How many of you have had Mac problems?

Hi all,

I am jsut trying to get a "feel" of how good / bad Macs are. With so much being said about Mac not having all that many faults and issues, I want to get seom feedback from real Mac users, and ex-users.

I know it is not so fair to ask the last question as I don’t think it would give a realistic reply. It is my belief that most users who don’t have problems with their machines (regardless of make / model) don’t participate in these polls / exchanges of ideas. Never the less, I want to get a “feel” of how Apple users (and ex-users) of this site are satisfied with their machines.

Of course, this is regardless of Mac model / type, since I am not trying to analyse any specific model of Apple machine, but rather the overall satisfaction of end-users with Apple computers as a whole.

May be on another poll I would ask those who use Wintel & Mac to rate their satisfaction of each compared to the other. But that is something for another poll.

You may also want to elaborate a bit about your trauma and how it was resolved. Please feel free to do so.

Thanks for any feedback.

 

Well, The hardest problem I've had it was installing linux and windows on the same machine. Also, it is a bit hard to get used to it but once you get used it is pretty easy. If you know a bit about unix or linux it will also help.

 

never had a mac never will, at least not any time soon(don't like OS X). from what i have seen they have been a fair number of problems but apple does support most of them... from what i hear.

 

I don't know how much you'll get out of a single poll like this; if you're trying to determine if there are people out there who have had problems with their Mac, the answer is yes. The idea that Macs are flawless is really not true (and honestly it's something I hear more at this point from non-Mac users than within the Mac community). If you stop by a Mac-specific forum at a place like macrumors.com or macnn.com, you'll find plenty of people asking or complaining about various issues.

Personally I've owned a number of desktop and notebook Macs, and haven't had significant problems with any of them. But that is of course anecdotal.

Usually the biggest problems that Mac users encounter have to do with first generation products; that is, the first version of a new product that Apple introduces. This is why you saw so many people that were desperately waiting for the Core 2 Duo MacBook Pros; it wasn't so much that they wanted the C2D itself, as much as that they knew this would be an actual revision of the first MacBook Pro, and include things like better cooling, etc.

Btw, your belief is correct. With Apple and other companies as well, the problem with any question like this, or trying to determine much from forum activity, etc. is that the large bulk of respondents are basically going to be people with problems. Generally speaking, not a lot of people sign up and post on a forum just to report that everything is working out great with their computers.

So, if your fundamental question is, "is it true that Macs don't have any problems", the answer to that is demonstratively false. They seem to have at least a similar rate of problems as other systems, and perhaps a higher rate with new product introductions. The other side of that though would be that generally Apple does work to resolve those problems one way or the other with repairs, firmware updates, etc. (just as an example, a number of MacBook owners have had a problem with Random Shutdowns; Apple has seemingly addressed this in two ways, replacing the heatsinks, and also recently introducing a firmware update that they also say resolves it).

-Zadillo

 

What needs to be understood when your online on the forums all the time, is the real purpose of 'this' forum is to give information to potential customers about a product they are interested in. Usually when it comes to forums it's use becomes full blown meaning anything related to the forum topic is discussed.

There will be many different topics but just like any other manufacturer forum or whatnot, there are going to be people who come here to complain about their problems when in fact they should be calling Apple in the first place, I mean this is what a warranty is for.

When you go to a forum, you should not expect to get an answer because you might not even get one at all. We're Mac users here, we are not Apple we didn't make the machine, Apple did so really if you have a question you should be calling Apples support line, you really DO NOT WAIT that long on the phone you'll get your answer faster with Apple on the phone rather than waiting hours for a reply here, Apple doesn't have the best customer service relations in the business for nothing.

That being said, its incredibly important to remember that when you read in a forum, many users think we're a support group here and complain about their problems, in matter of fact thats what many people talk about in forums about issues they are having and because of this it should not be taken as an indicator as "how good" or "how bad" a product is, because its already known that people aren't gonna post everyday "Oh my Mac is running awesome with no issues at all" instead your gonna see "OH MY GOD, MY COMPUTER IS PISSING ME OFF!"

So in short, never take an indicator of what topics you see discussed the most in a forum ie problems as the product being bad, this goes for any manufacturer, because people like to complain about problems. second, if you got a really simple question it's fine to ask, many of the forum posters here will answer it, especially if you're being nice. If you're going to be jerk about it, don't expect us to waste our time replying to someone who is acting that way.

Finally to answer the question of the topic, as it could be a pre-sale question after all, some do and some don't it really depends on the configuration of the Macs software and hardware, sometimes certain Macs get defective parts. Hey it happens.

So my answer, Yes I have had a problem with my MacBook doing random shutdowns, I called Apple's support line and my conversation was all done with them in under 10 minutes and my repair was all setup in that time and was getting a box in the mail to send my MacBook out this time includes the moment I started dialing to when I hung up, it came back working terrific with no issues at all and I'm 100% satisfied with Apples service.

 

i has a macbook, got it few weeks ago. on the first day i took it out of the box, it exhibit this buzzing noise, after i wake it up from "sleep" state. which would come and go. few days later i found out that the problem seems to be caused by some sort of vibration (the notebook's screen actually vibrate!). called apple.. told me to bring it to apple service center, so i did; now i'm waiting for it to get back (suppose to be back by monday).

 

If you're a subscriber to Consumer Reports, you should take a look at their latest study of computer manufacturer reliability. They do a large survey of their readers, and the sample size is large enough to draw good statistical generalizations. Basically, for the last two years they've found that Apple desktop machines led the pack in terms of reliability. For notebook reliability, they are in the top tier but not at the top (still more reliable than Dell, however).

 

First off, to all of you – thank you for the time you took to give me your replies.


yuio,

Interesting to read how adamant you are about not willing to own a Mac! A few questions come to mind with that, how come you don’t like OS X so much? And what is it about Mac that you most hate?

Zadillo,

Yes, I agree with you – and everyone else who’s stated – Macs for sure have their fair share of problems; and yes I am reading as much as I possibly can about Macs and their applications – doing a lot of research online and in shops etc. I do visit other sites – where I think I have “seen” you there, too, with the same nic (I could be mistaking someone else for you?). But, in all cases, thank you for your feedback and suggestions.


xbandaidx,

Thank you for your clarifications. I have to say that I agree and disagree with some of what you’ve said.

To clarify ….

Yes, anyone with a problem (with any machine) should make an attempt to call the manufacturer’s customer support; but there are many times when real users have better solutions, and there are many times when a good forum can yield quicker answers. So, in a way, it does pay to post a request to solve a problem rather than calling the customer care (for most tech. products, I have found this to be so true).

As for the definitive structure of the feedback from a forum like this, well again I have to say that I would agree with you that this is not conclusive (as I have already stated – and fully agree with – most who are happy with their machines will just get on with life and use their machines to their satisfaction, it is the user who’s got an issue who is most likely to post here); but still, there are many none-upset users here too (at least I hope so) and I have come to see from Brighthand that the users do give a fairly accurate feedback to a product’s stability and flaws. To add here too, a forum like this allows users from across the Globe to give their feedback on their issues (an example of this was the lack of Apple stores in Canada – with the exception of three in Toronto – while there are more Apple stores in Saudi Arabia? Go figure!). So, to summarize this, I want to hear from the end users on this site (I hold a lot of esteem to the regulars who visit here – don’t ask me why but for some reason I just do and the input I get is helping drawing a picture).


wobble987,

Does the vibration of your screen have anything to do with your nic? (wobble) .. just kidding!


AlanY,

Thank you for the indication about Consumer Reports, I never heard of them – I will do a Google search and see what I get; and it sure is great to know that Apple have such high ranking for their desktops, I wonder is the iMac considered a desktop or is that a semi-portable? Since at least 2 of my machines would need to be iMacs.



Now, to give you all some feedback into why I am asking so much about Apple – and have been for the past few months – is that I am seriously thinking of dumping the Wintel platform all together and moving to Mac. But doing this means that there will be a huge financial burden on me (I have 5 laptops and 2 desktop machines). So, anyone can calculate the minimum cost this would take to dump these machines and replace them with Macs (even if I was to go with the least expensive Macs) I am still looking at a huge budget for a household. Not to forget the cost of applications books and training and some special equipments I would need (I am home-bound and have certain restrictions).

I know moving over is the right move (I should say moving back, since I was a Mac / Lisa user back in the 1980s), but I have timed it so that I will make this move once all Macs are running 64 bit processors, the Operating System has been ported to 64 bit too – I think this will be with the forthcoming Leopard? – and the much needed applications have been ported to Universal at the very least.. So, it would seem like first Quarter 2007 hopefully.

Until such time, please bear with me my many questions, and I assure you all that I am trying ever so hard to minimize the questions I ask – if I can find the answers already then all the better.

Once again, thank you all for the feedback thus far; and to those who’ve not yet submitted to the poll, please do so.

 

From what I read, things have definitely improved at Apple since I um, switched.

I've used Macs from my first 512 to my last; a B&W 300 Rev.1. All rock solid except the B&W 300.

I spent two weeks trying to install a 40 gig internal drive, nothing but errors!?! Apples response; "we only support the original 7 gig fireball drive" !???!

It was a month later that I learned of the defective drive controller fixed by the B&W Rev2! Did Apple help me out with a motherboard xchange? Nope! The fix was (we) shell out $70 bucks for a drive controller card!

Do I miss my Mac? Yep. Will I buy another Mac? Nope!

If Apple treated me that way, I should just buy a (gag) Dell? Well I did! Has my Dell been rock solid? Nope! Did Dell fix it? Yep!

I'm going to miss one of the best shareware communities in the world! But there is a light at the end of the tunnel! I was given a memory dead Mac+ last week, I replaced the ancient ram with ancient ram and..hypercard lives!!

 

I would point that the term "wintel" is quite obsolete, since Macs now have Intel processors and can run Windows...

 

Not to mention all the people running Windows on AMD processors....

 

Yeah, I don't think Apple is nearly so bad now as the experiences you had back then. They've definitely become a lot better when it comes to thinks like replacing logic boards, motherboards, etc. if there is a problem.

And that's definitely true about the Mac shareware community; one of the things I love most about the Mac is all the great shareware and freeware stuff that they come up with. iStat Pro, TextWrangler, Transmit, Quicksilver, etc. Just really nice high quality stuff all around. I personally think it's gotten even better with OS X than the shareware scene during the classic Mac OS days.

-Zadillo

 

Yes, I've had plenty of trouble with macs. Though, I don't use them much. Most issues I've had are hardware issues. And we all know hardware issues are common across all systems and are independant of OS's.
The MBP is the first Apple product I've ever owned. It has it's share of problems. I blieve it needs to be replaced, but I'm living with that until the semester is done so I can actually deal without having it for 3 days.
Yes, Apple is generally able to get your item, and return it to you within 3 days.

And there are people in the mac community who think that Mac has no problems. A friend of mine blames the issues I have on "hacking" OS X, which I haven't done. There are many other Apple fans who believe that Apple is perfect and can make no wrong.

There is NO perfect OS or computer. Every computer and OS has problems. Even Unix and Linux.

And no one's customer support is perfect, but Apple is much better than any other I've ever heard of. I've dealt with Dell a few times, what a nightmare. At least when I had a problem with an old gateway, they at least said they had no idea and sent a tech over to replace the mobo, ram and power supply. Though it was 2 weeks after I called.

 

Yeah, I think there will always be zealots, etc. who think their platform of choice has no problems. Probably more pronounced on the Mac side because some people really buy into the entire 'Mac culture', but I don't think it's necessarily isolated to them.

I've seen plenty of Windows users who also will basically make the same general claims; that is, since they themselves have never had a problem with Windows, they claim that it is perfect and the only people with problems have them because of something that is their fault.

 

Yup, there are people like that in the Windows community. Honestly though, XP was a great OS. Until I started having hardware problems, I only had about a dozen or less crashes (not a single BSoD) betwen two systems since XP first came out.
I find it funny though, that the same people who bash Windows, but still use it all the time, make fun of OS X. I'm like.. uhh... you use a OS that you make fun of, yet you also make fun of another OS that you've never used?

But I think part of the perceived ultra stability of OS X, is that so many people I hear from don't really... do much with it. They use it for writing documents, browse web, check their email, or maybe even write code. Most of the users I hear from that do much more intensive stuff on their macs (photoshop, a/v editing) actually run into problems. Not many, but they do...

rant
But it's funny, have you noticed that probably the largest base of peple who bash MS is people in their later teens? Sure, a lot of us older people do, but I think many older people remember the days of Basic OS and using Dos. We remember the days when you had to make boot discs for every game. Where you had to run memmaker all the time... And worry about which soundcard you were going to use to play the audio in a game...
We can at least appreciate and recognize what MS did for the evolution of gaming and such, by providing a standard for everyone to use (ie Direct X).
/rant
*shiver* and I'm actually going to be pulling a c64 out of the closet to tinker with soon. Scary

 

I was 5, and already playing with DOS. DOS is old school. Personally if I had to choose between DOS or XP, i'd pick DOS. I feel more at home in console line than a GUI window manager. That all has mostly to do with like I said, when I started using computers it was DOS, so DOS in essence is my 'native' OS.

 

well, mac can't really access "things" that is made for windows. for example; some websites do not operate as it is windows only; you gotta remember it is a windows world!, you can need to get use to a lot of message which roughly says like this; "your OS is not Windows, get a windows now!"; and cross platform-ing can be frustrating.
there are this frustation that you gotta upgrade most of your software every 1or2 years, u can get use to a message saying roughly like this "your mac OS is not the current version; it is 1 years old; that is too ancient to run our software".

i do not hate mac; but because it is a windows world however; mac does not allow me to do what i wanna do; the choice is limited; i don't feel as much freedom as i do with using windows; for someone that said windows is plagued with virus and spyware; i get less than 1 virus/spyware a month!, actually make that less than 1or2 virus per year!. although it is very frustrating maintaining a windows pc.

although you must remember; switching to a different platform (e.g. windows to mac) is a big deal!

 

Well, I have a slightly different view. No one can deny that MS popularized personal computing; if it weren't for MS computers might not be a commodity as they are today. OTOH, it is the tactics that they use that bother me. MS has always been about making so-so software and using very good bussiness strategies. After they levered a monopoly or a near monopoly in the OS area, they used their advantage to push all their other product lines. DirectX is a very good example: it is a standart for windows only (obviously). Direct3D has evolved a lot, but in the beginning it was not quite as good as OpenGL, which is true multiplatform standart. But MS has no interest in multiplatform standarts; they would like computers to cost about US$10 so that eacho one of us could have dozens of them, as long as they are all running MS software. I can't blame them for being greedy, all corporations are. But it should be obvious to us as consumers that a monopoly is only good for them, not for us. As wobble pointed, the world has become a windows place when it shouldn't; windows may dominate, but it must be based on its technical (and bussiness) merits, not on arbitrary imposition of false standarts.

 

Thank you all for the feedback and input. This has been very helpful indeed.