I just got this Mac from my grandma because she said it wasn’t working. It boots and lets me go into recovery mode but crashes in a similar way whenever a loading bar starts. I’ve tried booting every different way and cleared nvram. I didn’t see any clearly visible damage on the logic board, and I’m willing to try any ideas as long as I can keep the price of fixing this under $100.

  • antidote101@lemmy.world
    14·
    7 months ago

    My money is still on the logic board having passed away. Apple has been using logic boards that do this for a long time now. It’s one of the first things to die on MacBooks.

  • fartsparkles@sh.itjust.works
    6·
    7 months ago

    Old Intel model?

    Try flushing the NVRAM, PRAM, and SMC.

    I’ve seen weird issues when settings in there get corrupted. Worth a shot.

    • invertedspear@lemm.ee
      2·
      7 months ago

      It’s really the only hope for a sub $100 repair. If it’s not that, it’s hardware, and we all know Apple makes it so that hardware repair is priced to make a new device a better choice.

  • Romkslrqusz@lemm.ee
    6·
    7 months ago

    This is either a problem with graphics memory or graphics silicon.

    That puts it into logic board level repair territory, which will certainly push you past the $100 threshold.

  • Magnetic_dud@discuss.tchncs.de
    4·
    7 months ago

    when it happened on my pc two decades ago it was faulty VRAM. It’s because when it’s loading doesn’t use GPU. Need to replace the video card that means send the laptop to the e-waste.

    edit: it’s m1 mac so there’s no vram, right? So it’s faulty GPU which means faulty SOC = completely wasted?

    • RiderExMachinaEnglish
      13·
      7 months ago

      This is either a bug with the graphics driver (easy to fix) or a hardware fault with the graphics chip (new laptop time).

      Check to see if the graphical corruption only happens in macOS using something like a Linux live USB. If it’s still there, it’s a hardware problem.

      If it goes away, back up her information using Time Machine and reinstall macOS.

      • Unimalion @sh.itjust.worksOP
        2·
        7 months ago

        I’ll try booting it from a live USB but I’m not very hopeful given how it also freezes in recovery and safe mode. Thank you

    • bobsuruncle@lemmy.worldEnglish
      11·
      7 months ago

      They can do a remote diagnostic to figure out where the issue is. Also try booting in safe mode. Hold down the left shift key while booting.

      It does sound like a logic board issue though.

    • Unimalion @sh.itjust.worksOP
      2·
      6 months ago

      No, pretty much everyone I took it to said it would cost 300 to take a look at the motherboard and fix it, but 300 is close to the price of a new motherboard. I’m holding onto it in case I can snipe a working MacBook without a screen that’s compatible for cheap. Thanks for following up!