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mdgolom

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 26, 2006
319
0
I bought a 24" iMac back in December 2007. In mid-February this year, I had problems booting. I took the computer to my local Apple store for service. They determined the hard drive was bad and replaced it under AppleCare. At a week ago, I started having problems where the computer would freeze (i.e. the spinning beach ball). Sometimes the computer would run all and then crash or crash after 5 minutes. I took it back in and they ran some tests. They determined the new HD was bad and also the power supply needed to be replaced.

I got a call this morning from the Apple store who said they replaced the parts, and it didn't fix the problem. Instead of continuing to hold on to it, they proposed replacing the computer. I assumed they would replace it with a refurbished iMac. That wasn't the case and they said they wanted to replace it with a brand new machine. They said they would replace it with the new 24" 2.66ghz unit. Cool, I said I would come in shortly and pick it up. Before leaving for the store, I looked up the specs and noticed that the new iMac used shared memory instead of dedicated memory. When I got to the store, I commented to someone and he said he would check. He came out said said I was correct and went in back and picked out a 2.9ghz with a dedicated graphic card.

I can't think of any other computer company that would give you a brand new computer to replace an older unit. This is why I love Apple!

The only three downsides of the new computer:

1. I need to buy AppleCare again since they can't transfer it. They suggested calling Apple and see if I can get a partial credit or refund for the remaining 20 months.
2. I had to buy a mini display port to DVI adapter. No big deal.
3. My EyeTV uses Firewire. Oh well, I swapped it with my other computer that had one that uses USB.

I'm not complaining since I got a faster computer, 4x the memory and 2x the HD space.
 

kajitox

macrumors 6502a
May 2, 2007
581
0
A good story to share with those who are wondering if it's worth it.

I always tell people it's worth every penny.
 

Lurchdubious

macrumors 65816
Oct 15, 2008
1,150
19
Texas
Congrats! Sounds pretty lucky. If they don't credit you for applecare (which they should~just call back over & over until you get someone to do it), you could always order it cheaper on ebay. I wish I would have.
 

nickweston

macrumors member
Mar 16, 2006
71
0
Applecare

Mac user since 1984-have owned 15 in total, built a business around them.

Have had Applecare on every computer I've purchased since they made it available and have nothing but great things to say about the service. The worst thing people do is to purchase it and not use it the as much as you should. If you have a question, call them!

IMHO, it's a must if you're serious about computing (i.e. if you are using them for your biz).

my 2 cents
 

brop52

macrumors 68000
Feb 26, 2007
1,620
3
Michigan
Glad to hear about your free upgrade!

FYI, if you want to use the same eyetv with the firewire just buy a 6pin (F400) to 9pin (F800) cable from Newegg for $3.99.

(It's free after cash back through this link)

Also, if you need Applecare buy it from ebay for $77. This way it gives you a longer period on Applecare.
 

neil1980

macrumors 6502
Nov 1, 2008
422
19
I can't think of any other computer company that would give you a brand new computer to replace an older unit. This is why I love Apple!

I've got close with a laptop I had from PC World I think it was or some retail store waayy back probably about 1999 ish? Anyway the motherboard failed and it had to be sent off... took them almost 3 months to admit they lost it so they gave me a slightly improved new unit.

But that was after being without a laptop for nearly 3 months so fair play to Apple
 

jbrenn

macrumors 6502a
Aug 27, 2008
638
0
Glad to hear about your free upgrade!

FYI, if you want to use the same eyetv with the firewire just buy a 6pin (F400) to 9pin (F800) cable from Newegg for $3.99.

(It's free after cash back through this link)

Also, if you need Applecare buy it from ebay for $77. This way it gives you a longer period on Applecare.
it does not matter where you buy apple care it is the same length. apple care is linked to the computers purchase date.
 

Jumbonas

macrumors newbie
May 9, 2008
22
0
I had almost the same thing happen, but my 2.4 went to 2.66 then I ended up with the TOL 3.06 gt130. :) I had my applecare refunded and bought it off of ebay
 

rmpstudio

macrumors member
Mar 15, 2009
81
0
question:

Would applecare be worth it if i only bought the basic 2.26 Octo config? I'm planning on adding all of my ram and hard drives from OWC.

Would Apple still cover everything else if i installed aftermarket RAM?
 

ucfgrad93

macrumors Core
Aug 17, 2007
19,522
10,810
Colorado
Awesome story! I recently had my harddrive in my iMac crash. Took it to the Apple Store, 5 minutes from my house, and it was replaced and returned to me in the same day. Did a restore from Time Machine and everything went smooth as silk.
 

Mal

macrumors 603
Jan 6, 2002
6,252
18
Orlando
Great story, I just had a similar one. Apple really does have great customer service!

Just one quibble though:

3. My EyeTV uses Firewire. Oh well, I swapped it with my other computer that had one that uses USB.

You still have FireWire, it's just of the faster 800 variant. A simple adaptor would've gotten your EyeTV working with the new one (of course, if the solution you have now works fine for you, nothing wrong with that).

jW
 

jnc

macrumors 68020
Jan 7, 2007
2,302
9
Nunya, Business TX
Would applecare be worth it if i only bought the basic 2.26 Octo config? I'm planning on adding all of my ram and hard drives from OWC.

Would Apple still cover everything else if i installed aftermarket RAM?

Apple would cover... what you bought from Apple. If the HD or RAM fail, it's OWC's issue.

Apple would cover the graphics, power supply, optical drive, circuitry etc
 

brop52

macrumors 68000
Feb 26, 2007
1,620
3
Michigan
it does not matter where you buy apple care it is the same length. apple care is linked to the computers purchase date.

I know it doesn't. That isn't really what I meant. I meant that he can extend the full time for Applecare on the new computer to three years total rather than the transferred time he would get if it was moved from the old to the new. I'm not a newbie. :p
 
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