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MBP AppleCare SUSPENDED Due To Scratch!

sucks they put you through the loop for so long.

But great news on your success with the issues.

I'm going through my situation with them right now.... I think I am going to end up calling apple, instead of trying the genius thing again

if it ends up with me not getting my repair, im goin hackintosh. end up saving money for a better, new machine than repairing my current macbook pro.
 
I'd love to see if any of the Apple apologists who have been endlessly certain that you've viciously abused your machine will comment here. I expect they will probably slink away, but it'd be refreshing to hear from them.
 
F**K, this thread is long! I had to stop on page 3 and post my opinion lol.

First off, my sympathies to the OP because I have my share of poor experiences w/ Geniuses and I know the difficulties of being w/o his/her main machine when you work with it on a daily basis.

My experience w/ computers (hardware/software) is well-rounded having to work with them for over 15 years. So, I've seen all sorts of bizarre stuff.

When I first purchased my MBP back in Feb. of 2006, I almost immediately had a fan problem where it made a noise that sounded like someone was running a playing card thru a bicycle wheel. Without opening the top case, I gently spanked it, and quickly the noise retreated. Sadly, the fix was only temporary. This light spank was "light," it wasn't like I spanked it like I would my gf in bed. Given that, the clearance between the fan and the case itself is very in fact quite a tight fit. I affirmed this by opening my case a year later. The MBPs pride themselves as a performance machine in a SMALL package. The notebook is 1" thin for crying out loud.

On with the DVI dent issue. Like another poster, I have dropped my MBP from a height of about 3 ft because my backpack strap came loose. One corner, the aluminum jitted out about 2-3mm while the other side was compressed in that same amount. I hammered it back into shape, but it wasn't perfect.
The point is, the metal casing isn't paper thin, but it isn't an inch thick either. I don't really see a way how that portion of the casing could have been bent like that w/o any form of force. Regardless of whether it was accidental damage or not, the visual evidence implies and points to user damage.

Here is the solution I'm giving you. Get the part number of the fan, order it, go to that Mac iFixiT site or whatever, take off the top casing, and replace fan. Now, call Apple and say the fan is no longer a problem.

Edit: I just realized you got ur fan replaced, grats. ZzzzZz, ignore my post.
 
Yep. All is well with the machine, both fans work perfectly, and the new superdrive functions flawlessly. One thing I did notice is that it has a higher-pitched sound than my old one when loading/ejecting, but that might just be a newer motor that hasn't been broken in.

I used the two-CD method that someone described earlier to fix the bowing on the superdrive. It worked perfectly and the bowing has completely disappeared. I'll admit, I did feel like a real goober after I tried it, because I was so amazed at how smoothly the drive operated, I found myself staring at it in amazement for 15 minutes, loading and unloading CDs. :D
 
mrmister said:
I'd love to see if any of the Apple apologists who have been endlessly certain that you've viciously abused your machine will comment here. I expect they will probably slink away, but it'd be refreshing to hear from them.
Click to expand...

Wow.

I'm happy the OP is taken care of, but I don't see how this is proof "non-abuse" in the slightest. This doesn't chance my stance that the DVI port took a very hard knock. It's not wear and tear.

It _is_ proof the internals of the machine are sound and that it can be serviceable, hence the Apple Care is returned to the OP - which I think is great and fair. At the very least look at it, then charge if necessary.

It also is proof, as evidenced by countless stories on this forum, if you press and are adament about an issue Apple will likely be more proactive in making you happy.
 
Luftwaffles said:
Yep. All is well with the machine, both fans work perfectly, and the new superdrive functions flawlessly. One thing I did notice is that it has a higher-pitched sound than my old one when loading/ejecting, but that might just be a newer motor that hasn't been broken in.

I used the two-CD method that someone described earlier to fix the bowing on the superdrive. It worked perfectly and the bowing has completely disappeared. I'll admit, I did feel like a real goober after I tried it, because I was so amazed at how smoothly the drive operated, I found myself staring at it in amazement for 15 minutes, loading and unloading CDs. :D
Click to expand...

Yeah, and I definitely destroyed two discs in the process of doing it, but hopefully you used like AOL or that regrettable Weird Al disc you might have floating around. Glad someone else found that useful. :)
 
Beau10 said:
Wow.

I'm happy the OP is taken care of, but I don't see how this is proof "non-abuse" in the slightest. This doesn't chance my stance that the DVI port took a very hard knock. It's not wear and tear.
Click to expand...
I believe the proof was in his stating that: The repair depot noted that there was absolutely no internal damage, ruling out a drop, fall or other high-G impact.
 
MacNikon said:
I believe the proof was in his stating that: The repair depot noted that there was absolutely no internal damage, ruling out a drop, fall or other high-G impact.
Click to expand...

So the dent on the port just.... happened? Wait. That's right. It's from the 1cm daily drop. Uh huh.
 
Luftwaffles said:
No, it just means that it wasn't thrown off of a building like some people would like to believe.
Click to expand...

I don't believe anyone here thinks you intentionally damaged your laptop.

Also, the title of your thread was very misleading: "suspended due to SCRATCH"
Clearly your applecare was not suspended because of that scratch, but rather to the structural and/or cosmetic imperfections that would lead one to believe the computer had suffered some type of damage (unintentional or otherwise) that may or may not be related to the current hardware failure.

Please remember that you asked for opinions on this issue, and the majority seemed to agree (in part) with apple based on the pictures you provided. I can understand that you would want to disagree however, because you know exactly what conditions your computer endured.

This really turned out in your favor, I'm very glad they fixed your machine. I also hope you have learned to keep your machine in excellent condition so there is never any question whether it is covered or not. ;)

Merry Christmas :)
 
MacNikon said:
I believe the proof was in his stating that: The repair depot noted that there was absolutely no internal damage, ruling out a drop, fall or other high-G impact.
Click to expand...

I believe that's his conclusion from the "there was absolutely no internal damage". There really is no way to prove something like that unless you do structural analysis on the casing from impact/load testing. In fact I would say the reason things got to this in the first place is that the Genius had some idea of the impact would cause a deformity of the case, maybe from past experience.


My 1st gen iPhone looks like hell (far worse than the OP's MBP). It actually broke the fall from a motorcycle accident when I landed and skidded on my left hip. But it works fine. Would I bring it in for warranty service? Heck no, I'd be laughed out of the Apple Store.
 
I don't think you dropped your computer from any substantial height or anything like that.

But you did, however, exert a force on the bottom of the case around the DVI port that is above and beyond "normal" in the terms of "normal wear and tear".

I am curious to hear what you think about my next question.

Wouldn't you expect there to be more similar dinging on the bottom of the case in other areas if this was indeed normal wear and tear? And from what you have stated, the rest of the computer is in "pristine" condition, besides the damage you have stated.

The rest of your computer being in such "pristine" condition may have ultimately hurt you here also. If the rest of the computer is in such good shape, the DVI bend stands out like a sore thumb, in contrast.

I hate to tell you, but plugging/unplugging a DVI cable about 1000 times(1.5 years @ 1 a day in and 1 a day out) isn't going to cause that abnormality in the case.

If anything, Apple should try to fix your machine as is, THEN if there is a problem with the casing, charge you the appropriate amount.
 
Luftwaffles said:
I have AWESOME news on the situation!

I just received a call from my Executive Relations rep, who told me the machine was received and inspected.

The repair depot found the cosmetic damage to have no effect on the fan. They've replaced the fan under warranty and everything is working as it should be! The cosmetic damage has been noted so future warranty claims won't be as hellish as this experience has been. At the time of his call, the machine was already sent back to the Apple store and inspected one final time by the lead Genius. It's ready for pick up and I'm going to get it immediately.

On a side note, they also replaced the SuperDrive as a precautionary measure. The repair depot noted that the slight bowing on the Superdrive has been known to cause some ejection problems in other machines, but that's something I should be able to correct myself.

As for the DVI port, they seem to have had no trouble at all working around the dent. The repair depot noted that there was absolutely no internal damage, ruling out a drop, fall or other high-G impact. I haven't been charged a dime and Apple has gone above and beyond the call of duty by replacing the Superdrive. That's all I could really ask for!
Click to expand...
Well, it looks like you lucked out this time. Good for you.

If in fact the dent was not caused by a drop, fall or other high-G impact, you have to ask yourself how did you generate that dent. Then avoid doing whatever activity it was that caused the dent.

BTW, connecting and disconnecting a DVI cable to the DVI port will not cause that kind of damage, so it was something else.

What probably happened, and why you are lucky, is that whatever impact caused the dent, it was under the threshold where it registered on components inside the laptop. I've fixed a variety of Mac and PC laptops over the years. One of the most common accidents that I've seen is edge impact caused from setting down a bag a little harder than you realize.

Anyhow, as I stated above, you lucked out this time.

Count your blessings and handle your MBP carefully instead of dropping the edge 1cm when you set it down because the next time you may not be so lucky.
 
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