Hello Fellow Ancient MBP 17” users!! I’m running an early 2011 model. I’ve maxed out the RAM to 16 GB, installed a 2 TB SSD (Samsung 860 EVO) and installed some random China-made ExpressCard USB 3.0 Type A x2 card that sits absolutely flush with all other ports AND required NO drivers whatsoever to fully work with both Mavericks AND High Sierra (partitioned my SSD so I can run both OS’s)…so there is not much more I can throw at this old beast.
'''Recently, I dropped my precious…from a height of 42”…and it landed on a concrete bumper…because it slid off the hood of my SUV.''' It’s dead right? I thought so. But I had to know. It was on when it fell but had a black screen upon picking it up. Likely due to weight, the corner where the battery (and IR sensor) sits took the full impact…and somehow only the chassis was hit; the display “clamshell” was completely missed…meaning my hinge still works and the two “halves” of my laptop still line-up flush.
So I took a deep breath…and pressed my non-keyboard power key… '''''++and this dinosaur fired right up!!++''''' Tell me any retina or post-retina Apple laptop would survive such a brutal blunt force impact?!?! I do not think so! ++But wait, there is more++…with the corner “crush” damage, the battery was now jammed into place…and the battery itself was cracked. I didn’t realize this (cracked battery) until a month later, when the machine began having spontaneous and frequent shutdowns. Failing motherboard was feared, but after a quick Apple Store diagnostic (which I had to beg for since our lovely 17” models are now all “legacy” products and worthy of no support in Apple’s eyes), it was the battery that was dying.
After some major effort, I was able to extract the massive battery and this is when I first saw the crack. Should’ve been expected since it was really the battery that took the brunt of the impact energy (saving the rest of the laptop in the process). Ordered a new battery…but again, with corner crush damage, a replacement battery would not fit in its designated compartment. So…I took my multi-head screwdriver…put a blunt hexagonal bit into it…grabbed a hammer….++and yes, I started hammering that corner back outward++…with only the bottom plate and battery removed. I hammered it…over and over and over again…I had no other choice. I tried running my laptop without any battery at all installed and it ran so painfully slow…constant beach-balling…and the only way to get another battery into it…was by punching out the crushed corner.
I could have disassembled the entire laptop…but that brings with it its own inherent risks. So I just went for it as it were. And here I am, typing this very post on my drop-proof hammering-proof MBP 17”!! But my IR cable did not survive the hammering :( Do any of you know a repair guide to replacing this component? Also, I wanted to share this story about how amazing Apple’s wrongfully discontinued MBP 17” truly is!! Modular laptop also equals more than hairline amounts of internal chassis space…and it was this ‘extra’ internal dead space that allowed for one of the leading corners to be smashed without killing the entire laptop!!