So for the past five or six months, one of my USB ports on my early 2008 white Macbook has not been working. Hasn't been too big of an issue because I have a 7-port hub that I just plug into the working port, but it's still annoying. Haven't had the chance to take in my computer yet, however, because I'm at school (as a computer science major) and cannot be without my computer.
The other night, my headphone jack stopped working. I plug in my headphones, hear audio just fine for a second or so, then popping as if the audio is trying to come through. I tried the toothpick trick already to no avail.
To make matters worse, my optical drive has been pretty shoddy for the past year or so. I'll put in a CD or DVD and hear it mounting, but sometimes I get what sounds like a crunching sound and then what sounds like a stuck servo or *brrrrrrr* sound. Then, I'll try to eject the CD/DVD, and it will hit the top or bottom lip of the white case and force itself back into the computer making it impossible to eject. It's random though - some days I can put in 4 or 5 discs and they come out without any problem, but other times 5 discs in a row will get stuck.
My questions are:
a) Since the USB port is shot, will they have to replace the entire motherboard and/or logic board since the interface is soldered directly to the board?
b) Since there are so many hardware problems, is it possible that they'll just give me a new/refurb comparable machine? I understand the "rule of 3" that holds that Apple basically won't replace a machine unless a hardware problem persists three times, but would it be in their best interest to just give me a new machine since they'll be replacing the motherboard (possibly the logic board) and the optical drive?
c) Should I be concerned that I upgraded the RAM to 4GB from 2GB when I take it in for service? As far as I know it doesn't void warranty, but I'd like to keep those 4GB if, by luck, they do give me a new machine...
I appreciate any help. Apologies for the lengthy post. Just wanted to be thorough.
The other night, my headphone jack stopped working. I plug in my headphones, hear audio just fine for a second or so, then popping as if the audio is trying to come through. I tried the toothpick trick already to no avail.
To make matters worse, my optical drive has been pretty shoddy for the past year or so. I'll put in a CD or DVD and hear it mounting, but sometimes I get what sounds like a crunching sound and then what sounds like a stuck servo or *brrrrrrr* sound. Then, I'll try to eject the CD/DVD, and it will hit the top or bottom lip of the white case and force itself back into the computer making it impossible to eject. It's random though - some days I can put in 4 or 5 discs and they come out without any problem, but other times 5 discs in a row will get stuck.
My questions are:
a) Since the USB port is shot, will they have to replace the entire motherboard and/or logic board since the interface is soldered directly to the board?
b) Since there are so many hardware problems, is it possible that they'll just give me a new/refurb comparable machine? I understand the "rule of 3" that holds that Apple basically won't replace a machine unless a hardware problem persists three times, but would it be in their best interest to just give me a new machine since they'll be replacing the motherboard (possibly the logic board) and the optical drive?
c) Should I be concerned that I upgraded the RAM to 4GB from 2GB when I take it in for service? As far as I know it doesn't void warranty, but I'd like to keep those 4GB if, by luck, they do give me a new machine...
I appreciate any help. Apologies for the lengthy post. Just wanted to be thorough.