Apple macbook 13 inch aluminum late 2008 User Manual

MacBook (13-inch, Aluminum, Late 2008) Symptom Charts — Startup and Power Issues 41 2010-06-15
9. Check for No Backlight 
Condition. 
Power on unit. 
Using a lamp or bright light 
source, inspect for faint image, 
and verify that any faint image 
appears.
YesLogo image visible - check 
LVDS cable on logic board. 
Inspect cable for damage 
near clutches: 
. if damaged, replace display 
assembly and go to step 11 
. if cable is not damaged, run 
Clamshell Service Diagnostic 
utility and check for LCD...

MacBook (13-inch, Aluminum, Late 2008) Symptom Charts — Startup and Power Issues 42 2010-06-15
Battery Isn’t Recognized or Won’t Charge
Unlikely cause:  display assembly, speakers, optical drive, hard drive, trackpad
Quick Check
SymptomQuick Check
Battery isn’t recognized or won’t 
charge
• AC adapter 
• No MagSafe LED indicator
• No orange charge indication
• Battery status LEDs: 
- single chase 
- all flash 
- no LED
1. Check battery level and test AC power.
2.  Test system with known-good battery.
3....

MacBook (13-inch, Aluminum, Late 2008) Symptom Charts — Startup and Power Issues 43 2010-06-15
5. Does battery status indicate 
the battery is recognized but 
not charging  with all LEDs 
blinking?
YesGo to step 8 and tag battery 
as a possible P10 candidate
(P10)
NoGo to step 6
6.  Does battery status indicate 
battery charge and flash the 
next level 5 times?
YesCustomer battery charging, 
check battery condition.   Go 
to step 13
NoFlashing first LED only, go to 
step 7
No battery status LEDs on, go...

MacBook (13-inch, Aluminum, Late 2008) Symptom Charts — Startup and Power Issues 44 2010-06-15
13. Open Apple System Profiler 
and click on the Power Tab on 
the left. Is the battery over 300 
cycle counts?
YesBattery has been consumed, 
and customer will need to 
purchase a replacement.
NoGo to step 14.
14.  Is battery less than a year old?YesGo to step 16
NoBattery warranty expired, go 
to step 15
15. Considering the age of the 
battery greater than one year 
old,  is the health of the battery 
“Good”...

MacBook (13-inch, Aluminum, Late 2008) Symptom Charts — Startup and Power Issues 45 2010-06-15
Kernel Panic/System Crashes
Unlikely cause:  Battery, Power Adapter
Quick Check
SymptomQuick Check
Memory Issues/Kernel panic and 
freezes
• Display notice of system kernel 
panic during start up and 
desktop use.
• System freeze during use.
• System freeze upon wake from 
sleep.
1. Reset SMC and clear PRAM
2.  Remove suspect external devices.
3. Verify user memory is Apple-approved memory, 
and memory...

MacBook (13-inch, Aluminum, Late 2008) Symptom Charts — Startup and Power Issues 46 2010-06-15
3. Boot in Safe Mode with Shift 
key down, and check for recent 
kernel panic data in panic log.    
 
Open Panic.log file on hard 
drive and check for affected 
interface that crashed. If unit 
still crashes during startup, you 
will need to take out disk to 
a good system to access the 
file. Verify that kernel panic 
dependency is not with an I/O 
interface. 
YesKernel Panic is not a system 
I/O related...

MacBook (13-inch, Aluminum, Late 2008) Symptom Charts — Startup and Power Issues 47 2010-06-15
5. Start up from optical drive or 
known-good OS. 
Attempt to start up with 
original or product install disc, 
or from an external hard drive 
with product OS installed, 
and verify that system starts 
without kernal panic.
YesKernel panics cease running 
alternate  OS. Run ASD/
DiskUtility to repair and test 
hard drive. If repair attempts 
fail, repartition hard drive 
and reinstall OS. Replace hard 
drive...

MacBook (13-inch, Aluminum, Late 2008) Symptom Charts — Startup and Power Issues 48 2010-06-15
Battery Run Time Too Short
Quick Check
SymptomQuick Check
Battery Run Time Too Short
Battery runs out of power very 
quickly (less than two hours)
1. Check if the battery is covered under a repair 
extension program. Use the “Portable Computer 
Battery Screening Process for Apple Service 
Providers” (Knowledge Base CP165). 
2.  Verify no applications have runaway processes 
with the CPU. See “Runaway...

MacBook (13-inch, Aluminum, Late 2008) Symptom Charts — Startup and Power Issues 49 2010-06-15
Deep Dive
CheckResultActionCode
1. With battery removed, will a 
known-good AC adapter start 
up and run the system and 
show MagSafe LED status?
YesConfirm user’s AC adapter as 
bad and replace.  
P14
NoVerify MagSafe board cable 
seating to logic board. Go to 
step 2
2.  Does a known-good power 
adapter’s LED light up either 
green or amber?
YesSMC on logic board senses AC 
power adapter. Go to step 3...

MacBook (13-inch, Aluminum, Late 2008) Symptom Charts — Startup and Power Issues 50 2010-06-15
Deep Dive
CheckResultActionCode
1. Verify that the MagSafe LED 
is green or amber while 
connecting a known-good AC 
adapter on customer system.
YesSMC on logic board senses AC 
power adapter and enabled 
power. Go to step 4.
NoVerify MagSafe interconnect 
board is connected to logic 
board. Go to step 2
2.  Does the unit run on known-
good AC power adapter only?
YesIssued resolved.P99
NoReplace the MagSafe...