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Apple Launches Extended Repair Program for Hard Drives on Early MacBook Models
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What is interesting to note is that there was a small company that was bullied out of business recently that offered a PC made out of bog standard components but ran on OS X. As the average PC doesn't implode, hardware wise, during its technical lifespan I don't get any of that 'superiority' of a Mac. I have WinTel servers running non-stop for over 5 years that have never failed and a server is only a beefed-up PC. Just because those same components are in an Apple designed case doesn't mean they all of a sudden become 'superior'. It's the sum of all those parts plus the Apple touch that makes a Mac different.
I should clarify that in addition to a receipt, Apple also has logs of when I called. That way, they know that my hard drive actually failed. With only a receipt, I could have just had it upgraded.
You didn't read a word of the post you quoted, did you? If you did, you'd know that it very clearly pointed out that claiming that the same components are in Apple's cases is a very poor argument, because while many of the chipsets used are the same or similar, the way in which they are used is more efficient, and thus superior in a number of ways. Incidentally, one of the ways in which Macs have been proven superior (according to company's like Consumer's Digest, who are very respected) is in their reliability. Most of that is due to their custom designs and higher quality control than the majority of PC manufacturers.
All of these claims of Apple's quality control being so horrible are hilarious when you hear stories from PC techs, but we don't usually hear those here. I've been a Mac tech for a long time, and there are definitely problems, but the percentages are tiny for the most part. This problem with the MacBook hard drives, and the case cracking, are the most widespread in a long time, and they might affect 15% of those model computers they sold (probably less). That's significantly improved from the failure rates on some earlier computers they sold, such as the eMacs and their faulty down-converter boards (I've heard estimates of over 60% failures on those, though I doubt it was that high). It's also an anomaly in an otherwise stellar record, far better than the competition.
They handled this one poorly, yes. They should have acknowledge the issue at least a year ago. A lot of people are going to be angry because Apple is not likely to reimburse those who did the repairs themselves or had someone other than Apple do it, many of them because the Apple Stores recommended that they do it somewhere else (because the Apple replacement parts were far more expensive than off-the-shelf drives).
That doesn't imply a greater lack of quality control or a general issue with Apple computers. No company is faultless. Some just have far fewer problems than most. Apple has generally been one of those companies.
jW
Just a little word of warning to those who have had repeated hard drive failures with this pathetically dodgy MacBook series - Apple will refuse to do anything if it's already been replaced within the original warranty period.
I've gone through three hard drives in the space of three years since purchase (different models, series, all done through Apple), and while that's admittedly not nearly as bad as half the horror stories I've come across, it's really unforgivable on Apple's part.
Anyway, when I took it down today they gave my their seemingly automated excuse that hard drives won't last forever (because one year seems to be Apple's new benchmark for hard drives), and when I pressed further they tried explaining how the hard drives expire quicker because of all the moving parts and, get this, they shouldn't be moved around alot. I might have accepted this flimsy excuse if I hadn't used my laptop as essentially a desktop computer for the last three years (it's probably been moved around less than a desktop PC!). So, the sneaky statement of admission on their behalf - a whole grand three years later and essentially blaming their third-party distributors for the faulty drives - will seemingly help only those who haven't already had their original drives replaced (which, let's face it, probably accounts for about a dozen people given how badly Apple's hardware has declined the more successful they have become).
Anyway, after much debating-in-circles and sheer frustration, the schmuck at the store then tried convincing me on an external 120GB hard drive apparently with no moving parts for the low cost of $270! Unbelievable.
I've gone through three hard drives in the space of three years since purchase (different models, series, all done through Apple), and while that's admittedly not nearly as bad as half the horror stories I've come across, it's really unforgivable on Apple's part.
Anyway, when I took it down today they gave my their seemingly automated excuse that hard drives won't last forever (because one year seems to be Apple's new benchmark for hard drives), and when I pressed further they tried explaining how the hard drives expire quicker because of all the moving parts and, get this, they shouldn't be moved around alot. I might have accepted this flimsy excuse if I hadn't used my laptop as essentially a desktop computer for the last three years (it's probably been moved around less than a desktop PC!). So, the sneaky statement of admission on their behalf - a whole grand three years later and essentially blaming their third-party distributors for the faulty drives - will seemingly help only those who haven't already had their original drives replaced (which, let's face it, probably accounts for about a dozen people given how badly Apple's hardware has declined the more successful they have become).
Anyway, after much debating-in-circles and sheer frustration, the schmuck at the store then tried convincing me on an external 120GB hard drive apparently with no moving parts for the low cost of $270! Unbelievable.
I called Apple after I read this story because my hard drive died in January 2009 and I paid for a new hard drive. Apple called back last week and said they would reimburse me for the cost of the hard drive AND for the $54 I paid to a local company to try and diagnose if they could do any data recovery from the drive (they could not ... same problem as others, it just died). I'm mailing in copies of the receipts today. So anyone who paid out-of-pocket for a new hard drive I would suggest following up with AppleCare.
Maybe you didn't read what I said... my drive is working fine, and I have all my information backed up on another drive with exact same specs so I'm not concerned about data loss... I'm moreso just wondering IF my drive will encounter this problem. I use the large/fast hard drive because I need Mac OS/ Windows and Fedora Linux all running at the same time in virtual machines for school and would be less than impressed if it is a problem somewhere else in the laptop (causing HD to fail) and having it die, then having to use my backup as my main drive ( and buy another for backup...$$$)
From what I understand it should ONLY be the HD's that shipped that would have the problem and the drives that were replaced and failed are completely unrelated to this problem. Am I correct?
Thanks.
Just a reminder, the extended warranty ends in 2 days, if anyone still wants to take advantage of it. I put my dead hard drive back in and took it to the Apple Store today. They're replacing my original 60GB with a 160GB!
160 GB appears to be the new lowest level drive Apple can get a hold of nowadays.Just a reminder, the extended warranty ends in 2 days, if anyone still wants to take advantage of it. I put my dead hard drive back in and took it to the Apple Store today. They're replacing my original 60GB with a 160GB!
Yup. I already replaced my dead hard drive with a 320 GB drive, but I'm going to keep the 160 GB around as a spare.