Macbook Pro Issue Update (batteries, heat, whine)...

[ArcaneDevice]

I've been servicing Mac desktops and portables for 3 1/2 years now. I have a lot of horror stories dealing with Apple but I'll stick to the topic at hand. The photos of the thermal paste application do look a little sloppy but I've learned the hard way, Apple service manuals shouldn't always be followed to the T.

This is what I was wondering. Those photos make it look like they are making baked alaska with a processor, did a technician look at the manual and think "this can't be right" and then point it out to someone? Surely someone on the assembly line must be familiar with thermal paste?

 

[Multimedia]

How long was the converted video - minutes seconds?

Regarding Post #110 on page 5:
I have a W8608... MBP, and I love it . No problems. (Although I'm hoping for a free extra battery in the mail soon).

I converted a DVD VIDEO_TS file to MP4 using handbrake. Just to test, I did the exact conversion on my MBP 15" 1.83 with 1.5GB RAM and my wife's PB G5 1.5 with 1.25GB RAM.

MBP: 19min 5sec
PB: 1hr 03min 12sec

I guess not quite 4x but I'll take it
🙂 🙄 😀 😉 😛

How long is the original encoded video?

 

[aafuss1]

Apple's security for service manuals (in downloads.info.apple.com) is very easy to be misused-as the directory and server uses Apache, and can be viewed by someone like SomethingAwful with ?M=D.

So Apple should move to a secure system-that requires a separate login-like Sony ESI requires:
https://service-asc.sel.sony.com/SonyESI/SearchDoc.asp
(Just an example of of a more secure system-I have a Sony login, so I can view their Vaio manuals,for example)
Has anyone seen Pechorin.com-a good example of people posting illegal logins to Sony, Canon, Sharp ASC sites.

By using a technician-specific login for GSX, Apple could control who can access the manuals-instead of the Apple ID, which can be easily registered by anyone.

 

[Multimedia]

H.264 Limits iPod Size To 320 x 240 instead of 544 x 408 For Good TV Viewing

BAH! Standard MP4 is SOOOOO last year's codec. It’s all about the H.264 baby. I ripped all my Pixar, Pixar shorts, and Disney movies to H.264 the day I got my MBP. It helped that I had one of

under my laptop though. The sucker gets REALLY REALLY hot. I was starting to worry that my MBP was going to ignite the Earth's atmosphere and kill us all but then handbrake finished and life was good again,

I Disagree. H.264 is not good because it limits your iPod compatible dimensions to 320x240 which is not good for TV display from your iPod's output. 🙂

 

[Snide]

As an Apple qualified tech I can say that the pics in this takeapart are not a new thing.

Thermal grease has been applied to a lot of mac products, and in most cases the pics are like that - imac g5's, imac g4's, pbs

ok some have thermal pads, but this so-called misapplication is not new.

Hmmm, this rings a bell! A couple months ago I upgraded a friend's 2003
1 Ghz iMac G4 17" with a 250 GB Seagate (replacing the 80 GB) and a 1 GB
stick of RAM. For reference, I used the official factory service manual,
paying particular attention to the amount of thermal paste used on the 2
mating surfaces. The amount of paste shown was about the size of a small
pea. So you can imagine that I was astounded when I pulled it apart
and saw the huge mess of paste on both sides of the heat pipe! I would
guess that the amount was akin to a piece of chewing gum on each surface.

This iMac had been serviced for a defective optical drive under warranty
when it was several months old, so it is clear that the paste was added
at that time. But the manual shows a much, much smaller amount!

In any event, the iMac has run without issues for at least 2 1/2 years,
so perhaps it wasn't too big a deal in this case. But still...

 

[milo]

I Disagree. H.264 is not good because it limits your iPod compatible dimensions to 320x240 which is not good for TV display from your iPod's output. 🙂

What resolutions can the iPod handle with mpeg?

 

[w8ing4intelmacs]

How much faster than your wife's computer is NOT RELEVANT to your report. What is important is HOW LONG IS THE ORIGINAL VIDEO.

How long was THE CONVERTED VIDEO - minutes seconds - to give us an idea of what fraction of real time the Handbrake rip took please. This is extremely important to me.

Then you should ask nicer. Sheesh.

 

[Multimedia]

iPod Encoded Video Can Be Up To 230,400 pixels large 2500 kbps max rate

What resolutions can the iPod handle with mpeg?

up to 544 x 408 or 640 x 360 or 230,400 pixels max.

 

[Multimedia]

Please?

Then you should ask nicer. Sheesh.

Regarding Post #110 on page 5:
Cleaned up Post #127.
How long is the original posted video? Also What Bit Rate and did you do a 2-pass encode both ways or 1-pass?

 

[whee900]

Rev. As are risky to buy... But Apple isn't reacting as they usually do. They're not even acknowledging that there is a problem. Normally, they'll just fix it. What's up with them this time around? I mean, it wouldn't be that expensive for them to fix it. It's just thermal grease; they can probably fix each faulty unit in around 5 minutes tops. It can't be that much of a hassle to repair these things.

 

[61132]

Just received my second power adapter, and a dvi to s-video adapter, can't wait till the MBP gets here! Hopefully I will be problem free

 

[blueimac'00]

If i paid that much money for a MBP there had better be no problems.

 

[w8ing4intelmacs]

Regarding Post #110 on page 5:
So because you perceive my request as rude you are not going to tell us? How about PLEASE? You are witholding the most important test result spec since the MBP was released and you are going to have a hissy fit over how I complained you didn't tell us?

How do you expcect any of us to know what you are reporting about if you do not report the length of the original video file? Encoding with Handbrake is all about at what fraction of the video's length. Also What Bit Rate and did you do a 2-pass encode both ways or 1-pass?

Not exactly what I call nice. I guess that's what the world has come to.
😛 😀

... You are witholding the most important test result spec since the MBP was released ...

Although, I have to admit, that this quote makes me feel pretty special.

 

[Surreal]

Not exactly what I call nice. I guess that's what the world has come to.
😛 😀

the internet killed inflection.

 

[Multimedia]

Removed all rudely interpreted wording. Thank you for your consideration.

Not exactly what I call nice. I guess that's what the world has come to.

Removed all rudely interpreted wording. Thank you for your consideration.

 

[Invizzible]

My point is that if you take an honest company in America and put it in a bad way financially, or make the sales people compete, or just put pressure on everyone to "win, win, win", you'll have a company that's anti-customer and only pro-profit. You'll have Enron.

I'm sure that you're right - most people/companies would do the same thing in the same situation. Problem is, that doesn't change the fact that these actions represent a sacrifice of integrity. Ironic that when we're kids and we do something wrong and say we did it because a friend also did it, we're told "If Billy jumped off a bridge, would you do that too??" And then we grow up and realize that the adult world rationalizes doing bad stuff for that very same reason!

I have to wonder, if companies would correct known defects before shipping products, could they end up making more money than by cutting corners and shipping too soon? They'd pay less for warranty repairs, and they'd get a better reputation. Imagine if, on this thread, people were able to boast "Apple is the only computer company with which you never have to worry about the reliability of a rev. A product".

Sometimes I think we get brainwashed into thinking something is acceptable, just because it's common, when it's actually pretty outrageous (i.e., all of Window's security holes).

 

[MBPmad]

Whine from the battery?

Hi there.

I removed the battery and run the MBP just with the power adapter. The whine disappears, although sometimes it comes back, but just for a short while.

Can anybody try this as well? Please let me know how it goes

-MBPmad

 

[Multimedia]

Removing The Battery Is A Nice Workaround But Not The Way They're Supposed To Be

I removed the battery and run the MBP just with the power adapter. The whine disappears, although sometimes it comes back, but just for a short while.

Can anybody try this as well? Please let me know how it goes.

Removing The Battery Is A Nice Workaround But Not The Way They're Supposed To Be. I am starting to think Apple designed the MBP's cooling system for Merom, thinking Yonah wouldn't be too much hotter. 😱 Oops!

I guess it's boom time for various cooling pads from third parties.

Sure makes me more patient to wait for a Merom 17" model.

 

[Brother Michael]

SomethingAwful.com

Best site EVER.

Also this is not the first time they have been threatened with legal action, but probably a little more serious than the others.

 

[jaydub]

Not really very important, but I went to the Apple store here in Vegas today and talked to the manager about my upcoming MBP purchase. He was aware of the chatter on the internet about the thermal paste, etc and gave me what he called "the apple answer" which was if I felt like I had a computer with a problem, by all means bring it in and they'll get it taken care of.

I also felt the bottoms of all the MPB's they had (which were week 06 if I was reading the serial numbers right) and they were all warm to the touch on the bottom, but not scalding or anything. I thought that was pretty good for machines which obviously run all day long.🙂

 

[milatchi]

A friend of mine got his MacBook Pro about a month ago. He has been lucky enough so far not to have any issues with it.

 

[Rod76]

Pleas cease with the "Beta Tester" lablling...

I've been lurking in these forums for the past 3 years and finally decided it was time to put in my 2 cents.

I just bought my 15 MacBook Pro about 3 weeks ago, I was a bit stupid and bought Apple (Samsung) Ram, but after hearing how some had stripped out their screws trying to access the panel I said why not. Outside of that one caveat this machine was one of the smartest buys I've made in a long time. I've heard the "Beta Tester" comment and for the life of me just don't get it. When you have a product you will inherently have batches or instances where defects enter. Just like most car manufactures a Computer is the sum of many parts from many vendors. In the end you will always have specific issues because of this, not to put down those who are experiencing these issues, nonetheless its not fair/reasonable to say that those who buy the "cutting edge" Apple products are making a mistake. This MacBook Pro is my third revision 1 product from Apple and like the rest has absolutely no problems. This MacBook Pro 2.16 Ghz model exhibits no Whining screen/CPU, no issues with the LCD, or more importantly excessive heat. I would say it doesn't get any hotter than the 1.2 Ghz iBook it replaced. This machine for the most part puts out no sound whatsoever and unless I'm showing off how many FPS this bad boy gets in WOW (I don't play it, my brothers do, and I had to show off) the fans never come on. I do understand the plight of those with issues, the MacBook Pro isn't cheap and Apple should respect the investment of their Customers and make reparations where necessary.

Rod...

 

[pudrik]

I just got a W8615 15" MBP, and I think I might have the whine, but I'm not sure.

It's on the right side of the machine, near to the DVD drive. It sounds almost like a fan spinning (almost a grinding, but not a scary grinding), and isn't constant. I noticed it first my second day owning it, before I'd even put anything in the DVD drive. It seems to happen more when I'm making heavy use of the hard drive.

Any thoughts?

Same thing on mine. Like a chatter. Perhaps a fan that rubs when it spins slowly?

 

[expatinasia]

Jaydub,
You wrote "One thing that is unclear -- was apple instructing their technicians to purposely misapply the thermal grease?" Why would Apple do that? You've probably heard that "there's no such thing as a stupid question". That's not true, and you've proved it. Too, there's a difference between a "Service Manual" and a "Manufacturing Instruction". The problem that people are seeing is related to the manufacturing, not service, process.

 

[herrmill]

MBP Fan (not the whiny type)

I have now been using my 2.0gz MBP (W8610) constantly since having to make an emergency purchase six weeks ago after dropping my 1.25gz G4 PB & totalling the display while on a business trip to the States. Since I live in Shanghai & travel all over China in my business, I need a dependable & secure computer which is why I use a Mac.

I can't say enough about how great this machine is - and yes, everyone, it still is nothing more than a machine for me to get my work done & communicate with the rest of the world. I have no complaints on what I was fortunate enough to buy, & I typically put 10-12 hours each day on it. It's quiet, runs MUCH faster than my 3-year old PB & doesn't get my lap any hotter than if a 20-year old ktv girl would be sitting on it! 😛

BTW, that PB that I left behind for my brother to get fixed had at least 9,000 hours of use & never let me down. He's since replaced the display for $800 & sent back his new Dell after having a chance to play with it.