My 2008 MBP had similar symptoms to many of yours: no display, powers on, fan goes on, DVD spins-up. I tried to "blanket cook" it but it didn't work, and I was too cautious to try it again. I also didn't bother contacting Apple... why waste your time? For those who are less adverse or have less time like me in 2016, one alternative to DIY techniques is that there are companies out there that ''do'' this repair, either to the logic board or replacing the nVidia chip. They have [http://youtu.be/-Ax_2doFCak|machines that do this type of work] apparently. I ended up sending it to NYC along with $160, and boom, it was back in a week, completely working. If you're interested, I used [http://www.l2order.com/ViewLarge.cfm?id=515&maincat=,Apple%20Repair%20Service,|the L2 repair service].