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More powerbook woes...

AlBDamned

AlBDamned

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Mar 14, 2005
2,641
15
This is bad.

I got a replacement PB last monday, brand new. 20 minutes after picking it up, my bag gets knocked off my shoulder at Notting Hill tube. It's padded, but the PB lands on the least padded area - the very bottom.

I get home to find a dent (on the left side where it landed) and slightly chipped top case (where the keyboard is), but everything still worked.

On Friday though, the hardrive died. It won't boot and makes this weird rustling sound.

Applecare won't cover it because of the damage and I think the whole warranty may effectively be void now.

What the hell do I do?!?!

This is such bad luck it defies belief!

:confused: :eek: :mad: :rolleyes:
 
wasimyaqoob said:
ah man, so sorry to hear that :(

Apple should replace the hdd, but if its damaged as a result of you dropping it well thats another matter.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I would be surprised if they did offer to replace it because they'd just point to the damage. My major fear is the warranty though. Does anyone know if this sort of thing happened, I got Apple to replace the hard drive (at my cost) and they verified the rest of the hardware was ok - would it remain in warranty?

I don't even know who to contact about this - Applecare directly or the store?
 
anytime I've had a problem or question I just walk into the store and ask the Genius bar. You could try called the local apple store and see what they tell you. If they sound not to sure, just go in and talk to them in person. I mean, if the store is close, then what's the harm.

if anything, they'll tell you who to contact.
 
dorqiekat said:
anytime I've had a problem or question I just walk into the store and ask the Genius bar. You could try called the local apple store and see what they tell you. If they sound not to sure, just go in and talk to them in person. I mean, if the store is close, then what's the harm.

if anything, they'll tell you who to contact.
Click to expand...

I will probaby have to go up to the store (again). Tried calling today and was on hold for ages. They're just going to look at me and go "what the f**k are you playing at?!"

eva01 said:
I think your warranty is gone *poof*
Click to expand...

Thanks Eva :rolleyes: ;)
 
Ok, what's the go for booting a powerbook from an external firewire drive? I can't find anywhere that tells me how to do it.

Also, by holding down "T" on startup the firewire disc mode icon comes up on the grey screen. Does that mean the drive isn't completely fried? Too bad I don't have another Mac at home. Might take it to work tomorrow and try there.
 
AlBDamned said:
Ok, what's the go for booting a powerbook from an external firewire drive? I can't find anywhere that tells me how to do it.

Also, by holding down "T" on startup the firewire disc mode icon comes up on the grey screen. Does that mean the drive isn't completely fried? Too bad I don't have another Mac at home. Might take it to work tomorrow and try there.
Click to expand...

You can boot from External HD, i believe you have to install it on the external like a normal internal.

And the target disc mode is a Boot thing that will happen wether your HD is friend or not, it is a firmware feature.
 
eva01 said:
You can boot from External HD, i believe you have to install it on the external like a normal internal.
Click to expand...

Believe it or not, I've installed tiger on my iPod. I just can't get it to boot from there as I'm not sure of the key combo.

eva01 said:
And the target disc mode is a Boot thing that will happen whether your HD is friend or not, it is a firmware feature.
Click to expand...

Damn.
 
Ouch fella, did you happen to buy it on a credit card? or is it covered by your insurance?

If yes to either, you should be laughing mate.

Sucks though... I've got my own rhumble in the jungle at the Apple Store tomorrow, so you have my sincerest sympathies.
 
iGav said:
Ouch fella, did you happen to buy it on a credit card? or is it covered by your insurance?

If yes to either, you should be laughing mate.

Sucks though... I've got my own rhumble in the jungle at the Apple Store tomorrow, so you have my sincerest sympathies.
Click to expand...

Nope to both sadly. I rang my insurance company and it's not covered for accidental damage outside the home. If it had been stolen, set on fire or something like that it would be fine but sadly, that's not the case.

Good luck tomorrow. Apple really did me a favour replacing it, just a shame the new machine lasted less than an hour (effectively!).

I might bite the bullet and just install a new HD and then fingers crossed that nothing major goes wrong with it in the next 3 years (as if...).
 
AlBDamned said:
Nope to both sadly. I rang my insurance company and it's not covered for accidental damage outside the home. If it had been stolen, set on fire or something like that it would be fine but sadly, that's not the case.
Click to expand...

You should've told them that you dropped it when you slipped on the stairs, I would've. :eek: ;)

AlBDamned said:
Good luck tomorrow.
Click to expand...

Cheers fella, I'm going to push for a replacement too... after 3 years, come the end of my warranty tomorrow, my repair tally will look something like this.

• 3 SuperDrives
• 3 screens
• 3 logic boards (PCBA, MLB)
• 2 bottomcases
• 3 secondary cooling fans

And there's not a scratch, or a dink or a dent... it's a minter. *sighs*

AlBDamned said:
just a shame the new machine lasted less than an hour (effectively!).
Click to expand...

That's seriously sh*tty luck mate... :(
 
Try taking it into the Apple store and just lying. :p Tell them when you got it home, it was like that, and they must have damaged it. More likely than not (if you get assertive), it will be easier for them to just replace. Ask for the manager if you don't get what you want. Worth a try, right? :)
 
XIII said:
Try taking it into the Apple store and just lying. :p Tell them when you got it home, it was like that, and they must have damaged it. More likely than not (if you get assertive), it will be easier for them to just replace. Ask for the manager if you don't get what you want. Worth a try, right? :)
Click to expand...

No can do. It was in tip top shape when I signed for it and we had a close look at it due to it being better specced than my original one (so we had to take the battery out to confirm HDD size, inclusive RAM...).

Also, it was a genuine accident so to try and short change them after they were good enough to replace it doesn't fit well with me.

I'm at a loss really.
 
What rotten bad luck particularly after the goodwill of getting an entirely new one. I really have no idea what to suggest; you could take it in and see how much it would cost to have the HD replaced and make it work again.

If it's too much, you might be able to part it out - sell the screen/non-damaged casing etc and get more for it that way.
 
Same thing happened to be with a Rev D 12" PB. Only it was at Angel for me - bag knocked off shoulder and despite a padded PB case, and a fairly padded bag, it unfortunately fell on the lip of a step.

I only noticed the dent a day later - on the hinge. Fairly significant too (it ran diagonally across the whole of hinge) and obvious when looking at it, but when the screen was open for use, you didn't know it was there, and when closed an looking at the lid you could make out a rise in the case where the lid meets the hinge.

Luckily though nothing bad had happened to the internals.... until my Airport began acting strange, and then failed. Took it to the Apple Store and they sorted it out - the fall had jarred the Airport aerial connection loose, and it had finally disconnected. Despite being told my Apple CS that the warranty was void due to the damage (and the cost to replace the case was around £250 up) the folks at the Apple Store were good enough to help out.

Hopefully they will for you too.....but I feel for ya. Damn shame it happened.
 
you could try repairing the HD yourself and ride out the extended warranty. And if a time comes where you need the applecare play dumb about the damage. Say you don't remember how that happened, but since everything was working (after you fix the HD), whatever the new damage is- it couldn't have been the result of the first drop.

but that would still.. be lying. And if that is not your cup of tea... you could always pray.
 
Thanks guys.

Applespider> The parts thing is an interesting idea. Because it was specced with a 100GB HDD and a 1GB DDR2 SO-DIMM it't BTO value is £1599. However, that's some way above what I paid for my original machine so even if I made a grand back on this thing I'd be happier than I am now.

Dorkie> As far as I know, self-replacing the HDD, while probably beyond me, would also void the warranty completely.

The other option is to get Apple to repair it but that would likely cost a fair bit and I don't know if it would validate the warranty again.

Might investigate the parts possibility. Anyone know a company that buys busted Macs? :(
 
AlBDamned said:
Dorkie> As far as I know, self-replacing the HDD, while probably beyond me, would also void the warranty completely.
Click to expand...

I didn't think that it did... I thought that the HD on a PowerBook is a user servicable part.

The optical drive isn't though.

AlBDamned said:
Might investigate the parts possibility. Anyone know a company that buys busted Macs? :(
Click to expand...

You could try these, personally you shouldn't have a problem replacing the HD yourself, if you can live with the chip and dent of course.
 
iGav said:
I didn't think that it did... I thought that the HD on a PowerBook is a user servicable part.

The optical drive isn't though.
Click to expand...

No, the HD on PowerBooks is definitely NOT a user servicable part. The only user-servicable parts in the current iBooks and PowerBooks are the memory and AirPort.
 
Let me add my condolences (and give my PB a protective pat on the case for luck), that really sucks. :(

Also, I don't know if you figured out how to boot from your ipod or not, but there's a useful article here. The key you want is "option."

Good luck!
 
Why not send it to Apple and if they call you on the damage say "What!? It's dented!?" blame it on the shipping if you want to try.

It's a lot of money to not try BS'ing your way into a repair without cost.
 
Search google for powerbook repair.. you might be able to get your book hd replaced by a applecare authorized repair center and the rest of the machine may still be under warranty (say the display, if its not damaged for ex.)

Otherwise, you just gave me and the other pb mates on this site a severe chill.

$
 
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