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Powerbook 12" Case Damage - What Next?

jaw04005

jaw04005

macrumors 601
Original poster
I dropped my PB 12" and it made several minor dings and warps on the bottom portion of the case. What should I do? I called Apple, cosemtic damage cost $850 to fix. I checked with PBParts and for the bottom of the case, costing $280. I know I dropped the notebook and its my fault, but why the hell did they not make the case more durable? I don't know if its worth it, is it hard to take the bottom apart, and replace it? Drops are gonna happen, unless you lock your Powerbook up in a safe and not use it. :/ Thanks.
 
What?

Um, no, drops are not going to happen if you are careful. These are PRECISION tools, and are not meant to be carried around haphazardly. The fact that your computer still works actually proves that they are pretty durable...
 
Look at it this way, scratches and dents add character. It's just not worth fixing. That money could be put towards a new machine in a year's time.
 
More durable cases = thickness & weight

Which is at odd with the consumers buying sleek light notebooks, and those that keep asking why Apple's notebooks aren't as small as the PC worlds ultra small subnotebooks.

Plus Apple does off a PB12 with a more durable case -- it's called the iBook G4... but alas it's thicker, heavier, and has a smooth plastic finish that scatches easily (though it'll take a bit more punishment than the PB12).
 
given the complexity of the machine, i dont think it should have to be at all designed for dropping.
 
Do you even have a Powerbook 12"? "PRECISION tools", hahah? Give me a break its a notebook, the soft alum case on this thing is easily damaged. Its not like I was playing catch with my Powerbook. I hope with the G5 powerbook, they sacrifice a little style for durability. I owned a previous generatoin TI book and let me tell you.. that thing was durable, my 3 year old nephew knocked it off my desk and it didn't leave a scratch. Anyone used SafeWare accidental protection on their powerbook?
 
Apple should offer Accidental Protection as an add-on to AppleCare. I thought I read on here that they were consdiering it at one time. Oh well, I'm not going to get it repaired.. I'll just save that money for a G5 PB.
 
Yep

I would say that any computer is a precision tool...
I have had a G3 iBook and a 17 inch powerbook, never dropped either. I just don't understand why ppl buy nice, expensive things, handle them improperly and wonder why they are not more durable...
 
Hahah. Well you will only know the feeling when something accidentally happens to you, and then you won't be quite so defensive when someone questions the quality of an Apple product. There is always room for improvement, even with Apple 😉
 
Hmm...

yeah, but if I hit something with my car and dent it I don't complain the car company is at fault...
 
I wouldn't give up yet...

There are few things you can do. First, look on eBay for a bottom case for a 12" PowerBook, and you may just find one. They're rare, but they come up sometimes. Replacing it yourself would be difficult, but you could probably pay an Apple repair center to do it for you--I don't think they would charge too much. Find one of those funky little businesses, and they will probably do it for a fair price.

If you can't find one on eBay, it's probably worth the couple hundred dollars to get a new case from a third party, because then you could always sell it for more when you want to upgrade to the PBG5. But before you buy one, make sure to find someone who will replace it for you (unless you think you can do it yourself, which I've heard is really difficult on the 12").

Also, I once had a friend who dropped his TiBook, and he took a more devious route to getting it repaired. He somehow convinced Apple that the damage was caused by a power burst or something, I don't remember exactly what. He made up some crazy story and sounded distressed enough, so the rep told him to send it in and they replaced a bunch of parts, including the case that had been warped. I don't really suggest you do this, because the damage was your fault, but it's an interesting story nonetheless. Good luck!
 
Originally posted by joshuawaire
...I owned a previous generatoin TI book and let me tell you.. that thing was durable, my 3 year old nephew knocked it off my desk and it didn't leave a scratch. Anyone used SafeWare accidental protection on their powerbook?
Click to expand...

i don't think the Ti was at all more durable than the Aluminum, quite the opposite actually. the Ti was metal and plastic coated with a titanium-based paint and was actually rather soft. mine took a fall from the bed to the floor and it destroyed the DVD drive, my Dune DVD that was in it, the entire bottom casing, the battery compartment, warped the screen, and broke the latch. i think my 12" would fair much better under the same circumstance, although i'm not about to do a test. i do indeed use Safeware now on my 12" should something like this ever happen again, knock on wood.
 
Originally posted by joshuawaire
Do you even have a Powerbook 12"? "PRECISION tools", hahah? Give me a break its a notebook, the soft alum case on this thing is easily damaged. Its not like I was playing catch with my Powerbook. I hope with the G5 powerbook, they sacrifice a little style for durability. I owned a previous generatoin TI book and let me tell you.. that thing was durable, my 3 year old nephew knocked it off my desk and it didn't leave a scratch. Anyone used SafeWare accidental protection on their powerbook?
Click to expand...
maybe precision tool doesnt mean a craftsman or snap on tool. i use my ibook as a 'precision tool' for my real estate business. your the one who posted your situation, i dont think you should be lashing back at others for contributing a legitimant response. your the one who purchased the PB despite the 'soft aluminum case'.
 
Hi tjwett, how is safeware working out for you? Several other people recommended their services, I'm assuming the insurance premium is what around $200 a year for a Powerbook? I will definately look into that suggestion. I do wish AppleCare would offer something along those lines, the other major brands are offering it (HP, Dell, Gateway, etc). Looking back, in my "personal opinion" the TI book was alot more durable than the AL series. However, not as sexy 🙂 I have to send this baby in for dvd drive repair, maybe I will luck out and they will decide to fix it for no other charge.
 
I had a 17" PB for a while. One night I was sitting on the couch and I was getting ready to go to my bedroom. I stood up and put the PB in its sleeve case. I must have had a dumb@ss attack or something, but I dropped the case right after putting the PB in it. The PB in its case may have fell two-three feet. But, it bent the lower casing too!! I was shocked that it happened. I mean it barely fell, it was in a case, and it fell on carpet!! I was so anal with that thing too. For crying out loud, I was putting it into a case to walk into my bedroom!!
I was contemplating getting rid of it anyway because it was too big for school. So that was the final straw. So I feel your pain! I agree they should be more durable.
 
Originally posted by joshuawaire
Hi tjwett, how is safeware working out for you? Several other people recommended their services, I'm assuming the insurance premium is what around $200 a year for a Powerbook? I will definately look into that suggestion. I do wish AppleCare would offer something along those lines, the other major brands are offering it (HP, Dell, Gateway, etc). Looking back, in my "personal opinion" the TI book was alot more durable than the AL series. However, not as sexy 🙂 I have to send this baby in for dvd drive repair, maybe I will luck out and they will decide to fix it for no other charge.
Click to expand...

you just might luck out with that. with Apple it's all about your case number and exactly what it was sent in for. example; when i dropped my old TiBook (see above) i called Apple right away and told them i dropped it and the DVD drive was broken, among other things. they said to send it in and they'd tell me how much it would, probably around $800 or so. the next day i realized how stupid i was and called them to simply cancel the case number and claim. 5 minutes later i called back and opened a new case number stating that my DVD simply stopped working. there is no way for them to prove me wrong, and it wouldn't be worth their time to fight it. so there were my two case numbers right next to eachother and nothing they could do because it was cancelled and therefore considered dead. so i sent it in and they fixed the DVD drive for free and fixed the casing for free too because the bent case was obstructing the DVD drive from fitting properly. 🙂
 
Of course it's a precision instrument. Yes, accidents happen. But it's amazing how they happen more with some than others. It's like I've had a beeper and/or cell phone for 15 years and find myself in meetings where they can't go off. That's thousands of meetings over that period of time and never once has one gone off audibly. I'm not anal or neurotic about it, just careful. I've asked people to turn off their cell phones and had them say, "It was an accident."
 
Yeah...

It's funny how many accidents happen to unprepared or irresponsible people...
And to comment on the member that dented his powerbook cause he dropped it in his sleeve?
Don't buy a lil sleeve, buy a huge $150 Brenthaven bag. $150 ain't that much when you drop 2 or 3 grand plus on a laptop...
 
Re: Yeah...

Originally posted by appleretailguy
It's funny how many accidents happen to unprepared or irresponsible people...
And to comment on the member that dented his powerbook cause he dropped it in his sleeve?
Don't buy a lil sleeve, buy a huge $150 Brenthaven bag. $150 ain't that much when you drop 2 or 3 grand plus on a laptop...
Click to expand...

Accidents do happen to responsible people. That is why they are called accidents. Just for the record, the sleeve goes inside the Brenthave bag I had. You know what they say about people that assume, right? I suppose if you get in a wreck today it is because you are unprepared or irresponsible.🙄 I am not saying that the laptop should withstand drops down stairs or something. It dropped two to three feet on to carpet, while it was in a bag, and it still dented. I know they are not designed to be mistreated, but accidents do happen.
 
i agree that accidents do happen to responsible people, i baby my laptop and its always in my bag. but this is what happened to me and i couldn't help it : https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=59557

but anyways a drop is a drop and computer's aren't meant to be dropped. yeah you said know its your fault but what is the point in saying that apple should make more durable cases.... I personally think its very good compared to my other laptops. I have a friend that had a vaio laptop, he "dropped" his vaio onto his desk from a total height of TWO INCHES, guess what happened?, his hard drive was damaged.

just be glad your pb still works perfectly 🙂
 
Re: Yeah...

Originally posted by appleretailguy
It's funny how many accidents happen to unprepared or irresponsible people...
And to comment on the member that dented his powerbook cause he dropped it in his sleeve?
Don't buy a lil sleeve, buy a huge $150 Brenthaven bag. $150 ain't that much when you drop 2 or 3 grand plus on a laptop...
Click to expand...

I have a huge $150 Brenthaven bag for my Ti Powerbook, but I, like you, was wooed into a false sense of security by it. I am now stuck with a PowerBook with a severly scratched screen due to the excess pressure the sleeve puts against the screen when it's closed. Too bad Apple won't tell anyone that the raised area around the trackpad scratches the screen over time...until the screen is already damaged beyond repair.

All I'm saying here is that these computers (which I own several of and love) while great, are NOT PERFECT. They are much more perfect than any other computer out there, but Apple should make weight/thickness compromises in an effort to make these computers as rock solid as they make us believe.

Also, calling the Ti book a Ti book is false advertsing in my book. When my case scratched the first time I demanded that apple replace the entire case as they had misled me to believe that that was metal that was exposed, not gray magnesium/plastic painted with a titanuim looking paint...

Sorry for the long post...and lets all stand together and hold Apple to its own standard...the highest of all consumer electronics manufacturers!
 
These are great points all of them, I was debating which notebook to buy in december. I had it narrowed to the 12" PB or iBook. And one of the advantages for the iBook was durability. I read many posts that said PB's would dent. I bought the powerbook anyhow. Understanding that is an accident happens it is not apples fault for building a aluminum case, but mine for dropping it. Yes even the most careful people will drop there notebooks, in fact both of my previous iBooks took a leap. They were accidents, but preventable. Like all of you I am a carefull shopper, and knowing that the powerbook has a easily dentable cse, and the fact it is 1800 worth of electronics in there, I take extra caution. But thanks to you all, I will probably drop it tonight when I get home, and I will be here complaining about how soft the case is, but it will give me a reason to get the PB G5.
 
Re: Re: Yeah...

Originally posted by CGessin
Also, calling the Ti book a Ti book is false advertsing in my book. When my case scratched the first time I demanded that apple replace the entire case as they had misled me to believe that that was metal that was exposed, not gray magnesium/plastic painted with a titanuim looking paint...

Sorry for the long post...and lets all stand together and hold Apple to its own standard...the highest of all consumer electronics manufacturers!
Click to expand...
You've gotta be kidding, right? The TiBook's shell is made of Titanium. Just because it's painted doesn't mean that it's not titanium. There's no false advertising here at all.

Many things made of titanium are painted because bare titanium doesn't look so nice. I supposed they could have brushed the titanium instead of painting it, but painting is probably cheaper.

If golf ball manufacturers can get away with calling balls with a titanium powder in the paint, a "Titanium" golf ball, then Apple can certain call their PB's titanium.
 
Re: Re: Re: Yeah...

Originally posted by ftaok
You've gotta be kidding, right? The TiBook's shell is made of Titanium. Just because it's painted doesn't mean that it's not titanium. There's no false advertising here at all.

Many things made of titanium are painted because bare titanium doesn't look so nice. I supposed they could have brushed the titanium instead of painting it, but painting is probably cheaper.

If golf ball manufacturers can get away with calling balls with a titanium powder in the paint, a "Titanium" golf ball, then Apple can certain call their PB's titanium.
Click to expand...

I'm not kidding at all. If you want to tell me I'm wrong, I suggest you get your facts straight or go get a Ti book and compare it to what I'm about to explain to you.

The bottom cover is made of plastic with a think sheet of titanium glued to it, which as many PowerBook owners know is a design flaw because the glue dries up and the metal seperates from the plastic. The top cover that surrounds the keyboard and the bezel that goes around the computer are titanium. But the casing around the display is not titanium, it is magnesium. All parts of the computer have paint on them, but those other than casing around the display are much more impervious to scratches and other types of damage because they are actually made from Titanium.

I didn't pay a few bucks for my PowerBook as you did for your golf balls. Aside from which, my complaint about the Ti Book is that the screen scratches itself and apple doesnt even tell you about it until after the damage is done...all they would have to do is sell their computers with the display protector that ACME MADE makes and there would be no issues, but they decide to act as if the problem doesn't exist at all.

Thats all I was trying to high light in my previous post
 
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