[FrenchPB]

Hi guys,

I have a 15" powerbook 1.5Ghz 1Go Ram bought in June 2004. I use it all the time and travel a lot. I ve always taken great care of my PB and it looks like new... however, for te past few weeks, I started to have a few problems with it.

When I turn it on after a few hours off, the colours on the screen looks really weird like it's a VGA screen.. plenty of purple blue pixels flashing everywhere on the screen.. it's really weird and my guess is that the cable is damaged. After a efw minutes, it will get back to normal or after I close and reopen it...

I also noticed that my HD was having trouble reading information. It would basically get stuck making some weird noise. The screen doesn t move at all until the data was read. Couldn't even restart it or switch application... then today, it took my PB 5 minutes to start. When I looked at the disk utility, it was written that there was a fatal error and that it had to be replaced. S.M.A.R.T. error...

I took the Apple Care 2yr extension when I bught it so my PB is still udner guarantee. However, I bought it in France and now live in Australia. I have the Apple Care CD with me but not the box, user manual or bill...

Since I never had any problem earlier (fierst time Mac users), I don t know what to do to get my PB fixed. It's terrible for me cause need it to study for my Master and all my exams. I have a few questions for you (and millions of thanks for those of you who will have taken time to read this and help me):

- What should I do with my PB?
- Should I go to an Apple reseller if there is no Apple store (I live in Brisbane)?
- Should I call Apple before doing anything?
- How long does it take for them to correct problems like this?
- Is it possible to have a replacement for the time being (I know I'm dreaming, but Apple is so great that you never know..
- Will they transfer all my data for the damaged HD to the new one if they change it?

Wll, I'm just lost and confused cause I don't know what to do, and I' really stressed concerning my studies and all... I have all my data saved on an external HD so that's a good thing, but with your help I'd like to do all I can as soon as possible to get this situation resolved.

Once again thanks to the great community of this website for taking time to helping me out here.

Cheers,

[ism]

-Definitely get in touch with Apple first. You've paid for Apple care so make use of it. Where you are in the world shouldn't make a difference. I've never had Applecare but I assume you get some kind of serial number; have you got a copy of this on email, etc?
-I have no idea how long it takes to correct stuff. In the USA it seems to be quick. Anywhere else in the world; not so good.
-You won't get a replacement off them in the meantime
-They won't transfer the data for you