Macbook Pro - Help

[Dennis Peacock]

I was given a broken (won't boot) macbook pro laptop. I measured the screen (diagonal measurement) and it's a 15" screen. Serial Number is: w80328gaatn
The previous owner said that she thought it was a bad motherboard. I know next to nothing about a Mac but I'm also not afraid to work on it. So, how do I find out what motherboard/logic board to order for this thing? All I know is that it won't power up and it won't boot.

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated since I'm a long time PC builder but never a Mac until now.

[Jim Becker]

http://www.everymac.com/ultimate-mac-lookup/

Since you can't boot, you can get information by inputing the serial number. Once you have the model number, other information is easier to look up. I generally source upgrade parts from OWC, but there are other places, too. Note that if the mother board is toast, it may be impractical to try and fix. And it's age will also determine if it's worth fixing and what OS can run on it. Current OS version is 10.11.6 OS-X El Capitan, but Sierra is about to be released. (presumably v11)

[Dennis Peacock]

Thanks Jim. I looked it up at the link you provided and here is what it said:

MacBook Pro "Core 2 Duo" 2.66 13" Mid-2010 2.66 GHz Core 2 Duo (P8800)

Intro. April 13, 2010 Disc. February 24, 2011
Order MC375LL/A Model A1278 (EMC 2351*)
Family Mid-2010 13" ID MacBookPro7,1
RAM 4 GB VRAM 256 MB
Storage 320 GB (5400 RPM) Optical 8X DL "SuperDrive"
Complete MacBook Pro "Core 2 Duo" 2.66 13" Mid-2010 Specs

How does Apple measure the screen size? This says it's 13" but when I measure the diagonal screen size, I get about 15". So which is it?

[Todd Davidson]

Dennis ~ The screen's glass is 15", but the viewing area is only 13" (essentially there is an inch boarder around the "screen").

[John McClanahan]

When you turn it on, does the power light come on? Does it make the startup chime? Does the screen lighten up?

[Jim Becker]

Check the power supply, too, and make sure it's outputting something...and remember, that the power supply version is specific to the model if you need to replace.

[Dennis Peacock]

No, no ding, no nothing. Power supply appears to be working. My volt meter checked out at about 18 volts on some of the little poles in the charging cable. Still no power to the macbook pro laptop.

[Jerome Stanek]

does it have a cmos battery. On a windows dell my wife has if that battery is dead it will not start

[Dennis Peacock]

Jerome,
I don't know. Macs are totally strange to me. Since they are Intel based machines, I can't figure out why I can't run the Mac O/S on a homebuilt PC.
It appears that troubleshooting a Macbook issue is like chasing ghosts. Everything keys off date of build (mid-2010 for example). Seems like Apple devised a very good way to "stay in your pocketbook".

[Jim Becker]

They truly are built-for-purpose, Dennis, rather than being a more generic design. MacOS can theoretically run on other Intel-based computers, but there are checks in the OS that limit that capability. Some folks do make a hobby out of creating "Hack-in-Toshes", however...

[Dennis Peacock]

Thanks everyone. I was just checking to see if this thing was worth putting some money into to have my first Mac at home. I just never really could swing the money for a mac and pc parts are so cheap.

[Jim Becker]

It might be worth a few shekels to get it diagnosed by a Mac service provider....it could be something simple to fix.