MacBook Air just had a problem...should I exchange for new?

[mustang1908]

Hi everyone,

I purchased a 2011 13'' Macbook Air (128 GB) last Friday. All had been working great until yesterday night. I opened the screen to wake the computer from sleep and it started beeping very loudly. It was 3 long beeps, a few seconds pause, 3 long beeps again, a few seconds pause, etc...this persisted until I decided to give it a hard reset. After it booted back up, everything worked just as it had...and since then I have not had any problems.

I looked up the problem and apparently it usually happens when the computer is trying to boot but detects a problem with the RAM. (http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1547) 3 beeps means there are "no good banks". Should I be concerned? If the problem has not happened again, does this mean it was just a fluke? I called Apple tech support and they told me to do an SMC reset (which I did) and call them back if it happened again. I am still within my 14 day exchange window, so I am wondering if this seems like a serious enough potential problem that I should swap it for another MBA.

Thank you for all your help and advice!

 

[TheRealDamager]

Hi everyone,

I purchased a 2011 13'' Macbook Air (128 GB) last Friday. All had been working great until yesterday night. I opened the screen to wake the computer from sleep and it started beeping very loudly. It was 3 long beeps, a few seconds pause, 3 long beeps again, a few seconds pause, etc...this persisted until I decided to give it a hard reset. After it booted back up, everything worked just as it had...and since then I have not had any problems.

I looked up the problem and apparently it usually happens when the computer is trying to boot but detects a problem with the RAM. (http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1547) 3 beeps means there are "no good banks". Should I be concerned? If the problem has not happened again, does this mean it was just a fluke? I called Apple tech support and they told me to do an SMC reset (which I did) and call them back if it happened again. I am still within my 14 day exchange window, so I am wondering if this seems like a serious enough potential problem that I should swap it for another MBA.

Thank you for all your help and advice!

Likely not a long term problem, but are you near enough to an Apple store to drop in for a test? They can stress the memory pretty easily and let you know if there is an issue.

 

[Cynicalone]

Try this...

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2644

 

[moebius]

A few years back, I bought a unibody MB, after only a couple of days, when turning it on, the HD was undetected, called Apple, I was told to wait and do some Bs that I don't remember..it happened again and then I wondered... the factory warranty is included in the price I paid for the computer, why should I wait for a disaster? went back to the Apple store and got a new one.

You have the right to your peace of mind, if you are going to be wondering about the possibility of having this problem repeating again, my advice, don't wait, get a new one.

Good luck.

 

[TheRealDamager]

A few years back, I bought a unibody MB, after only a couple of days, when turning it on, the HD was undetected, called Apple, I was told to wait and do some Bs that I don't remember..it happened again and then I wondered... the factory warranty is included in the price I paid for the computer, why should I wait for a disaster? went back to the Apple store and got a new one.

You have the right to your peace of mind, if you are going to be wondering about the possibility of having this problem repeating again, my advice, don't wait, get a new one.

Good luck.

He / She HAS a new one. Just get it tested - it's not difficult to stress test the RAM and ensure that all is good.

 

[JayMysterio]

As someone else stated, if you're near an Apple store, especially if you bought the Air from one, take it in. Go online, make a genius appointment, and have them take a look. They won't care or think badly of you, and as mentioned you'll have peace of mind. They'll be more than happy to test it for you.

 

[mustang1908]

OP here. Just wanted to give an update. Since the post, the issue never came back. I have a feeling that it was just an early lion bug or something.

Thanks all for your advice!

 

[ZipZap]

OP here. Just wanted to give an update. Since the post, the issue never came back. I have a feeling that it was just an early lion bug or something.

Thanks all for your advice!

Or it will return just after your warranty expires.

 

[Cheffy Dave]

A few years back, I bought a unibody MB, after only a couple of days, when turning it on, the HD was undetected, called Apple, I was told to wait and do some Bs that I don't remember..it happened again and then I wondered... the factory warranty is included in the price I paid for the computer, why should I wait for a disaster? went back to the Apple store and got a new one.

You have the right to your peace of mind, if you are going to be wondering about the possibility of having this problem repeating again, my advice, don't wait, get a new one.

Good luck.

exactly, return it, get another,why have that worry in the back of your mind!

 

[agentphish]

Those three beeps in the manner you described is always the RAM.

I would exchange the machine since the RAM is built in on this model, there's no way to replace it yourself if it fails later and you're in for a new logic board.