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Blogger Victorious over Apple in Small Claims Case on NVIDIA GPU Failures
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just putting my two pennies worth in with my recent apple experience. I purchased a 15 inch 2.2 macbook pro in december 2007 with this graphics card. Barely been used these past 4 and a half years or so due to mainly using my mac desktops ,so i was absolutely astounded it died on me on sunday (5th of august). I had upgraded to mountain lion a couple of weeks prior, it didnt appear to cause any issues. On Sunday booted up as normal in mountain lion, then on my other partition on my drive which is leopard 10.5.8 then restarted back into mountain lion again at which point nothing! black screen, no start up chime completely dead apart from glowing white light on the front. Put a copy of leopard in to try and boot up from dvd to make sure it wasnt a dead hard drive but nothing....just the spinning of the dvd player could be heard. I then did a google and of course found out about this very well documented issue with the nvidia 8600, i wasnt even aware of it before lol. Anyway it was blatantly obvious this had happened to mine. So i did my research and booked a genius appointment online for tuesday at the applestore in covent garden in London for today (tuesday 7th August). I had applecare but that had expired in december 2010 and the four year extension apple have in place to replace the defective GPU from the date of purchase had also expired for me in december 2011. So i was eight and a half months out of the extension! Anyways i imagined i was probably gonna have a bit of a fight on my hands, possibly do a bit of foot stamping and if i was extremely friggin lucky get a result 
. Not like that at all though. Turned up at the store, checked in , the check in guy asked what the problem was, straight away when i mentioned the model of my mac and my suspected diagnosis of the graphics chip failure he was like " oh the nvidia problem" like it was common knowledge lol. From then on i thought i might get a good outcome . Anyway saw the genius he was totally aware of the problem, acknowledged it was a known issue with these models, he was aware i was out of the 4 year extension warranty to get it repaired but he said because of EU law and my consumer rights, as i had bought this product from apple they were bound by EU law to add a further two years cover so they would repair my laptop at no charge to me. He said they will replace the logic board as is standard with these repairs. He could see it didnt start up and on the repair report it says machine could not be started to run graphics test so this was not an issue for me like it has been for many here. Overall i was in and out in 10 minutes and most of this time was just him taking my details and filling out a repair report. So they have given me a time frame of 5-7 days at no cost to me. Also on the report it says they will replace with a Rev 2 logic board. The total cost is £300 for parts and £24 labour obviously which they are waiving. Just my experience but i cant complain at the result! even if it goes tits up again in a few years its better than being left with an apple paperweight now. Not ideal but thats the best its gonna get for me . My personal opinion is that when this issue was first acknowledged by apple they should of contacted all the people who purchased these models by email and either offer them an alternative replacement or if one was not available at the time, issue a refund or give you the option of keeping your laptop but at your own risk. That would of been fair in an ideal world. Unfortunatly we aint in one! . Peace
. Not like that at all though. Turned up at the store, checked in , the check in guy asked what the problem was, straight away when i mentioned the model of my mac and my suspected diagnosis of the graphics chip failure he was like " oh the nvidia problem" like it was common knowledge lol. From then on i thought i might get a good outcome . Anyway saw the genius he was totally aware of the problem, acknowledged it was a known issue with these models, he was aware i was out of the 4 year extension warranty to get it repaired but he said because of EU law and my consumer rights, as i had bought this product from apple they were bound by EU law to add a further two years cover so they would repair my laptop at no charge to me. He said they will replace the logic board as is standard with these repairs. He could see it didnt start up and on the repair report it says machine could not be started to run graphics test so this was not an issue for me like it has been for many here. Overall i was in and out in 10 minutes and most of this time was just him taking my details and filling out a repair report. So they have given me a time frame of 5-7 days at no cost to me. Also on the report it says they will replace with a Rev 2 logic board. The total cost is £300 for parts and £24 labour obviously which they are waiving. Just my experience but i cant complain at the result! even if it goes tits up again in a few years its better than being left with an apple paperweight now. Not ideal but thats the best its gonna get for me . My personal opinion is that when this issue was first acknowledged by apple they should of contacted all the people who purchased these models by email and either offer them an alternative replacement or if one was not available at the time, issue a refund or give you the option of keeping your laptop but at your own risk. That would of been fair in an ideal world. Unfortunatly we aint in one! . Peace
Wow! It's impressive to see someone with that level of commitment when the odds would appear so overwhelmingly against them.
Mac book Pro 15 NVDIA issue
Hi everyone!!!
I was hopping if you can help me with advice how to persuade Apple to fix my mac . Apple refusing to replace the Logic board because they cannot prove that is the graphics card that caused the problem because the computer no longer powers up. When i originaly reported the problem to them back in may , the computer was on and i had first grey screen then black screen but i had power on my computer. When i left it at the apple store at for diagnostic tests the computer would no longer powers on .
Please help
Hi everyone!!!
I was hopping if you can help me with advice how to persuade Apple to fix my mac . Apple refusing to replace the Logic board because they cannot prove that is the graphics card that caused the problem because the computer no longer powers up. When i originaly reported the problem to them back in may , the computer was on and i had first grey screen then black screen but i had power on my computer. When i left it at the apple store at for diagnostic tests the computer would no longer powers on .
Please help
go to the covent garden applestore in london as i see you are in london, and tell them it is nvidia problem. read my post above, my macbook pro was dead also, i was there yesterday and they agreed to do a free replacement logic board no questions asked. i am pretty sure they will replace it for you there
I did went to apple store covent garden but they refused to do it as they could not run the test and i have already visited the apple store stratford city where the mac had some power , when left it with them when took this back it was deadcompletely . Even the Repair team cannot do anything as they cannot run the test to get the code so they can replace the logicboard , i am sooo gutted and unlucky paid so much money in New york back in 2008
Help
Dear Stinktold
If you would like to assist me i will need your case number to prove them wrong or whoever is out there and he shares similar case please , they are refusing to replace it because the machine is Now dead so they cannot run the card test to give the code so no money from nvidia to apple , so i am really upset, i have been trying since may to prove them it is that chip
HELPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP
Dear Stinktold
If you would like to assist me i will need your case number to prove them wrong or whoever is out there and he shares similar case please , they are refusing to replace it because the machine is Now dead so they cannot run the card test to give the code so no money from nvidia to apple , so i am really upset, i have been trying since may to prove them it is that chip
HELPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP
update.....well about a week after i put my mac in for repair i get a call from the applestore at covent garden to say the logic board is replaced, everything is fine but on their diagnostics it is coming back as the palm rest heat sensor failing. I ask what it entails and how much it would cost and the tech tells me the whole upper plastic casing will need to be replaced if i want the sensor repaired as the sensor located in the plastic upper casing.... a total cost of £106!! lol. I ask if it will run ok without it and he says it will but it may cause issues in the future. Anyway i tell him to leave it for now and i will pick my mac up the following day. A bit pissed off at this news, that evening i do a bit of research on google and lo and behold....the palm rest heat sensor is in fact built into the connector of the ribbon cable which connects the upper casing/keyboard to the logic board lol. I can get a replacement ribbon cable on ebay for £20!. Anyways the next morning armed with this information i ring the applestore in covent garden, explain my situation with the logic board replacement and how the tech guy told me the palm rest heat sensors gone now and the price he quoted (£106) when in fact its just a cable for £20, then get put through to manager go through the story again and i ask why i was quoted £106 for upper casing i do not need when all is required is a ribbon cable. He puts me on hold and speaks to the tech then comes back and tells me its apples pricing policy and although there is heat sensor for the palm rest in the ribbon cable there is also one in the upper plastic casing blah blah... ******** lol. Anyways he said they will just replace the cable to see if that rectifys it. A couple of hours later the tech calls me back to say he replaced cable and now its passing on the diagnostics so everythings in working order now....funny that lol! He also tells me he dropped my battery which has dented it (it was a cheap £20 pattern battery not an original apple one i got it from ebay in november last year) and he is giving me a brand new apple battery as a replacement. I ask how much it wil be for the replacement cable thinking i would get it for free after all the ******** and he said £9 for the cable +£24 labour+ VAT=£40. I could swallow that....betther than a £106! Anyways, i pick it up that afternoon, the genius bring out all the paperwork for logic board and then for cable, gives me my old battery back and says thats it no charge . Result! When i got it home i ran the relevant Apple service diagnostic test disc i have and ran all tests including palmrest sensor and everything passed. Cant complain really, hopefully it will last for another few years . Still think it sucks that this machine will die the same way again but what can i do?. Anyway all up and working again....for now lol
. Anyways the next morning armed with this information i ring the applestore in covent garden, explain my situation with the logic board replacement and how the tech guy told me the palm rest heat sensors gone now and the price he quoted (£106) when in fact its just a cable for £20, then get put through to manager go through the story again and i ask why i was quoted £106 for upper casing i do not need when all is required is a ribbon cable. He puts me on hold and speaks to the tech then comes back and tells me its apples pricing policy and although there is heat sensor for the palm rest in the ribbon cable there is also one in the upper plastic casing blah blah... ******** lol. Anyways he said they will just replace the cable to see if that rectifys it. A couple of hours later the tech calls me back to say he replaced cable and now its passing on the diagnostics so everythings in working order now....funny that lol! He also tells me he dropped my battery which has dented it (it was a cheap £20 pattern battery not an original apple one i got it from ebay in november last year) and he is giving me a brand new apple battery as a replacement. I ask how much it wil be for the replacement cable thinking i would get it for free after all the ******** and he said £9 for the cable +£24 labour+ VAT=£40. I could swallow that....betther than a £106! Anyways, i pick it up that afternoon, the genius bring out all the paperwork for logic board and then for cable, gives me my old battery back and says thats it no charge . Result! When i got it home i ran the relevant Apple service diagnostic test disc i have and ran all tests including palmrest sensor and everything passed. Cant complain really, hopefully it will last for another few years . Still think it sucks that this machine will die the same way again but what can i do?. Anyway all up and working again....for now lolMy 2008 MBP 15 inch started having problems with the graphics card back in March this year. I purchased the computer in April of 2008 so I was covered under the 4 year program. I don't use the computer that much but my wife uses it a lot. She told me video would freeze up on occasion after the fix but she did not think it was much of an issue. About three weeks ago the computer started to freeze up about every ten minutes when playing video and would require a hard reset to get it back operational. Yesterday she was looking at an online newspaper article and it froze up requiring a hard reset so I'm thinking that fix they did in March used another bad graphics card. So today I go into the genius bar and tell them all about it. The guy I spoke with understood the issue and agreed it was likely another graphics card failure. He said he had to speak with the boss about it and then came back and said the program had ended and that I would have to pay 310 dollars to have it fixed. I politely protested the issue with him due to the well known issues with the nvidia's graphics card in my model. He said he understood my frustration but he could not due anything about the issue because the program with nvidia had ended.
I then asked him if I could speak with the store leader and he stated that they were not available but I could speak with one of the stores senior managers. The manager basically said I'm sorry but we cannot help you. He seemed ashamed of himself and would not make eye contact. He said that the card they installed in March only carried a 90 day warranty unlike the 1 or 3 year warranties that you get when you buy an nvidia graphics card alone. He again stated I could pay 310 dollars and they would try to fix it again.
So I left, very unpleased with the outcome. I have always received top notch service from apple ever since I bought my first ibook years ago. I have purchased thousands of dollars in apple products since that first purchase. Ironically the only reason I bought the ibook years ago was due to my disgust with the poor service I had received from Dell. So I got on the internet to see if anyone else was experiencing this treatment and Seattle Rex's blog came up. I would prefer not to go the same route as Rex but I'm not paying 310 dollars to only have the same result 6 months after the fact.
So I was wondering if anyone knows how to find a transcript of the Rex trial. Rex stated that apple's reps in court made a lot of attempts to deceive the judge on its practices and tech and I want to be prepared if apple forces my hand to sue them.
But more importantly does anyone know of a way I can convence them to do the right thing and fix this computer? I'd much prefer a amicable resolution to this problem so if anybody reading this knows what to say to get these people to fix this faulty card I'd love to hear it. And is it even possible to fix this issue long term? Or are all of the replacement cards, like the one I received, faulty?
I then asked him if I could speak with the store leader and he stated that they were not available but I could speak with one of the stores senior managers. The manager basically said I'm sorry but we cannot help you. He seemed ashamed of himself and would not make eye contact. He said that the card they installed in March only carried a 90 day warranty unlike the 1 or 3 year warranties that you get when you buy an nvidia graphics card alone. He again stated I could pay 310 dollars and they would try to fix it again.
So I left, very unpleased with the outcome. I have always received top notch service from apple ever since I bought my first ibook years ago. I have purchased thousands of dollars in apple products since that first purchase. Ironically the only reason I bought the ibook years ago was due to my disgust with the poor service I had received from Dell. So I got on the internet to see if anyone else was experiencing this treatment and Seattle Rex's blog came up. I would prefer not to go the same route as Rex but I'm not paying 310 dollars to only have the same result 6 months after the fact.
So I was wondering if anyone knows how to find a transcript of the Rex trial. Rex stated that apple's reps in court made a lot of attempts to deceive the judge on its practices and tech and I want to be prepared if apple forces my hand to sue them.
But more importantly does anyone know of a way I can convence them to do the right thing and fix this computer? I'd much prefer a amicable resolution to this problem so if anybody reading this knows what to say to get these people to fix this faulty card I'd love to hear it. And is it even possible to fix this issue long term? Or are all of the replacement cards, like the one I received, faulty?
just putting my two pennies worth in with my recent apple experience. I purchased a 15 inch 2.2 macbook pro in december 2007 with this graphics card. Barely been used these past 4 and a half years or so due to mainly using my mac desktops ,so i was absolutely astounded it died on me on sunday (5th of august). I had upgraded to mountain lion a couple of weeks prior, it didnt appear to cause any issues. On Sunday booted up as normal in mountain lion, then on my other partition on my drive which is leopard 10.5.8 then restarted back into mountain lion again at which point nothing! black screen, no start up chime completely dead apart from glowing white light on the front. Put a copy of leopard in to try and boot up from dvd to make sure it wasnt a dead hard drive but nothing....just the spinning of the dvd player could be heard. I then did a google and of course found out about this very well documented issue with the nvidia 8600, i wasnt even aware of it before lol. Anyway it was blatantly obvious this had happened to mine. So i did my research and booked a genius appointment online for tuesday at the applestore in covent garden in London for today (tuesday 7th August). I had applecare but that had expired in december 2010 and the four year extension apple have in place to replace the defective GPU from the date of purchase had also expired for me in december 2011. So i was eight and a half months out of the extension! Anyways i imagined i was probably gonna have a bit of a fight on my hands, possibly do a bit of foot stamping and if i was extremely friggin lucky get a result
update.....well about a week after i put my mac in for repair i get a call from the applestore at covent garden to say the logic board is replaced, everything is fine but on their diagnostics it is coming back as the palm rest heat sensor failing. I ask what it entails and how much it would cost and the tech tells me the whole upper plastic casing will need to be replaced if i want the sensor repaired as the sensor located in the plastic upper casing.... a total cost of £106!! lol. I ask if it will run ok without it and he says it will but it may cause issues in the future. Anyway i tell him to leave it for now and i will pick my mac up the following day. A bit pissed off at this news, that evening i do a bit of research on google and lo and behold....the palm rest heat sensor is in fact built into the connector of the ribbon cable which connects the upper casing/keyboard to the logic board lol. I can get a replacement ribbon cable on ebay for £20!
Do you know that it is extremely difficult on the eyes to read the post you just posted?
CLASS ACTION Lawsuit against Apple for MacBook Pro 2008
So, here is my story. I've had this my 17inch MacBook Pro since early 2008 and mid 2010 my screen went black. I did some research and found that it was probably the nvidia issue. So, I took it to these brilliant dudes at the Apple Store and he told me it was my logicboard and it was going to be $800 to fix. Then I gave it to one of my friends and he said nothing was wrong with it and when he gave it back.... it did indeed work for a week. It went out and I just boxed it up and put it aside until recently when I was trying to "clean house". I opened the box and the battery was completely exploded about 4inch thick. I started doing some research... first of all.... I didn't know you could power it up without the battery. So, I just did.. and YAY!!!! it actually powered up!!!! for about 10mins. I don't want to even attempt again yet... because I want to know... what you guys think it is? my nvidia? and if so... can I replace that myself? (bc I also saw that you only had 4years to get it fixed for free) BUMMER.. those idiots and the store. Anyway... I really would love to get it up and running.... but most importantly I would like to get ALL info off it.. what is the best way to do that? WHAT SHOULD I DO?!?! ahhhhhhhhhhhhh
So, here is my story. I've had this my 17inch MacBook Pro since early 2008 and mid 2010 my screen went black. I did some research and found that it was probably the nvidia issue. So, I took it to these brilliant dudes at the Apple Store and he told me it was my logicboard and it was going to be $800 to fix. Then I gave it to one of my friends and he said nothing was wrong with it and when he gave it back.... it did indeed work for a week. It went out and I just boxed it up and put it aside until recently when I was trying to "clean house". I opened the box and the battery was completely exploded about 4inch thick. I started doing some research... first of all.... I didn't know you could power it up without the battery. So, I just did.. and YAY!!!! it actually powered up!!!! for about 10mins. I don't want to even attempt again yet... because I want to know... what you guys think it is? my nvidia? and if so... can I replace that myself? (bc I also saw that you only had 4years to get it fixed for free) BUMMER.. those idiots and the store. Anyway... I really would love to get it up and running.... but most importantly I would like to get ALL info off it.. what is the best way to do that? WHAT SHOULD I DO?!?! ahhhhhhhhhhhhh
further involvement
Is this being done? I would really like to be involved with this as my computer has been having the same issues. I have not been able to replace it or start a law suit against apple as I really can't financially afford it!
Is this being done? I would really like to be involved with this as my computer has been having the same issues. I have not been able to replace it or start a law suit against apple as I really can't financially afford it!
Here comes another lawsuit Apple
Ive been using Apple computers for over ten years. I own a MacPro with Dual Quad processors, 32GB RAM, 12TB Hard Drive Space, a 17 MacBbook Pro, several iPods and an iPad.
I remember when Apples customer service philosophy was, Take an unhappy customer and turn them into our best promoter.
The battery in my MacBook Pro swelled to the point that the seams broke. I went to the Apple Store located at Easton Towne Center in Columbus, Ohio. I had been aware of this problem from reading about it a couple of years ago. Evidently, it had always been Apples policy to replace the batter, as it is completely defective, and I have several acquaintances that did receive free battery replacements.
Now however, the Easton Store Manager was prepared with a myriad of excuses why Apple should not replace this battery. 1.) The manager said, The swelling is an indication that the battery has exceeded its useful life. I said, A battery coming apart is an interesting indicator that the battery is no longer useable. The self-destruct thing is only pretend on Mission Impossible 2.) The manager then said, If you bought some Duracells and they stopped working, would you expect them to be replaced? I said, Yes, if they came apart like this battery.
The store manager basically told me to go pound rocks. No replacement!
I seem to see this attitude with other corporations that are experiencing a slowdown in business, or increased competition. Rather than deal with the competition by providing better products and service, it seems that the order of today is, Our revenues are slow, so well make up the revenue by putting the screws to our current customers.
It is my opinion that Apple has implemented major doctrinal shift in its customer service policy to a Screw You strategy.
Todays PC running dual-boot Windows and Linux is every bit as powerful as a Mac. Samsung is beating the crap out of Apple on phones, tablets and phablets, and with Apple's customer service agenda, I see Samsung shares populating my 401(k).
Mac continues to be arrogantly over priced, which I didnt mind as long as the company stood behind its products.
These Chinese-made batteries are simply a manufacturers defect and Apple just got tired of providing customer support.
Apple is no longer worth its inflated prices, and frankly it is now doing a splendid job of alienating its customers, thereby making Apple a risky company to depend upon for mission critical equipment and software.
Who wants to depend on a company that is going out of its way to alienate its customer base? Once Apples customer base gets small enough, I do not want to be dependent on a supplier that is romancing bankruptcy. History is about to repeat itself and Apples management is as oblivious as it was the last time the company was on the fast-track to self-annihilation.
Apple successfully took this very loyal customer and made him its best promoter. I will forever go out of my way to scream at the top of my lungs how Apple has reneged on its obligations to provide acceptable customer service.
I will never buy another Apple product. Good job Apple - you probably saved twenty bucks today.
Ive been using Apple computers for over ten years. I own a MacPro with Dual Quad processors, 32GB RAM, 12TB Hard Drive Space, a 17 MacBbook Pro, several iPods and an iPad.
I remember when Apples customer service philosophy was, Take an unhappy customer and turn them into our best promoter.
The battery in my MacBook Pro swelled to the point that the seams broke. I went to the Apple Store located at Easton Towne Center in Columbus, Ohio. I had been aware of this problem from reading about it a couple of years ago. Evidently, it had always been Apples policy to replace the batter, as it is completely defective, and I have several acquaintances that did receive free battery replacements.
Now however, the Easton Store Manager was prepared with a myriad of excuses why Apple should not replace this battery. 1.) The manager said, The swelling is an indication that the battery has exceeded its useful life. I said, A battery coming apart is an interesting indicator that the battery is no longer useable. The self-destruct thing is only pretend on Mission Impossible 2.) The manager then said, If you bought some Duracells and they stopped working, would you expect them to be replaced? I said, Yes, if they came apart like this battery.
The store manager basically told me to go pound rocks. No replacement!
I seem to see this attitude with other corporations that are experiencing a slowdown in business, or increased competition. Rather than deal with the competition by providing better products and service, it seems that the order of today is, Our revenues are slow, so well make up the revenue by putting the screws to our current customers.
It is my opinion that Apple has implemented major doctrinal shift in its customer service policy to a Screw You strategy.
Todays PC running dual-boot Windows and Linux is every bit as powerful as a Mac. Samsung is beating the crap out of Apple on phones, tablets and phablets, and with Apple's customer service agenda, I see Samsung shares populating my 401(k).
Mac continues to be arrogantly over priced, which I didnt mind as long as the company stood behind its products.
These Chinese-made batteries are simply a manufacturers defect and Apple just got tired of providing customer support.
Apple is no longer worth its inflated prices, and frankly it is now doing a splendid job of alienating its customers, thereby making Apple a risky company to depend upon for mission critical equipment and software.
Who wants to depend on a company that is going out of its way to alienate its customer base? Once Apples customer base gets small enough, I do not want to be dependent on a supplier that is romancing bankruptcy. History is about to repeat itself and Apples management is as oblivious as it was the last time the company was on the fast-track to self-annihilation.
Apple successfully took this very loyal customer and made him its best promoter. I will forever go out of my way to scream at the top of my lungs how Apple has reneged on its obligations to provide acceptable customer service.
I will never buy another Apple product. Good job Apple - you probably saved twenty bucks today.
