This is starting to turn into a habit. My 2008 MacBook Air died on me again today, with an on-screen message saying I had to turn of the computer by holding down the power button and at the same time making an alarm noise (beep-beep-beep..).

I baked the logic board for the fourth time, this time with the oven at 195°C, again for 8 minutes. The oven never got back up to temperature, it settled for 185°C which is what the temperature was when I took the logic board out of the oven. I let it cool for about half an hour before assembling the MBA again. The computer is now in working order.

I’ve considered paying for a replacement board (about half the price of a new MBA) but have made a final decision not to after the newly replaced screen (got it fixed by Apple for free even though it was out of warranty and two weeks past their internal “3-year limit” for fixing early MBA screen mounts, which apparently was a known issue – thanks for the service Apple!) has gotten a crack in the plastic cover covering the screen hinges, which might be a sign that the new screen is about to come loose as well. Note to self: by the extended warranty package for my new MBA.

My MacBook Air logic board has died again. This is the third time in four months and once again I got it back to life by baking the logic board in the oven. I upped the cooking time a bit since the second time I baked it, this time keeping it in the kitchen oven for 8:00 minutes in 188 ℃. I was out of cooling paste (for the CPUs) so a tried to scrape off as much as possible from the CPUs and put it on the bottom side of the heat-plate. After the visit to the oven and a cooling period of perhaps a quarter of an hour the computer is once again working.

This is the how I brought my MacBook Air (late 2008) back to life a second time. I must admit I’m a bit disappointed since it’s only been two months since I first baked the logic board and I had hoped the previous resurrection would last six months before the computer would die on me again. It obviously didn’t, but at least it works again after second visit to the kitchen oven. Continue reading →

All of a sudden, while simply reading todays news one morning, my almost three year old MacBook Air (late 2008 edition) died. This is the story on how I dismantled it, cooked the logic board in the oven and brought it back to life. Continue reading →