Mac Hardware - 5k Supremacy - The Something Awful Forums

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1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

In all my days of computing since I was a wee lad, from 1995 spanning 8 computers, I've never once experienced a hard drive failure. Two motherboard failures and a superdrive, but never a hard drive.

How someone can have that many hard drives fail on them within a relatively short time blows my mind. Time to make sure everything's backed up, just in case.

# ¿ Aug 13, 2011 04:32

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# ¿ Apr 24, 2024 05:38

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

Space Racist posted:

After digging around the MacRumors thread for the TB display article, the 'late 2011' iMac is apparently just the education-only 21.5" iMac released last month. Then again, August doesn't' really seem like 'late 2011'...

And that iMac doesn't even have Thunderbolt so yeah.

# ¿ Sep 17, 2011 03:35

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

Hanks Lust Cafe posted:

Apple completely replaced my semi-liquid damaged (out of warranty) MBP for the $280 flat rate, complete with the installation of the previously undamaged hard drive. What the gently caress?

Sometimes awesome poo poo just happens, man.

# ¿ Sep 21, 2011 06:30

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

Fuzzy Pipe Wrench posted:

Where's my best bet to get a replacement charger for a macbook pro? Eighty dollars from the apple store is frankly retarded.

The general consensus will be to pony up the $80 because anything cheaper that you find is gonna suck serious poo poo.

# ¿ Sep 26, 2011 02:15

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

Bass Bottles posted:

My magsafe died a couple months ago and I went through the same thing. Those Chinese knock-offs are apparently notorious for melting or something, and they don't last longer than 6 months.

I heard the official ones also don't last very long, but at least they have a 1 year warranty.

My MagSafe from my first MacBook lasted about 2 1/2 years before melting one day but I'm 2 1/2 years into the one I have for the MacBook Pro I replaced it with and it seems to be fine. 2 1/2 years seems like a good run to me, anything longer than a year is just icing on the cake really.

# ¿ Sep 26, 2011 08:25

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

strokevictim posted:

Picked up a refurb mini (mid-2010 C2D) for my Mom last Wednesday. It was delivered less than 48 hours later, despite not paying for expedited shipping. I know location plays a lot in shipping, but this was fast - this came from PA to MI, but initial estimates placed arrival as the 30th.

To top it off, it was supposed to have 2GB of RAM - even says so on the packing slip - but came with 4GB installed. I'm not usually suprised by Apple's service. In my experience, they get top rankings for a reason. But to me, the 2 free GB seems above and beyond. Is this fairly typical for the refurb store? If so, nice!

It's not really typical but I've definitely seen a few goons order from the refurb store that had similar things happen (either more RAM or bigger HD).

# ¿ Sep 27, 2011 05:24

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

Nerdrock posted:

Does anyone have any experience selling hardware to powerbookmedic.com ? Like, do they grossly overstate what they actually pay for your device once they get it?

I'm thinking about abandonning my late 2008 unibody MBP 2.53, and It looks like they'd offer as much as or even more than your average SA-mart transaction would go through. $841.40 for "Normal Wear" , Restore Discs Included, and No charger (it's frayed and still works, but the difference is only 5 bucks. For 5 bucks i'll keep it as a spare).

I'm really just looking for an excuse to get a good chunk of funding for a new MBA.

I'm looking to get rid of exactly this Macbook except I have an 80GB Intel 320 SSD with it and a 500GB hard drive that I have yet to put in an optibay. I can't find anybody to buy it locally and unless someone on here wants to buy it I think I might go this route.

# ¿ Oct 1, 2011 02:04

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

Sang- posted:

Looking at getting a 27" iMac

1. Is it possible to use it as an external display for a non-apple laptop (sony vaio S series)?

2. Pretty sure it takes 3.5" hard-drives, is it in anyway difficult to add a second 3.5" drive?

Only the 2010 models, the 2011 eliminated a function of Target display and now only allows you to connect a Thunderbolt equipped Mac for this use.

And I don't think adding a second desktop sized drive is possible, maybe a 2.5" but I'm sure someone else can answer this better.

# ¿ Oct 9, 2011 02:57

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

Chainclaw posted:

Is there a trick to getting audio to a TV from a Macbook Pro on OSX 10.6 using a mini displayport to HDMI adapter?

I tried googling it, but all of the terms I could think to use for google were too vague to get me useful results.

Not all Macbook Pros support audio through HDMI with Mini DisplayPort. Exactly which MBP do you have?

# ¿ Dec 2, 2011 06:26

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

Choadmaster posted:

A friend of mine had the same issue with his MacBook Pro (wouldn't wake from sleep) and kept getting it returned to him with "unable for reproduce the issue." He actually ran directly to the store with it a couple times when it happened, just to prove to them it did happen. The tech would acknowledge it wasn't working correctly, take it in for repair, and then hand it back days/a week later "unable to reproduce..."

The regional/offsite repair place it'll go to if you send it in will do a more thorough job, from what I hear. One of my Minis was kernel panicking intermittently (and by that I mean I couldn't track down a certain set of steps that would cause it, though there was a 100% chance it would say "keyboard disconnected" and then panic at some point if I used it more than a few hours). After having it returned to me multiple times "unable to reproduce," I was finally able to reproduce a related issue when trying to connect it to a WPA2-protected wifi router. I explained this to the tech in-store, and he told me they don't even have any way of testing that on site (they don't have access to a protected wifi connection)! I almost had to call up AppleCare directly and ask to send it in (according to the tech, they can only send in laptops from the Apple Store - anything else the customer has to call in and request a prepaid shipping box. Now that's service!) until we discovered the bug was reproducible on unprotected wifi as well. * The tech said they do much more thorough testing with lots of additional equipment at the regional repair center.

TL/DR: In my experience, they won't do poo poo for you unless they can consistently reproduce the problem. Sorry for the long rant, but I've been to the store and/or called AppleCare close to a dozen times in the past couple months and they were NEVER any help until I could come up with a set of steps that would reproduce the problem 100% of the time in their specific testing conditions.

_{* More rant: This turned out to be an issue with the bluetooth/airport card WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT I REPEATEDLY TOLD THEM I SUSPECTED WAS THE ISSUE. I even brought in my bluetooth keyboard/trackpad one of the many times I brought it in, so they could try to use that to reproduce the bug. They refused, because they don't want to be responsible for losing accessories and "we have our own mice and keyboards." Well, wouldn't you know, they were never able to reproduce my problem because they kept using a wired keyboard and mouse. Fuckers.}

You could have easily escalated this to their lead or one of their managers and things would have been better. It sucks that it happened the way it did, but it doesn't really sound like you did much to push the issue.

# ¿ Dec 6, 2011 03:13

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

HondaCivet posted:

Could I get some advice on my MacBook? I have a late 2009 MacBook (the white thing). I bought it as an official Apple refurbished unit. I didn't get AppleCare although now it looks like I may have made a mistake there. Several months ago I started getting "Service Battery" warnings that would come and go. For the past couple of months it's just stuck on "Service Battery." The system reports that the battery currently has 438 cycles on it and I'm still getting around 4-5 hours of battery out of it. It seems to get warmer than it used to as well but other than that I haven't noticed anything weird.

I originally chalked all this up to the battery getting old so I looked into how much it would cost to replace it, figuring that this is a pretty routine thing. I thought it was $129 since that's the only number I can find on Apple's website but I asked a nearby not-official Apple store and they quoted me $229. They told me that the new batteries are made of special materials and that's why they cost so much. They also said my battery must be defective because they are supposed to last 1000 cycles or something.

So I have two questions . . . Firstly, are these guys right or are they trying to rip me off/feed me bullshit? Secondly, what should I do? Should I just stick with this battery until it totally fails or would replacing it soon be worthwhile? Does "Service Battery" mean something significant besides "give Steve Jobs' ghost your money?" If it was $129 I'd probably just do it but now I'm wondering if it's worth it given the thing's age/value and the fact that the battery isn't really visibly acting up.

Well, those batteries are rated to last for 1000 charge cycles and the official Apple replacement should be $129, definitely not anywhere near the $229 that place quoted you. Do you have a real Apple store nearby?

# ¿ Dec 14, 2011 04:01

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

HondaCivet posted:

I can get to a real one, yes. The one I visited IS listed on their website as an authorized provider . . . Does that mean much or can pretty much anyone snag that title? Anyway, thanks for your answer, looks like I should just take it in and get it looked at if it's supposed to last 1000 cycles.

They may be an AASP, but they aren't run by Apple by any means. Leave them some feedback on consultants.apple.com if you can.

Whoever you talk to at the Apple store is going to run a specific test for the battery that will determine if the battery has an issue or if it has been used as expected. The test is customer facing and you should be able to see the results. Even though you have less than 1000 cycles, it does't mean they're just gonna replace it but it's definitely worth getting an appointment for.

# ¿ Dec 14, 2011 04:15

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

Ziploc posted:

I can't seem to find out what a battery replacement generally costs on a mid 2010 13inch Pro. Anyone happen to know?

I just got a Service Battery warning this morning. PRAM and SMC resets did not remove the warning. Battery seems to be discharging a little faster than usual.

615 cycles
76% health (4417mAh)

No AppleCare.

Chances are if SMC and PRAM haven't removed the warning, it's going to be a battery replacement correct?

Typically $129

# ¿ Jan 10, 2012 20:49

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

carry on then posted:

I couldn't stop snickering through the entire last Mission Impossible movie because in every scene they were using all this imaginary super technology... and a 1st gen Air.

They were actually using current gen airs.

Also the first gen airs have a lovely hinge that is pretty much guaranteed to fall apart.

# ¿ Jan 13, 2012 03:13

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

carry on then posted:

Really? I could have sworn I saw the separate trackpad button.

Not my image.

Edit: Oh god the tables. Fixed.

# ¿ Jan 13, 2012 03:29

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

JP Money posted:

During the hotel room scene they use a Gen 1. You can tell by the hinge - the first gen ones didn't have the black cover that the new ones do.

I seem to remember them using a Macbook Air with a case on it during those scenes. Well at least I had one part right.

# ¿ Jan 13, 2012 04:36

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

Bob Morales posted:

11" C2D Air, here's my issue: Computer was working fine, closed the lid for a few hours opened it back up and couldn't surf. My pings (to 8.8.8.8 or 4.2.2.4) either wouldn't come back, or would vary from 300 to 2,500ms. I reset my Linksys router, no change. Restart, and it goes back to the usual 40-50ms and I can surf fine. Seems like this has happened before, are there issues with network coming out of sleep?

Yes. One of the fixes is to delete all known networks from System Preferences but that doesn't always work.

You can remove/rename the SystemConfiguration folder from /Library/Preferences/ and restart to see if that helps.

# ¿ Jan 14, 2012 04:27

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

andyf posted:

Well sorting out my troubled Mini has been nothing but positive.

Took it into the store, pretty busy but still got to talk to someone at the Bar almost spot-on at my appointment time. He'd never heard anything make the bleeps/whine before, nor had the senior guy he asked. Pretty much straight up offered to replace it.

The only snag was because I purchased through the online store, they couldn't replace it there and then, I'd have to go through the online returns system. So after a brief call with Applecare today, I have a replacement due *tomorrow* and have the current one all boxed up with its returns number.

Pretty amazed at the service, honestly.

Sounds good except that online purchases can be exchanged in store (unless it was custom to order).

# ¿ Jan 18, 2012 03:50

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

You Am I posted:

Try another fruit stand then. Apple have been replacing defective batteries with no charge

Nope. If it's expanding and is able to be removed without damaging the computer then Apple will not cover it.

# ¿ Feb 6, 2012 02:30

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

FlashBangBob posted:

Replacing the Trackpad on a MBA is pretty difficult to replace on your own.. no? You guys are like Authorized repair people, yeah? I mean walking into a Fruit Stand and saying "The trackpad isn't as clicky as it used to be" may not warrant any service right?

Track pads aren't hard to replace at all. And yeah, saying that your trackpad isn't as clicky as it used to be isn't going to guarantee that they're going to replace it.

# ¿ Feb 6, 2012 18:38

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

dr.dendrite posted:

They replaced my bulging battery for free after I told them that it was making the trackpad not work.

Was the computer still in warranty or was this before November?

# ¿ Feb 7, 2012 06:25

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

Viktor posted:

Forgot to mention its a late 2011 model, guess its the constant heat expansion/contraction in that corner. I'll take it apart and report back.

If you travel with it stored vertically a lot, it's probably that. It's pretty easy to realign unless you somehow bent the hell out of the hinges but that probably didn't happen.

# ¿ Feb 21, 2012 05:28

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

japtor posted:

Do they still offer flat rate repairs on notebooks (for $250 or whatever)?

$280 or $310 depending on model.

# ¿ Mar 8, 2012 23:25

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

Peven Stan posted:

My early 2008 macbook is having weirdo problems. Sometimes when it comes out of sleep the hard drive makes the scratch scratch of death. So I reboot and it gives the folder with a question mark. Taking out the battery and jostling the poo poo around it with a screwdriver makes it work again, however. SMART shows that the drive is ok, so I don't get why it would be a problem. Could my logic board be failing, or should I just replace my drive?

Thanks.

SMART status isn't the best indicator of whether or not a drive is failing. If you're hearing those noises and get the folder with question mark then your drive is very likely failing. Backup if you can, then get a new drive.

# ¿ Mar 9, 2012 02:39

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

That Macbook has to be less than 5 years from purchase date or else it will be vintage and unrepairable.

# ¿ Mar 26, 2012 04:37

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

jihad_jain posted:

I noticed today that my mid-2007 macbook has a swollen battery.

what're the chances they'll flat out replace it for free if i just show up at the apple store tomorrow?

Why would you expect Apple to replace a 5 year old consumable item for you for free?

# ¿ Apr 1, 2012 02:02

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

AlternateAccount posted:

I specifically told the genius that checked it in that it had Lion on it when she asked. She was probably too busy cracking the lamest jokes to note it properly. What's weird is that when I picked it up, the guy had a grey snow leopard disc and was like "uhhh is this yours?" I knew for a fact it wasn't because the last thing I did before I took it in was boot it with the mouse button down to eject a disc I knew was in the drive. The he was sort of confused and was like HURR I AM SURE I PUT LION ON IT.

Why didn't you review the paper / iPad you signed? Your OS is logged in that paperwork and it's customer facing so I'm not sure why you didn't have them correct it if it was wrong.

# ¿ Apr 8, 2012 21:34

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

Cmdr Will Riker posted:

I just want to make sure that what I'm about to do is possible before dropping a bunch of money into it. I have a desktop PC with a lovely old Dell 20" LCD and a 27" iMac. If I buy a graphics card with DisplayPort (like this one), I should be able to plug in, hit Command+F2 and use my 27" as a monitor for the desktop PC, right?

2010 iMac, yes.
2011 iMac, no.

# ¿ Apr 8, 2012 21:56

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

Yeast posted:

(should be on a specially formatted iPod classic)

Hahahaha what store is doing this? None that I know of do that, just use an external hard drive.

# ¿ May 1, 2012 23:53

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

CaptainMidnight posted:

I did that the first time. Hilarious the way the technician said "Oh, I love it when chips fail". So I received probably a refurbished motherboard. Now this one I'm pretty sure is going.

For a machine that age, the boards are pretty much guaranteed to be re-certified and not new.

And the iPod thing definitely isn't standard for the US.

# ¿ May 2, 2012 01:47

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

SnatchRabbit posted:

I noticed last night that the glass trackpad on my 2008 Unibody MBP has been sticking. It seems like the touchpanel stays depressed so whenever I tap on text or try to two-finger scroll it highlights instead of scrolling. I'm just out of applecare, so would it be worth a trip to the fruitand or just deal with it?

You can remove the battery on that model so you should definitely pop it off and see what's going on under there since the trackpad is directly below the battery.

Otherwise yes, it's best to take it in. It's usually 90 bucks or so to replace the trackpad.

# ¿ May 17, 2012 16:36

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

Captain Pike posted:

the new MacBook Pro is announced.

What alternate timeline are you living in?

# ¿ May 19, 2012 15:28

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

I'm pretty sure no iMac uses a laptop drive. Also those Momentus drives suck balls.

# ¿ May 29, 2012 16:27

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

Argyle posted:

What's Apple's replacement policy with accessories? My 2-year old wireless keyboard just crapped out. The "p" ";" "/" and "-" keys no longer respond. I tried new batteries, re-pairing, nothing.

You buy a new one.

# ¿ Jun 4, 2012 21:24

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

New MacBooks will definitely be announced today.

Edit: and definitely a MagSafe adapter.

# ¿ Jun 11, 2012 16:59

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

Edit: nothing to see here.

1997 fucked around with this message at 04:34 on Jun 17, 2012

# ¿ Jun 17, 2012 01:17

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

I just confirmed that to replace the retina MacBook Pro battery, the whole top case has to get replaced. Lame.

# ¿ Jun 18, 2012 21:18

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

calcio posted:

Where did you confirm this? Are you an Apple Store employee?

Yes, but this is not supposed to be a secret in an way.

# ¿ Jun 18, 2012 21:25

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

Sebb posted:

The battery on my mid-2009 MBP just started throwing up a service battery warning. I have less than a week left of AppleCare, and it's covered for a free replacement.

<3 u apple.

Your battery is covered if it's bad but not if it's consumed FYI.

# ¿ Jun 20, 2012 16:26

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# ¿ Apr 24, 2024 05:38

1997: Jan 20, 2008; calmer than you are

Has anyone here added an SSD to their 27" iMac? I'm looking for the SATA data/power cable needed to install the drive, but I don't need anything else. It's the cable that's in here. My internet search skills are failing me right now.

# ¿ Jun 21, 2012 16:40

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