Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, Apple, MacBook
New MacBook heatsinks exposed
We all know about the MacBook's Random Shutdown Syndrome and how it has made many an Apple customer angry. But what is causing all this sadness? Well, a little birdy pointed me to this Flickrstream which contains a few very interesting, and well annotated, photos that expose the truth.As this photo clearly shows (mostly thanks to the notes) the heatsinks are the culprit here. Originally Apple was replacing both the logic board and the heatsinks of ailing MacBooks, but now they only replace the heat sinks, speeding up the repairs greatly (in theory).
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Marc Osborne said 8:07AM on 10-17-2006
Very interesting but incomprehensible to the layman like me. My Macbook was repaired between 9/18 and 9/21. I haven't had a shutdown since receiving it back on 9/22. Can anyone explain what the following parts are other than the now explained heatsink, sponge and thermal sensor:
APP-603-9857 ASSY, BEZEL, M42 APP-605-0994 SVC, TOP CASE W APP-607-0199 ASSY, HESTSINK, M42(1.0mmConnect APP-875-2828 Sponge, thermal sensor conn 2M
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sean said 8:30AM on 10-17-2006
The heatsink is used at early onset.
A logic board change is what would be warranted if the heatsink does not work.
Either one.
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shaninho said 8:52AM on 10-17-2006
I think this is not new but informative anyhow. Sounds to me like a recall should be in order, given how widespread this issue is.
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Will said 9:24AM on 10-17-2006
I had this issue with my Macbook, and I took it to the Apple Store in the Mall at Millenia in Orlando, FL. They repaired my heatsink and got my Macbook back to me in less than 5 hours. Good job, Apple!
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someone said 9:50AM on 10-17-2006
"APP-603-9857 ASSY, BEZEL, M42 APP-605-0994 SVC, TOP CASE W APP-607-0199 ASSY, HESTSINK, M42(1.0mmConnect APP-875-2828 Sponge, thermal sensor conn 2M"
We have, from the top: Bezel assembly. the plastic on the front part of the display housing, along with a top case. Your machine most likely is in the serial number range for the ones that suffered from the discoloration also, so they replaced thost case parts to prevent it from happening or getting worse
then there's the heatsink itself, with the 2mm connectors of the original MLB, and the little sponge that sits on top of the connectors to hold them in place.
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someone said 9:51AM on 10-17-2006
and sean? in a word, no. its not a logic board failure that causes the shutdowns. period.
early on, before engineering identified it as a heatsink issue, it went something like this: AASPs, Stores scratch their heads, say "let's replace the MLB and see if that works." it doesn't. then, most start sending the repairs to depot. most come back still failing. then, they start coming back with replaced heatsinks, but still fail. (not immediately, though, the new heatsinks had to wear and start shorting out like the originals did). then engineering goes "AHA! Eeet eez ze wires! Zey are shorting oot!" and tells all the stores and AASPs to just replace the heatsinks in-house, not send the machines to depot, and sends everyong a boatload of heatsinks so they'll have them on hand.
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Danny said 10:49AM on 10-17-2006
#3 shaninho writes "...Sounds to me like a recall should be in order, given how widespread this issue is."
Does it sound like that? I've been tracking the random shut down issue fairly closely on the net and conclude that I couldn't possibly call with there's a case for a recall. As we all know, the net is a next to perfect amplification device for computer glitches. What the net tells us, and Apple has acknowledge, is that there is a real issue here. But all that I've read about random shut down is compatible with the failure rates being well down in the sub-1% range. If that's right, then a recall would be a real pain for the remaining 99%.
Does anyone know (as opposed to feel very strongly) anything about the %-failure rates might be?
Danny
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Ash said 11:06AM on 10-17-2006
Danny, check out the survey that was done by MacInTouch a while ago now: 10% of MacBooks have shutdown problems...
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And if you consider that RSS is a problem that only manifests itself after a few months of use, that percentage would be an underestimation of the real one!
Scott, thanks for the link to the pics. Seems like my new heat sink features the new part number.
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jim said 11:21AM on 10-17-2006
So... did apple start including these new heatsinks in macbooks made after week 35 then?
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Danny said 12:11PM on 10-17-2006
#8 Ash .. thanks for pointing out the Macintouch Survey. (http://www.macintouch.com/reliability/macbooks.html)
As they point out there: "There is always a theoretical possibility of bias due to the self-selected nature of the survey participants..." and they go on to point out, quite fairly, that in "any case, we see no reason why selection bias should affect comparisons within our surveys, which is their main purpose."
Although Macintouch talk down the risk of selection bias in a bit more detail, I remain a little sceptical. Happy owners are just so much less likely to respond to surveys.
I know some readers here work in AppleStores. Are they experiencing of the order of 1 in 10 MacBooks coming up?
Danny
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Gusto said 12:37PM on 10-17-2006
#10 - I work at an authorized reseller. No, 1 in 10 is too high. Realize that MacBooks are selling really, really well. Thanks to the MacBook, Apple's share of the laptop market has doubled in six months (from 6 to 12%). So there are a ton of them out there. Certainly there is a fair number with problems, but relative to the number sold, it is still minor.
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Fabio said 6:00PM on 10-17-2006
I have a not-so-random shutdown condition with my macbook. Instead of randomly shutting down, my macbook ALWAYS shuts down when first turned on. I mean, early in the morning I turn on my macbook. After a few minutes (or just thereafter) it completely shuts down. Then, if I reset the PMU and PRAM it boots normally and stays stable the whole day, until I manually shut it down latter in the day. It is always the turning on after a complete shutdown that gets it down. Is this the same problem as those reported about the heatsink?
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Mephistophelian said 12:43AM on 10-18-2006
The internet. A love hate relationship.
On one hand I am worried that my week old Macbook is going to suffer from RSS in a couple of months but on the other hand it helped me solve the problem of DVDs not playing.
Oh well, at least I know to watch out for people in bars that want to drug me, remove my kidneys and leave me in ice.
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