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Ever had a nightmare computer?

Z

Zedsdead185

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 14, 2006
489
23
UK
You know which ones i mean. Out of all the computers you have ever owned there is 1 or 2 that stand out at being a huge pain in the ass. The ones that, against all odds and reputation, have the worst luck. The ones that make you think 'when they made this one machine in the factory, did they decide to make it out of the defective parts bucket?'.

Well thats my current MacBook Pro. All i can say is thank the lord that i bought an applecare package with it. I've had it just over 12 months and I'm having to take it in to the apple store for repairs for the 4th time this week. This thing has had so many parts replaced that the only original parts remaining are the hard drive and the screen.

I must add, I'm not taking a dig at apple, or the macbook pro for that matter. I know a lot of other people who have macs, (half of them i converted myself :D) some of which have the exact same MBP as me, and they have never had to take a trip to the Apple store for a doctors appointment. I have also owned many apple products before this machine, all of which have been very reliable. Its just the dammed curse on this one machine.

2 Questions.
1- Anyone else ever had a similar situation like this? Or is it just me that has ever had the curse of the nightmare computer?
2- Is there any way of telling this to apple in such a way that they would end my misery and just replace the machine?

Look forward to hearing from you guys. :apple:
 
Zedsdead185 said:
You know which ones i mean. Out of all the computers you have ever owned there is 1 or 2 that stand out at being a huge pain in the ass. The ones that, against all odds and reputation, have the worst luck. The ones that make you think 'when they made this one machine in the factory, did they decide to make it out of the defective parts bucket?'.

Well thats my current MacBook Pro. All i can say is thank the lord that i bought an applecare package with it. I've had it just over 12 months and I'm having to take it in to the apple store for repairs for the 4th time this week. This thing has had so many parts replaced that the only original parts remaining are the hard drive and the screen.

I must add, I'm not taking a dig at apple, or the macbook pro for that matter. I know a lot of other people who have macs, (half of them i converted myself :D) some of which have the exact same MBP as me, and they have never had to take a trip to the Apple store for a doctors appointment. I have also owned many apple products before this machine, all of which have been very reliable. Its just the dammed curse on this one machine.

2 Questions.
1- Anyone else ever had a similar situation like this? Or is it just me that has ever had the curse of the nightmare computer?
2- Is there any way of telling this to apple in such a way that they would end my misery and just replace the machine?

Look forward to hearing from you guys. :apple:
Click to expand...

Yep... my first Apple product ever. 15" MacBook Pro bought in June 2008. Mid September - Hard Drive crashed, trackpad broken, case was scratching itself

Mid October - Broken Fan, Trackpad Broken, case was scratching.

Mid November - Same old same old... Trackpad Broken, Case was scratching,

I called Apple and told them I was fed up with this crap. I'm in college and need a reliable machine. I couldn't even use the trackpad on it. It would freeze on me 14/15 seconds. Replaced 2 times, was about to send it back again.

Get this... Also dealt with a stupid Apple Store. I brought it in to get the fan fixed. Went back the next day and they said nothing was wrong. I had to hurry back to college (5 hour drive) and just made it to programming lab. Turned on my laptop and heard a "crunch crunch scratch scratch pop pop pop" Quickly turned the laptop off and lifted it up. Guess what fell out... my fan blades! WTF.

So the laptop had been taken in 3 times for repair and I was fed up. Apple was reluctant to give me a new laptop, but they finally gave in and I got a new 15" Unibody MacBook Pro.

I don't know what was wrong with the trackpad on the old MBP... It just stopped working after they gave me the new hard drive and logic board.

Here's is a full list of parts replaced for this 5 month old laptop:

  • Trackpad
  • Trackpad
  • Logic Board
  • Logic Board
  • Hard Drive
  • iSight camera
  • iSight camera cable assembly
  • Top Case
  • Top Case
  • Fans

I can't say it was the most reliable laptop ever. This new one has been going good except for a small keyboard defect when it arrived (Delete key was broken and popping off).



I'm now considering calling them about the Bootcamp issues with the new Unibody MBPs... You name a problem, I have it.

I can only use XP, and my college requires Vista Business or Vista Ultimate (http://www.bagley.msstate.edu/academics/computer/0809Specs/index.php).

First of all, in XP, Vista, or Windows 7... the trackpad sucks. I cannot install the trackpad update because it makes the situation worse (BSOD, Audio stops, random things going on).

In Vista and Windows 7 I have hard freezing problems. Stock drivers or updated, makes no difference.

What should I do? Call Apple and demand a refund on a 9 month old purchase because their replacement cannot run Windows like they advertise it to?
 
1. There quite a few people that have called in and are in the exact same situation. They would call in, I'd take a look at their file and all you see is all the repairs made and it's quote overwhelming.

2. I would call CSR and explain the situation, something along the lines of: "Ever since I've had this computer, parts seem to be defective and has got to the point where it spends more time in the repair depot than it does with me which I think is unfair.

I don't hate Apple either, but if you're going to put a premium price on a product, QA needs to seriously step it up. Apple has a high failure rate which is kind of alarming especially when you advertise your products by saying "It just works". Since I purchased my MacBook Pro, less than 2 weeks, I had to exchange it twice because of defects.
 
ryannazaretian said:
Yep... my first Apple product ever. 15" MacBook Pro bought in June 2008. Mid September - Hard Drive crashed, trackpad broken, case was scratching itself

Mid October - Broken Fan, Trackpad Broken, case was scratching.

Mid November - Same old same old... Trackpad Broken, Case was scratching,

I called Apple and told them I was fed up with this crap. I'm in college and need a reliable machine. I couldn't even use the trackpad on it. It would freeze on me 14/15 seconds. Replaced 2 times, was about to send it back again.

Get this... Also dealt with a stupid Apple Store. I brought it in to get the fan fixed. Went back the next day and they said nothing was wrong. I had to hurry back to college (5 hour drive) and just made it to programming lab. Turned on my laptop and heard a "crunch crunch scratch scratch pop pop pop" Quickly turned the laptop off and lifted it up. Guess what fell out... my fan blades! WTF.

So the laptop had been taken in 3 times for repair and I was fed up. Apple was reluctant to give me a new laptop, but they finally gave in and I got a new 15" Unibody MacBook Pro.

I don't know what was wrong with the trackpad on the old MBP... It just stopped working after they gave me the new hard drive and logic board.

Here's is a full list of parts replaced for this 5 month old laptop:

  • Trackpad
  • Trackpad
  • Logic Board
  • Logic Board
  • Hard Drive
  • iSight camera
  • iSight camera cable assembly
  • Top Case
  • Top Case
  • Fans

I can't say it was the most reliable laptop ever. This new one has been going good except for a small keyboard defect when it arrived (Delete key was broken and popping off)
Click to expand...

I can't say what goes on at the repair depot or wherever but it seems that more times than none, when customers get their computers back from repair, something else fails and I think it's because they don't put things back together whether it's a screw not screwed tight enough or if they failed to connect the connector firmly. As for the failed trackpad, had a few customers with that same problem out of the box so maybe yours did just give in and had nothing to do with the repair prior to it not working.
 
Yeah, i've had the broken trackpad before as well ryannazaretian. in fact it was my first repair. They had to replace the top case, keyboard and logic board. the bill would have cost me around £800 if it wasn't for the applecare. keep in mind that the actual machine cost me £1200 I can feel it coming on again now and then, sometimes the trackpad won't work for a second or two. Though that will develop into a minute or two.

other repairs have included a complete case replacement (apparently because it wasn't lined with some special kind of anti-static-protection lining thingie, for some odd reason) and a superdrive replacement.

I'm now having to take it back because the trackpad is playing up again, the trackpad button is loose and clunky suddenly, and the backlight keyboard doesn't work.

sigh, ah well

I mite try what you did and get a replacement.
 
iLog.Genius said:
I can't say what goes on at the repair depot or wherever but it seems that more times than none, when customers get their computers back from repair, something else fails and I think it's because they don't put things back together whether it's a screw not screwed tight enough or if they failed to connect the connector firmly. As for the failed trackpad, had a few customers with that same problem out of the box so maybe yours did just give in and had nothing to do with the repair prior to it not working.
Click to expand...

tell me about it. Since my first repair, the screws on my MBP have been too loose and keep unscrewing. I've had too buy a mini screwdriver thing to tighten them up now and then or they will go missing. (1 or 2 have gone missing before, and had to ask nicely to get them replace at later repairs)
 
I have a Dell Latitude D830. Ths is my story.

I purchased a D820 a fw days after Dell offered it for sale. I wanted a 15" widescreen with a trackstick and fingerprint reader, and was about to go with a Thinkpad. Dell releases the computer, I spec it out to about 2400 dollars, call the Small Business line, talk to a few people, get the price reduced to about 1600 with 3 years of complete care warranty. Thats the one where I break it, they fix it, no matter what.

Had it a few months, the back space key breaks. Replace keyboard

I dropped it about 2 feet, it landed on its corner. Replace flickering screen and dead hard drive. I was at least able to salvage the data with an external.

Fingerprint reader stops working. Replace trackpad assy. with fingerprint reader.

DVD Burner stops working. Replacement

Battery decides it hates electricity. Replaced.

Somewhere in this mess, I went through 3 power adapters.

Computer randomly shuts down, refuses to charge a battery, only detects the sound card when its feeling frisky. I had enough. Call Dell, complain about everything I replaced on this computer, how it has been nothing but trouble, and that I need this fixed NOW. 5 minutes later they're taking down my information for a refurbished replacement. They gave me some free upgrades.

original -> upgrades
D820 - > D830 (Only difference is they removed one usb port to add an svideo)
1.83 Core Duo -> 2.0 Core 2 Duo
512mb RAM -> 4gb Ram
80Gb HDD -> 160 GB Hdd
512mb Quadro 120M -> 256mb Quadro 140M (Technically a downgrade in dedicated video mem, but it shares more from the greater system mem.)

I've made it since June with this computer. Not a single problem now, but my warranty ends in one month. I'm scared of the repair costs. I can't seem to get a response from Dell about adding another year to the warranty. It's going to be sold soon, after i harvest it's processor and memory for my Mac Mini, muahahaha. Profit from dell to go to a 2.4 MacBook :)
 
An OLD eMachine actually.

I was upgrading a friend's old desktop (Not a Mac, but still a good story), and I don't think I've ever had such a hard time in my life!

I spent 5 hours prying out a dead optical drive which would not come out for reasons unknown! It was just stuck in there from age.

Not to mention it had once completely annihilated a DVD before, and so when I Was curious about the clicking and opened it up, lo and behold disk fragments go flying everywhere.

Two harddrives died on me at two separate times, and it is sitting in his basement waiting for me to afford a new harddrive because I'm absolutely determined to get it running again.

I have been building computers for 10 years, this is the first time so many things have gone wrong with it.
 
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