Does apple replace bad MBP hard drives?

[mossme89]

I got my MBP refurb last September. It was pretty good once i got it, but one thing i have noticed since then is that the hard drive seems to choke a lot more. By choking i mean it randomly freezes and beachballs when accessing a file. I've reformatted the drive and reinstalled OSX (10.5 & 10.6) 3-4 times to no avail. Now it's at the point where it boots up (takes twice as long), and if i try to open a program (any program), it beachballs for about 30-45 seconds, opens, then continually beachballs during usage. Copying large folders to an external hard drive does not work (cannot locate the files wtf?) Again, i've reformatted the drive numerous times with a clean install to no avail. Still the same thing, even on stock apple install. I've worked at a computer shop fixing computers for a year, and to me this looks like a hard drive failure (probably partial, there could be a bunch of bad sectors).

My question is: since my Macbook Pro is still under warranty, do you think apple will replace the hard drive? I don't want the genius to say "hey, let's reformat it!" and i have to wait a while for him to come back and tell me it didn't work. This could not have come at a worse time for me, because i have an iMovie video i need to finish by next week for my brother's bar mitzvah.

So, is apple pretty good at replacing hard drives? Do they replace it on the spot, or send the laptop away?

 

[GGJstudios]

If the drive is, indeed, defective and it's under warranty, they'll replace it. They may want to try reformatting first, to determine if it's a hardware or software issue. As to whether they can replace it on the spot, it depends if they have the replacement drives in stock.

 

[mossme89]

If the drive is, indeed, defective and it's under warranty, they'll replace it. They may want to try reformatting first, to determine if it's a hardware or software issue. As to whether they can replace it on the spot, it depends if they have the replacement drives in stock.

Well its not like it totally failed. But there is something going on with it (probably bad sectors), where it still may work, but causes absurd slowdowns while OSX tries to read from the drive.

 

[machiabelly]

From what you describe, Apple will almost certainly look into fixing any potential software issues rather than offering a replacement. Unfortunately, if you are looking for a quick in/out swap of a new hdd, that may not happen.

 

[Mirabella]

They replaced mine.

 

[lordofuo]

From what you describe, Apple will almost certainly look into fixing any potential software issues rather than offering a replacement. Unfortunately, if you are looking for a quick in/out swap of a new hdd, that may not happen.

From what he described, it is definitely a hardware problem, and is completely covered by the warranty, since he did not cause the damage himself. (more than likely )

Alex

 

[RaceTripper]

My MBP drive developed 3 or so bad sectors and was replaced under warranty.