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colinmac · Jul 18, 2005, 05:43 PM

Hi there. Uk guy here - made the mistake some months back of buying my iMac G5 1.8 Superdrive from a PC World. Get this as a list of issues. It's been a rough ride. I've bought a powerbook 15" in the last week though so it's clearly not put me off... Before I start, the iMac was purchased 03/05/05 - at a cost of UK £999.

1. Bought it whilst unbeknown to me the same day the 2nd gen G5's were announced and made available on the apple website!

(DOH! although this was my fault, so I simply considered it my fault)

2. No Tiger installed - I had to PAY for apple to send me the DVD, even though Tiger had been out for around a month!

(again, of course this is my fault for buying from a local chain)

3. Unboxed and set up. Registered via setup screens. Fell in love. Even with the fan whine.

4. Yesterday. iMac wouldn't turn on. Screen was all garbled when it finally started up. Checked these forums etc. I've got 'blown capacitor syndrome on 2 of my capacitors!

5. Today. Called APPLE. Was told I couldn't receive warranty or make a claim since my iMac was not registered ! - I asked how that could be, since I completed the screens at setup? Was told that registration doesn't work if the mac is 90 days past date of MANUFACTURE! (I am just staggered at this stupidity)

6. Spent a day trying to sort out that fiasco - since I need to make a warranty claim. Faxed info to them. Was also told that my claim wouldn't be actioned until the registration was completed by an apple employee (up to 10 days !!)

7. Made a lot of noise with them.

8. Was told I could take it to a local reseller for inspection. Thought this was sensible. (We have no apple stores in Scotland)

9. Asked if they could at least order the parts if my registration wasn't yet completed by Apple.

Answer: don't think so....

To summarise, and I've literally just bashed this post out - mainly venting ! - I am SO disappointed with Apple support. I assumed it would be as slick as the rest of the apple setup, but no. No wonder these machines haven't quite cut it into commercial marketplace. If a PC fails at my work, I expect to have a warranty claim underway within a few hours. Not 2-3 weeks !

Anyway. I'm off back to my box to do this

OogaBooga · Jul 18, 2005, 05:50 PM

Sorry to hear your bad luck. Apple needs to recall the iMacs with the blown capacitors.

Glad I spend a little extra and bought the PowerMac. Hasn't had a problem since I got it on June 6th.

Wickedkitten · Jul 18, 2005, 07:39 PM

You should really look up the Sale of Goods act because you are entitled to either a repair or a replacement regardless of when it was manufactured under consumer law and that supersedes applecare in the UK.

http://www.dti.gov.uk/ccp/topics1/saleandsupply.htm

Rob van dam · Jul 19, 2005, 12:40 AM

Originally Posted by colinmac

Hi there. Uk guy here - made the mistake some months back of buying my iMac G5 1.8 Superdrive from a PC World. Get this as a list of issues. It's been a rough ride. I've bought a powerbook 15" in the last week though so it's clearly not put me off... Before I start, the iMac was purchased 03/05/05 - at a cost of UK £999.

1. Bought it whilst unbeknown to me the same day the 2nd gen G5's were announced and made available on the apple website!

(DOH! although this was my fault, so I simply considered it my fault)

2. No Tiger installed - I had to PAY for apple to send me the DVD, even though Tiger had been out for around a month!

(again, of course this is my fault for buying from a local chain)

3. Unboxed and set up. Registered via setup screens. Fell in love. Even with the fan whine.

4. Yesterday. iMac wouldn't turn on. Screen was all garbled when it finally started up. Checked these forums etc. I've got 'blown capacitor syndrome on 2 of my capacitors!

5. Today. Called APPLE. Was told I couldn't receive warranty or make a claim since my iMac was not registered ! - I asked how that could be, since I completed the screens at setup? Was told that registration doesn't work if the mac is 90 days past date of MANUFACTURE! (I am just staggered at this stupidity)

6. Spent a day trying to sort out that fiasco - since I need to make a warranty claim. Faxed info to them. Was also told that my claim wouldn't be actioned until the registration was completed by an apple employee (up to 10 days !!)

7. Made a lot of noise with them.

8. Was told I could take it to a local reseller for inspection. Thought this was sensible. (We have no apple stores in Scotland)

9. Asked if they could at least order the parts if my registration wasn't yet completed by Apple.

Answer: don't think so....

To summarise, and I've literally just bashed this post out - mainly venting ! - I am SO disappointed with Apple support. I assumed it would be as slick as the rest of the apple setup, but no. No wonder these machines haven't quite cut it into commercial marketplace. If a PC fails at my work, I expect to have a warranty claim underway within a few hours. Not 2-3 weeks !

Anyway. I'm off back to my box to do this

i feel your pain mate i to was a pc user and while the mac is nice it has dismall warranty support and service here downunder.I have has a rollder coaster ride even with applecare tring to get a backlight fix.Its been a couple of weks now.And i hate the trypical response take it into your local apple cantre onsidering the closest is about 2 and half hours away from me

Will C · Jul 19, 2005, 03:30 AM

Surely thisis PC World's problem since they sold you the machine? Why did you go direct to Apple?

colinmac · Jul 19, 2005, 03:38 AM

I called PC world first - but as it was bought on a business account - their terms and conditions are that they'll replace within the 14 days.

Then it falls to the manufacturer, apparently.

Don't get me wrong. I'm assuming that I'll get it fixed eventually. My real gripe is that it may take like 20 odd days before it's working again.

I made a lot of noise yesterday and faxed applecare the details, so I'm hoping that the registration is done already.

I'll check again today.

Will C · Jul 19, 2005, 07:50 AM

What a pig of a service from PC World - I did not know that - sorry you have to go through it that way. Hope you get it sorted asap.

tooki · Jul 19, 2005, 03:12 PM

Well, I don't know how it is there, but here, a manufacturer cannot require you to register a product in order to validate the warranty. Only a dated proof of purchase, typically the receipt or invoice, is necessary.

tooki

WOPR · Jul 19, 2005, 03:29 PM

Hey colinmac - you're from Eurogamer aren't you?! I hate to say it but I did warn you on those capacitors - my brand new revision 2 arrived from Apple with a cap already bloating so it went straight back and I got a full refund. If I were you I'd get it fixed then stick it on ebay straighaway - let someone else suffer the pain of the iMac G5, Apple's worst Mac ever for so many reasons.

My solution was buying a last of the line iMac G4 on ebay for half the price, it's so much better than the iMac G5 it's ridiculous. I wonder if Apple will ever admit that the G5 version has massive problems or will they just keep fobbing people off?

colinmac · Jul 19, 2005, 05:48 PM

Hey WOPR.

You know - the moment it looked funny - I thought "I bet that was what wopr was on about." opened it up and shazamm. Bast.

I'd go for a refund, but they'll not do it. So I'll probably do what you suggest - ebay it. I"m gonna get a g5 tower I guess, although I would have loved a 20" g4.....

Typical.

colinmac · Jul 19, 2005, 06:33 PM

In fact, when I get the midplane replaced, I may very well try and source a direct trade for a 20" G4... It's either that or a G5 powertower ....

thereubster · Jul 19, 2005, 08:10 PM

Its so sad the iMac G5 has turned out to be such a dud. I was so set to buy one when the first bad cap problems showed up, since then its just gotten worse and worse...... I finfd it amazing that Apple's manufacturer (Hon Hai I think?) cannot identify the bad capacitors and NOT USE them anymore. Seems pretty basic

volcano · Jul 19, 2005, 10:58 PM

Originally Posted by WOPR

Hey colinmac - you're from Eurogamer aren't you?! I hate to say it but I did warn you on those capacitors - my brand new revision 2 arrived from Apple with a cap already bloating so it went straight back and I got a full refund. If I were you I'd get it fixed then stick it on ebay straighaway - let someone else suffer the pain of the iMac G5, Apple's worst Mac ever for so many reasons.

My solution was buying a last of the line iMac G4 on ebay for half the price, it's so much better than the iMac G5 it's ridiculous. I wonder if Apple will ever admit that the G5 version has massive problems or will they just keep fobbing people off?

You really need to get off your soap box. I knew you'd invade this thread eventually with your "blown capacitors" post once again.

Just to change the waves a bit, I've been 100% completely and utterly satisfied with my purchase of a 20" iMac G5 since I bought it in early June. It's a beautiful machine that just works. Period. I opened up the back of it the day I got it and everything was fine - and it still is. In fact, I opened it up right before posting this message and everything looks and is perfect. I upgraded the ram to 2 GB, and I'm happy to report that everything has been snappier and faster ever since. I feel good knowing that my computer will be relevant and fast within a year or two, unlike the rather sluggish G4 iMac that WOPR has. But hey, whatever makes you happy.

Anyway, I'm sorry that your experience with Apple Support has been so shoddy. Don't go back in time and get a G4 - the performance difference between the G4 and G5 is quite substantial. A friend of mine still has a G4 iMac and albeit it still works - but technology isn't something you should go backwards with because it changes so frequently within a short period of time.

Macpilot · Jul 20, 2005, 01:48 AM

Originally Posted by colinmac

iMac was purchased 03/05/05

2. No Tiger installed - I had to PAY for apple to send me the DVD, even though Tiger had been out for around a month!
ck:

Uh, just to clarify....Tiger was not on sale till 4/29. Anybody who purchased a Mac after 4/12 was given the $10 US upgrade disk if they so desired.

I have sympathy for your iMac troubles. There was a bad batch of revision 1 iMac G5s and Apple is doing its best to remedy it. The problem is manufacturing enough new motherboards to replace this bad batch.

Good luck with your situation.

colinmac · Jul 20, 2005, 04:11 AM

No it's fair. It was only a week or so since Tiger was released. However, I still shouldn't have got a panther built machine with no upgrade DVD.

I did only pay the upgrade price - but in the UK - it was more like $30 around £16 including postage. And I still think that was a cheek. My mate bought an ibook some days before this - and his had an upgrade DVD slipped into the box.

And to be honest, I'd always assumed that the capacitor problem was a little isolated - I had read of the cap problem before I bought mine, but simply assumed that Apple would have sorted this reasonably obvious problem out!

However, capacitors in my machine are leaking. And I'm having warranty issues less than 90 days since I bought it. Are you really suggesting I put my trust in the machine to hold my photos and music for the next say three years ? What happens if the problem re-occurs when the unit is out of warranty ?

I really am curious to see what folks think....

I've never had a machine fail on me before - I'm an IT engineer - and I do see the odd failed machine these days - but really - not many. Mostly old units as opposed to a newish machine.

Wickedkitten · Jul 20, 2005, 05:26 AM

Originally Posted by Macpilot

Uh, just to clarify....Tiger was not on sale till 4/29. Anybody who purchased a Mac after 4/12 was given the $10 US upgrade disk if they so desired.

I have sympathy for your iMac troubles. There was a bad batch of revision 1 iMac G5s and Apple is doing its best to remedy it. The problem is manufacturing enough new motherboards to replace this bad batch.

Good luck with your situation.

Seeing as how he is british as well, I'm quite sure Colin is saying he bought the mac on the 3rd of May, not the 5th of March.

colinmac · Jul 20, 2005, 08:08 AM

You're right of course. So, it was about 3 weeks after Tiger's launch when I bought the G5...

WOPR · Jul 20, 2005, 02:48 PM

Originally Posted by volcano

You really need to get off your soap box. I knew you'd invade this thread eventually with your "blown capacitors" post once again.

Just to change the waves a bit, I've been 100% completely and utterly satisfied with my purchase of a 20" iMac G5 since I bought it in early June. It's a beautiful machine that just works. Period. I opened up the back of it the day I got it and everything was fine - and it still is. In fact, I opened it up right before posting this message and everything looks and is perfect. I upgraded the ram to 2 GB, and I'm happy to report that everything has been snappier and faster ever since. I feel good knowing that my computer will be relevant and fast within a year or two, unlike the rather sluggish G4 iMac that WOPR has. But hey, whatever makes you happy.

Anyway, I'm sorry that your experience with Apple Support has been so shoddy. Don't go back in time and get a G4 - the performance difference between the G4 and G5 is quite substantial. A friend of mine still has a G4 iMac and albeit it still works - but technology isn't something you should go backwards with because it changes so frequently within a short period of time.

Errrrr...... OK. The iMac G5 is a wonderfully engineered computer, and not a single one of them has failed. Ever.

Feel better now?

colinmac · Jul 20, 2005, 04:07 PM

Except mine, of course. Cos it's still b0rked....

thereubster · Jul 20, 2005, 09:25 PM

I think there is more than enough evidence to suggest that the iMac G5 has either a major design flaw or a very long run of bad capacitors. I just meant that its a shame because it seems like a missed opportunity. I realise that the majority of Imacs are probably fine, but I'd be surprised if it was a big majority..... Also I had personal xperience with iMac G4's failing as well, so I'm not trying to imply they were perfect

colinmac · Jul 21, 2005, 06:37 AM

As an update, I've taken the G5 to a apple reseller - who is doing the repair under warranty. It wasn't a trivial trip - some 120 miles - but better than waiting any longer. They were quite happy to accept it - and the guy knew of 'some machines' with a power board capacitor issue.

And as a final twist, when I got back from taking it there, there was a parcel from Apple (I'd also tried to get the midplane as a DIY repair via the apple site, however it's not a component you can order) which contained the two fans for the G5! Hmm. That said I'll try em to see if they are any quieter than the ones in the G5 when I get it back.

Ach well ...

WOPR · Jul 21, 2005, 05:06 PM

Originally Posted by colinmac

As an update, I've taken the G5 to a apple reseller - who is doing the repair under warranty. It wasn't a trivial trip - some 120 miles - but better than waiting any longer. They were quite happy to accept it - and the guy knew of 'some machines' with a power board capacitor issue.

And as a final twist, when I got back from taking it there, there was a parcel from Apple (I'd also tried to get the midplane as a DIY repair via the apple site, however it's not a component you can order) which contained the two fans for the G5! Hmm. That said I'll try em to see if they are any quieter than the ones in the G5 when I get it back.

Ach well ...

Just keep slapping the new parts in and see what happens I guess. I'd still ebay it myself though. I assume when they switch to Intel they'll be redesigning the whole range so maybe they'll learn from their mistakes.

Person Man · Jul 23, 2005, 11:46 AM

Originally Posted by thereubster

Its so sad the iMac G5 has turned out to be such a dud. I was so set to buy one when the first bad cap problems showed up, since then its just gotten worse and worse...... I finfd it amazing that Apple's manufacturer (Hon Hai I think?) cannot identify the bad capacitors and NOT USE them anymore. Seems pretty basic

The problem is that the capacitor market is FLOODED with these bad capacitors, so it's nearly impossible to tell the difference.