Dead Macbook again!

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Hey guys,



My girlfriend bought a black Macbook about 6 weeks ago. 3 weeks ago she started having the random shut-off problems, crash issues, etc that many have had. So 2 weeks ago she took the system to the Genius Bar and they shipped it to Apple. She got the laptop back just 3 days ago after they replaced the logic board, processor, and heat sink. Just now she's getting this screen video/logic board problem AGAIN!



Here's a picture of it:







Any suggestions on what to do now? She's been on hold with AppleCare for about 15 minutes now... This cannot and should not be happening all the time with these laptops. I have a MBP with 0 problems! Does Apple have a lemon replacement policy? Because I think replacing the system may be in order (she bought this at the local Apple Retail Store).
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 36
    baygbmbaygbm Posts: 147member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by axc51


    Hey guys,



    My girlfriend bought a black Macbook about 6 weeks ago. 3 weeks ago she started having the random shut-off problems, crash issues, etc that many have had. So 2 weeks ago she took the system to the Genius Bar and they shipped it to Apple. She got the laptop back just 3 days ago after they replaced the logic board, processor, and heat sink. Just now she's getting this screen video/logic board problem AGAIN!



    Here's a picture of it:



    Any suggestions on what to do now? She's been on hold with AppleCare for about 15 minutes now... This cannot and should not be happening all the time with these laptops. I have a MBP with 0 problems! Does Apple have a lemon replacement policy? Because I think replacing the system may be in order (she bought this at the local Apple Retail Store).



    That Macbook should be replaced! Take it back to the store and immediately ask to speak to the manager. Note his name. Report your problems and kindly ask for a new system. Sending it in again for additional "repairs" is more patience than I would have at this point. This is supposed to be a new computer!



    If they decline to replace it, leave it with them for repair then go home and dispute the charge with your credit card company. The procedure for doing so is printed on the back of your CC statement. A well written detailed letter should get the job done: the CC company will reverse the charges and you'll have the funds to go buy a Macbook elsewhere...



    My black Macbook is in the shop right now and if it gives even a hint of a problem when I get it back I'll dispute the charges with my CC company.



    btw, this is not pie in the sky talk... over the years, I've disputed charges several times and won every time.
  • Reply 2 of 36
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by baygbm


    That Macbook should be replaced! Take it back to the store and immediately ask to speak to the manager. Note his name. Report your problems and kindly ask for a new system. Sending it in again for additional "repairs" is more patience than I would have at this point. This is supposed to be a new computer!



    If they decline to replace it, leave it with them for repair then go home and dispute the charge with your credit card company. The procedure for doing so is printed on the back of your CC statement. A well written detailed letter should get the job done: the CC company will reverse the charges and you'll have the funds to go buy a Macbook elsewhere...



    My black Macbook is in the shop right now and if it gives even a hint of a problem when I get it back I'll dispute the charges with my CC company.



    btw, this is not pie in the sky talk... over the years, I've disputed charges several times and won every time.



    I just had my MacBook replaced with a new one after 3.5 weeks in the repair center. The only problem is that I installed a 100gig HD and two 1gig sticks of RAM. THey are now trying to have those shipped back to me but until then I am sitting here with a pretty much useless MacBook. Parallels does not work with just 512MB RAM LOL. If this one stat dying I am really going to be upset.
  • Reply 3 of 36
    axc51axc51 Posts: 98member
    Well, after talking to AppleCare for about an hour, they reset the Power Management Unit on her laptop again. They also did a Hardware Test and asked her to reformat and reinstall Tiger. It seems to be working again at the moment.
  • Reply 4 of 36
    Hi. I read a fix for this in the Apple Support Discussions Site. Open Display Preference in System Preference. Select a different resolution and activate it, then select the original, native resolution again. I tried it and it works. Search the Macbook Discussion for "vertical, coloured lines" and you'll find it.



    Sounds like the problem is caused by the 10.4.7 upgrade, because the problem didn't appear in 10.4.6.
  • Reply 5 of 36
    axc51axc51 Posts: 98member
    You can't run the Display Preferences when this happens. The computer stops working and the OS doesn't load. Also, it seems like this computer is having more problems AGAIN! It randomly shuts off, or reboots. Other times it shuts off the screen and keeps running... screen goes black, but you can feel the HD spinning, etc. It also had a kernel panic which said "Unable to find driver for this platform: ACPI". After running the hardware tests it found no problems... we've reformatted and reinstalled Tiger twice as well.



    We called AppleCare just now and they want us to once again ship it back to them for repair. THIS CANNOT BE HAPPENING ALL THE TIME! We can't have a week turnaround time for repair. The previous guy we spoke to at AppleCare said if we have any more problems we'll be called a "looper". This AppleCare person said most likely it'll go into repair again. We bought this at the local Apple Retail Store. How do I get it exchanged? We do not want this repaired anymore! We cannot afford this type of downtime every week!



    PLEASE SUGGEST ME WHAT TO DO! Thanks in advance!
  • Reply 6 of 36
    imacfanimacfan Posts: 444member
    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
  • Reply 7 of 36
    axc51axc51 Posts: 98member
    Thanks David. We have scheduled an appointment at the "Genius" Bar for 7pm tonight at the store we purchased from. This should be an interesting evening...
  • Reply 8 of 36
    lundylundy Posts: 4,466member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by axc51


    Thanks David. We have scheduled an appointment at the "Genius" Bar for 7pm tonight at the store we purchased from. This should be an interesting evening...



    If they don't exchange it, send a comprehensive but concise and calm email to



    [email protected]





    It does work.
  • Reply 9 of 36
    baygbmbaygbm Posts: 147member
    I feel your pain... my Macbook has been in for repair since 8/1. With no end in sight.
  • Reply 10 of 36
    axc51axc51 Posts: 98member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by baygbm


    I feel your pain... my Macbook has been in for repair since 8/1. With no end in sight.



    That is rediculous! And there is no excuse for that. Even (crappy) Dell offers next-business-day onsite service on their laptops if you have the CompleteCare warranty. Worst-case scenerio on a Dell? You're down for a day... not two weeks! Unbelievable...
  • Reply 11 of 36
    baygbmbaygbm Posts: 147member
    I'm an Apple lover so i'm trying to be patient, but this IS rediculous. Obviously, there was a bad run on some of the early units of this machine. They should just own up to it and do the right thing quickly instead of pissing loyal customers off.
  • Reply 12 of 36
    Definitely should go back to the store, ask for the manager and calmly explain that you want this laptop replaced.



    As for the screen going black and the comp still being on, check your settings under "Energy Saver" in the System Preferences pane, by default there is a setting that will turn off the display when not in use for X minutes.



    But the other stuff is definitely not normal...
  • Reply 13 of 36
    placeboplacebo Posts: 5,767member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by lundy


    If they don't exchange it, send a comprehensive but concise and calm email to



    [email protected]





    It does work.



    Does he respond?
  • Reply 14 of 36
    axc51axc51 Posts: 98member
    well... A refund / replacement was denied. The only thing they could / would do was ship it back for repairs. Any ideas now?
  • Reply 15 of 36
    baygbmbaygbm Posts: 147member
    If you've had it in for service before, I would dispute the charge with your credit card company. If I don't have my Macbook back by friday of next week (they will have had it for two weeks then) I'll do the same.
  • Reply 16 of 36
    lundylundy Posts: 4,466member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Placebo


    Does he respond?



    Executive Relations reads every one of those emails and responds very quickly.
  • Reply 17 of 36
    lundylundy Posts: 4,466member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by axc51


    well... A refund / replacement was denied. The only thing they could / would do was ship it back for repairs. Any ideas now?



    [email protected]
  • Reply 18 of 36
    axc51axc51 Posts: 98member
    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.
  • Reply 19 of 36
    When purchasing a new Mac, isn't the best idea to order from the online Apple store -- the idea being that you're having a brand-new unit shipped to you straight from the factory (my BTO iBook G4 was shipped to me from China) instead of taking the chance of getting an early, defective product at the retail store?



    I know that isn't fair to people who buy at the retail stores, but that's what I've always heard. Any thoughts, anyone?



    Hope everything works out for the best for you. I'm ordering a BlackBook in a matter of weeks, and will be praying that it dosen't have problems. \
  • Reply 20 of 36
    baygbmbaygbm Posts: 147member
    That's a nice idea but I think it's silly. The Macbooks at retail stores come from the same place that your BTO unit will come from.



    As I've said previously, when you built a million units of anything several hundred--if not thousands--are going to be lemons. It's just bad luck to get one of those units.
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