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"Vintage" G5 gets no support at Apple Store anymore

D

Darth Maynard

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 26, 2007
31
0
Hi Folks,

Thought I'd pass this along after not seeing any threads about it in the forum.

My particular problem is that I have a G5 DP 2.0 with fans that rev for no particular reason. (i.e. I'll be using email and they'll rage and then using photoshop and they chill out.) So, at a time when I can get my unit down to the Apple Store (Farmington, CT) to have a "genius" run the Apple Service Diagnostic disk, I schedule an appointment. As soon as they put the unit on the bar and scan the bar code in the machine, this "genius" tells me I have a "vintage" machine and they do NOTHING for them anymore. Well, almost nothing; he said he'd give me a list of places that would service it (but he never gave me the list).

My main beef is that you have to schedule online and can't talk to anybody. At least if they asked or put a disclaimer, I would have saved the hassle of dismantling it and lugging down there. Hopes this helps anyone that has a 5-year old computer.
 
Could it be because you have no Applecare warranty left, and not because it is a G5?
 
Nope. Was told specifically that it was a 5-year-old and it was considered by Apple to be "vintage", thus getting no service whatsoever.
 
really?

My 12" Powerbook sold last year to an MR member is still under Applecare warranty.

A friend of mine with a Quad powermac G5 still is under Applecare warranty. My mom's iMac G5 is JUST out of warranty.

That "genius" at the OP's Apple Store is out of his mind.

But I learned to take my machines to a local Apple Certified Tech a long time ago.
 
California said:
really?

My 12" Powerbook sold last year to an MR member is still under Applecare warranty.

A friend of mine with a Quad powermac G5 still is under Applecare warranty.

That "genius" at the OP's Apple Store is out of his mind.

But I learned to take my machines to a local Apple Certified Tech a long time ago.
Click to expand...

AppleCare? Only until August of this year. The last PowerPC Macs were sold in August 2006, so the three year deadline is coming fast.

The Genius is right. The last dual 2.0 was made in 2005, so AppleCare would have run out last year.
 
Tallest Skil said:
AppleCare? Only until August of this year. The last PowerPC Macs were sold in August 2006, so the three year deadline is coming fast.

The Genius is right. The last dual 2.0 was made in 2005, so AppleCare would have run out last year.
Click to expand...
A few refurbs might float around until early 2010.

I have no clue why someone would have jumped on a Power Mac G5 PCI-Express after the Mac Pro was out. Short of say CS2.
 
To frosser:

Thanks for the info. Looks like if I would have taken it in last month, I might have had a chance. Seems to me that if they were going to discontinue their involvement, they might have had the decency to help those of us still trying to be productive on machines that are still quite capable. I'll do some digging to see if they have released the Apple System Diagnostic disc. I remember when iMovie 08 came out, Apple put iMovie 6 up for a free download in response to the uproar.

To GimmeSlack12:

I appreciate your willingness to help, but be careful how you label yourself as a "genius". I'm still feeling a bit stung by the last "genius". (Besides, I always thought that this was a label reserved for others to apply. Seems a bit arrogant for Apple to apply it.) But since you've asked: the fans can be quiet when running multiple apps, but suddenly rev up and stay up when mail is open, but I'm not actively using the machine. Activity Monitor and istat pro indicate that there's nothing obvious to cause this behavior. The temps of the processors are consistently 45 and 54 C. With all the things I've read on these forums, about sucking in dust, I assume that a professional cleaning and system check will relieve my problems.

To CA: My machine is a 2004 51st week, a refurb I bought off ebay last year. Doesn't have apple care, but that isn't my issue. I went looking for help that I couldn't get anywhere else (at least not with some research and presumably gambling on a "certified" tech.) One would think that a certified technician would be able to offer a little more that taking a bar code scan and reading from his monitor that he was not to offer any assistance as a matter of policy. We didn't even get to the issue for my visit and he didn't ask. I've just now learned that I need to take my machine to someone a bit more qualified than someone in a blue shirt.

Thanks to all for replying to my post.
 
Darth Maynard said:
One would think that a certified technician would be able to offer a little more that taking a bar code scan and reading from his monitor that he was not to offer any assistance as a matter of policy. We didn't even get to the issue for my visit and he didn't ask. I've just now learned that I need to take my machine to someone a bit more qualified than someone in a blue shirt.
Click to expand...
If company policy forbids him from servicing your machine why do you feel like he should ignore policy, risk getting in trouble and service your machine anyway? Look for Mac resellers in your area and give them a call to see about getting your machine serviced.


Lethal
 
LethalWolfe said:
If company policy forbids him from servicing your machine why do you feel like he should ignore policy, risk getting in trouble and service your machine anyway? Look for Mac resellers in your area and give them a call to see about getting your machine serviced.
Lethal
Click to expand...

I wasn't looking for him to service my my machine if it violated company policy. I guess my issues are these:

1. The lack of notice on the online scheduling form regarding "vintage" machines. Who wants to waste their time disassembling their work station for a fool's errand?

2. The lack of customer service on the behalf of this "supposed" genius. If you really know your stuff and you rely on your rapport with the public, you might spend two minutes listening to the problem and offering your two cents. That's just being decent.

The point of this thread, while it helps to vent, is to alert others to not bother with the Apple Store if in a similar situation. Looks like I have no other choice but to find assistance elsewhere. I logically thought the Apple retail store would have been able to provide reputable service as they are an extension of the manufacturer.
 
Darth Maynard said:
I wasn't looking for him to service my my machine if it violated company policy. I guess my issues are these:

1. The lack of notice on the online scheduling form regarding "vintage" machines. Who wants to waste their time disassembling their work station for a fool's errand?

2. The lack of customer service on the behalf of this "supposed" genius. If you really know your stuff and you rely on your rapport with the public, you might spend two minutes listening to the problem and offering your two cents. That's just being decent.

The point of this thread, while it helps to vent, is to alert others to not bother with the Apple Store if in a similar situation. Looks like I have no other choice but to find assistance elsewhere. I logically thought the Apple retail store would have been able to provide reputable service as they are an extension of the manufacturer.
Click to expand...


If he had a liquid cooling model, they would have looked at it...

I'm sorry, 3000 dollars from 2004 or 2005 is still a lot of cash to throw at Apple for them to turn up their noses at you. Call them and have THEM make the appointment.

By the way, set your power settings to "HIGHEST" not Automatic.

May help with the fan issue. Blow some of that dust out, too. And throw new hard drive in there. A bad hard drive when connected to a G5 will show errors even if you boot off the dvd. Not kidding. They sent me some replacement discs for a very out of warranty G5 dual 2.5 processor. Call Apple and be nice and ask if they can't send you the replacement discs that came with the machine.
 
Its an old computer with no warranty, you were surprised they didn't drop to their knees to service you?
 
300D said:
Its an old computer with no warranty, you were surprised they didn't drop to their knees to service you?
Click to expand...

What part of my last post didn't you get? I didn't expect that I would be getting something for nothing. I fully expected to pay for the service. Is that what I should have posted to preclude your pedantic 2 cents?

As I said before, I was looking for service from a knowledgeable source. Where did you infer that I was expecting anything for free? Furthermore, the procedure Apple retail store has in place for scheduling appointments does not allow one to speak directly to a "genius" to discuss the problem.
 
California said:
really?

My 12" Powerbook sold last year to an MR member is still under Applecare warranty.

A friend of mine with a Quad powermac G5 still is under Applecare warranty. My mom's iMac G5 is JUST out of warranty.

That "genius" at the OP's Apple Store is out of his mind.

But I learned to take my machines to a local Apple Certified Tech a long time ago.
Click to expand...

Nope. Apple does not support computers that have been discontinued more than 5 years ago (7 years in California). Just because it's a G5 doesn't mean it's vintage, but the first G5's ARE VINTAGE.

Service at the Genius Bar has nothing to do with warranty status.
 
Well, if cared enough to read the thread, you would have seen that I have done my research in an attempt to find a solution to my problem. I'm looking for a System Diagnostic disc. Since it's not available to the public, the technical service department seemed like a likely source at the time. I've done all the work on my Macs since my Performa 6200CD. Perhaps maybe I can find it on the web somewhere ;)

Thanks
 
If it's any consolation, mine does the same thing - always has. I just consider it 'stretching it's legs'... I was concerned at first but it never seemed to cause any issues or show any other signs of stress so I just disregard it. Mine runs 24/7 and it seems to do it at about 3AM when nothing is even going on...
One question, though - does it have dual hard drive? If so, are they mounted properly? There should be a gap between them of nearly 3/4 inch. If they're mounted improperly they'll be touching / nearly touching.
 
Darth Maynard said:
1. The lack of notice on the online scheduling form regarding "vintage" machines. Who wants to waste their time disassembling their work station for a fool's errand?
Click to expand...
Yeah, I guess they could have been more specific that while they can't offer you hardware support for your vintage machine, they'll still gladly support the OS and Apple apps that run on it.

2. The lack of customer service on the behalf of this "supposed" genius. If you really know your stuff and you rely on your rapport with the public, you might spend two minutes listening to the problem and offering your two cents. That's just being decent.
Click to expand...
What makes you think all Apple Geniuses "know their stuff" in regards to vintage equipment? The Apple Store is still retail, and retail still has a high turn-over rate, even with the Genius and Creative positions. Not every Genius you find there is going to have had hands-on experience with older equipment worthy of giving you two-cents worth of advice.

Darth Maynard said:
Furthermore, the procedure Apple retail store has in place for scheduling appointments does not allow one to speak directly to a "genius" to discuss the problem.
Click to expand...
You can always pick up the phone and call your local Apple Store when you have a specific question. Nobody at the Apple Store wants you to waste your time anymore than you do.
 
aristobrat said:
What makes you think all Apple Geniuses "know their stuff" in regards to vintage equipment? The Apple Store is still retail, and retail still has a high turn-over rate, even with the Genius and Creative positions. Not every Genius you find there is going to have had hands-on experience with older equipment worthy of giving you two-cents worth of advice.
Click to expand...

Hey, I was going to give these guys the benefit of the doubt. As I stated earlier, I pretty much went in there knowing what I wanted, the System Diagnostic Disc. And until June 16, 2009, they probably would have been able to help me.

aristobrat said:
You can always pick up the phone and call your local Apple Store when you have a specific question. Nobody at the Apple Store wants you to waste your time anymore than you do.
Click to expand...

No, you can't. They prompts on the automated line state that in order to speak to a "genius", you need to get an appointment. I'm not sure which store you shop at but the Farmington, CT store, they're a little short on that kind of service. Besides my beef is with the automated nature of the online scheduling. How hard is it to put a field in that eliminates units that are no longer supported?
 
Darth Maynard said:
No, you can't. They prompts on the automated line state that in order to speak to a "genius", you need to get an appointment. I'm not sure which store you shop at but the Farmington, CT store, they're a little short on that kind of service. Besides my beef is with the automated nature of the online scheduling. How hard is it to put a field in that eliminates units that are no longer supported?
Click to expand...

I've spoken to a live person over the phone at that exact store several times. You might not be able to get a genius directly from the menu, but you can get a live person who probably can get the answer you need.
 
The machine is over 5 years old and as such it is declared Vintage by Apple. Replacement parts can no longer be ordered and as such there is nothing that can be done through the official channels.

A scan of the serial number will show that the machine is vintage. If it says that then there is nothing they can do.

Simple as that. Your machine can no longer be repaired through the official channels.
 
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