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Peter Griffin

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 10, 2005
219
0
I always thought that Apple used the same parts/materials in their computers (assuming its the same rev/model) and I sure as hell hope that someone tells me I'm wrong. Well, I've just received a replacement for my iBook and have become very suspicious of some of the materials used. Before I go on I should note that this iBook was given to me on the premise that it was BRAND NEW because it was replacing a DOA iBook.

I have another iBook that's brand new which I've used for comparison on this replacement iBook. It appears as though the trackpad and mouse button differ from the new one in that the trackpad feels a lot less...slick. It takes more effort for my finger to glide across the trackpad than does the other one because this appears to be made out of a more coarse material. The one button makes this springy noise whenever I release.
One of the screws on the side of my LCD lid has not been driven all the way through.

My main concern though isn't the trackpad but the hard drive. When I place my hand over the left armrest, I can feel a substantial increase in vibration when compared to my new iBook. Apart from that everything works like it should and the performance is on par with my other iBook.

It's hard to enjoy a new laptop when you're suspecting it to be a refurb. The packaging which came with this iBook was the same as any other new iBook. For those of you who have purchased refurbs, do they come in different packaging?

I hope someone proves me wrong. I'd hate to send this one away and have to risk getting another dud. Thanks in advance to those of you who've actually taken the time to read this far :p
 

liketom

macrumors 601
Apr 8, 2004
4,190
66
Lincoln,UK
chances are the HDD holder that fixes the HDD down is not on proper and meaning you get vibrations.

yes refurbs can come in either original boxes or normal brown cardboard boxes .


refurbs normally are great value for money :)
 

Peter Griffin

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 10, 2005
219
0
liketom said:
chances are the HDD holder that fixes the HDD down is not on proper and meaning you get vibrations.

yes refurbs can come in either original boxes or normal brown cardboard boxes .


refurbs normally are great value for money :)

What scares me though is that the hard drive isn't actually spinning (or at least I don't think I'm doing anything that requires much of the hard drive) when the left side is vibrating. And yes refurbs are a great deal though....only when you pay a refurb price and not that of a new one.

Any thoughts guys?

EDIT- I should also note that this is Apple Asia and the way they handle business here can be a bit shady. Sorry to say but American companies here generally don't provide the great service they do back home and will cut corners if they can. But if anyone can confirm whether or not I have a refurb it would be great and will put my out of this great misery. Thanks!
 

liketom

macrumors 601
Apr 8, 2004
4,190
66
Lincoln,UK
put your ear to the case and you will hear it spin - if you copy a large file say 1gb around the hdd will make a lot of noise.

but remember if you think its duff give the might apple a call and get them to repair/replace it
 

Demon Hunter

macrumors 68020
Mar 30, 2004
2,284
39
Make sure both the trackpads are clean. Oil can make them kind of slick. It's not uncommon for Apple to change hard drive manufacturers for the same Rev... some might get a noisy Seagate, others a Hitachi, etc.
 

Sun Baked

macrumors G5
May 19, 2002
14,937
157
There are some Apple techs around here, one of them may be willing to do a SN check on your machine.

But the parts that go into these machines may vary, since not all batches have parts coming from the same vendor.
 

Peter Griffin

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 10, 2005
219
0
liketom said:
put your ear to the case and you will hear it spin - if you copy a large file say 1gb around the hdd will make a lot of noise.

but remember if you think its duff give the might apple a call and get them to repair/replace it

The weird thing is, there isn't any actual noise. Just a tiny faint vibration on the left. It's there whether I'm transferring files or not so I don't think the hard drive is actually spinning but something is moving/vibrating. As you can probably tell I'm not all that computer savy so can anyone explain why?
 

CanadaRAM

macrumors G5
Peter Griffin said:
The weird thing is, there isn't any actual noise. Just a tiny faint vibration on the left. It's there whether I'm transferring files or not so I don't think the hard drive is actually spinning but something is moving/vibrating. As you can probably tell I'm not all that computer savy so can anyone explain why?
Ummm... your hard drive remains spinning whether you are accessing it or not. The only time it stops spinning is if your machine puts it to sleep.

You can probably experiment with Energy Saver and the hard drive sleep time / Sleep Now settings to determine if there is a difference spinning-vs-non-spinning.

If it was a DOA (within the DOA period as defined by Apple) then you should have gotten a new machine. If it was a warranty replacement (outside of DOA period) on the other hand, a refurb would be standard practice.
 

mad jew

Moderator emeritus
Apr 3, 2004
32,191
9
Adelaide, Australia
CanadaRAM said:
Ummm... your hard drive remains spinning whether you are accessing it or not. The only time it stops spinning is if your machine puts it to sleep.


I didn't realise that. So why is there a separate option in Energy Saver for putting the computer to sleep, the display to sleep and the hard drive to sleep?
 

CanadaRAM

macrumors G5
mad jew said:
I didn't realise that. So why is there a separate option in Energy Saver for putting the computer to sleep, the display to sleep and the hard drive to sleep?
Computer = whole ting
Display = screen only --- for when you want to keep processing in the background but want the screen to blank.
Hard drive = hard drive only
 

mad jew

Moderator emeritus
Apr 3, 2004
32,191
9
Adelaide, Australia
Ignore me, I misread your post. I thought you were saying that the hard drive won't sleep unless the machine puts itself (whole machine) to sleep. I think I need more coffee. :eek:

Thanks all the same CanadaRAM, you're a legend. :D



*Crawls back under rock*
 

Peter Griffin

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 10, 2005
219
0
OK maybe this should help. I've just gotten through importing songs from a CD and the refurb vibrated *substantially* more than the new one. What could be the problem?

EDIT- Scratch that out it's a CD problem.
 

Peter Griffin

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 10, 2005
219
0
CanadaRAM said:
If it was a DOA (within the DOA period as defined by Apple) then you should have gotten a new machine. If it was a warranty replacement (outside of DOA period) on the other hand, a refurb would be standard practice.

Business practices are definitely different over here. When I first told Apple that I had a DOA they told me to send it to some third party company they outsourced to for repair. Long story short, I wasn't going to accept that and after several calls to teh customer service department they reluctantly sent me what is supposed to be a "new" iBook. I'm pretty disgusted by this whole ordeal to be honest, I'm a loyal Apple customer and to be treated this way is very angering to say the least.
 

Thom_Edwards

macrumors regular
Apr 11, 2003
240
0
Peter Griffin said:
For those of you who have purchased refurbs, do they come in different packaging?

both my imac and ipod were refurb, and both came in different packaging when compared to new products--basic "brown" cardboard with the words 'Certified Reconditioned Product' in the apple font with a few apple logos here and there.
 

Peter Griffin

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 10, 2005
219
0
Thom_Edwards said:
both my imac and ipod were refurb, and both came in different packaging when compared to new products--basic "brown" cardboard with the words 'Certified Reconditioned Product' in the apple font with a few apple logos here and there.

I see... Mine came with the complete packaging. Everything was new from the PVC wrapped manuals to the cords with specific number tags on them. Is there any way to find out if my computer is a refurb from the packaging along? I'd figure there has to be something there that says RECONDITIONED unless ofcourse, I'm being screwed. :(
 

Bulb

macrumors member
Oct 24, 2005
33
0
Isnt there a program for mac which runs a diagnostic on everyting in your system ? I know windows has stuff like SiSoft Sandra which can basically tell you everything about your machine, down to brands of each component, chipsets and benchmarks etc. Id see if there is something like that out there to at least tell you hard drive brands.. It doesnt sound like a problem to me, it just sounds like the new machine has crappier components. Therefore i cant imagine youd have any luck exchanging it if it works ??

Here in Australia we also have terrible customer service i think. It's not uncommon at all to be told to take something to a 3rd party for repair and then have it take a month to get back, only to find its still got the original problem. The place you bought it no longer takes responsibility either theyve got your money and thats it, they just tell you to go to make phone calls to other people.

Then when you ring up irate thats it been a month and its not fixed the situation often gets worse because they take offense that you arent civilisated with them.. Meanwhile all you have done is pay your money and been stuffed around.. I often buy stuff online now via USA cause in a dozen purchases i dont think ive ever had a problem.
 

Peter Griffin

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 10, 2005
219
0
Bulb said:
Isnt there a program for mac which runs a diagnostic on everyting in your system ? I know windows has stuff like SiSoft Sandra which can basically tell you everything about your machine, down to brands of each component, chipsets and benchmarks etc. Id see if there is something like that out there to at least tell you hard drive brands.. It doesnt sound like a problem to me, it just sounds like the new machine has crappier components. Therefore i cant imagine youd have any luck exchanging it if it works ??

Here in Australia we also have terrible customer service i think. It's not uncommon at all to be told to take something to a 3rd party for repair and then have it take a month to get back, only to find its still got the original problem. The place you bought it no longer takes responsibility either theyve got your money and thats it, they just tell you to go to make phone calls to other people.

Then when you ring up irate thats it been a month and its not fixed the situation often gets worse because they take offense that you arent civilisated with them.. Meanwhile all you have done is pay your money and been stuffed around.. I often buy stuff online now via USA cause in a dozen purchases i dont think ive ever had a problem.

Anyone know of this program? Maybe I do have crappier components or the underpaid worker at the factory didn't put much effort into putting the thing together...

I guess I could somewhat relate to your post about the crappy third party service. Too bad I bought it from the actual Apple Store online thinking that I would receive Apple's renowned customer service along with my purchase. :rolleyes:
 

dcv

macrumors G3
May 24, 2005
8,021
1
Thom_Edwards said:
both my imac and ipod were refurb, and both came in different packaging when compared to new products--basic "brown" cardboard with the words 'Certified Reconditioned Product' in the apple font with a few apple logos here and there.

My refurb iMac came in the *original* pretty box with all original packaging, but there was a yellow sticker on the outside of the box saying 'Certified Reconditioned Product'.

I doubt very much that Apple have given you a refurb product if you've paid for a brand new one, but if you're that dissatisfied with it then contact them and arrange to send it back.


Bulb said:
Isnt there a program for mac which runs a diagnostic on everyting in your system ? I know windows has stuff like SiSoft Sandra which can basically tell you everything about your machine, down to brands of each component, chipsets and benchmarks etc. Id see if there is something like that out there to at least tell you hard drive brands.
System Profiler will give you basic hardware/software information. Just click the Apple menu > About this Mac > More Info...
 

Macky-Mac

macrumors 68040
May 18, 2004
3,489
2,531
Peter Griffin said:
Anyone know of this program? Maybe I do have crappier components or the underpaid worker at the factory didn't put much effort into putting the thing together...

I guess I could somewhat relate to your post about the crappy third party service. Too bad I bought it from the actual Apple Store online thinking that I would receive Apple's renowned customer service along with my purchase. :rolleyes:
so what is actually wrong with your computer??? so far you have mentioned that you feel there are some minor differences with another ibook that you have.....but what beyond that?

from what you say it's in the original packaging but somehow you seem convinced that it's not what you were supposed to get but you haven't really put forward any details that reveal that???
 

Peter Griffin

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 10, 2005
219
0
dietcokevanilla said:
My refurb iMac came in the *original* pretty box with all original packaging, but there was a yellow sticker on the outside of the box saying 'Certified Reconditioned Product'.

I doubt very much that Apple have given you a refurb product if you've paid for a brand new one, but if you're that dissatisfied with it then contact them and arrange to send it back.



System Profiler will give you basic hardware/software information. Just click the Apple menu > About this Mac > More Info...

Ok I just checked all my hardware components on the System Profiler. Everything was the same except for one thing, I hope this about confirms it. The new iBook has Fujitsu ATA Hardrive as opposed to the suspected refurb which uses a Toshiba. Now considering the fact that the vibration comes from the left palm-rest (which I believe is wehre the hard drive is located) I think we have it figured. Am I just unlucky or are Toshibas standard in refurbs?
 

inxxcasinoxxout

macrumors newbie
Jun 2, 2005
21
0
my new 1.3ghz 12" ibook has a Toshiba hard-drive and it makes very little noise/vibrations unless i'm working with big files.
 

Macky-Mac

macrumors 68040
May 18, 2004
3,489
2,531
Peter Griffin said:
Ok I just checked all my hardware components on the System Profiler. Everything was the same except for one thing, I hope this about confirms it. The new iBook has Fujitsu ATA Hardrive as opposed to the suspected refurb which uses a Toshiba. Now considering the fact that the vibration comes from the left palm-rest (which I believe is wehre the hard drive is located) I think we have it figured. Am I just unlucky or are Toshibas standard in refurbs?

a refurb would still have the original hard drive unless a defective hard drive was found in the refurb process in which case it would have been replaced

what's the "part number" on the box for the questionable ibook? The online Apple store's FAQ about Refurbs says that it would have been given a refurb part number.
 
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