Macbook Pro Terror!

[jdwagner888]

Hi Folks, My name is Jeff.

I recently bought a Macbook Pro (My first Apple Product) about 7 months ago.
(2010 13" Unibody)

This computer has been the love of my life since then!
I live in a Barracks on a Navy Base and am one of the few who have internet in my room. So i am nice enough to let friends in my room to use my internet whenever.

Well I guess that is the dumbest idea ever because i was sleeping and one of the 3 friends who were here at the time spilled there water on my desk and all over my mac.

Instead of waking me up they left and ignored it leaving the water soaked mac still turned on!


I wakeup around 1 am to loud hissing noises and my room smelling like fried computer.

Quickly half asleep i unplugged the now beautiful aluminum paperweight, turned it on its side and the sight NOONE EVER wants to see. Water POURING out of the Usb Ports onto the floor.

I did not get much sleep the rest of the night.


Today i started to disassemble it after learning that the extra warranty i purchased is now void.

First out comes the bottom cover.

10 screws later my heart sunk once again. Here is a picture of my Logic Board.

Now i have the battery, HD, Optic Drive, and Subwoofer all removed. they all look fine except the battery now has puffy spots and the terminal is all burnt up.


So now i am off to go purchase a new Mac Since a replacement Logic Board is around 900$ and batteries are around 130$

Once i purchase the new mac i will test the remaining parts (screen, HD, Optic Drive, Sound System ECT.)

And begin to part it out.

Just thought id share this horror story to the community.
So glad i didnt walk into a apple store and play the dumb game. that is so obvious its water damage.


UPDATE:

WOW!

Great news! The first time i went to mac store the genius told me i would probably have to pay 1200$ to get it repaired (but bring it in anyway he said)


Well i brought it in yesterday just to see what they would say and get this, the genius not only was really nice and helpful, but he understood fully the pain this caused me and was able to override the fact that the warranty is now void. he took the computer, had me fill out some info. and i will be contacted within the next 2 weeks. they are sending it out to get looked at (since water damage is to much for them to fix in store). so FREE of charge! They are doing 1 of 2 things! 1) Fixing my macbook pro and sending it back to me, or 2) Trading my junk mbp for a new refurbished one! Thats a winwin situation for me!

 

[miles01110]

Heh. You're right... that's fairly obvious water damage. Too bad you can't put the smoke back in!

 

[Messy]

I feel for you that sucks bad. Can understand you letting people in to use your internet, but... even whilst you're sleeping?!

Also, which Naval base do you live on?

 

[ECUpirate44]

Your friends are dirtbags. Sorry to hear about your mac. Why not demand they replace it?

 

[GGJstudios]

Why not demand they replace it?

I completely agree. Either have them take up a collection for the full purchase price, or have the individual who spilled the water pay the entire cost. There is no way you should be paying for damage someone else caused.

 

[Eddyisgreat]

Daaaaaaaaang. Did you buy it from AAFES and get their extended warranty? I could be mistaken but I thought it covered accidental damage. If you got AppleCare , you can get your money back for the unused portion (at 10 months you should be able to get it all back).

Lastly call up USAA and see if you can get some type of insurance (like renters insurance but for barracks lol?) and if you can, see if you can enroll in the separate laptop coverage . It's around $40 bucks or so for $2500 in coverage so why not?

 

[devilstrider]

Never let people use your stuff. I'm going in the army and I leave may 31st for basic. But once I'm done with that an AIT no one is touching my stuff. If they want internet they can buy it for there room just like I will have to.

 

[Apple 26.2]

Dude, I get what you're about letting your buddies into your room for wifi, etc. But at the cost of your Mac? That's more like buddy ********. I'd want someone's head! Then again, I was a Marine...

Sorry about your box and I hope you can get a replacement easily. Choose your pals well.

Semper Fi!

 

[Mr. Chewbacca]

You're spending a thousand dollars on parts? Why not just buy a new referb for the same amount?

 

[Merkava_4]

When you get your new Mac, don't let NOBODY get near it!!

Sometimes selfishness is a good thing...

 

[wordoflife]

Take it to Apple because Apple might cut you some slack on the repair/replacement if you kindly tell them your situation about the barracks and see what they'll do for you.

I'm not saying that they'll replace it, but its worth the shot.

Sorry to hear about what happened though. Looks like a lot of water spilt on it!

Just saying, but I'd let my buddies share my computer if I was in the OP's situation. It's just an unfortunate event.

 

[greytmom]

I would never just walk away and let my friend deal with damage I caused. You need better friends.

 

[midloman]

Take it to Apple because Apple might cut you some slack on the repair/replacement if you kindly tell them your situation about the barracks and see what they'll do for you.

I'm not saying that they'll replace it, but its worth the shot.

Sorry to hear about what happened though. Looks like a lot of water spilt on it!

Just saying, but I'd let my buddies share my computer if I was in the OP's situation. It's just an unfortunate event.

I agree. Take it to Apple and see what they'll do. You might get an extra patriotic Genius who will go the extra mile for someone willing to serve their country (I would).

I once took an iPod Touch to them that I got my son for Christmas that he left in his pants pocket. Went through the washing machine and the dryer. It still sort of worked, though not completely. Took it to them (had it about a month or so), with back all scratched up, etc. I explained what happened (Christmas gift, son was excited, sad at maybe messing it up, etc.) and they replaced it. I was shocked. I was sure whatever water sensor they have on it would've shown what happened.

Granted, that was an iPod Touch, not a Macbook Pro, but you never know...... If they say no, you're right back to where you are now.

LT

 

[monokakata]

One thing you can do to lessen the hurt is reuse your disk drive. It's unlikely that it's been trashed.

Buy an external USB enclosure ($30-$40) and use your old drive for simple backup or even Time Machine (it might not fill up for a while). External FW800 enclosures are more $.

 

[smallnshort247]

Sorry to hear about that. I'm the type of guy who is nice enough to let a small amount of family and friends use my Mac but I'm basically looking down their back making sure they don't screw anything up. The bottom line is some people just don't care about their stuff or other peoples stuff. Hope things work out for you!

 

[JoJoCal19]

Sorry to hear about that

I would definitely talk to your buddies about chipping in for a new one. Also I second the notion of just taking it in and talking to a Genius if there is anything at all they can do, even if it's taking that one back and paying a lesser amount for a replacement. Also go in full uniform and you might even stand a better chance.

Thank you for your service

 

[jdwagner888]

Friends deny knowing about anything. they keep saying maybe cuz i was drunk and passed out i wokeup and poured water on it..

I do not let anyone use my mac they bring there own computers. unfortunatly i guess i should of known better then to leave it on the desk..

I will take it to the apple store tomorrow, i dont think the uniform idea or military idea will work at all since i live in Norfolk VA. All they ever see is Navy.


Time to start putting it back together. i have the entire mac disassembled trying to see what is salvageable. i will check them tomorrow hopefully they can fix it for cheap. but i doubt it since it needs a new battery and logic board atleast.

I might end up having to just part it out...


And just for future knowledge the 2010 Versions of Macbook Pro's Def. have small water mark stickers throughout the laptop. so just like a cellphone you can never outsmart them (unless you find a seller and replace every sticker with new ones)


Where do i find Refurbished macbooks (other then ebay)

are they worth the money?

 

[devilstrider]

Good luck and post the results. I'm from VA Beach.

 

[jdwagner888]

wow cool. im actually stationed on the NAS Oceana Base here but most ppl dont know where it is so i just say norfolk

 

[devilstrider]

wow cool. im actually stationed on the NAS Oceana Base here but most ppl dont know where it is so i just say norfolk

I've been to pretty much every base out there. I like Navel Station Norfolk though. It's a large base and has a awesome recreation center. If they won't do it for cheap I say just buy a new one.

 

[Mr. Chewbacca]

Where do i find Refurbished macbooks (other then ebay)

are they worth the money?

You can get them directly from apple.

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac?mco=OTY2ODY3Nw


They are totally worth it. The quality checks are stricter than new units and Apple backs them up with the same warranty

They have a MBP for just under a thousand

 

[alphaone]

Sorry to hear that man. I killed my black macbook a year and a half ago because I was fumbling around for the in the dark for the lightswitch and knocked over a cup containing a very small amount of water onto the keyboard (just a little at the bottom of the cup). It sizzled and was dead within seconds, there was no time for me to do anything but yell loud mangled words. Now I have my 13" MBP, which was nearly killed itself about a week after I got it when a girl I knew (who was less than sober) decided to set a glass of wine ON the open computer next to the track pad. I asked her to move it and she immediately understood how silly that was and went to move it, but with her lessened fine motor control she managed to half knock the glass over before catching it, sending large drops of white wine into the air. My eyes bugged out and I swear things went into slow motion after that as I tried to deflect the drops away from the computer. Some landed on the keyboard and hinge area. Immediately shut off the computer and spend the night drying it out (which is torture not knowing if it will ever turn back on again). I couldn't believe my awful luck that I suffered a liquid attack on my brand new computer after just losing my old macbook to liquid. Luckily it did turn back on and I thought all was well until I noticed that the backlight on the middle part of the keyboard was far brighter than the other two thirds. I'll take a slightly zapped keyboard backlight over a dead $1400 computer any day though.

Anyway, I've been there done that (almost twice), and it's no fun at all. You should be able to recover your data though. Hard drives are pretty tough.

 

[Messy]

I guess it's all very different in the US when it comes to the Military.

Last time I was at a Naval Base in the UK (Royal Navy) -RNAS Culdrose, they had internet into each room (wired) and the option for wireless.

That and kit insurance in the Royal Navy would cover something like that if accidentally damaged.

 

[chrono1081]

Oh man that sucks If its one thing I learned being in the military its not to let your stuff be used or seen by anyone.

I remember when my unit was deployed to Kuwait at the beginning of the war units from Iraq would transition through our camp and when they did **** bags would go through our tents and steal anything that wasn't locked down (since they were only at our camp for a day and we had no MPs since we were so small). One week there were 8 laptops stolen out of our tent alone, and back then (2003) laptops were still pretty pricey at $1500 and up.

Anyway enough side story, it sucks that you have to foot the bill for a new one

 

[orfeas0]

lol i remember the first day i got my macbook pro 15" (2008).
I went to a friend and a friend of his sister's spilled wine on the speakers lol. No problem with the mac though worked fine.
OP, you should really demand reimbursement from those guys, if they deny they did, just **** em, don't let them anywhere near your mac again (i wouldn't stay friends with them either if they're acting like that).