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imbored

macrumors member
Original poster
May 9, 2005
44
0
from mac to windows.

Background story, see bottom of post for a summary of my dilemma:
I currently own a 15'' ibook G4 with a broken logic board, a 13" macbook with a broken logic board, a 30GB ipod photo with a bad hard drive, and an 8GB ipod touch.

I originally switched to apple three and a half years ago after being frustrated with my slow and error-ridden PC (windows ME was the OS). I was happy with the purchase of my ibook mainly because of the OS. In reality it was only a little faster than my old PC, it just crashed a lot less and was more user-friendly.

However, I began to experience hardware problems with my ibook; my computer went through two hard drives, a superdrive, and eventually the logic board. I still liked apple and decided to replace it with a macbook.

However, things began to fall apart with my laptop very quickly. Within three months the bezel around the display had come off (this was my fault, I thought it would have been like my ibook and that after taking it off I could put it back on easily). However the problems did not stop there. My macbook developed a crack below the trackpad (as many other users have reported) and the trackpad button became unresponsive.

I may not have taken the best care of my macbook, but I was surprised it had broken so easily and so quickly.

I decided to schedule an appointment with the genius bar to see if they could replace my casing. Before my appointment, my macbook had completely crashed, and I had no idea why.

I took it into the genius bar, and they told me it looked like it had fallen, and that because of this it would not be replaced under warranty. Instead, they told me it would cost $770 to fix the bezel and casing and logic board. They seemed to think the reason that it broke was because it had fallen, and that may have very well been the reason; it fell three months ago, and I guess there could have been time-delayed damages.

I now realize that I should have taken my macbook in as soon as the bezel came off, as soon as the crack developed, etc. They used a combination of all the problems that had accumulated over-time to determine that it was entirely my fault it no longer worked (a.k.a., they thought that it was because of the bezel and the crack that it must have fallen and that's why it isn't working).

I am honestly thinking about selling my touch and macbook, cutting my losses, and switching back over to windows.

I don't know what I should do, I'm not paying $770 (before tax) for them to fix my computer, when I could get a new windows laptop for significantly cheaper. I think it might even be best for me to get a desktop instead, in hopes of the lack of mobility creating less problems.

So, I've got a couple of options:
1.) Sell the macbook for parts, my ipod touch (I have way more than 8gb of music, and without a computer I'll be unable to stream my library to it), and in a few months buy new windows PC or laptop.

2.) Sell my ipod touch to help pay for getting my macbook fixed, and getting it fixed in a few months.

3.) Sell everything and buy a mac pro (or imac) in a year or two (once I have the money to spend). I am most hesitant about this as I don't want to dish out that much money for something that based on my past experiences has a good probability of breaking.

4.) Donate everything and move to an amish community.

5.) Sell my macbook and ipod to buy a new macbook (or macbook pro) in a year or so.

In short, I don't have the money to fix or replace my macbook, so I was thinking about selling it and my ipod to buy a new windows computer (much cheaper), or selling them and waiting a year or more until I can afford to buy a new mac. With either option I'm deciding whether I want to buy a laptop (more fragile) or desktop.

I know that this is a mac website, but give my history do you think it's smartest to save and buy another mac or fork over what I have now for a windows computer (hoping things will have improved since Windows ME
 
It's generally worth staying with Apple just to avoid all the daily hassles on the PC. My choice would be to go the desktop route. An iMac would be fine, but if you can save up enough, getting the lowest level Mac Pro would pretty well future-proof you for 5+ years. Even an iMac would probably last you on average 3-4 years.

And buy Applecare on them - it's worth it not only for the actual repair service, but also for the technical support.

In my case, I'm just now switching to a Mac, and decided on a standard Mac Pro because I want this machine to last me a long time (5-7 years), and with this much power, it definitely will.

Oh, if you're a student, then you can generally get an educational discount on your Mac as well...someone else could tell you more about that.

-Bryan
 
RE: thinking of switching

I have also had disappointing problems with Mac hardware since switching from a Windows PC a few years ago.

I have a 1st gen Intel CoreDuo iMac with a SuperDrive and 250 GB HD.

First, my keyboard and mouse both broke.

More frustratingly, my SuperDrive died a couple of months after my warranty expired. I have read on forums here that many others have had the same problem because Apple uses cheap, garbage optical disc drives in its iMac line. So instead of paying $300 to have Apple fix it and then have it break down again in a year, I bought a high-quality external firewire drive. It's ugly and not as convenient as a built-in drive, but at least it performs properly and is constructed with quality materials.

That being said, the superior OS will keep me with Apple for now as long as the quality issues don't get worse. Windows just stinks.
 
The grass is always greener on the other side. I was a PC user and recently moved to Mac. You have to really weigh out what is more important to you between PC and Mac.
 
Believe me I have had my problems with hardware, but..

I think you just have had really bad luck. I have bad luck with iPods. What ever hardware you buy, get the extended warranty Mac OR PC. With apple care you can buy the warranty anytime within the original warranty, so you don't have to jump on buying apple care till your warranty is almost up.

I have friends that have PCs all different brands, Dell, Hp, Toshiba. They have all had BAD problems, Motherboards, Power Supplies, Notebook screens, Hard drive failures. I am starting to believe this is an industry standard and not just brand specific.
 
sad story

that is a really sad story.

i don't have any great advice for you, but will share your pain.

sadly, i think your problems are less mac related than an illustration of the downside of tech generally. machines are machines and sometimes, they just fail.

i know of and have experienced some of your problems. more often than not, i find apple helpful in trying to sort them out. sometimes, their intentions don't match my expectations, but i try to accept that.

it is a bit a luck-of-the-draw thing with tech. you can have a brand new computer, not buy applecare and wham problems. or the opposite can happen, new computer, applecare and not a single problem for the life span of the computer or more than 3 years.

i hope somehow that during your 3 years with mac, you have had some pleasure in using it. i love apple products, the os, the related software and the integrated mac ecosystem. i would 'never' consider anything else, but i do take care in what and when i buy something new and try to be as careful as i can when using it.

apple has some great tech and its getting better. and hopefully you feel like its worth sticking around for the benefits and the user pleasure it brings.
:eek:
 
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