Old macbook pro headache

[SiPreston]

I've bought an old MacBook Pro as a little project, to try and repair. The model is an A1260, board number 820-2249A.

The problem is that to turn it on I have to hold the power button for 10 secs, then attach the magsafe charger, still holding the power button for 10 secs. After that it will turn on every time. However there is no light on the charger and the battery will not take a charge. Once the charger is unplugged I have to go through the whole 10 sec routine again.

Using the boardview and schematics I've checked some power lines/resistors and appear to have the correct voltage, and nothing appears to be visually damaged/burnt/corroded.

At a loss now as to where to look next, so any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome.

A1260 should be a MacBook Pro (15-inch Early 2008), which is a non-Unibody Core 2 Duo model. Is that correct?

It sounds like the Left I/O Board, PRAM Battery, or the logic board may be bad. The main battery itself may be bad as well. Tough to know for sure without having hands on the unit.

C

 

[SiPreston]

Hello and welcome.

A1260 should be a MacBook Pro (15-inch Early 2008), which is a non-Unibody Core 2 Duo model. Is that correct?

It sounds like the Left I/O Board, PRAM Battery, or the logic board may be bad. The main battery itself may be bad as well. Tough to know for sure without having hands on the unit.

C

That’s right, it is that model, thanks for the reply.

Just managed to get the left I/o board out so I can check the one wire system and current sensing

 

[SiPreston]

Update:

I removed the left I/O board and connected everything outside of the body. PPBUS_G3H and PP3v42_G3H are both present.

should the adapter sense line have voltage or not?

I have also found that R5075 measure 2k ohms with no power attached to the board, however when power is attached it reads 5.9m ohms. Is that correct or is the resistor faulty?

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello again,

Unfortunately, Apple doesn't publish schematics and technical documentation like that. In addition, Authorized Apple Service Providers, and even Apple Store Geniuses, do not have access to that, nor do they do component level repair.

Sorry,

C

 

[SiPreston]

I have managed to get the Mac working again, however I now have an issue with the OS, it came without any. I have managed to create a bootable USB from a windows PC, however when I install from it, it boots to the utilities screen and not as a fresh install. I can't get any further as its asks for my apple ID and then says the item is unavailable.

There is no OS available other than on the installation USB.

Any ideas?

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello again,

Glad you got it working again.

Normally, creating a bootable macOS installer on a Windows PC doesn't work very well. Where did you source the macOS installer from, and what version is it?

If it is starting up and you get to the utilities screen, similar to this:

You should be able to use Reinstall macOS, as that will open the installer, and enable you to install a fresh copy of macOS.

See if that works and let us know,

C

 

[SiPreston]

Hello again,

Glad you got it working again.

Normally, creating a bootable macOS installer on a Windows PC doesn't work very well. Where did you source the macOS installer from, and what version is it?

If it is starting up and you get to the utilities screen, similar to this:

You should be able to use Reinstall macOS, as that will open the installer, and enable you to install a fresh copy of macOS.

See if that works and let us know,

C

I’m trying to put Yosemite 10.10 back on, with it being an old machine. I get that utilities screen, however when I try to reinstall the OSX, I have to sign in with my Apple ID. When I do that it says that the item is unavailable.
it doesn’t seem to be trying to install from the usb

 

[Cory Cooper]

OK, thanks.

It may give that error, if your Apple ID never "purchased" the Yosemite installer, of if that MBP never had Yosemite installed on it. It originally came with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, which had an installer disc that came with the MBP. Also, there have been issues with certificate expiring with the old installers from Apple.

The PC-created USB installer could have multiple issues, since the USB flash drive probably isn't formatted for Mac, you can't just copy the installer to it and run it that way, and it depends on where the Yosemite installer came from.

The best procedure would be to prep a USB installer using DiskMaker X on another Mac that has the Yosemite installer on it. I know that is a tall order, as that can be hard to find.

C

 

[SiPreston]

Seem to have sorted it. Found an offline installer version of snow leopard, so it’s installed and working. I’ll try to upgrade as far as I can with it now