[RichieZ]

If i have an apple certified tech install a new hd in my powerbook will the warranty still be valid?

And any idea and recomendations of places to get it done? I'm in San Jose, CA. I want to get a 7200rpm hd put into my 12" g4 powerbook

[iREZ]

If you have a certified tech do it, then you'll retain your applecare.

[brother337]

I asked around, about this before and the answer that I was given was that Applecare will cover every part of your Powerbook, except for the hard drive (or any other replaced part.) That part will be covered by the company that did the service for you. So you'll have 2 different warranties going on.

If you have applecare, then pay a certified tech to upgrade your drive. If you *don't* have applecare, I'd suggest just waiting till your year warranty is up and doing the upgrade yourself.

[Maflynn]

Originally posted by brother337:
If you *don't* have applecare, I'd suggest just waiting till your year warranty is up and doing the upgrade yourself.

Waiting doesn't really buy you anything. Your extended warranty will not be any longer if you wait as the clock starts running on apple care from the date of purchase not when you buy it. Plus apple charges for tech support after the 90 days (w/o applecare).

While they will not charge the credit card for a valid warranty issue, you still have to wip the credit card out and if by some chance its not a warranty problem it will cost you.

With that said it seems to me that getting applecare sooner rather then later makes more sense - but that's me.

Mike

[brother337]

Originally posted by Maflynn:
Waiting doesn't really buy you anything. Your extended warranty will not be any longer if you wait as the clock starts running on apple care from the date of purchase not when you buy it. Plus apple charges for tech support after the 90 days (w/o applecare).

While they will not charge the credit card for a valid warranty issue, you still have to wip the credit card out and if by some chance its not a warranty problem it will cost you.

With that said it seems to me that getting applecare sooner rather then later makes more sense - but that's me.

Mike

Mmm, I'll clarify...my point was not so much whether or not to get applecare, but more along the lines of - If you have applecare, and you get a certified tech to upgrade your hard drive, then applecare will cover everything except your replaced part (the upgraded HD), and the certified tech is responsible for supplying the warranty on that new part.

My secondary point was that if you don't have applecare (and don't plan on getting it) and you want to upgrade your hard drive, my suggestion (purely my personal preference) was to just wait one year from the date of purchase of your computer, and just do the upgrade yourself so that you do not void the 1 year hardware warranty that is included with your laptop.

[RichieZ]

is the hd upgrade process dificult? I looked at the intructions online from pbfixit and it doesn't look that bad.

But i went to an apple certified tech place and then qutoed me 1.5 hrs of work! That was about $150!!!!

What a freakign rip off, i got my 12" rev C brand new fro $999 + 15 shipped. There is no way I'll pay $150 labor to upgrade my hd.

[Maflynn]

Originally posted by RichieZ:
is the hd upgrade process dificult? I looked at the intructions online from pbfixit and it doesn't look that bad.

While I haven't attempted it myself, from reading reports here, I believe its somewhat tricky but doable.

As long as your careful not to strip the myriad of screws you should be ok and from what I read stripping them is somewhat easy.

Mike

[iREZ]

Yeah...I hate it when tech geeks tell me to stick with having a certified tech do it for me . Follow the manuel, take your time (even if it means taking three times as long as the average HD upgrade), follow instructions carefully, use the right tools, and make sure to ask questions when you get stuck. I don't see how this could be any harder for even a novice to do as long as they have the right tools and lots of time on their hands with more than one take-a-part manuel for reference.

[Maflynn]

Originally posted by iREZ:
I don't see how this could be any harder for even a novice to do as long as they have the right tools and lots of time on their hands with more than one take-a-part manuel for reference.

I think the important thing is to make sure you use the correct screwdriver size. I was adding memory to my PB which is a user replaceable component and I was amazed at how soft those aluminum screws were - even with the proper sized screwdriver I had to be very careful.

[brother337]

Someone mentioned on another thread that the 12" PB is even harder to upgrade than the iBook. Still, it's doable. And satisfying. Kinda like doing your own upgrades on your car