I have a white mb 2.4 250 GB SD. Purchased new in late feb. The hard drive went bad in september. Then in october it happened again. My question is how many time does the hard drive have to go bad before i can get a new computer? If apple updates the macbook how do they determine which config i would get as a replacement? How would it affect apple care? i have registered it already.
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repeated macbook hard drive failure
- Thread starter jbrenn
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Im pretty sure they will keep replacing the HD until they no longer use or have one. This will be a long time for that drive....
That's definitely an unusual problem for multiple hard drives to die so quickly. They generally don't give out replacement systems very often, but you certainly have a right to demand something else be replaced (like the main logic board) since something is clearly going wrong.
From what I understand, if they do indeed give you an entirely new computer your warranty will be 1 year just like any other new machine purchase.
From what I understand, if they do indeed give you an entirely new computer your warranty will be 1 year just like any other new machine purchase.
I purchased my MacBook Pro fully tweaked out in March 2008. By June my drive crashed and burned 3 times. Policy for Apple is 3rd strike and they consider it a lemon. My 2nd MacBook Pro came in early July 2008. By the end of September, the drive had failed twice and they couldn't get a replacement part in time to fix it within 2 weeks which is their turn around limit. They offered me a 3rd MacBook Pro...oops, just that day they had changed the model and so they would have to send me a New Model Upgraded MacBook Pro... Was that okay? I told them sure! I received my NEW late 2008 model MacBook Pro (the 3rd one) in late October 2008. Have had very few problems with it that couldn't be fixed by Disk Utilities etc. but in January 2009 Time Machine wouldn't back up anymore...thought it was the backup drive. Yesterday I took my very sick MacBook Pro to the service center. Today they told me that it was a "hard drive" failure... Number 6 for me... In one year. Downtime and frustration have cost me at least 30-50% of the time...and I was told MACs are so much more reliable than PCs and Windows...not sure I believe it anymore. At least with a Windows PC I knew what to do to fix it ... No one seems willing to tell me how to fix my Mac...it always has to be sent to the hospital. What kind of lame drives are they using that go out after a few uses? Maybe they should upgrade durability rather than sleekness.......
Hard drives have nothing to do w/ Mac or PC.
I have had hard drives that lasted for 10 years and some that have lasted for 2 weeks. There's no telling w/ mechanical devices.
Make sure you have good backups, and replace the drive yourself i you aren't under applecare.
I have had hard drives that lasted for 10 years and some that have lasted for 2 weeks. There's no telling w/ mechanical devices.
Make sure you have good backups, and replace the drive yourself i you aren't under applecare.
MacBook drive failures......
I see a lot of these machines with HD failure in our workshop - much higher incidence than one would reasonably expect.
The vast majority have the dreaded 'death-rattle' when turned on... i.e. a faint but audible, repetitive, 'tick tick tick Brrr' - which usually means the drive won't be readable again unless sent to a specialist recovery workshop.
Intrigued by this high level of failure, I began watching the owners who brought them in (dozens and dozens of them) and, in 95% of cases, the owners with problems finish with the machine by just shutting the lid and popping it into its bag / second skin / whatever... i.e. putting it to sleep rather than a full shut down.
When asked about heat, most of the owners replied 'Oh yes, its REALLY hot when I take it out of the bag'. Plastic is also a lot less efficient at dumping heat than the aluminium-cased bigger siblings.
I conclude therefore that this is the answer to most of the drive problems we see - Macbooks still kick out a lot of heat even in sleep mode and if that is combined with leaving it in a bag or sleeve overnight......... ???
What kills hard drives?........... old age, bad knocks, excessive heat.
Therein may lie the answer - if you've finished using it, turn it off fully and don't just sleep it by shutting the lid.
IMHO
I see a lot of these machines with HD failure in our workshop - much higher incidence than one would reasonably expect.
The vast majority have the dreaded 'death-rattle' when turned on... i.e. a faint but audible, repetitive, 'tick tick tick Brrr' - which usually means the drive won't be readable again unless sent to a specialist recovery workshop.
Intrigued by this high level of failure, I began watching the owners who brought them in (dozens and dozens of them) and, in 95% of cases, the owners with problems finish with the machine by just shutting the lid and popping it into its bag / second skin / whatever... i.e. putting it to sleep rather than a full shut down.
When asked about heat, most of the owners replied 'Oh yes, its REALLY hot when I take it out of the bag'. Plastic is also a lot less efficient at dumping heat than the aluminium-cased bigger siblings.
I conclude therefore that this is the answer to most of the drive problems we see - Macbooks still kick out a lot of heat even in sleep mode and if that is combined with leaving it in a bag or sleeve overnight......... ???
What kills hard drives?........... old age, bad knocks, excessive heat.
Therein may lie the answer - if you've finished using it, turn it off fully and don't just sleep it by shutting the lid.
IMHO
Interesting thought about the heat! I usually turn mine off, but on occassion haven't done that.
I am currently on my 6th MACBook Pro since March 2008... Do the math. That's 15 hard drive failures....was so hoping it was resolved for the past 3 weeks...no glitches...but, today hard drive failure number 16! Pretty dissappointed. I've had my MAC up and operational for about 2 months of the last 6. The rest of the time was fixing or shipping from China. Would sure love this issue resolved.
I have spoken to highest level Apple Tech's ... The top of customer service etc...none has ever seen anything like this! I am half expecting a sheepish call from Steve Jobs asking me to be a tester for future machines...
By the way. I am very gentle to my Mac. I have a Speck case on it ...a new addition (but now maybe that is making it too hot you tell me...wonder about the other 5). I keep it very well protected and it's still giving me a problem.
Does ANYONE have some "real" help so this stops, short of switching to PC...which doesn't thrill me at all! Who knows maybe I just am not supposed to use a mac at all.
I am currently on my 6th MACBook Pro since March 2008... Do the math. That's 15 hard drive failures....was so hoping it was resolved for the past 3 weeks...no glitches...but, today hard drive failure number 16! Pretty dissappointed. I've had my MAC up and operational for about 2 months of the last 6. The rest of the time was fixing or shipping from China. Would sure love this issue resolved.
I have spoken to highest level Apple Tech's ... The top of customer service etc...none has ever seen anything like this! I am half expecting a sheepish call from Steve Jobs asking me to be a tester for future machines...
By the way. I am very gentle to my Mac. I have a Speck case on it ...a new addition (but now maybe that is making it too hot you tell me...wonder about the other 5). I keep it very well protected and it's still giving me a problem.
Does ANYONE have some "real" help so this stops, short of switching to PC...which doesn't thrill me at all! Who knows maybe I just am not supposed to use a mac at all.
Your experience is surprising if it were a statistical anomaly. Given actual HDD failure rates, I would guess that a chi^square would put you outside of expected variance.
What that means is you're not unlucky, there is something else going on.
My advice: stop wasting time with another Mac. Get a PC. If you experience similar failure, it's your environment not the machine. If you don't, well.. we've solved your problem.
What that means is you're not unlucky, there is something else going on.
My advice: stop wasting time with another Mac. Get a PC. If you experience similar failure, it's your environment not the machine. If you don't, well.. we've solved your problem.
Hard drives second rate.
I agree there is something seriously wrong with hard drives Apple puts into their computers. I had pc's all my life (over 20 in the last 15 years) and 2 years ago I decided to switch to Macs due to the frustration of viruses and VISTA. I love the OS of the Mac and how easy it is to use, not to mention no viruses. Anyways, 1 year after buying my iMac (1 week after my warranty expired) my hard drive crash (completely fried). Stupid me I did not back up my files on external drive. I ending up spending over $1200 to get a new hard drive, external drive and recovering my data. 6mths later I decided to buy a MacBook thinking that hard drive failure was an unfortunate coincidence. 4mth later and I have had 3 hd failures (fortunately not a completely fried hd like my iMac) and I'm really starting to regret switching over to Macs. The strange this is, I was told my the Apple Service store repair guy that MacBook hard drive failures are far too common. He showed me a box with about 40 harddrives that have crashed in the last month and I live in town of 100,000 people and there are 3 Apple repair providers. He also said the quality of the hard drives and terrible and are not made by Apple. Basically he told me they were made in 3rd world country. So now my impression on Macs are: the software and OS are great but the 3rd world made hardware is second rate and not made to last.
Based on all the internet info on all the hard drive crashes you would think Apple would do something about it. Oh well, that's my two cents.
I agree there is something seriously wrong with hard drives Apple puts into their computers. I had pc's all my life (over 20 in the last 15 years) and 2 years ago I decided to switch to Macs due to the frustration of viruses and VISTA. I love the OS of the Mac and how easy it is to use, not to mention no viruses. Anyways, 1 year after buying my iMac (1 week after my warranty expired) my hard drive crash (completely fried). Stupid me I did not back up my files on external drive. I ending up spending over $1200 to get a new hard drive, external drive and recovering my data. 6mths later I decided to buy a MacBook thinking that hard drive failure was an unfortunate coincidence. 4mth later and I have had 3 hd failures (fortunately not a completely fried hd like my iMac) and I'm really starting to regret switching over to Macs. The strange this is, I was told my the Apple Service store repair guy that MacBook hard drive failures are far too common. He showed me a box with about 40 harddrives that have crashed in the last month and I live in town of 100,000 people and there are 3 Apple repair providers. He also said the quality of the hard drives and terrible and are not made by Apple. Basically he told me they were made in 3rd world country. So now my impression on Macs are: the software and OS are great but the 3rd world made hardware is second rate and not made to last.
Based on all the internet info on all the hard drive crashes you would think Apple would do something about it. Oh well, that's my two cents.
seriously sick of rotten apples
Well, this thread is cold-comfort: I too am experiencing constant hard drive failure with the white macbook. I bought it in October 2010 and had hard drive problems from the beginning...after three hard drive repairs in six months I was given a new computer. I have had the replacement for less than a month and it is currently in the shop for hard drive replacement.
I am a very good computer user - I don't put content on the hard drive and I turn it off after every use. My computer never felt warm. I didn't fling it around, shut it off agressively, etc., etc.
Today at the "genius bar" the guy fixing my computer claimed that the problem isn't apple's fault but rather hard drive technology...he said his wife has had six hard drives over two computers (in two years). I wish apple would figure out a way for hard drives to be more reliable - the company makes enough money.
At the very least, I feel that apple should be giving out loaner computers like car dealerships do when cars need repairs.
Well, this thread is cold-comfort: I too am experiencing constant hard drive failure with the white macbook. I bought it in October 2010 and had hard drive problems from the beginning...after three hard drive repairs in six months I was given a new computer. I have had the replacement for less than a month and it is currently in the shop for hard drive replacement.
I am a very good computer user - I don't put content on the hard drive and I turn it off after every use. My computer never felt warm. I didn't fling it around, shut it off agressively, etc., etc.
Today at the "genius bar" the guy fixing my computer claimed that the problem isn't apple's fault but rather hard drive technology...he said his wife has had six hard drives over two computers (in two years). I wish apple would figure out a way for hard drives to be more reliable - the company makes enough money.
At the very least, I feel that apple should be giving out loaner computers like car dealerships do when cars need repairs.
I purchased a new MacBook Pro in December 2009. Right off the bat, began with Mail Program failures - next came the Hard Drive failure 11 months later. Apple has been knowingly selling this defective product for 3 years - from 2008 to June 2011 and counting. Their escalated agents and Genius Bar tried to cover it up.. Deceiving their customers and by not immediately replacing the defective product speaks volumes in itself and amounts to nothing less than Consumer Fraud in my opinion.
Had a PC over 10 yrs - no one I know has ever had or heard of Hard Drive failure - much less one after another after another and Mac prices - they can't even believe it! Some other defect in the system has to be causing the failure. They got cocky, reduced the quality to a pitiful state, and it's now obviously b/come just another overrated, overpriced piece of junk with a glamorous cover. Not replacing continuous, non-stop hard drive failures with a brand new computer - in itself speaks volumes.
If I could - I'd take my money and run. First and last Apple product for me - they have lost this customer forever. They have proven customer loyalty is now history and they can't be trusted anymore. Same Corporate America.
No one I know of is having such issues with Dell or Think Pad like this. I understand it's just happening with Apple - though they would like you to believe it's ALL Laptops - and give you that constant, worn-out story that no longer applies about Apple being more reliable and has less issues than PC... Not the case anymore, nor is their once award winning Customer Service..
Unfortunately, I didn't do my homework and research the product because of all the hype they have always enjoyed. If I had seen these blogs, I definitely would have reconsidered. Expensive lesson! Once the Apple Care Warranty expires - the whole thing will probably crater - so they can try to get you for another $1200. Their going down the tube - especially in the stores.
If this second hard drive or one more thing fails - and they think their going to inconvenience me again - they better think again.. I never want to see another Mac. I'm going to request a Full Refund and go back to a PC.. I have never had so many issues - and Apple was supposed to be so hot! Live and Learn! Enough is enough! I have better things to do than run in and out of a Mac store with hours of downtime.
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Hard Drive failure
I know this is old thread but my hard drive has also took a crap again. This is the second time . I bought my Macbook in 2007 and the the first HD was replaced free in April 2010 due to the extension Apple had on bad hard drives purchased from 2007 to 2009. Now yesterday this hard drive also went bad. I do not even take Macbook out of my house and only use it to access the web. It's never been dropped and always shut down when not in use.I have a Dell and Compaq which are 10yrs old with the same hard drive. It seems from what I have read on the web there is a serious problem that Apple needs to address if they want to keep customers.Or are they so large , they don' care??
I will contact them tomorrow and give them a piece of my mind but I am afraid of what I'm going to hear. I can't afford to pay for a hard drive replacement and hope I'm not sitting on a $1300 dollar paper weight.I am very disappointed with Apple to say the least.
I know this is old thread but my hard drive has also took a crap again. This is the second time . I bought my Macbook in 2007 and the the first HD was replaced free in April 2010 due to the extension Apple had on bad hard drives purchased from 2007 to 2009. Now yesterday this hard drive also went bad. I do not even take Macbook out of my house and only use it to access the web. It's never been dropped and always shut down when not in use.I have a Dell and Compaq which are 10yrs old with the same hard drive. It seems from what I have read on the web there is a serious problem that Apple needs to address if they want to keep customers.Or are they so large , they don' care??
I will contact them tomorrow and give them a piece of my mind but I am afraid of what I'm going to hear. I can't afford to pay for a hard drive replacement and hope I'm not sitting on a $1300 dollar paper weight.I am very disappointed with Apple to say the least.