[NDBounce]

My insurance just covered a "repair" on my Powerbook. When I received the computer back, there was a work order claiming the following had been done:

1. Memory Module replaced with a new PC 2700 512MB stick
2. A New 80GB IDE Hard Drive was put into the machine.

When I received the macine back, I filed a complaint b/c the power adapter had been damaged (previously unscathed) and they did not return my OEM Software restore DVD's. However, I also had a copy of Tiger, so I installed and restored stuff from my backup drive. Then I noticed:

1. They had not replaced the memory with a 512 stick, but a 256MB stick and
2. The Hard drive has a S.M.A.R.T. Status of failing.

After doing a little more research through the system profiler, I suspect that they did not put in an new hard drive, but rather they simply erased the old drive. I say this because System Profiler shows the new drive with a serial number that I believe to be the same as the previous drive. However, I am not 100% certain of this. My question: is there a way to determine the serial number of the Hard Drive that was originally installed in my Powerbook G4 (which was BTO 3 years ago)? I have the serial number of my Mac, and the serial number of the supposedly new drive.

Thank you,

Brian

[Waragainstsleep]

No. Unless you wrote it down or saved a profile in the past.
You could check if its an Apple branded drive by opening the unit, but if they can tell you have, they will not cover the repair under warranty. Most repair shops will not use apple-branded drive replacements on a machine unless it is covered by Apple warranty. They cost more and have years less warranty.
The drive needs replacing whatever, and since they claim to have replaced it once, they will have to replace it again.
You could have an AASP check it for an Apple branded drive, but they could easily have put a used one in if they had one lying around. You'd be better off with an app called Filesalvage. Use it to scan the free space on the drive. If it finds files which you haven't deleted since you got it back, or files which aren't yours, its not a new drive.

As for RAM, do check the label on the RAM stick itself. These PowerBooks are prone to a RAM slot fault where the amount can be misread or not seen at all.