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What are the odds that Apple will refund me on my Powerbook?

F

FasterSoonerNow

macrumors member
Original poster
Less the a year old, and the hard drive seems to be failing due to physical internal problems.... Now, according to the warranty, there are 3 options:

1) Apple fixes Powerbook
2) Apple replaces Powerbook
3) Apple refunds me for purchase price of Powerbook

As I said.. the machine is less than a year old. Just about 6 months...

And when it comes down to it, I would've bought an iMac G5 if they'd been out at the time.

So the question is, if I bring it into an Apple store and put up a fuss, do you think they'd ever refund me the purchase price, as is an option in the warranty?
 
FasterSoonerNow said:
Less the a year old, and the hard drive seems to be failing due to physical internal problems.... Now, according to the warranty, there are 3 options:

1) Apple fixes Powerbook
2) Apple replaces Powerbook
3) Apple refunds me for purchase price of Powerbook

As I said.. the machine is less than a year old. Just about 6 months...

And when it comes down to it, I would've bought an iMac G5 if they'd been out at the time.

So the question is, if I bring it into an Apple store and put up a fuss, do you think they'd ever refund me the purchase price, as is an option in the warranty?
Click to expand...
Instead of simply replacing the disk drive? You gotta be kidding? They'll replace the failed component; why wouldn't they?
 
daveL said:
Instead of simply replacing the disk drive? You gotta be kidding? They'll replace the failed component; why wouldn't they?
Click to expand...

Because it'd be extremely convenient for me, though not at all logical. 🙁
 
Also.. let me ask you guys something else... I'm not sure that the drive is truly gone for sure yet... Occassionally, OS X will boot up fine, and log me in and all. Just, after a period of use, it inevitably locks up and freezes, and becomes unresponsive.

When this occurs, I can hear a pattern develop in the HD seeking/reading noise... Like it makes 3 short noises, one long one, then repeats.

Does this mean that there is a physical drive problem, or would Disk Utility do the trick?
 
The most common thing they do and what most likely what they will do for you is this:

Try to fix component.
If fails they will try it again and fix anything else.
If fails a third time they will replace your rig.

Never ever heard them replace one system for another.

Sorry I think your SOL for what you want, but on the other hand there is always a first time for everything. 😛
 
you could always sell it on ebay after its been fixed... it would technically be refurbished and its not too old. And people on ebay tend to pay a lot for used products. Especially for macs.
 
FasterSoonerNow said:
Also.. let me ask you guys something else... I'm not sure that the drive is truly gone for sure yet... Occassionally, OS X will boot up fine, and log me in and all. Just, after a period of use, it inevitably locks up and freezes, and becomes unresponsive.

When this occurs, I can hear a pattern develop in the HD seeking/reading noise... Like it makes 3 short noises, one long one, then repeats.

Does this mean that there is a physical drive problem, or would Disk Utility do the trick?
Click to expand...
Go into Dsik Utility, select the drive and look down at the bottom of the window for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the drive. If it's going south, the status should indicate something is wrong. This assumes your disk provides diagnostic status; not all drives do. Also, you can boot up from your install CD and invoke Disk Utility from the menu on the initial install screen. From there you can run "repair disk".

HTH
 
For me, my iBook had problems, I sent it in 3 times. Finally Apple decided to just replace it with the same thing. I asked if I could just upgrade to a powerbook and I just had to pay the difference. So there is a chance you could get what you want, but if you haven't even sent it in, I would bet they won't refund you right away.

My friend had a Dell laptop that she tried to get a refund on and they would only give her 65% of what she originally paid.... I don't know if apple works the same way but I'm guessing it would be hard to get a full refund. They would be more likely to let you change to an iMac then to give you your money back.

Clayton
 
i had an iBook fail twice within 4 months, and i bought a powerbook for the difference on the original cost of the iBook. they let me trade up. so once yours fails 2-3 times then you can take it to apple and tell them you want something better. at least that is what i did
 
eva01 said:
i had an iBook fail twice within 4 months, and i bought a powerbook for the difference on the original cost of the iBook. they let me trade up. so once yours fails 2-3 times then you can take it to apple and tell them you want something better. at least that is what i did
Click to expand...

Obviously, these types of exceptions are given on a case-by-case basis. Generally speaking, it's not uncommon for a hard drive to fail. Eventually, they all do. It's just a matter of time.

It is reasonable to expect that Apple will repair your PowerBook by replacing the hard drive. However, if the problem persists after the repair and you would incur more down time due to repairs, then it would be reasonable to pursue a different course of action.
 
FasterSoonerNow said:
1) Apple fixes Powerbook
2) Apple replaces Powerbook
3) Apple refunds me for purchase price of Powerbook
Click to expand...
There is no way Apple will replace or refund the price of the PowerBook. They only very rarely do this, even for problems a lot more serious than yours. If you don't want it anymore, have Apple fix it and then sell it to someone else. You should be able to get pretty good money for it on eBay.
 
I've never heard of a refund either. A replacement/upgrade is far more common... I recently upgraded to a 17" PB from a 15". This was after 5 repair attempts... after that many repairs you have a Federal right to either a replacement or a refund. But the manufacturer still gets to decide.
 
FasterSoonerNow said:
Also.. let me ask you guys something else... I'm not sure that the drive is truly gone for sure yet... Occassionally, OS X will boot up fine, and log me in and all. Just, after a period of use, it inevitably locks up and freezes, and becomes unresponsive.

When this occurs, I can hear a pattern develop in the HD seeking/reading noise... Like it makes 3 short noises, one long one, then repeats.

Does this mean that there is a physical drive problem, or would Disk Utility do the trick?
Click to expand...
It always good to run periodicals when they should, and repair permissions after installing something that requires admin password...

...but one thing I'm wondering about, just a long shot, but are you by any chance using BitTorrent...? I used that recently (for the first time in ages, to download some Mercedes-Benz mixed tapes) and the whole machine froze after just a short time of mixed use. I then installed Bits on Wheels, and ditched BitTorrent and everythings been fine ever since...
 
Same Failure Mode Here

I have a 12" 1.33 PB and the same thing just happened to me like a month ago. Randomly, the PB will freeze except for the mouse. It is as if it is trying to find something on the hd but couldn't. It just continues to try forever. I booted it up using the supplied disk and ran a diagnostic on the system and it returned saying there is a problem with the hd. However I ran it a couple more time and i couldn't get it to tell me the same problem. So I sent it in for repair and when I got it back, I noticed that all they did was reinstalled the OS. Apparently that fixed it since I have been using it for the last couple of weeks and have had no problems.

Sounds like you are seeing the samething. You might want to try reinstalling the OS. It worked on mine.
 
chw, did they format your drive when they reinstalled the OS?

or did they perform an Archive and Install?

The only reason I'm hesitant to bring it in to Apple to repair, is that I'm afraid they'll format it without thinking twice.

Theres stuff on the drive I really need to save, so before I do that, I'm trying to recover all of it.

When I get back to school (where the PB is), I'll do as you all have advised... Check the S.M.A.R.T. status, run Disc Utility from the OS X disc, etc.
 
Also, can any of you guys tell me what the expected turnaround rate is? I'd be bringing it in to the Apple store for them to ship out (or repair themselves, I don't know the extent of work they do in-store)

Could I expect it back inside of a week?
 
FasterSoonerNow said:
chw, did they format your drive when they reinstalled the OS?
Click to expand...

They warn you that they may need to wipe your hard drive. They do a clean install. They tell you no less than three times to back up your data.

Don't back it up, your fault. Apple warns you every step of the way.
 
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