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timmyH · Feb 15, 2004, 04:18 PM

a few weeks back i posted regarding problems with my wireless connection and a belkin router. It now turns out its a problem with the antenna in the computer. I heard that they can get damaged in the hinge. The wireless connection is cool in the same room as the router but loses connection as soon as i leave the room. I had the computer apart and checked the antenna which looks fine which makes me think about the damage in the hinge area. Basically my computer needed a complete overhaul a couple months back - it died on me one day completely and needed a new harddrive, logic board and cd/dvd drive. Now this has happened i'm wondering whether i should get a free repair from apple? I'm sick to the back teeth of all these problems. Can you get the antenna repaired at an authorised apple reseller as apple will charge a basic �300 + for any repair and i'm damned if i'm paying that! any advice would be greatly appreciated.

ghporter · Feb 16, 2004, 07:33 AM

Don't overlook the simple stuff! Make sure the antenna connector is properly seated in your AirPort card before you start worrying about a parts failure. Some people feel the need to actually tape the connector in place-I guess they swing their computers around a lot or something. Anyway, this is quick, easy, and covers something the Apple repair people will ask you about when you contact them about a re-repair after all the work they already did.

Detrius · Feb 16, 2004, 07:11 PM

Originally posted by timmyH:
Basically my computer needed a complete overhaul a couple months back - it died on me one day completely and needed a new harddrive, logic board and cd/dvd drive.

I would like to point out that the only times I have seen more than two parts go bad was due to physical damage, not defects. With defects, it is EXTREMELY rare for more than one part to go out at the same time. Therefore, I will say that you either didn't understand what the tech was saying, or you got ripped off. Unless you damaged your machine, it should never need a new hard drive, logic board, and optical drive all at the same time. It's a statistical impossibility.

QueenOfSwords · Feb 16, 2004, 10:35 PM

Originally posted by Detrius:
[B]I would like to point out that the only times I have seen more than two parts go bad was due to physical damage, not defects. With defects, it is EXTREMELY rare for more than one part to go out at the same time.

<Devil's Advocate> It's unlikely but it's not impossible. As a service tech (not Apple) I've seen it happen before where a *really* faulty part that was perhaps shorting out, could take out multiple devices. My favorite example is the mainboard that would be faulty, and would damage RAM. You swap out the faulty mainboard. But the damaged RAM (or video card, etc) would take out the replacement mainboard. Hours of fun for the tech. *grumble* </DA>

Realistically the tech probably ended up replacing multiple things before fixing the problem. Or wasn't wearing an anti-static strap!

timmyH · Feb 17, 2004, 03:28 PM

i can assure you that the machine was never physically damaged. The problems started with visuals that would flicker on and off and the backlight would permanently dim. With this in mind i arranged for repair and continued to use the machine although inconveniently. Then a day or so before it went back the harddrive clunked and clicked and then died, i lost heaps of important data too. When it was repaired they categorically replaced the hard drive, logic board and the optical drive, which i didn't think was damaged but obviously was. The logic board and harddrive were definately buggered and had to be replaced. Anyway about the router, the antenna has been seated and connected as well as its ever gonna be, i did it about three times in an attempt to diagnose the exact problem, its definately the antenna. Do you kn ow if anyone apart from apple can repair this...i begrudge paying for another repair on this machine through them!

Detrius · Feb 17, 2004, 06:26 PM

Originally posted by timmyH:
Do you kn ow if anyone apart from apple can repair this...i begrudge paying for another repair on this machine through them!

That trick is that you have to take it somewhere that the people know how to do this and can get the parts. Generally, that would involve taking it to an Apple Authorized Service Center.

Detrius · Feb 17, 2004, 06:28 PM

Originally posted by QueenOfSwords:
<Devil's Advocate> It's unlikely but it's not impossible. As a service tech (not Apple) I've seen it happen before where a *really* faulty part that was perhaps shorting out, could take out multiple devices. My favorite example is the mainboard that would be faulty, and would damage RAM. You swap out the faulty mainboard. But the damaged RAM (or video card, etc) would take out the replacement mainboard. Hours of fun for the tech. *grumble* </DA>

Realistically the tech probably ended up replacing multiple things before fixing the problem. Or wasn't wearing an anti-static strap!

With Apple parts, the logic board is smart enough that if it sees something really freaky going on, it shuts off before there is the possibility of damaging something. Even when sparks fly, there is still rarely more than one part that is bad (yes, I've seen sparks fly from an iMac).

Hank
Apple Certified Technician