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I tore my HP laptop apart and fixed it myself. My dog chewed the keys off the keyboard and the latch on the DVD player fell apart. I found a used keyboard at a used parts place and I fixed the latch.
I fixed my old Sony Vaio laptop several times. My grandson poured water through it once and I had to replace the mainboard. Another grandson broke the LCD screen and I had to replace that. Another grandson dropped it and it flew completely apart so I threw it in the garbage.
There are a bunch of outfits on the web that strip out old laptops for parts.
I dropped off my Toshiba yesterday. I told them I tried three different windows installation disks, all resulting in BSOD. I tried the HDD recovery partition, which result in some hex code error. I even tried installing Ubuntu, which just kept freezing.
I get a call this morning telling me the diagnosis is that the OS needs to be reinstalled.
FWIW - Dell's service isn't worth diddly these days, UNLESS you pay extra at the time of purchase for one of their premium service contracts.
Anyway... all stereotypes aside... crap happens, regardless of any manufacturer. If it is indeed the logic board than it's a fluke... it was just crappy timing.
I don't want to sound like an annoying "I told you so" person... but you should never install something just because it pops up in the Software Update. There have been several different security updates or even an OS revision that I've skipped entirely simply because I've read reports of them causing people problems. Honestly, sincerely... it's always good to check them out before installing, no matter which platform you're on. I'm just overly cautious... and fall into the "If it's not broken, don't fix it" type mentality.
Just out of curiosity... before you took it to the Apple store, did you disconnect the battery and a/c for 10-20 minutes or so and then do a "hard" reset? Did you try booting with the extensions disabled by holding the shift key down? Did you try booting from your hardware test or installer disk? I have little experience with EFI... and there was never as many OF updates on the PPC Macs as their are on the Intel ones. If nothing else... the Intel Macs are still maturing as a platform... I remember dealing with many problems with some early PPC machines after their switch from the 68K architecture.
I just hope this doesn't sour your view of the platform... because from what I could tell, you were really enjoying it over the alternative. It's still under warranty and if it is indeed the motherboard, then knowing Apple, they'll probably just send you a new machine... with whatever new bells and whistles come with it.
I suppose just to make a CF-related analogy... If some mechanical fluke happened to your new Cadillac five months after you bought it and it had to go in for some warranty work... would it taint the entire brand for you, despite the fact you were enjoying it a lot more than the old Chevy you traded it in for?
I do feel bad for you though Sal... I know how sucky it feels to have you main computer crap out... whether it be a logicboard, harddrive, power supply... etc. Hopefully you'll get it back soon... and if I had to guess - they'll probably just ship the machine straight to your house.
I just realized that "logic board" means "mother board" in Apple World. Anyway, I have a backup drive that I use with Time Capsule. So if they send me a new machine or my old one back with nothing on it, that's fine. But how likely is that? I'd rather have my old hard drive back because there's a lot of information on it.
My Wife's Dell notebook needed a new motherboard. We called, they came the next day (with motherboard in hand) and fixed it. My computer never left my possession. If Apple had an option like that, I'd pay for it. I don't understand why they don't...
Oh and yes - I did all the tricks trying to get it started... I never install the updates without checking with the community at macrumors.com - to see if people are having problems.
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I just realized that "logic board" means "mother board" in Apple World. Anyway, I have a backup drive that I use with Time Capsule. So if they send me a new machine or my old one back with nothing on it, that's fine. But how likely is that? I'd rather have my old hard drive back because there's a lot of information on it.
My Wife's Dell notebook needed a new motherboard. We called, they came the next day (with motherboard in hand) and fixed it. My computer never left my possession. If Apple had an option like that, I'd pay for it. I don't understand why they don't...
Oh and yes - I did all the tricks trying to get it started... I never install the updates without checking with the community at macrumors.com - to see if people are having problems.
Unless you specifically excluded any areas of you hard drive, Time Machine does a complete backup of your entire drive... So once you restore a new drive, it will have all of your information there.
AppleCare has it's good points, it's bad points, and it's weird points.... but I certainly wouldn't put their service in the same league as their computers, despite the fact that they've actually improved over the years when it seems some other manufacturers have had a decrease in their level of service. The basic warranty that comes with the computer is pretty much on par with the rest of the industry.... If you buy the extended AppleCare plan, you get the warranty extended to 3 years and you get free phone support extended beyond the 90 days. AppleCare's extended warranties actually do offer on-site repairs (here's the weird) BUT only for their desktops and only in certain areas (usually higher population areas). Their logic with not providing on-site service for their notebooks has largely to do with the Apple Stores... they figure most problems can be solved easily at your "neighborhood" store... and if it can't be, they'll send it off to Apple.
I don't personally agree with that service model... mostly because I find Apple's "Geniuses" to be anything but - they say they're all Apple Certified, but I think it's a crock... So compound that with the fact that they don't really stock any parts in the stores and the whole model is worthless when it comes to a hardware malfunction. If it malfunctions within the first month, I believe they'll replace it at the store on the spot.
I've only had three personal experiences with AppleCare... one was with an old iPod that they simply replaced. Another was with my brother's iMac, which an authorized Apple repair subcontractor came out and replace the faulty component (the built-in iSight). And the other was a few years back with the wife's G3 iBook... some models of which were notorious for motherboard, or "logicboard" failures (so much that they actually issued an extended service contract on them)... we sent it off and a couple days later we received a brand new machine back. I've actually heard of some other people who've received a new machine back rather than their old one.
I'd say they do it depending on the severity of the problem because all of their "newer" laptops are a real bitch to get into and work on... they're nothing like my old "Pismo" PowerBook G3, which I can completely disassemble and reassemble in under an hour. So it might just make more sense for them to just send out a new one sometimes.
Unfortunately though... it sounds like you just ended up with a fluke, because from everything I've read... the Core2 Duo machines seem to be pretty solid. It can happen with any manufacturer... but the timing just really sucked seeing as how you're a recent switcher. Like I said though... I just hope that it hasn't tarnished your view of the Mac in any way.
This hasn't tainted my view of Apple computers - just their service. My computer arrived at wherever it goes today. Now they have to ORDER a part:
Step 2 - Service
On hold - Part on order (24-Apr-2008)
WTF?! They have to ORDER the PART?! How long do I have to be without this computer? This is how I make my living... As far as I'm concerned, Apple Service is the worst in the business.
my experience with apple service has sucked......i went threw 4 ipods all refurbs they gave me, and they all had the HD problems
got my zune for xmas 2 years ago and its never had a problem. +1 for microsoft
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