I Just Dropped Macbook Hard onto a Tile Floor. & It Works Great!

HappyDude20 · Jun 30, 2009

I've dropped my Macbook many times before in the past.

I chuck it carelessly inside the backseat of my car in the mornings heading out and like a little child drop my InCase backpack on the floor the moment I get home with my Macbook inside of it.

Well, earlier today I had my Macbook on counter, i'd say 4 ft high and the Macbook fell as I placed it awkwardly leaning outwards.

The Macbook falls, hits a metal trash bin hard and that causes it to spin faster and hit my tile floor with an incredible punch.

My heart sank; I've been rough with my Macbook before, but never like this. I was sure it was gone, but it still works 100% awesome!

This thread is really a question, (who says it has to be?) just wanted to explain that I love how reliable my Macbook has been for the past 2 1/2 years! I've slipped on the rain while I was at the Great Wall of China and fell on my InCase backpack to ease MY fall and all the force went on the Macbook inside, and yet here we are.

My White Macbook is awesome! I love it.

I've heard other complain their White Macbooks get f*cked up easily, but that's never been the case with me. I wonder how the new Alum Macbook Pro's would hold up against my rugged lifestyle.

GoCubsGo · Jun 30, 2009

That is really good news.

hellrider · Jun 30, 2009

The Alum MBPs would bend. Literally become misshapen. Not crack, but become disfigured. Happened to mine (very slightly) after a 2 foot drop. Still works, but its annoying.

techfreak85 · Jun 30, 2009

my heart stopped for a min when i read the first part of the title, then started again when u said it works great... whew....

they always told me that macs would be the death of me...

congrats

linuxjuicer · Jun 30, 2009

Lucky Ducky

Nice dude! I've also dropped my iBook G4 many times and it proceeds to work. Actually now that i think about it i dropped it once and it skipped the hard drive causing it to auto shutdown and not start back up but a quick trip to the genius bar fixed it. I also fried the logic board (where all the peripherals plug in , USB etc.) by accidentally dropping it with my external drive still attached

but after a $300 doctor bill over at the :apple:

store it's alive and well! and I'm surprised to hear hellrider's MBP unibody bent after an only 2' drop, WOW!
I thought those unibodies were supposed to be tougher? Just goes to show that we all need to be a little more careful with our hardware

The Flashing Fi · Jun 30, 2009

HappyDude20 said:
I wonder how the new Alum Macbook Pro's would hold up against my rugged lifestyle.

Not well. Aluminum isn't brittle like plastic. When it falls, it doesn't shatter, it bends, and Aluminum is VERY weak when compared to metals like Steel or Titanium and I believe it's even weaker than brass.

Don't get me wrong, it does fine with day to day use, but you don't want to be throwing it around or dropping it.

clyde2801 · Jul 1, 2009

Speck case probably wouldn't be a bad idea.

nick9191 · Jul 1, 2009

HappyDude20 said:
I wonder how the new Alum Macbook Pro's would hold up against my rugged lifestyle.

I always end in arguments with people over this. The truth is that if your going to drop your laptop a lot, the plastic is better. The aluminium laptops dent very easily, although the build quality is a lot better.

The plastic is brittle, hence the complaints about it cracking on the palmrest under every day use. But if you drop it, it will normally come off a lot better than a Aluminium Mac. Of course the logic board or hard drive could still break (not exclusive to the plastic of course), but the casing will remain intact.

opinioncircle · Jul 1, 2009

Well, that's cool and all for you. But couldn't you be more careful with your laptop? Just sayin'...

Richard1028 · Jul 1, 2009

HappyDude20 said:
I've dropped my Macbook many times before in the past.

I'd be embarrassed to admit this.

Drop it again and report back.

mrj205 · Jul 1, 2009

You must have a horseshoe up your a$$, with such great luck and all. I've managed to never drop any laptop I've ever owned, so I can't imagine the instant horror you faced. But it's great that everything worked out for you. Maybe invest in padding your entire home in neoprene...to keep things safe.

SpeedFleX · Jul 1, 2009

someone kicked my backpack once with my macbook alu in it, when I got it out later the monitor was crooked so I bent it back a little and now it looks just as good as day 1

thefunkymunky · Jul 1, 2009

Pics or didn't happen.

J&JPolangin · Jul 1, 2009

...do it again and upload the video on youtube

Richard1028 · Jul 1, 2009

J&JPolangin said:
...do it again and upload the video on youtube

Maybe he did it like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mK235Mxy7g

MultiFinder17 · Jul 1, 2009

Hee-hee, I know that feeling of shock. Bag slips off shoulder, PowerBook inside, with a nice concrete sidewalk underneath to catch it. Good thing the old AlBooks are relatively easy to bang back into shape

student_trap · Jul 1, 2009

The exact same thing happened to my father. After only two days of ownership, he dropped his white MacBook 6 feet from the top of the towel rack to the back of a radiator.

I was amazed when it booted up again with no major problems (in fact no minor problems either), and that the only evidence of a drop at all was the Dent's to the casing.

Moreover, that was 2 1/2 years ago, the MacBook has not been mothered at all since its first accident, and is still working perfectly.

Amazing

nineohtoo · Jul 1, 2009

Nice. I used to drop my old TiBook on a daily basis back in the day. And it worked fine minus battery until the day I sold it(which i'm sure still runs). My friends ding their PowerBooks and uMBs all the time too. I've yet to drop my BlackBook though. However I have dropped my iPhones on an hourly basis since the first one. I even got my first gen bent in a mosh pit:

leekohler · Jul 1, 2009

Here's another testimony to the durability if plastic. My iBook G4 was dropped 9 times and was fine. I've dropped my black MacBook 4 times now, and it's perfect. Aluminum can't handle that kind of abuse. So while I'm sad they stopped making the black MacBook, as long as Apple keeps making plastic ones- that's what I'll buy.

miles01110 · Jul 3, 2009

The Flashing Fi said:
Not well. Aluminum isn't brittle like plastic. When it falls, it doesn't shatter, it bends, and Aluminum is VERY weak when compared to metals like Steel or Titanium and I believe it's even weaker than brass.

Aluminum is also

a) cheaper than any of those metals
b) easier to machine
c) non-magnetizable
d) anodizable
e) lighter

Aluminum doesn't hold up well to point pressure- but then again most metals don't. The disadvantages of aluminum are far outweighed by the advantages in this case.

by the way this isn't necessarily directed at you; more to the "omfg the MBP should be made out of titanium!" crowd. Reality check, please.

Kat King123 · Jul 3, 2009

sudden motion sensor ftw

HappyDude20 · Jul 5, 2009

Kat King123 said:
sudden motion sensor ftw

So many posts! I'm glad I'm not the only one that thinks about how much their Macbook can sustain.

I'm glad many of you guys mentioned how the alum. macbooks would hold up since i'm now thinking about replacing my current white macbook with a new aluminum.

I'm quoting you KatKing cause i'm wondering if the motion sensor, and i'm assuming we're talking about the same one where when it senses itself suddently falling it'll kinda lock the HD tighter to help in the fall....

...Well, I replaced my original HD to a new 500GB Western Digital HD (eBay; New $85)....so would it still work? The sudden motion sensor thing? I'm confused if it matters if its a different HD and if the feature would still work regardless of what HD is in there?

ALSO! I've been wondering, I know my 500GB Hd from my White Macbook will easier go into the new aluminum Macbook, but I've also just purchased 4GB of RAM for my white MAcbook, will this DDR2 ram work with the new aluminum macbooks? I know the new ones use DDR3, but iono if compatibility problems arise?

I Just Dropped Macbook Hard onto a Tile Floor. & It Works Great!

macrumors 68040

macrumors Nehalem

macrumors regular

macrumors 68040

macrumors newbie

macrumors 6502a

macrumors 601

macrumors 68040

macrumors 6502

macrumors 68000

macrumors regular

macrumors 6502

macrumors 65816

macrumors 68030

macrumors 68000

macrumors 68030

macrumors 68000

macrumors 6502

macrumors G5

macrumors Core

macrumors regular

macrumors 68040

Our Staff