MPB refurbished DOA

[brokenrobot]

hey you guys, just wanted feedback on this issue.

i recently bought a refurbished macbook pro 13" from apple. when i opened the box, it looked brand new, not a scratch. but then i turned it on and i got the mac startup sound followed a little later by someone saying "english" through the speakers, but thats all, nothing on the screen. i held down the power button and tried again many times, still nothing. i have since called apple and have shipped it back to them. i am now waiting on a replacement. i have to admit i am getting impatient. ive been wanting a mac for a while. have not owned an apple computer since apple IIc, windows machines since 1995. have never had to send anything back to a company like this but then again ive never bought refurbished before. anyway...

just wondering if others have had such issues with refurbished apple products. i only know one person who has a macbook and they got it refurbished but its been running well for over 2 years. i have also heard many people say that refurbished is pretty much new and they sometimes say better than new because apple tests these systems so well. and sometimes people say refurbished is when someone opened the box and decided they didnt want the computer or that the computer had a scratch on it. so anyway whats the deal? is this way of thinking BS? or could it have been damaged during shipping or did apple not test it as well as people say.

sorry if its an old topic.

please respond.

 

[flyfish29]

About 8 years ago I got an iMac refub which was not DOA but it was not totally refurb. At the time they replaced it very quickly sending out my new one, charging me and then crediting me when they received the one which was not refub. in return which cost me nothing to return. The new refurb. one was awesome and performed great for many many years. So mistakes happen, the one I got was obviously wan't refub (must have gone through on a Friday) but they took care of me.

 

[jbachandouris]

These stories are why I hesitate to buy a refurb. I realize it may be 'luck of the draw,' but I've never been that lucky. I would hate to buy my first MBP and have to wait for them to send me another one!

 

[vant]

I've never heard of a refurb being better than new. Either way, that is definitely not the case. New machines are tested as well.

 

[FocusAndEarnIt]

I've had great luck with refurbished products. I have a Mac mini PPC 1.42GHz still working fantastic. You were that rare mixup. Don't lose faith in Apple!

 

[flyfish29]

I've had great luck with refurbished products. I have a Mac mini PPC 1.42GHz still working fantastic. You were that rare mixup. Don't lose faith in Apple!

I totally agree- if you go onto any forum of any brand you will hear stories of DOA's....and not just refurb of course. People in the factories have bad days too- it isn't just limited to the refurb. dept.

 

[brokenrobot]

hey thanks u guys, i won't give up. i have been wanting a mac for too long, even more so since i had to start using vista a year ago. besides i already received my 1tb western digital HDD from best buy, haven't used it though, waiting to format to fat32 and use as time-machine. i might get the MBP by monday or tuesday hopefully, since the first one was shipped on wednesday night, original order was may 7th. i called apple today to find out if i could get a tracking number for the replacement but the guy said their system is under maintenance and to call back tomorrow.

 

[MorganK]

These stories are why I hesitate to buy a refurb. I realize it may be 'luck of the draw,' but I've never been that lucky. I would hate to buy my first MBP and have to wait for them to send me another one!

I had my i7 15" be declared DOA....waiting on the new one now. So it doesn't only happen to refurbs!

 

[flyfish29]

hey thanks u guys, i won't give up. i have been wanting a mac for too long, even more so since i had to start using vista a year ago. besides i already received my 1tb western digital HDD from best buy, haven't used it though, waiting to format to fat32 and use as time-machine. i might get the MBP by monday or tuesday hopefully, since the first one was shipped on wednesday night, original order was may 7th. i called apple today to find out if i could get a tracking number for the replacement but the guy said their system is under maintenance and to call back tomorrow.

Why Fat32? If I am not mistaken, you want it formatted differently. While it doesn't sound like you want it bootable, I think it still should be something different.

Also, I would rec. making two partitions and doing a time-machine backup as well as some other type of backup- superduper or straight copy or something. As with any backup system there can be issues- having two different kinds is better. Having three different hard drives can be even better. There are several threads on here about the best backup systems.

 

[brokenrobot]

i thought i needed to format with FAT32 in order for mac os x to be able to read/write to it, unless i use software to use NTFS. my vista machine doesn't have a format to FAT32 option, only NTFS or exFAT, whatever that is. besides i also have some dvd movie backups i wanted to save on the hard drive so i can sometimes use it with my dvd player which has a usb port and from what i've read, only reads FAT32. so i am hoping formatting it that way will work for both os x and the dvd player. i might partition the drive, about 500 gb for each.

when i used to use linux, i did need software for it to be able to read/write to my old NTFS hard drive.

by the way, what is so wrong with FAT32? i know the max file size is something like 2 or 4 gb but are there backup files that would be this size? which file system do most people use for mac os x external hard drives? i have only seen videos on the mac os x disk utility, maybe there are other options.

 

[flyfish29]

i thought i needed to format with FAT32 in order for mac os x to be able to read/write to it, unless i use software to use NTFS. my vista machine doesn't have a format to FAT32 option, only NTFS or exFAT, whatever that is. besides i also have some dvd movie backups i wanted to save on the hard drive so i can sometimes use it with my dvd player which has a usb port and from what i've read, only reads FAT32. so i am hoping formatting it that way will work for both os x and the dvd player. i might partition the drive, about 500 gb for each.

when i used to use linux, i did need software for it to be able to read/write to my old NTFS hard drive.

by the way, what is so wrong with FAT32? i know the max file size is something like 2 or 4 gb but are there backup files that would be this size? which file system do most people use for mac os x external hard drives? i have only seen videos on the mac os x disk utility, maybe there are other options.

The best option is Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" for your backup HD. This setting is the best option for running Mac OS X.

However, it seems like Fat32 is needed for your dvd....I am unsure how Fat32 works with OSx and intel macs.

"GUID Partition Table" is for Intel-based Macs when partitioning....

others will know more info for sure- I know just enough to be dangerous!

 

[flyfish29]

Not sure how you are backing up your data- there are several options (time machine, SuperDuper, CarbonCopyCloner) I found this on the Carbon Copy Cloner web site under support while I was looking for my own answers- (CCC is a backup program like Super Duper but CCC is free.)


When you purchase a new hard drive, or if you have a hard drive that you use with a Windows computer, that hard drive is often pre-formatted as FAT32. While the hard drive's volume may mount just fine in the Finder, and you are able to access files on the volume, CCC won't let you back up directly to the FAT32 volume because some filesystem metadata would not be transferred. Most notably, you'll lose ownership and permission metadata as well as any Access Control List settings. These types of metadata are very important for maintaining the security of your data and your Mac's operating system.

 

[brokenrobot]

thanks, i think i will try to just partition the drive into two parts and use mac os extended journaled with time machine and format the other partition with fat32 for the dvd player. hopefully it will read it, but if not, its no big deal. i might look into the alternative backup solutions though, thank you.

 

[brokenrobot]

finally got the computer today. its in perfect condition, everything works.

for the external HDD partitions, i split it in half, formatting each with a different file system. 500 GB for time machine, using mac osx extended journaled, and 500 GB FAT, my dvd player and windows and os x are recognizing the FAT partition, which works out perfectly. man, that disk utility included with os x is amazing.

however, it is soooo slow, trying to put files on there from windows vista, its like 5 times slower than ntfs.