MacBook won't charge

[Hanni]

So a friend of mine spilled some coffee on her Macbook and now the battery won't charge. Everything else works fine but because she spilled on it Apple obviously won't cover this under warranty. I am leery to attempt any repairs as I've never done much with laptops.

Apple says that it needs the motherboard replaced, at a cost of $1300, which is more than the Macbook was new. Since my laptop knowledge is limited my question is would the motherboard really cause this issue? It doesn't make much sense to me that the motherboard would be the issue since everything else works perfectly. Am I wrong?

[algernon]

I don't know about you, but I sometimes get crud or metal filings stuck in the MagSafe power plug-in socket. I sometimes have to wiggle the jack until the light glows orange to know that it's charging.
Also, maybe the MacStore down on Mcleod would be cheaper?

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by Hanni

So a friend of mine spilled some coffee on her Macbook and now the battery won't charge. Everything else works fine but because she spilled on it Apple obviously won't cover this under warranty. I am leery to attempt any repairs as I've never done much with laptops.

Apple says that it needs the motherboard replaced, at a cost of $1300, which is more than the Macbook was new. Since my laptop knowledge is limited my question is would the motherboard really cause this issue? It doesn't make much sense to me that the motherboard would be the issue since everything else works perfectly. Am I wrong?

The power management and charger smarts are embedded on the motherboard. Assuming the magsafe connection is delivering power, then yes, its a motherboard replacement.

Clean the magsafe connection off on the macbook (use a pencil tip eraser to buff it, is my advice), and if that doesn't help, you know where you stand.

[Titan]

http://www.irepair.ca/collections/mac-repair

Likely cheaper than apple. I have heard good things.

Also, if you are more adventurous

http://www.ifixit.com/

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by Titan

http://www.irepair.ca/collections/mac-repair

Likely cheaper than apple. I have heard good things.

Also, if you are more adventurous

http://www.ifixit.com/

The motherboard is going to cost 600-800 dollars alone, no matter where you get it, unless you can find one refurb, which definitely exists.

[Hanni]

Even if it is cheaper by the time you include shipping she might as well buy a new one.

Will try cleaning the magsafe connection and go from there.

Just another reason I'll only ever own a desktop as my main computer, so easy to replace individual parts.

[icarus]

Sounds similar to a problem my fiancee has with her MacBook, the battery won't charge so it will only work when plugged in. I take it that if this is a motherboard issue there is no point in trying to schedule an appointment at the Apple Store.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by icarus

Sounds similar to a problem my fiancee has with her MacBook, the battery won't charge so it will only work when plugged in. I take it that if this is a motherboard issue there is no point in trying to schedule an appointment at the Apple Store.

Not if you spilled a cup of coffee on it!

Seriously though, can't hurt to take it in for an hour or 2 of your time.

[speede5]

Does she have house insurance? It would most likely be covered, probably not worth it based on the deductible but you never know.

Instead of paying so much to repair it, and still having a computer that had coffee spilled on it, she may be able to sell it to someone who would leave it plugged in, and use the proceeds to buy a new one. Probably a break even but she'd have a new computer. What model is it?

[Cheerio]

Originally Posted by icarus

Sounds similar to a problem my fiancee has with her MacBook, the battery won't charge so it will only work when plugged in. I take it that if this is a motherboard issue there is no point in trying to schedule an appointment at the Apple Store.

I think you just need a new battery for that. My brother and countless friends have had their batteries die and just bought a new one and it's as good as new.

[fundmark19]

My battery wont charge as well and my screen wont turn on all the time. I need to be very gentle as I open it and if I open it to far it turns off. The backlit portion turns off you can still see the writing if you look really close

[octothorp]

I assume you already tried a SMC reset? A lot of battery/charging issues can be resolved by this. Also, make sure that you rule out a faulty adapter. Carefully clean the nodes on both computer and adapter.

Also, there are free utilities that will tell you the status of your battery, and whether it's at the end of its life. This will help you distinguish between motherboard issues and battery issues.

[Barnes]

Originally Posted by fundmark19

My battery wont charge as well and my screen wont turn on all the time. I need to be very gentle as I open it and if I open it to far it turns off. The backlit portion turns off you can still see the writing if you look really close

Is this an older Macbook? 2006ish? They had problems with the display inverters where they would flicker and some would die altogether.

Pretty cheap part.

http://www.ifixit.com/Mac-Parts/MacB...67#0-Inverters

Check the model though.

[Cheerio]

I've had my Macbook since 2007, and now I'm encountering freezing problems whenever I'm on the internet (firefox/safari). I can move the mouse, the clock runs, but I cant click on anything, and it doesn't respond to any button presses. Can anyone help?

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by icarus

Sounds similar to a problem my fiancee has with her MacBook, the battery won't charge so it will only work when plugged in. I take it that if this is a motherboard issue there is no point in trying to schedule an appointment at the Apple Store.

This just started happening to mine too; pretty sure it's just a battery issue.

[silentsim]

Originally Posted by Cheerio

I've had my Macbook since 2007, and now I'm encountering freezing problems whenever I'm on the internet (firefox/safari). I can move the mouse, the clock runs, but I cant click on anything, and it doesn't respond to any button presses. Can anyone help?

I assumed you rebooted. Have you tried an external mouse?

[Cheerio]

Originally Posted by silentsim

I assumed you rebooted. Have you tried an external mouse?

I've hard restarted it countless times, because that's the only way to get it to go back to working again. How would an external mouse help? I don't have the install disk which means I can't wipe it unfortunately. Are there any other ways to do this?

[silentsim]

Originally Posted by Cheerio

I've hard restarted it countless times, because that's the only way to get it to go back to working again. How would an external mouse help? I don't have the install disk which means I can't wipe it unfortunately. Are there any other ways to do this?

so you can try repairing permissions. might help fix the freezing. as per the trackpad, i am not sure. could be hardware.

snow leopard is 30$- were you running this before? if not, that would be a good option

[Cheerio]

Originally Posted by silentsim

so you can try repairing permissions. might help fix the freezing. as per the trackpad, i am not sure. could be hardware.

snow leopard is 30$- were you running this before? if not, that would be a good option

How would I go about repairing permissions? Oh I CAN move the mouse when its frozen but can't click or press buttons on the keyboard. I think I'm running Leopard right now but I'm not sure.

[silentsim]

Open Disk Utility (Applications/Utilities)
on the left side choose your disk and go "Repair Disk Permissions"