[dynsight]

Well, not only do I feel slightly violated by the 17" macbook pro upgrade 4 weeks after I dropped $2800 on a laptop, now it burned out.

I was on the train, and I felt really warm. I took my Macbook out of the bag, and nearly burned myself. Fortunately, there was no swelling of the case, but it was incredibly hot.

So, could I get an appointment tonight? No, I have to wait 24 hours to even fill out repair ticket. Apple Care via the phone was very nice, but only so helpful. I had already started the hardware diagnostic: The failure was:

4hdd/11/400000004 SATA(0,0)

Possibly a HD or Controller failure... but I do not want this machine back.

I have always had good luck with Apple products and service has always been good, but this is unacceptable.

Any other similar problems with the new 17" Macbook Pro? I will begin my search now...

[ibook_steve]

A few things:

1) You should be aware that Apple regularly updates hardware around MacWorld in January (we'll see if this changes this year), WWDC in June or July, and occasionally in mid-spring and mid-fall. Read these boards regularly to get a good idea of what's coming up and when or when not to buy.

2) That being the case, if you do buy within a few weeks of an update (30 days? Anybody?), Apple will update you to the latest hardware.

3) Never, ever, ever, ever put a laptop in your bag until you are sure that it has completely gone to sleep. That's what the pulsing sleep indicator light is for. Use it. If your machine is not sleeping, something is preventing it from sleeping and you need to figure out what it is before confining it to a bag. If your machine woke up while it was in your bag (unlikely), the latch button may have been pressed by something in there.

4) You don't mention exactly what is not working now, but if you can't boot from the internal hard drive, try installing the OS on an external drive and running from there. If that works, it's a simple matter to replace the internal. You have been backing up with Time Machine, right?

The care and feeding of a portable computer is not that hard, but people still need to be aware of what they are doing.

Steve

[dynsight]

1) Normally that would be the case, but the 17" was just released in January, and I don't think Apple ever did a significant upgrade within 6 months of a major product. Your assertion is possibly correct, but without any precedent.

2) Apple may consider the Upgrade, we are discussing tomorrow

3) I have had three macbook pro's before this, a 17" Core 2 duo for two years, and never had a problem. Also, you must remember, there is no latch button on the new macbook pros, and they do tend to clamp shut firmly. I always ensure that it is sleeping before bagging.

4) It refuses to boot. When booting from the HD it is just the apple logo and the spinning circle spokes. When booting from the Install CD, it cannot repair, since it will not unmount the hard drive (which indicates a hardware error)

Just a note before you get a bit patronizing, I have been caring and feeding for laptops since way back in 1992 (Toshiba with orange plasma display). This is the first I have ever had die.

I suspect the fact that it failed so quickly may be an indication of a possible design problem or other flaw.

[SierraDragon]

You got some (relatively rare) failed hardware. It goes back to Apple, they fix it for FREE, life goes on. No need to start a complaint thread before you have even seen Apple's response.

[Simon]

Originally Posted by dynsight 

1) Normally that would be the case, but the 17" was just released in January, and I don't think Apple ever did a significant upgrade within 6 months of a major product. Your assertion is possibly correct, but without any precedent.

You think wrongly.
His assertion is correct.
And it is with precedent.

I'll second SD. Have Apple fix your MBP first. If necessary, complain later.

[dynsight]

I did not like the treatment from Apple:

1) is a failed Hard Drive
2) I am without the computer for 7 days (they have to order the part)
3) If I wanted to upgrade to a 500GB harddrive, I had to pay full upgrade price
4) They charged me $99 to transfer data
5) I had an external HD with me, and was going to do it myself, but they would not let me.
6) IF I took my laptop home and did my own transfer I would be pulling my product from the queue, and it would come in at the bottom of the queue (thus losing a day or two).

I am thoroughly disappointed

[Simon]

Usually you can keep your computer till the parts come in and then bring it back. But of course you have to ask for that.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by Simon 

Usually you can keep your computer till the parts come in and then bring it back. But of course you have to ask for that.

Many repair centers in Europe no longer allow their customers to do this.

The reason being that Apple has absolutely draconian replacement policies which usually stipulate return of the defective part within 48 (72?) hours of having received the replacement, or paying full "new" price on the part (which is several times the replacement price, and obviously *much* more than parts covered under warranty).

If your customer doesn't make it in within a day, you're ****ed and sitting on purchase cost of a logic board.

If that happens more than twice, you might as well just close down the tech department if you're a small shop.


I don't know about the U.S., mind you.

[imitchellg5]

I'm a bit confused. Why would they let you upgrade the hard drive? A warranty isn't to give you a discount on better parts, it's to replace original parts. Did you expect for the store to hold up everyone else's repairs while you transferred your data at your house? Talk to the manager about charging $99 for the transfer of data. It seems like you expect a mass-produced product to work 100% correctly every time which is unrealistic, especially for electronics, and especially for laptops. No matter how nice you are to your lappy, it still undergoes more stress than you'd realize. Also, be glad that you had to wait 24 hours for an appointment. That means that Apple is staying busy and the government won't have to handle your warranty.