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Screw fell out of New Precision Aluminum MacBook Pro - Late 2008

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hey i have the same problems with my macbook air they fall out out no where.and whe u talk to a genius will you gnna have to pay? plase right back
 
I just swapped ram on my unibody MacBook and one of the long screws didnt want to come out well, little strange i tought, when i put it back together i couldnt feel it getting in thread :mad: And it kinda looked like the screw had extra material on it so my guess is the machine assembling it over torqued the damn screw.
 
I've had screw trouble working with the unibody macbook pro's as well.

If you go the the apple store, you can get new screws. But you have to be extremely firm. They will try as hard as they can NOT to give you new screws. Just say you will not leave until they replace the screws.
 
In my case the problem is not the screw, its that the thread in the chassis is damaged, i tried a screw from a good spot and it just slips in and out of the damaged hole.
 
i have the same problem with my 17-inch Unibody. I upgraded the hard drive the day I got it. Unlike the 15-inch, you have to remove the entire bottom cover. The corner screw would just keep turning counter clockwise and couldn't come out like the other screws. I had to take all of the other screws out first and then get a fingernail under the head of the screw to apply a bit of upward pressure to remove the screw.

The other day, when picking up the MBP, I noticed that the head of that screw wasn't flush with the chassis. I tried to tighten it, and the screw just keeps turning clockwise. I'm afraid that I'm going to lose the screw, so I put a piece of tape over it.
 
wow!! those problems seems really wide spread. perhaps you should all return your machines to Apple for a replacement? Having threading problems in a new machine, you've not touch doesn't sound right to me. It's a sure sign of poor construction. :mad:
 
this is scaring me .. my mbp should be here in a few days and i was planning on putting in a 500gb hd and 8gb a ram .. but now i dont know if i would want to chance having the screws not being able to be put back in
 
jetjaguar said:
this is scaring me .. my mbp should be here in a few days and i was planning on putting in a 500gb hd and 8gb a ram .. but now i dont know if i would want to chance having the screws not being able to be put back in
Click to expand...

Forums generate unnecessary paranoia in people. Don't worry about it. Relax. Most don't have this problem.
 
I called AppleCare and told the phone rep what happened, and he transferred me to a product specialist, who gave me a case number so I could take it to the Apple Store to get the top case replaced.

I'm always hesitant to get such a new computer repaired, but I'm even more hesitant to get a replacement, since I might end up with a dead pixel.
 
Black Macbook intel GMA (earlier model)

this issue has plagued my macbook as well, this problem seems way more widespread to me than anyone realizes.

i do not like the company that apple has become the past few years. they are truly Orwellian...

i believe this screw issue is a subliminal message telling us we are all screwed.

i still love my macbook even with it's extra orafices. IT RUNS WINDODWS 7 FINE!!! :-D



p.s. i have been a mac loyalist since before the days of resexcellence (R.I.P.)
My next computer will be strictly linux
VIVA LA REVOLUTION! :D
 
Just wanted to let everyone know that Apple fixed the problem on my MBP. The AppleCare product specialist thought that I would need a new top case, but apparently, at least for the 17-inch, there are brackets that attach to the top case that the bottom case screws attach to.

They sent me a box, and I packed up my MBP and dropped it off on Monday at 8PM. The repair was completed on Tuesday, and Fedex delivered my MBP at 9AM today (Wednesday). That's a 37 hour turnaround, which is incredible. The corner screw tightens now and isn't going to fall out this time.
 
I had the exact same thing happen to my early 2009 uMBP 17 inch. I decided that the 320 GB hard drive was too small and replaced it. When I got to the screw that is underneath the power button, it just FELL out... :eek:

After having a minor heart attack, used my google-fu to see what could be done about it. This post landed right on my lap and I called Apple Support. The very pleasant support person at first told me that she had never heard about this problem, but after mentioning this forum and the problem, she must have found it on their database of issues. I requested a shipping box and my computer was back to me in 36 hours !! Much faster than the Apple Store.

Thanks for your very informative comments and advice.
 
I had the exact same issue with my 15" MBP I bought two weeks ago. The same exact screw opposite of the power button. Took it to the Apple store today and they replaced the screw. The tech said it may have fallen out because the blue loc-tite on the original screw may not have been sufficient.

He told me to keep an eye on it, and bring it back if it happens again.

There are way to many people having the exact screw fall out for it to be a random issue. There must be some sort of manufacturing issue there.
 
Screws falling out

Will they replace it, if the notebook has any cosmetic defects, mine has a slight scratch both on the front and back, and a very small dent :( Also my screen has a white spot :confused: about a 1\3 from the bottom of the screen, and about 2-3inches from the left of the screen. Also!! i think i may have a failing hard drive :( nothing else to report yet. I think i have a Mac that was either built first thing on a monday morning, when everyone is coming back from the weekend, or last thing on a friday when every one wants to go home for the weekend, either that or i have a pc!! :|

:apple: 15" MacBook Pro | 2.8Ghz Intel | 500GB HDD | 4GB DDR3 | :apple:
:apple: iPhone 3G 16GB :apple:
 
I know this is a very old thread but I thought I would add my two cents and say my Late 2008 MB I've had since early 2009 had the screw opposite the power button fall out in the last week or so. It's been loose for a few months and finally fell out. I never unscrewed this one since it fell out. The apple store gave me a new machine back in early 2009 when I was having RAM issues so they upgraded the RAM in-house.
 
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