My 2011 MacBook Pro 13" decided to completely die the other day, not even any battery indicator lights showing. I took it in to a local computer shop to look at and they have informed me that the logic board is the source of the problem and estimate a repair around £200.

I'm loathe to spend that much on a 5 year old computer so I'm now looking at a new MacBook Air 13" 256GB (don't think the 11" screen would be big enough). Looking to remove the SSD from my existing one and flog it cheap to someone who can repair it themselves. Good project to then sell for profit if you know your stuff.

Any MacBook Air owners here? LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

Similar prob with my 2011 15" MBP Doc , so I treated myself to a new 13" MacBook Air 3 weeks ago , just a small 128GB SSD drive but its streets ahead of my old one in speed/booting up etc .
I have a new SSD coming this week to try and revive the 2011 one , it powers up but won't boot up , just keep trying to . FL2 gone now in 2016 Discovery 4 Loire Blue .

New models imminent so I'm going to hold fire until I see what's on offer. Luckily I backed everything up just before it went west. LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

I use an 11" MacBook Air for my business when away from base. With the SSD it's faster than my big iMac most of the time. It's just a few things like heavy Photoshop processing when I'll notice it being a little sluggish by comparison. Love that it is so small and light to carry round compared to my old 15" MacBook Pro.

Unfortunately not applicable for The Doctor, but might apply to yours Lurcher if the scheme is still running:

https://www.apple.com/uk/support/macbookpro-videoissues/

My 2011 15" MBP was repaired twice under that scheme before I replaced it with an iMac + MacBook Air.

Yes thanks I was aware of that Martin , just going to replace the Hard Drive 1st then I may make an appointment at Apple store , I believe my MBP falls into that period (early 2011) , campaign runs to 31/12/2016 .
Not sure if the fault in that link is the same as I have with mine not booting up . FL2 gone now in 2016 Discovery 4 Loire Blue .

If you have an Apple store nearby and you aren't 100% sure it's an HDD failure then it might be worth booking an appointment and letting them diagnose the fault for you. Boot problems are one of the symptoms of the video card issue. The first time I had the failure it was obvious it was logic/video board related but second time round it was hanging mid boot up and I was convinced it was the hard drive or something corrupted in the OS.

Yes I am going to do that if the new SSD doesn't help , nothing lost as a friend says he will have the drive if thats the case .
I had a similar problem about 2 yrs ago and took it into the Apple store in Manchester who diagnosed a new logic board (I think) and estimated £400 to repair .
They commented that I hadn't bought it from them (it was just over 3yrs old at this stage) and if I had done so they might have helped .
I had the board/chip replaced from an eBay service (£160/6 months warranty) and it ran fine until recently . FL2 gone now in 2016 Discovery 4 Loire Blue .

Sounds similar to the situation with my first failure which was before that repair program was put in place. I paid Apple the £400 but they later refunded the payment when the program began. I didn't have to apply, they just contacted me to arrange repayment.

Sounds worth trying the SSD first, hopefully that fixes the issue for you and transforms your MBP at the same time.

Thanks will update thread when known . FL2 gone now in 2016 Discovery 4 Loire Blue .

When they do the (overdue) updates my guess is they *may* phase out the air, and expand on the MacBook range to fill the gap. Apple are normally really good with their ranges, with clear separation between their offerings but the air and the MacBook kinda overlap a bit at the moment. And both have slightly weird limitations: the air without retina, and the MacBook underpowered.

I had an air, but got the MacBook pro with retina, and now find non-retina screens quite low resolution. Was quite happy with them before... FL2 2011 SD4 XS in Galway Green

Been into the Apple shop in Derby this afternoon and have been won over by the new MacBook (it's just called that, not Air or Pro). Looks great in graphite and so light! The low processor speed doesn't bother me because it has flash memory which like SSD, is ultra fast. 256GB and 8GB RAM which matches my current setup. 12" Retina display too.

I'm going to wait and see what Apple unveils on Tuesday at their press conference before I jump in. I have got the shop to knock £70 off the price tag. I told him I could get it cheaper direct with Apple using my blue light discount card. As an added bonus, the shop gives 2 year warranty vs 1 year from Apple.

http://www.apple.com/uk/shop/buy-mac/macbook LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

Been away this week but had a message from friend to say the SSD drive I left him has sorted the MacBook out , it boots up very quickly and appears ok .
I am looking forward to getting it back and trying it out . FL2 gone now in 2016 Discovery 4 Loire Blue .

The Doctor wrote:

Been into the Apple shop in Derby this afternoon and have been won over by the new MacBook (it's just called that, not Air or Pro). Looks great in graphite and so light! The low processor speed doesn't bother me because it has flash memory which like SSD, is ultra fast. 256GB and 8GB RAM which matches my current setup. 12" Retina display too.

I've bagged a great deal my friend. No changes to the 12" MacBook so I've ordered one from the Derby shop but exclusive to their website only. Clearance product as it is one from earlier this year. £950 for the 512GB model with 1.2ghz processor, Retina display and 2 year warranty. Well pleased  LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey