Recent broken Mac Pro experience

[agrayphoto]

I thought I would share a recent experience I had in case someone is going through something similar.

Without any warning my Mac Pro would not start one morning. I did all the usual start up stuff with no good result. I could hear the start up chime and drives and fans moving but nothing on my monitor. I checked the monitor with another machine and it was fine. So I called Apple support and after a short conversation got an appointment at the local genius bar.

Man what a zoo that place was. It was full of people trying to buy I phones. And teenagers playing with ipods. Well they took my machine in and said it is either the mother board or graphics card and it would be 10 to 12 days. That really bummed me out. The guy ordered both while I was sitting there and took my beloved machine back with all the other sick Macs.

Six days later I got a call saying my machine was fixed and I picked it up within a hour. It has been fine since then and they even fixed another issue I had with the machine that I had created.

Although it was disappointing that a part on a brand new machine went bad like that and hard having to go back to working on my old machine, I am very happy with the service I got from Apple.

Oh, yeah. As you all suspect, it was the graphics card.

 

[JML42691]

It is good to hear that everything worked out, got to love that Apple service. Now if only other companies could do the same: I had a year-old TV that wouldn't turn on, we brought it in to BestBuy 5 days before the warranty expired, they said it should be back in about 3-4 weeks, we got a call this past weekend saying we can pick it up, we drove a 1/2 hour to the store, got there, went to test it in-store and it had the same problem. Now we have to wait another 3-4 weeks. I just wish other companies could work like Apple does with their service.

 

[SimD]

It is good to hear that everything worked out, got to love that Apple service. Now if only other companies could do the same: I had a year-old TV that wouldn't turn on, we brought it in to BestBuy 5 days before the warranty expired, they said it should be back in about 3-4 weeks, we got a call this past weekend saying we can pick it up, we drove a 1/2 hour to the store, got there, went to test it in-store and it had the same problem. Now we have to wait another 3-4 weeks. I just wish other companies could work like Apple does with their service.

How sad would it be if it was the same TV?

 

[JML42691]

How sad would it be if it was the same TV?

It was, they said in the invoice on the repair box that they fixed a problem with wiring or something like that, but the thing still wouldn't turn on.

 

[matt321]

I'm glad you got it back in a timely manner, fixed no less! Apple does takes care of people quick, fast, and painless (I have had my macbook shipped off at least 4 times for various reasons, always coming back fixed like new.)


One thing I do wish is that they had enterprise level support for Mac Pros. Not that I don't like apple care but having Next Business day on-site support would truly make Apple ready for businesses.... 6 days is a lifetime in the corporate world.

 

[Michael73]

One thing I do wish is that they had enterprise level support for Mac Pros. Not that I don't like apple care but having Next Business day on-site support would truly make Apple ready for businesses.... 6 days is a lifetime in the corporate world.

I believe AppleCare provides on-site support for desktops, "Convenient repair options
The AppleCare Protection Plan ensures that Apple-authorized technicians will perform repairs using genuine Apple parts2. With this plan, parts and labor will be covered for three years from your computer’s purchase date. The plan includes onsite service for desktop computers and global repair coverage, which can be very important if you travel abroad." See here

For the original poster...check out my old thread. I had loads of video-related problems with my original MP. After a couple weeks of not getting it solved, I worked with the people at my local Apple store and Apple Customer Relations who replaced my quad core machine with an awesome new 8 core beast. They didn't even give me a like-for-like machine, they gave me a better video card and more RAM over the standard config, "we just want you up and running as soon as possible and to be happy."

How can you not be a fan for life after that!

 

[nanofrog]

Preferential treatment is usually offered to commercial and enterprise accounts imho.
In the end, you get what you pay for (sort of at times).

 

[Imperil]

Out of curiosity was it an 8800GT card that died? I've had my Mac Pro since May and I have dual 8800GTs, one of them died last month and I got a new one shipped to me. I also had an 8800GT die in a PC just the other week as well

Which is why I'm curious if you had that card.

 

[jjahshik32]

Nvidia!!

 

[agrayphoto]

It was the stock Radeon 2600 that died for me.

 

[Erwin-Br]

Do you always have to lug in your heavy machine when a small component like the videocard is dead? Or is it also possible to get the component shipped to you?

--Erwin

 

[JML42691]

Do you always have to lug in your heavy machine when a small component like the videocard is dead? Or is it also possible to get the component shipped to you?

--Erwin

I would assume that you would, just so they can be sure that it was broken, but he wasn't even sure of where the issue was and it was the geniuses in the Apple Store that narrowed down the problem.

 

[agrayphoto]

I would assume that you would, just so they can be sure that it was broken, but he wasn't even sure of where the issue was and it was the geniuses in the Apple Store that narrowed down the problem.

I considered just buying a graphics card myself and throwing it in there to save myself time. But your right I wasn't sure what it was and I was sure they wouldn't cover me under the warranty if I did that.

 

[FireSlash]

we drove a 1/2 hour to the store, got there, went to test it in-store and it had the same problem. Now we have to wait another 3-4 weeks. I just wish other companies could work like Apple does with their service.

Apple service techs have to be certified before they can work on hardware. Best Buy's service techs (for TVs at least) require no certifications, and are generally paid retail wages.

 

[dbam987]

That's a very cheerful, non-fiction, story you got there. I while back my MBP started exhibiting random shutdowns, and so I took it to the Apple Store doctor's to have it examined. At the store, the tech couldn't reproduce the power problem, but still offered to run some diagnostic's on it and said it would take something like 2-3 days. The next morning I got a call from the tech saying that the diagnostics didn't find any problem, which baffled me, but I went and picked it up, played around with it and haven't had a problem with the battery since then.

I now have less than a week to decide if I should buy Apple Care for the MBP to extend it for 2 years. I was hoping Apple would release something major on the MB/MBP line for me to consider upgrading to but none-transpired. Going to the Apple Store in a couple days to pick up the Apple Care box personally, since apparently ordering it online adds $20 shipping for some odd reason.

 

[Michael73]

Apple Ships

In a nut shell when I was experiencing video problems, I called AppleCare and they told me they could ship a card out to me or I could take it to the store and they could do the work while I waited. I opted for the Apple store route but once there they wanted to keep it for 3-5 days, run tests, etc. I was upset but they said the AppleCare person on the phone has no knowledge of what any individual apple store is repairing and shouldn't have promised that kind of turnaround time. I refused to be without my MP for that long and called AppleCare right in the store - it was about 2pm. Before 11am THE NEXT DAY, I had a brand new 7300GT in my hands from Apple for the replacement.

 

[nanofrog]

In a nut shell when I was experiencing video problems, I called AppleCare and they told me they could ship a card out to me or I could take it to the store and they could do the work while I waited. I opted for the Apple store route but once there they wanted to keep it for 3-5 days, run tests, etc. I was upset but they said the AppleCare person on the phone has no knowledge of what any individual apple store is repairing and shouldn't have promised that kind of turnaround time. I refused to be without my MP for that long and called AppleCare right in the store - it was about 2pm. Before 11am THE NEXT DAY, I had a brand new 7300GT in my hands from Apple for the replacement.

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