[skarim]

I'm pretty upset with applecare.

My 3 month old pb had a hard drive failure. it was "fixed" under warranty.

However, when it got back to me, the 40 gb drive was replaced with 30gb, and my 512 stick was missing.

Apple care is going to replace the drive for a 40 gb, but what can i do about my ram? Calling 1-800-APL-CARE is a maze. And I don't have any proof. I realize its probably lost. I've lost faith in their service, and probably won't buy another product again.

[freakboy2]

do you have the receipt for the 512 megs? Just tell them that it was in there and that they lost it.

I'd be surprised if they didn't fix you up. The 40-30 gig hd is something you have proof of b/c of the bto right?

one thing that's for sure is that once it's been shown that they made a huge mistake, they tend to fix it.

one important hint would be not to scream at the guy who answers the phone and if he starts giving you a hard time, just politely ask to be escalated to the next level of support.

fb

[Dr.Michael]

I had a comparable problem with my TiBook.

I once send it in (it was send to a contractor for apple in germany) with power supply (as indicated in the drawn advice how to pack it) and a neopren suit, because it scratches so easy.

It came back after 3 weeks without power supply and neopren suit.

Took me months to get a compensation. And I had to listen to comments like: " We have more than enough power adaptors here. Why did you send it in?". -> it was indicated in the advices.

As they send the new power supply they wanted the old one to be send back, because there is only a power supply replacement program, not a power supply delivery without exchange. So I sent back an old piece of cable, just for the carrier so that they had something to send back. Otherwise they were not allowed to hand me over the new supply.

This was my worst experience. Another with a blueberry iBook was excellent (except for a scratched blue apple).

So apple care is not always worth its money. You never know if its going to work well or not.

[Randman]

When you turned the book in, you should have gotten a receipt for what was included. When I had to take my PB in to get the clickpad fixed, the woman at the counter, checked how my ram and that was included on the repair form. And when I picked it back up a few days later, I was asked to start the Mac and check that all was still ok (my problem was mechanical so the hard drive didn't have to be wiped).

[urrl78]

Another reason not to do repair by phone. The Apple store folks make a record, even the exterior condition of your Powerbook if you mention it to them.

[Pierre B.]

I had once a Powerbook sent for repair (not covered under the one year warranty), and I was told from the repair center personel to remove any memory module not included in the standard configuration of the machine or it risks to be removed during repair and not seen again. They offered me to make a backup too, since the hard drive is erased and the original system is installed. Furthermore, they warned me that if the hard drive is not the one coming with the machine, the repair guys will remove it and they will put in place the original factory drive.

All in all, I was told that after such repairs, the factory configuration (hardware and software) of the machine is restored. Indeed. The Powerbook returned with the hard drive erased and the default OS installed in it, although the problem was in the PMU. This was in Europe, 2 years ago.

[skarim]

a few phone calls later, apple drop shipped me a stick of ram without any hassle. and my PB HD was eventually replaced with original size 40gb drive.

haphazard service to begin with, but at least AppleCare fixed the situation.