Thanks, she just emailed "Steve Jobs" with a clear and concise explanation of her predicament. I guess we'll just have to wait. I think she wants to call AppleCare again today and ask them to send her a box to ship her MB to them in. By the way, she had another kernel panic last night overnight.
Any reply from Executive Relations? If they didn't answer, that will be a first.
That is exactly what happened to my first black macbook. It started with random shutdowns, then repeated restart reboots, then the multicolored vertical lines. I recommend taking it to the nearest Apple store. Seeing is believing. When the genius bar saw mine behave like that they recommended a replacement. It took a couple weeks for my replacement to come in but I was satisfied with deal. I am keeping my fingers crossed it doesn't happen with my new one. I hope they figure out what the root cause is for these macbook problems and soon.
Three weeks after dropping my Macbook off at an Apple store for repair/replacement I got it back today. According to the service papers this is what they did to it:
Product serviced by replacing the following:
App-603-8071 Assy, Heatsink, M42 APP-631-0182
Assy, Camera, M42
It seems to be working so far; no random shutdowns. I’ll keeping putting it through its paces over the next several days and see if it holds up.
Any reply from Executive Relations? If they didn't answer, that will be a first.
Sorry I didn't reply sooner, but I was out of town and just got back. Actually, my girlfriend emailed them on Sunday and Monday morning the Apple store near us called and told us to come by anytime that day to get her Macbook replaced. Later that afternoon someone from Executive Relations called her and left her a voicemail. When she called the guy back he took particular interest in her case, and when she said the store called earlier and told her to come by and get it exchanged with a new one, he was a bit surprised. She asked him if he knew about that, and he said he didn't, but that was very nice of the store to do. So later that evening she went and got it exchanged. Her original MB was week 21, and this one is week 28. I applaud Apple's awesome customer support! I've owned only 3 Macs for the past 15 years and never had a need to call AppleCare even once. So, in fact this is also my first experience with such awesome service.
Anyways, after a couple days she noticed it was working fine. Then we decided to upgrade the RAM to 2GB (from the 512MB) pre-installed by Apple. I had purchased the RAM for her from OWC. After putting the RAM in, the computer worked fine for a couple days, and then started exhibiting the same problem as before. I even did a hardware test, memtest, etc and no problems came up. I actually ran the memtest for 2 days in a loop with no probs. So she called AppleCare again and they told her to switch back to the Apple 512MB RAM and see if the problems continued (in the older MB she had the problems were with the Apple RAM and the new OWC RAM).
So far the computer has had no issues with the Apple RAM. And she tells me it has been working fine for over a week now without a single reboot, kernel panic, etc... it just runs slow due to the lack of the 2GB RAM.
Any ideas what to do? She requested an RMA from OWC on the 2GB RAM kit for a replacement, but what if they don't find any "problems" with the RAM? Apparently they charge a 5% restocking fee on error-free RAM replacements. It's really annoying memtest showed no problems with the RAM even though I ran it continusously for 2 days. But other than the RAM, I can't explain why her MB crashes and has kernel panics galore with the 2GB in, and no problems with the 512MB in. Any other ideas on how to test the 2 GB RAM?
Thanks in advance for everyone's help and suggestions!
These are horrible stories about the macbook. I am thinking about buying one too. Should I wait for few months. Also is it better to buy directly from Apple or anywhere else cheaper?
Any ideas what to do? She requested an RMA from OWC on the 2GB RAM kit for a replacement, but what if they don't find any "problems" with the RAM? Apparently they charge a 5% restocking fee on error-free RAM replacements. It's really annoying memtest showed no problems with the RAM even though I ran it continusously for 2 days. But other than the RAM, I can't explain why her MB crashes and has kernel panics galore with the 2GB in, and no problems with the 512MB in. Any other ideas on how to test the 2 GB RAM?
Did you test each 1GB chip individually to see if the crash happens? It could have been badly seated Ram too, you have to push them in tight.
I would personally send it back if it's caused crashes on two machines. I would rather pay 5% (£10? or so) than just having it lying around.
In my opinion, you should go back to the store you bought it from and explain in a quiet and disappointed manner that it's not fit for use. If that doesn't work, creating a loud 'I'm not leaving without a new MacBook' scene should do it. If you have the luxury of another AppleStore within reasonable distance, do it there so you don't have to go back.
David
If that doesnt work, write letters to the editor in all local newspapers, file a complaint with the BBB, dispute the charge with your credit card company, then write a blog about your ordeal and submit it to Digg...
If that doesnt work, write letters to the editor in all local newspapers, file a complaint with the BBB, dispute the charge with your credit card company, then write a blog about your ordeal and submit it to Digg...
I never had these problems with my deadsy Apples. Call up support, explain the situation, dude comes with box the next morning to put deadsy Apple in, dude picks up box the next day, dude delivers box (never more then 3 days later), Apple has been revived (with a cute note posted on some mysteriously familiar looking Disney DVD's included; "you do know that the DVD-Burner is not a DVD-Changer".
I never had these problems with my deadsy Apples. Call up support, explain the situation, dude comes with box the next morning to put deadsy Apple in, dude picks up box the next day, dude delivers box (never more then 3 days later), Apple has been revived (with a cute note posted on some mysteriously familiar looking Disney DVD's included; "you do know that the DVD-Burner is not a DVD-Changer".
Wow I am surprised you were able to get a replacement from the Apple Store. Do you think that if you buy your MacBook online you could get the same service and support? I do not live near an Apple store, I think the closes on is over 4 hours away and being a college student I really do not have time to go and make a trip like that.
Wow I am surprised you were able to get a replacement from the Apple Store. Do you think that if you buy your MacBook online you could get the same service and support? I do not live near an Apple store, I think the closes on is over 4 hours away and being a college student I really do not have time to go and make a trip like that.
Thanks
-iGrant
You would get the same service and support, but I don't think she would've gotten a replacement on the spot. Usually when people buy online it's because they want a custom configuration which the Apple store doesn't carry. But you should get the same support through AppleCare or the Genius Bar. I think one of the advantages of buying in an Apple store is that you can raise hell if/when something goes wrong and they'll listen when you tell them you bought it from them.
You would get the same service and support, but I don't think she would've gotten a replacement on the spot. Usually when people buy online it's because they want a custom configuration which the Apple store doesn't carry. But you should get the same support through AppleCare or the Genius Bar. I think one of the advantages of buying in an Apple store is that you can raise hell if/when something goes wrong and they'll listen when you tell them you bought it from them.
Well... her MacBook #2 shows the same exact problems again (as shown in the pic on my first post in this thread). This is using the Apple stock RAM for the past 2.5 weeks. It has been working fine with the Apple RAM until now. Everytime you startup the computer, that's all you get (the colored vertical bar screen). You can't even run a hardware test on it, since you can't boot up from CD. In fact, nothing you do (including resetting the PMU) gets rid of that screen at startup. The system seems hozed
All she did was run the software updater last night, which included an iTunes, Quicktime, and Front Row update, and rebooted her computer. Since then it has been dead. Being 2 for 2 on dead MacBooks is not a good statistic. So, now she left a voicemail to her contact at Executive Relations and made an appointment for the Genius Bar for this evening... again. I think at this point she's really fed up with all the downtime "upgrading" to an Apple has caused her. And I feel really bad suggesting her to get a Mac laptop from a Dell.
And sadly, I have no idea what could've caused this or how to fix it.
Normally that wouldn't be an issue, but if there is some sort of bad motherboard design and/or problems with your electricity source you could be frying some of the components.
Normally that wouldn't be an issue, but if there is some sort of bad motherboard design and/or problems with your electricity source you could be frying some of the components.
We tried restarting plugged-in as well as on battery. The electrical plug prolly isn't a problem since I use the same one for my MBP which hasn't had a single problem like this yet.
At the Genius Bar the guy reset the PRAM and the PMU and the computer is working now. He said that Apple software updates mess up the display settings on the MBs and that you need to go to your display settings in the System Preferences and choose something else, then rechoose the current setting (highest setting) you want, and it'll rewrite the display settings and won't happen again. Somehow, I feel that his explanation and reasoning is complete BS... but oh well, at least the laptop turns on now.
My macbook did the same thing.. I called apple and they told me to hold the command + apple key + p + r and turn it on.. let sound 3 times and let it go.. It worked.. Dude on the phone said my memory was corrupted.. I have to do it every now and then when the power shuts off and I have it running on a/c power..
My macbook did the same thing.. I called apple and they told me to hold the command + apple key + p + r and turn it on.. let sound 3 times and let it go.. It worked.. Dude on the phone said my memory was corrupted.. I have to do it every now and then when the power shuts off and I have it running on a/c power..
Interesting... you do realize that's not "normal", right? I have yet to reset the PRAM on my MBP, and I'm sure there are many other who have never done so on their MB/MBPs as well. I did run memtest on the Apple RAM for days, and although it's not a foolproof method to find any memory problems, it's one of the best available methods to check memory. Oh well...
Interesting... you do realize that's not "normal", right? I have yet to reset the PRAM on my MBP, and I'm sure there are many other who have never done so on their MB/MBPs as well. I did run memtest on the Apple RAM for days, and although it's not a foolproof method to find any memory problems, it's one of the best available methods to check memory. Oh well...
no i didnt realize that.. this is my first mac.. dude sounded like it was no big deal.. I guess ill check into it further.. thanks for information..
Comments
Thanks, she just emailed "Steve Jobs" with a clear and concise explanation of her predicament. I guess we'll just have to wait. I think she wants to call AppleCare again today and ask them to send her a box to ship her MB to them in. By the way, she had another kernel panic last night overnight.
Any reply from Executive Relations? If they didn't answer, that will be a first.
Product serviced by replacing the following:
App-603-8071 Assy, Heatsink, M42 APP-631-0182
Assy, Camera, M42
It seems to be working so far; no random shutdowns. I’ll keeping putting it through its paces over the next several days and see if it holds up.
Any reply from Executive Relations? If they didn't answer, that will be a first.
Sorry I didn't reply sooner, but I was out of town and just got back. Actually, my girlfriend emailed them on Sunday and Monday morning the Apple store near us called and told us to come by anytime that day to get her Macbook replaced. Later that afternoon someone from Executive Relations called her and left her a voicemail. When she called the guy back he took particular interest in her case, and when she said the store called earlier and told her to come by and get it exchanged with a new one, he was a bit surprised. She asked him if he knew about that, and he said he didn't, but that was very nice of the store to do. So later that evening she went and got it exchanged. Her original MB was week 21, and this one is week 28. I applaud Apple's awesome customer support! I've owned only 3 Macs for the past 15 years and never had a need to call AppleCare even once. So, in fact this is also my first experience with such awesome service.
Anyways, after a couple days she noticed it was working fine. Then we decided to upgrade the RAM to 2GB (from the 512MB) pre-installed by Apple. I had purchased the RAM for her from OWC. After putting the RAM in, the computer worked fine for a couple days, and then started exhibiting the same problem as before. I even did a hardware test, memtest, etc and no problems came up. I actually ran the memtest for 2 days in a loop with no probs. So she called AppleCare again and they told her to switch back to the Apple 512MB RAM and see if the problems continued (in the older MB she had the problems were with the Apple RAM and the new OWC RAM).
So far the computer has had no issues with the Apple RAM. And she tells me it has been working fine for over a week now without a single reboot, kernel panic, etc... it just runs slow due to the lack of the 2GB RAM.
Any ideas what to do? She requested an RMA from OWC on the 2GB RAM kit for a replacement, but what if they don't find any "problems" with the RAM? Apparently they charge a 5% restocking fee on error-free RAM replacements. It's really annoying memtest showed no problems with the RAM even though I ran it continusously for 2 days. But other than the RAM, I can't explain why her MB crashes and has kernel panics galore with the 2GB in, and no problems with the 512MB in. Any other ideas on how to test the 2 GB RAM?
Thanks in advance for everyone's help and suggestions!
Thanks for your input
Any ideas what to do? She requested an RMA from OWC on the 2GB RAM kit for a replacement, but what if they don't find any "problems" with the RAM? Apparently they charge a 5% restocking fee on error-free RAM replacements. It's really annoying memtest showed no problems with the RAM even though I ran it continusously for 2 days. But other than the RAM, I can't explain why her MB crashes and has kernel panics galore with the 2GB in, and no problems with the 512MB in. Any other ideas on how to test the 2 GB RAM?
Did you test each 1GB chip individually to see if the crash happens? It could have been badly seated Ram too, you have to push them in tight.
I would personally send it back if it's caused crashes on two machines. I would rather pay 5% (£10? or so) than just having it lying around.
In my opinion, you should go back to the store you bought it from and explain in a quiet and disappointed manner that it's not fit for use. If that doesn't work, creating a loud 'I'm not leaving without a new MacBook' scene should do it. If you have the luxury of another AppleStore within reasonable distance, do it there so you don't have to go back.
David
If that doesnt work, write letters to the editor in all local newspapers, file a complaint with the BBB, dispute the charge with your credit card company, then write a blog about your ordeal and submit it to Digg...
If that doesnt work, write letters to the editor in all local newspapers, file a complaint with the BBB, dispute the charge with your credit card company, then write a blog about your ordeal and submit it to Digg...
I never had these problems with my deadsy Apples. Call up support, explain the situation, dude comes with box the next morning to put deadsy Apple in, dude picks up box the next day, dude delivers box (never more then 3 days later), Apple has been revived (with a cute note posted on some mysteriously familiar looking Disney DVD's included; "you do know that the DVD-Burner is not a DVD-Changer".
I never had these problems with my deadsy Apples. Call up support, explain the situation, dude comes with box the next morning to put deadsy Apple in, dude picks up box the next day, dude delivers box (never more then 3 days later), Apple has been revived (with a cute note posted on some mysteriously familiar looking Disney DVD's included; "you do know that the DVD-Burner is not a DVD-Changer".
Wow I am surprised you were able to get a replacement from the Apple Store. Do you think that if you buy your MacBook online you could get the same service and support? I do not live near an Apple store, I think the closes on is over 4 hours away and being a college student I really do not have time to go and make a trip like that.
Thanks
-iGrant
Wow I am surprised you were able to get a replacement from the Apple Store. Do you think that if you buy your MacBook online you could get the same service and support? I do not live near an Apple store, I think the closes on is over 4 hours away and being a college student I really do not have time to go and make a trip like that.
Thanks
-iGrant
You would get the same service and support, but I don't think she would've gotten a replacement on the spot. Usually when people buy online it's because they want a custom configuration which the Apple store doesn't carry. But you should get the same support through AppleCare or the Genius Bar. I think one of the advantages of buying in an Apple store is that you can raise hell if/when something goes wrong and they'll listen when you tell them you bought it from them.
You would get the same service and support, but I don't think she would've gotten a replacement on the spot. Usually when people buy online it's because they want a custom configuration which the Apple store doesn't carry. But you should get the same support through AppleCare or the Genius Bar. I think one of the advantages of buying in an Apple store is that you can raise hell if/when something goes wrong and they'll listen when you tell them you bought it from them.
Well... her MacBook #2 shows the same exact problems again (as shown in the pic on my first post in this thread). This is using the Apple stock RAM for the past 2.5 weeks. It has been working fine with the Apple RAM until now. Everytime you startup the computer, that's all you get (the colored vertical bar screen). You can't even run a hardware test on it, since you can't boot up from CD. In fact, nothing you do (including resetting the PMU) gets rid of that screen at startup. The system seems hozed
All she did was run the software updater last night, which included an iTunes, Quicktime, and Front Row update, and rebooted her computer. Since then it has been dead. Being 2 for 2 on dead MacBooks is not a good statistic. So, now she left a voicemail to her contact at Executive Relations and made an appointment for the Genius Bar for this evening... again. I think at this point she's really fed up with all the downtime "upgrading" to an Apple has caused her. And I feel really bad suggesting her to get a Mac laptop from a Dell.
And sadly, I have no idea what could've caused this or how to fix it.
Normally that wouldn't be an issue, but if there is some sort of bad motherboard design and/or problems with your electricity source you could be frying some of the components.
Was it plugged in when she restarted?
Normally that wouldn't be an issue, but if there is some sort of bad motherboard design and/or problems with your electricity source you could be frying some of the components.
We tried restarting plugged-in as well as on battery. The electrical plug prolly isn't a problem since I use the same one for my MBP which hasn't had a single problem like this yet.
At the Genius Bar the guy reset the PRAM and the PMU and the computer is working now. He said that Apple software updates mess up the display settings on the MBs and that you need to go to your display settings in the System Preferences and choose something else, then rechoose the current setting (highest setting) you want, and it'll rewrite the display settings and won't happen again. Somehow, I feel that his explanation and reasoning is complete BS... but oh well, at least the laptop turns on now.
My macbook did the same thing.. I called apple and they told me to hold the command + apple key + p + r and turn it on.. let sound 3 times and let it go.. It worked.. Dude on the phone said my memory was corrupted.. I have to do it every now and then when the power shuts off and I have it running on a/c power..
Interesting... you do realize that's not "normal", right? I have yet to reset the PRAM on my MBP, and I'm sure there are many other who have never done so on their MB/MBPs as well. I did run memtest on the Apple RAM for days, and although it's not a foolproof method to find any memory problems, it's one of the best available methods to check memory. Oh well...
Interesting... you do realize that's not "normal", right? I have yet to reset the PRAM on my MBP, and I'm sure there are many other who have never done so on their MB/MBPs as well. I did run memtest on the Apple RAM for days, and although it's not a foolproof method to find any memory problems, it's one of the best available methods to check memory. Oh well...
no i didnt realize that.. this is my first mac.. dude sounded like it was no big deal.. I guess ill check into it further.. thanks for information..