[uicandrew]

Hey guys. I was wondering about your opinion on getting my 2 month old iMac fixed.

1. The dvd burner is not burning dvds at all, and even when reading cds, it makes a very loud grating noise that just is not normal.

2. Also, my imac came with 1 stick of 1gb ram. the other non-occupied slot is not recognizing the ram.

3. the bluetooth connection on my apple bluetooth keyboard keeps dropping out whenever i tuck it underneath the screen on top of the metal base.

So there is more than one problem with my intel iMac.

I am not close to an Apple Store (3 hours away). The closest authorized Apple Repair place is 1 hour away, but it is in a small town (population roughly 120,000) that is no where close to a big city.

My concern is that they aren't experienced with the new intel iMacs. I don't want their first time fixing/opening an intel imac to be my iMac. It is just a small local shop.

I want my iMac to be fixed right the first time, without other people screwing up the insides of my imac due to inexperience.

If i call apple tech support (i still have my one free phone call of tech support), will they tell me to go to the authorized service center 1 hour away, or will they send me a prepaid shipping box?

please help. i'm running out of time on my free tech support call.

[harrisjamieh]

they SHOULD send you a box to ship it back to them in. Thats what they do over here in the UK.

By the way, you don't get one free phone call to tech support, you get 3 months of unlimited phone calls, so you have 1 month left.

The RAM slot problem you say you are having... are you sure you are putting it in there correctly, because I had to re-seat my new RAM at least 6 times before it actually went in correctly.

[Tuoder]

Originally Posted by uicandrew

Hey guys. I was wondering about your opinion on getting my 2 month old iMac fixed.

1. The dvd burner is not burning dvds at all, and even when reading cds, it makes a very loud grating noise that just is not normal.

2. Also, my imac came with 1 stick of 1gb ram. the other non-occupied slot is not recognizing the ram.

3. the bluetooth connection on my apple bluetooth keyboard keeps dropping out whenever i tuck it underneath the screen on top of the metal base.

So there is more than one problem with my intel iMac.

I am not close to an Apple Store (3 hours away). The closest authorized Apple Repair place is 1 hour away, but it is in a small town (population roughly 120,000) that is no where close to a big city.

My concern is that they aren't experienced with the new intel iMacs. I don't want their first time fixing/opening an intel imac to be my iMac. It is just a small local shop.

I want my iMac to be fixed right the first time, without other people screwing up the insides of my imac due to inexperience.

If i call apple tech support (i still have my one free phone call of tech support), will they tell me to go to the authorized service center 1 hour away, or will they send me a prepaid shipping box?

please help. i'm running out of time on my free tech support call.

1. I am thinking hardware failure. Replacing it should be a warm walk in the park for an Apple certified tech.

2. It is probably just not completely seated into the slot, as has been said before. It is also possible that you ruined the RAM while installing it. RAM, among other things is very sensitive to static. A simple static shock can destroy some very valuable RAM. When adjusting it, or touching any RAM, make sure to be in contact with the ground of the computer that you are working on. Computers are generally designed to safely discharge static when you touch a metal part of the enclosure, or the PSU, if it is built in. Have you ever wonder why parts often ship in silver bags? They are static resistant.

3. That is weird. Is your desk made of alternating layers of aluminum and lead 3" thick? I would tell them to try to fix that if/when you bring it in. I am not aware if the bluetooth is built onto the mobo or not, but I would have a tendency to think that it is not. If it is not, and it is easily accessibale upon removal of the case, it should also be cake for a tech to replace.

P.S.-I have a friend who went to UIC, he is going to Chicage State next Semester. I, on the other hand, much prefer PUC in NW Indiana. The even have 17" 1.9Ghz iMacs in the main lab. They also have a couple of old iMac DVs, too.

[uicandrew]

you're right, i get unlimited phone support for the first 90 days. the ipod was the first apple product i owned that that had 1 phone call allowed on its applecare.

I've tried pushing the ram in further, like other people suggested in the past. It has gotten me better results, but it still hasn't booted. i think the best i got was a blinking sleep light. i have installed ram many times, and i even wear those antistatic/grounding wristbands. but user error is always possible.

when i left uic. they were using blue and white G3s and the first generation of black and white g4. i was nowhere close to switching to mac at that point.

[harrisjamieh]

The blinking light means the system can detect no RAM. You must try and get the right angle - and mess around with the lever - it must be in the right place when you put the RAM in. I found one slot more difficult than the other when I put my RAM in.

Am I right in saying you can make the RAM go into one slot but not the other?