/Display, do you mean you tested your entire screen assembly on the other machine, including the same inverter cable, inverter, hinge, etc.? If you moved the whole assembly and it worked, that rules out the inverter …
    in Macbook Pro A1150 very dark screen Comment by John June 2012
  • Contrary to popular belief, inverters almost never go bad. They are simple devices, like a modem, and there's really not a lot that can go wrong with them. If someone tells you the problem is the inverter itself, chances are they have some book kn…
    in Macbook Pro A1150 very dark screen Comment by John June 2012
  • I'll keep my fingers crossed for Applelonia! :-) Hopefully the screen replacement will fix it. If not, I wouldn't rule out the fuse issue yet (assuming there is a faint image on the screen) because it's very difficult to tell if it's blown just b…
    in Recently purchased MBP 13in no video! Comment by John June 2012
  • 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…
    in Macbook white A1181 No video no chime Comment by John June 2012
  • Yes, it's possible for the video socket to be fried beyond use. But I would ask him what came of the fuse issue -- did he find it, and did he try to bridge it? There's still also the question of whether or not you can see a faint image on the scre…
    in Recently purchased MBP 13in no video! Comment by John June 2012
  • 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, …
    in Macbook white A1181 No video no chime Comment by John June 2012
  • Honestly it shouldn't be a costly repair...if he knows what he's doing it should represent no more than an hour of work. The fuse itself barely costs a dollar. It shouldn't be too hard to spot, because it's generally about the only fuse of its typ…
    in Recently purchased MBP 13in no video! Comment by John June 2012
  • Hi! Thanks for the post. I have a question -- when you have no video, do you see a faint image on the screen? Try shining a flashlight through the Apple symbol from the rear, and determine if there is an image, even if there is no light. If you …
    in Recently purchased MBP 13in no video! Comment by John June 2012