Powerbook 12"... some issues

ironchef82ironchef82
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Hi everyone,



I just got my new Powerbook 12" today, and it's great, but there are a few things I'd like to run past people who currently have the machine...



1. It wobbles... :-( I have about 10 pieces of paper under the bottom right corner and it's a temporary solution... but anyone out there with this same issue have another suggestion or something permanent to address this?



2. The slot-loading drive... I have to insert a CD about 90% of the way in, and it makes an awkward mechanical noise... not really something I'm used to... like I figure it should be sorta quiet, like the slot-load in my car's cd player. And when it ejects it makes a noise too, not really sure if it's normal..



Other than that... everything seems great... thought it's only about 4 hours old, so hopefully nothing worse will happen... but yeah, great machine, i don't regret purchasing this at all... I was trying to connect it to my cable modem, so I plug it in, and being used to Windows, I go to system prefs to try to fiddle with the settings... it was nice to see everything had been taken care of by OS X. :-)
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 46
    kecksykecksy Posts: 1,002member
    The slot loading mechanism in my TiBook is noisy as well. I don't think any computer CD drive is a quite as the kind used in cars. I think your noise is normal.
  • Reply 2 of 46
    alcimedesalcimedes Posts: 5,486member
    the wobble is odd.



    turn it over and see if all of the rubber stops are still attached underneath.
  • Reply 3 of 46
    ironchef82ironchef82 Posts: 83member
    All four rubber stops are there... it's just that not all of them are of the exact same length I guess...



    I've been reading around on some message boards... it seems like this issue is present on some 12" powerbooks, but I'm not sure if it's due to the rubber feet or due to the metal warping because of heat (! - i sure hope that doesn't happen to mine)
  • Reply 4 of 46
    paulpaul Posts: 5,278member
    the slot-loading drive mechanism is actually MUCH better the the older ones used in the rev. a TiBooks... the old one had problems because people would force the CDs into the drive too fast and it would break now you can really go as fast as you want and nothing bad will happen...
  • Reply 5 of 46
    aquaticaquatic Posts: 5,602member
    Mine doesn't wobble, and the slot-load noise is normal. Scared me the first time too.



    Now to serious issues: it appears to me as if there are some MAJOR problems with the NVIDIA drivers..I am whining so much because it no one else noticed/experiences this! First, DVDs lag full screen in DVD Player.



    Second, there are horizontal lines in the screen whenever something is moving a lot, like a game, movie, or just quickly dragging a window around.



    ironchef82 are you seeing these issues like I am?



    Here's my thread on these extremely annoying "lines": <a href="http://forums.appleinsider.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=2&t=002281"; target="_blank">http://forums.appleinsider.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=2&t=002281</a>;
  • Reply 6 of 46
    cliveclive Posts: 720member
    Yes, I had the "wobble" too. Across the axix oposite the battery, right? (ie the battery corner and the diagonally oposite corner are the ones that move?).



    I've had mine, a month tomorrow, and when I first had it I couldn't stand it, but it seems to have gradually gone away - no idea why. Though perhaps I should try it on another surface.



    As far as the screen goes - it's a crappy screen with a pretty poor viewing angle (ie with yout head three feet from the screen you're getting colour distortion across it no matter what you do). My previous PowerBook was a 5300 with the 800*600 screen - and that screen is better!?



    Having said that I really like the portability, and I can plug it into a big screen any time. The only issue I have there is that you don't seem to be able to switcth the small screen off at all, or use the external monitor with the PowerBook closed (is that an odd thing to want to do?).



    My only other wish is that it would boot into 9.x!
  • Reply 7 of 46
    wiftywifty Posts: 70member
    A few people have mentioned this use of an external monitor and losing performance. Is this something that occurres with the Ti as well - I mean can you mirror that with the screen closed or do you lose performance there as well.



    Just wondering whether it was a standard thing or something specific to the graphics card.



    cheers
  • Reply 8 of 46
    ironchef82ironchef82 Posts: 83member
    Thanks for the replies everyone...



    Yes, the wobble is across the corner with the battery and the diagonally opposite corner (bottom right, top left, respectively)... I mean, it seems fine with my temporary solution... but with a great piece of equipment like this, this really shouldn't be an issue...



    As for the slot load drive... glad to hear it's normal, I guess... so I really do have to push a CD in about 90 - 95% of the way in before the drive accepts it?



    Aquatic, I haven't tried playing a DVD yet... haven't had time, really... not a good idea to get your Powerbook when you have a test the following day and two problem sets due the next... but when I try it, I'll get back to you.
  • Reply 9 of 46
    stoostoo Posts: 1,490member
    I've noticed that my 12" PowerBook doesn't like changing resolution/attaching external displays. The screen goes a bit weird for a few seconds (large black areas) and it always defaults to 60Hz NTSC rather than 50Hz PAL for video out. I haven't had the time to watch any DVDs or play games on it yet.



    I have a single dead pixel near the screen centre, that stays green. It grabs your attention most when the screen is predominantly black. What's the policy on replacements?



    Software update didn't complete: maybe it was because I shut the lid when it was downloading 10.2.4? Why aren't resumable downloads used more often?



    My issue with the PowerBook not accessing apple.com URLs has mysteriously vanished. Setting it up with my Buffalo 802.11g Airstation was easy.



    [ 03-13-2003: Message edited by: Stoo ]</p>
  • Reply 10 of 46
    cliveclive Posts: 720member
    [quote]Originally posted by ironchef82:

    <strong>Yes, the wobble is across the corner with the battery and the diagonally opposite corner (bottom right, top left, respectively)... I mean, it seems fine with my temporary solution... but with a great piece of equipment like this, this really shouldn't be an issue...</strong><hr></blockquote>



    I just rotated mine 90 degrees on this desk, it does in fact still wobble. If I can find a glass desk I'll try it again - and if it still does it it's going back.



    I don't think you should have to resort to bits of paper to keep is level, send it back, it's a manufacturing fault.



    As to dead pixels - I think Apple's policy is up to four on a big screen - but the 12" is hardly big. Personally if I had even one dead pixel, on any size screen, I'd send it back. Apple can point to "policy" all they like - but that's not going to stand up in the UK, it's a manufacturing fault fair and square.
  • Reply 11 of 46
    scottscott Posts: 7,431member
    You all will love this one.



    My case bent just a tad. Where the button for the latch is. It popped out a little bit. I have no idea how it happened. I don't lug it that much and never pile a bunch of stuff on it. So I don't know how it happened.



    It's the kind of thing you wouldn't see unless I showed you.
  • Reply 12 of 46
    keshkesh Posts: 621member
    Remember that Quartz Extreme really needs 32 MB of VRAM to function properly, and th AluBook only has 32 MB. If you use monitor spanning for two displays, you're cutting your VRAM in half (16 MB dedicated to each display). That's going to hurt your QE response.
  • Reply 13 of 46
    ti fighterti fighter Posts: 863member
    yea the wobble thing was driving me a little crazy, i couldn't tell if it was the desk or the laptop. Its fine in a certain part of the desk yet i rotate it a couple of degrees and it wobbles, no one at works complained about em yet so i dunno. hmmm so you cant close the lid when hooked up to an external display? I want to get 12"'s for everyone at work, and have them hooked up to LCD monitors at there desks, that could prove to be a pain if its true. I'll have to try it tomorrow. btw I like the screen think it looks good, compared to my ti book at least
  • Reply 14 of 46
    aquaticaquatic Posts: 5,602member
    I don't have wobble but these "lines" in my "more graphics weirdness" thread are going to make me soil myself if Apple doesn't fix it. No one else is seeing this???
  • Reply 15 of 46
    scottscott Posts: 7,431member
    Mine wobbles but it is due to the desk. It may be that because it relies on four feet to make contact it falls victim to bad surfaces. Imagine if there were no feet and the entire surface were flat on the table.
  • Reply 16 of 46
    othelloothello Posts: 1,054member
    [quote]Originally posted by Clive:

    <strong>



    Having said that I really like the portability, and I can plug it into a big screen any time. The only issue I have there is that you don't seem to be able to switcth the small screen off at all, or use the external monitor with the PowerBook closed (is that an odd thing to want to do?).



    My only other wish is that it would boot into 9.x!</strong><hr></blockquote>



    its odd that you can close the lid on a 15" PowerBook and run an external monitor off it (which I do with mine), but not the 12", which I thought it would have been ideal for...



    what happens when you try and do it? i put my machine to sleep and close the lid, connect my external monitor and plug-in my keyboard and mouse and hey presto! (sorry clive, have another egg grandma)





  • Reply 17 of 46
    ironchef82ironchef82 Posts: 83member
    Hmm... you know, I never really tested if this wobble issue I'm having is due to the surface in which I'm on or the computer itself... I'll try some other surfaces around my apartment when i get the chance in the next few days. And, to me, this issue is minor and not enough to warrant having to send it back to Apple for repair. I've already begun the process of switching and transferring all my files, so I don't really want to do that again...



    And Aquatic, I posted on your original thread about the graphics issue... i'm not seeing anything weird at all, sorry.



    But in the big picture, so far this machine has been superb. This is my first Mac ever, and I don't regret switching.
  • Reply 18 of 46
    stoostoo Posts: 1,490member
    [quote]As to dead pixels - I think Apple's policy is up to four on a big screen - but the 12" is hardly big. Personally if I had even one dead pixel, on any size screen, I'd send it back. Apple can point to "policy" all they like - but that's not going to stand up in the UK, it's a manufacturing fault fair and square.<hr></blockquote>



    Yep, it's got to be "fit for the intended purpose", which isn't helped by a glaring green pixel in the centre of the screen. I think I'll give them a call.
  • Reply 19 of 46
    madmax559madmax559 Posts: 596member
    instead of nitpicking this to death

    why not take the laptop to an apple store

    & compare it & demand an exchange if somethings

    wrong with it



    some of you keep railing against pc's

    but if you had the same issue with a pc part

    you could exchange it with no hassles



    just beacuse its apple i dont see any reason

    to put up with a manufacturing defect (incl bad

    pixels) & waste your money.



    my 2 c



    pete
  • Reply 20 of 46
    ti fighterti fighter Posts: 863member
    like someone said above, technically a certian amout of bad pixles is acepted and will not warrent a return (at least in the US). To get a unit replaced for one bad pixel, you either have to be really lucky, or make a really big deal about it to the company and hope they do it. But you should deff try, the more people that demand that this is not acceptible the better it will be for all of us.
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