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Went to change mbp ram and found something

D

damekian

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Hey,
I upgraded 4gb of ram to 8gb today but when I took the bottom cover off of my mbp 2.0 i7 I found some crap on the center fan.
I took a picture of it. Does anyone know what this is?
This is the first time I've opened the case.
img01088201108031756.jpg


Thanks.
 
That's a bit sad... they really slop that stuff on with a spatula in whichever sweatshop it came from.
 
Personally I'd be returning it and showing them that picture. The thermal interface material being in between the fins of the heatsink is reducing its effectiveness and is not acceptable.
 
I bought it online. Can I just take it to any macstore and show them?
Thanks guys I appreciate it.
 
damekian said:
I bought it online. Can I just take it to any macstore and show them?
Thanks guys I appreciate it.
Click to expand...

It may seem overkill, but I'd take the logical approach on this one. Try to clean it with a cloth and rubbing alcohol.
 
awer25 said:
It may seem overkill, but I'd take the logical approach on this one. Try to clean it with a cloth and rubbing alcohol.
Click to expand...

If its under warranty you really don't want to fool around with trying to dislodge thermal pad leftovers from the heatsink with rubbing alcohol, its just not worth the risk. That thermal pad originated from the opposite side of the logic board, which means its made it all the way through that heatsink, it really just needs to be swapped.
 
since u bought it on july 21st... i think today might be the deadline for ur 14 day no questions asked return.

back up ur files.

take it to any apple store.

return the mbp. orrrrrrrr ask for a brand new exchange.

show them the photo.

even if u pass the 14 day... i would still ask for a brand new comp.

THAT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.

p.s. don't let them just replace the logic board.

that's thermal paste and it's on the heatsink. the fan is not connected to the heatsink.

they will either clean it by take ur mbp apart or just change out the entire logic board.

honestly though if i saw that on my machine i would ask for a new one. doesn't seem acceptable for a $2k+ machine.
 
Thanks everyone. I will take it to the nearest apple store today and report back with the results.

I'll be bringing a copy of the picture and my purchase information.

EDIT: I have an appointment tomorrow. They were booked all day today.
 
Last edited:
Just an update:
I went to my appointment yesterday and they asked to hold my mbp overnight(that sucks).
I'm supposed to hear from them today and hopefully get to pick it up.
They said they will take it apart, clean out all the thermal paste, reapply thermal paste, and then check the the heat sensors.

I hope this works.

Thanks

PS: Would have liked to have a new machine, but they weren't interested in that option...
 
damekian said:
Just an update:
I went to my appointment yesterday and they asked to hold my mbp overnight(that sucks).
I'm supposed to hear from them today and hopefully get to pick it up.
They said they will take it apart, clean out all the thermal paste, reapply thermal paste, and then check the the heat sensors.

I hope this works.

Thanks

PS: Would have liked to have a new machine, but they weren't interested in that option...
Click to expand...

You never know, they might just do that.
 
Update:
picked up my macbook pro and put my 8gb of ram back in. I took a picture of what it looks like now. (sorry for the crap picture this time)
28j8p75.jpg


There's still some crap on there, but the computer seems to be working fine.
They said that they took it apart, cleaned it out, and then reapplied the thermal paste.

To the guy who said it wasn't thermal paste, you were wrong, but thanks for trying to help.

Thanks for the help guys.
 
You've got to be kidding me.

Don't get me wrong, I love Applecare but this is ridiculous.

It would've taken them like $20 in parts to replace the headpipe/heatsink and maybe the fan; quicker than cleaning it off and giving it to you as if it's "all good, bro".

This is really disappointing.
 
damekian said:
Update:
picked up my macbook pro and put my 8gb of ram back in. I took a picture of what it looks like now. (sorry for the crap picture this time)
Image

There's still some crap on there, but the computer seems to be working fine.
They said that they took it apart, cleaned it out, and then reapplied the thermal paste.

To the guy who said it wasn't thermal paste, you were wrong, but thanks for trying to help.

Thanks for the help guys.
Click to expand...

This is unacceptable. I would take it back again. Even though whatever problem you had is gone, this might pose a problem later on. They should have just replaced the part.

Schedule a genius bar appointment asap.
 
rockyroad55 said:
This is unacceptable. I would take it back again. Even though whatever problem you had is gone, this might pose a problem later on. They should have just replaced the part.

Schedule a genius bar appointment asap.
Click to expand...

Maybe I should go to a different apple store. The closest one is 40 minutes from my house which sucks. This apple store(the one in nashua, nh) doesn't seem interested in replacing any parts. The "genius" had to make it clear that I ended the warranty on the ram that came with the mac since I switched it myself, and I informed her the crucial has a lifetime warranty as opposed to the one year warranty that apple had. The genius I spoke to really did not want to replace any parts. When I picked up the mac the genius who worked on it wasn't even there, so I wasn't able to get any details apart from what I've already wrote here. I'm tentative to go back. It's a real pain to leave my computer there overnight because I use my computer to edit final cut projects for my job. This is all disheartening for me. I do appreciate everyone's advice.
thanks.
 
damekian said:
Maybe I should go to a different apple store. The closest one is 40 minutes from my house which sucks. This apple store(the one in nashua, nh) doesn't seem interested in replacing any parts. The "genius" had to make it clear that I ended the warranty on the ram that came with the mac since I switched it myself, and I informed her the crucial has a lifetime warranty as opposed to the one year warranty that apple had. The genius I spoke to really did not want to replace any parts. When I picked up the mac the genius who worked on it wasn't even there, so I wasn't able to get any details apart from what I've already wrote here. I'm tentative to go back. It's a real pain to leave my computer there overnight because I use my computer to edit final cut projects for my job. This is all disheartening for me. I do appreciate everyone's advice.
thanks.
Click to expand...

Changing RAM doesn't void the computer or parts warranty. If that was it, why does Apple include pictures in its manuals showing how to remove and replace the HDD and RAM?
 
damekian said:
Maybe I should go to a different apple store. The closest one is 40 minutes from my house which sucks. This apple store(the one in nashua, nh) doesn't seem interested in replacing any parts. The "genius" had to make it clear that I ended the warranty on the ram that came with the mac since I switched it myself, and I informed her the crucial has a lifetime warranty as opposed to the one year warranty that apple had. The genius I spoke to really did not want to replace any parts. When I picked up the mac the genius who worked on it wasn't even there, so I wasn't able to get any details apart from what I've already wrote here. I'm tentative to go back. It's a real pain to leave my computer there overnight because I use my computer to edit final cut projects for my job. This is all disheartening for me. I do appreciate everyone's advice.
thanks.
Click to expand...

That really stinks. How long ago did you purchase? Can you call up Apple Care to see if you can get a solution since the local store is not being cooperative?
 
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