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Dropped My Baby =O

S

Sadd

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 29, 2008
4
0
My husband dropped my MacBook off of our high-rise bed onto our hard wood floors today. It froze for a good 5 minutes (colourful circle thingy twirling and all). I force quitted her and when I turn it on now, the screen is grey and there is a question mark flashing. No other options. Everytime I turn it on, same thing happens.

I'm guess it's a hard drive issue?

There is very minimal physical damage, but it's there alright. Very hard to miss the teeny weeny crack. And to top it off, there are two small cracks (caused by the two bars that come down on the top case) that I was procrastinating on getting fixed, so now it'll look terrible when I walk in with 3 cracks.

Should I even TRY to go in and hope my warranty will cover?

I'm guessing there's no way they'll cover it under my warranty, eh? She would've been a year in August :(

What's the price range I'm looking at?

sigh.
 
Sadd said:
I force quitted her and when I turn it on now, the screen is grey and there is a question mark flashing. No other options. Everytime I turn it on, same thing happens. I'm guess it's a hard drive issue?
sigh.
Click to expand...

When the flashing question mark shows up it usually means that the computer can't find the system software on the hard disk or any disks attached to the computer.

Wait a few seconds. If the computer doesn't soon start up,shut it down by holding down the power button for about 8 to 10 seconds. Disconnect all external peripherals and try restarting by pressing the power button while holding down the OPTION key. When your computer starts up, click the hard disk icon, and then click the right arrow. After the computer starts up, open System Preferences and click Startup Disk. Select a local Mac OS X System Folder.

If that doesn't work, try using Disk Utility to repair the disk. You could insert the Mac OS X Install Disk 1 into your computer, then restart while holding down the C Key as it starts up.

These should be done before you take it to Apple Store. Did you have AppleCare? You might want to get it in as soon as possible. :(
 
SFStateStudent said:
These should be done before you take it to Apple Store. Did you have AppleCare? You might want to get it in as soon as possible. :(
Click to expand...
Unfortunately AppleCare doesn't cover accidental damage (including drops), but it wouldn't hurt to have a genius take a look at it if you live near an Apple Store.

If it does turn out to be the hard drive, replacing a MacBook drive is relatively easy and isn't too expensive. ifixit.com is a good place to start for info on how to go about it.

Dead drives suck. I hope you have a backup. :(
 
before anything

i think you should try to see if the hard-drive was unseated like someone else said

try plugging and replugging the hard-drive back in
 
:(

Sorry to hear that - I assume your husband is now banned from said bed for quite a while now?

Never share your bed with both your mate AND your Mac -It's one of the other in my book....
 
I doubt if it is the hard drive that has unseated - the hard disk is pretty well rammed in position by the L-shaped memory cover bracket. Hard disk physical damage is more likely although the sudden motion sensor should have kicked in and saved the disk.

As others have suggested, try booting from an install DVD and then run Disk Utility and see if the HD shows up.
 
I'd ask Apple if it's under warranty anyway. It just might. You have nothing to loose at this point. As someone said before, the sudden motion sensor should have saved the drive. With any luck, Apple will replace the hdd.

If Apple won't fix it then I'd pick up a new drive anyway and try it. If that does the job, you can then pick up a case top/bottom on eBay for under $50. That will be way cheaper than having Apple do it.

If the hard drive doesn't fix it then eBay the whole thing. You'd be amazed at what people will pay for a broken MacBook. I guess they want parts. But I've seen them go for $500, sometimes $600 bucks. Put that towards a new machine, and have your hubbie pick up the rest!
 
You guys are simply awesome! I was totally depressed last night but your responses brought out some optimism.

Good news! (I think :D )

I remembered that I purchased a 2-year warranty with Future Shop (Canadians know what I mean) where I had originally made the purchase. They don't cover physical damage, they only cover internal damage- perfect! Good thing, considering they literally prodded me to buy the coverage! ($199 CAD)

So I went in today and it was pretty smooth. They sent it in for repair and I should be getting a call back within 4 weeks. That's a mighty long time to keep her away from me, but I just can't wait to get it fixed. I plan to get the cracks (caused by the MacBook herself) fixed by Apple when I get it back.

And yes, the husband was banned from the bed ;)

That's it, I've regained my obsessive ways. Nobody will see her (let alone use her) when I get her back, enough is enough!

Thanks everyone, I'll update once I get her back! I'm so relieved!
 
Sounds good to me. Hopefully, they won't take the full (4) weeks, but if that's the timeframe then go with it. Good to hear you had Future Shop coverage, that's going to make it easier to get the internal problems addressed. Now, when you get your MB back, do like I did and put iAlertU.com on your MB, and you'll have a motion detection alarm (sounds like a car alarm when you arm it, when you turn it off, and when the alarm goes off), and a photo (of the culprit) will be taken and sent to your email address. It's cool and it's free. Good Luck. Keep Us Advised. :cool:
 
Good to see that that warranty came in handy. :p

4 weeks though? Best Buy never had that bad of a turn around time.

They must be slipping.

(Future Shop is owned by Best Buy)
 
Sadd said:
You guys are simply awesome! I was totally depressed last night but your responses brought out some optimism.

Good news! (I think :D )

I remembered that I purchased a 2-year warranty with The Future Shop (Canadians know what I mean) where I had originally made the purchase. They don't cover physical damage, they only cover internal damage- perfect! Good thing, considering they literally prodded me to buy the coverage! ($199 CAD)

So I went in today and it was pretty smooth. They sent it in for repair and I should be getting a call back within 4 weeks. That's a mighty long time to keep her away from me, but I just can't wait to get it fixed. I plan to get the cracks (caused by the MacBook herself) fixed by Apple when I get it back.

And yes, the husband was banned from the bed ;)

That's it, I've regained my obsessive ways. Nobody will see her (let alone use her) when I get her back, enough is enough!

Thanks everyone, I'll update once I get her back! I'm so relieved!
Click to expand...

Good to hear. I never buy a laptop without an extended warranty. The peace of mind is so worth the extra couple hundred dollars.

And keep your husband at least five feet away from your MacBook! ;)
 
Personally I wouldn't tell Apple about the drop. It might bar you from future warranty coverage on that machine.
 
lamina said:
Personally I wouldn't tell Apple about the drop. It might bar you from future warranty coverage on that machine.
Click to expand...
Oh I definitely don't plan to do that!!

I was actually told 2-4 weeks, he mentoined that it usually doesn't take the full 4 weeks. Heck as long as it comes back working, it's fine with me :)

Good to hear. I never buy a laptop without an extended warranty. The peace of mind is so worth the extra couple hundred dollars.
Click to expand...

I've learnt my lesson alright! I almost didn't buy it. The though of paying $1,600 for a laptop was absurd to me, and so I wanted to save whatever I could. But it turned out to be an investment.
 
I picked up my laptop today from repair (it was ready for pick-up yesterday) It took about 7 weeks! Yikes! In any case, she's back, I'm happy, and the husband's staying faaaaaaaaar away :D

Whatever they did to it, everything I had on it is gone. It's like brand new on the inside, and the outside has some dirty fingerprints (yuck) that I'm trying to get off. My screen is also pretty dirty. They also replaced the keyboard and the base due to a crack caused by the bars on the screen.

Thanks for the support everyone!
 
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