What are the chances...

I get an exchange for the new MBP? here's the thing, i have phoned Apple care for the first three months (i have had my computer for just over 3 months) asking to resolve some issues that i've been having... and not once have they been able to resolve them... here's a few things that have happened...

--Close/open MBP to get a multi-coloured, multi-shaped screen. have to restart to get it back to normal= I lost the project i was working on.

--Restart or power on my MBP to get a weird light effect, all these vertical lights running up/down my screen, have to restart once or more times to get it back to normal.

--Try to save a document, then have it suddenly crash me so again i lose the document i have been working on.

--Usually (surprisingly hasn't been too bad lately) the thing heats up like crazy and the fan goes off, and it gets so hot that i can't handle tha heat when it's on my lap.(oh, and this is only from use of Internet and Word open, and all the time with PS open by itself) (also the fan can be annoying and distracting during class when it's silent!)

--AT times, either when my battery runs out and i plug it in or after i open it from sleep or w/e, The screen won't turn on and i can't turn it on without resetting teh computer, making me lose yet another project i've been working on (or from where i have saved it and it's annoying casue then i can't undo any steps!) OR the screen is so dim that it's literally black and i could only barely (and i mean barely) see red or orange shapes.

--My DVD clunks like crazy (not sure if that is just the way MBP's are or if mine is retarded) but its like "DJJJHDG CURPLUNK DJJJJ" when i insert a dvd/cd. again annoying during class and annoying in general.

--And my most hated, and most loved thing about the Mac, BootCamp. That crashes frequently, its constantly updating itself and takes ten minutes to boot up. I mean Windows by bootcamp. and the thing that pisses me off so much is that it always screws up my time. it puts my clock back like 6 hours on one of the sides. very hard when you're trying to manage time and have a deadline.

--Lately, my plug in charger has been cutting out and i have to fiddle with it to get it to work right.

Now i'm not sure if that's normal or not (remember that's not everything), but i just haven't been happy with my purchase. I need my laptop, as it is for college and i'm not going to lie, without it i would probably be getting C-F's. BUT it's also given me those grades on certain assignments. These things only happen like.. 30-50% of the time and it is stressing me out as this thing is my life-line for school. i called the Mac store and made an appointment with them for this Saturday for a "Mac Genius" to take a look. now it may look like im lying cause like i said some of these things don't happen all the time. Oh and i also have like millions of programs on here that i've used (not literally) but programs such as Adobe Master collection, 3D Studio max... Vista that i can't just transfer from one machine to another as they are all protected by serial numbers.

So what would they do for me? obviously i would like a replacement/exchange but would they do that? and would they give me teh newer macbook pro if they did?

 

If the machine has a long history of problems, they may just provide you with a replacement unit for the sake of simplifying the whole fiasco. It would be easier for them to replace the unit rather than go about trying to fix all those problems. Apple tends to be a little more lenient in handing out replacement units, from what I have seen.

 

I had an imac some time ago that was defective out of the box. They fixed it and it kept breaking. 3 repairs in 3 months. I went to Apple Store and spoke with a manager and he made arrangements to get me a new one. By then the new Intel imacs were out and they did an even swap. I think they key was that the unit was actually repaired by Apple techs on each occasion. Good luck with your.

 

Yeah i don't know. They are problems, but i think just minor (except when there's a deadline!) but im scared its just leading to a huge problem where one day i'm just going to lose everything.

 

Never hurts to take it in to the store and see if you can get a swap. Worse they can tell you is no, they'll have to see if they can repair your current machine.

 

I would say that unless you can duplicate a lot of that in front of a manager in an Apple store, they probably wouldn't...but if you can, I can't imagine they would think it's all fixable and not a lemon...

 

Well i can show the uneven lighting (which i just noticed today) which is more bright on the left side of the screen. i can probably get it to heat up pretty quick (it got really hot when playing Zuma and on Youtube). im going to try resetting my laptop over and over tomorrow until i get the vertical lights to appear. i know the time issue will be there. i can probably get something to crash (maybe not).

Oh and how long is the battery supposed to last, cause i think they told me 5 hours, and mine won't go any longer than 3 hours (last im i checked, i was recording my prof's lecture, and i had the screen turned off).

Anybody got any tips to just get an exchange? what to say? how to say it?Not sure if i should do a suck up thing or a mad thing lol, either way i need something done.

 

seems like a software problem.... could be hardware, but the likelyhood of its being the (really) new chipset technology not ready for primetime, is possible.

dunno what happens here to be honest, but if its new, you can request for a replacement.

these happens to everyone, windows or mac, can be cause by buggy software, or a combination of software that is incompatible...

save your work frequently... like.... write a paragraph (save) another paragraph (save)... see? its a good habbit.

.... you're not meant to use it on your lap.... or bed.. but people do this thing...

--AT times, either when my battery runs out and i plug it in or after i open it from sleep or w/e, The screen won't turn on and i can't turn it on without resetting teh computer, making me lose yet another project i've been working on (or from where i have saved it and it's annoying casue then i can't undo any steps!) OR the screen is so dim that it's literally black and i could only barely (and i mean barely) see red or orange shapes.

yes, this is normal. newer model is quieter though.

i dont use bootcamp.... there is a lot of things that could go wrong there.
i highly recommend that you buy windows computer for windows, and mac computer for mac... i know, i know.... but it is the best thing to do.

check your charger contact head... the magsafe port on the laptop and the magsafe plug... look at the metal contact, is it dirty? this is a somewhat common problem...

yeah tell em that... i think you can transfer those program just fine... just reformat/reinstall the laptop when you send it away... do a zero out all data from the installation disk also, just before you re-install os x.

So what would they do for me? obviously i would like a replacement/exchange but would they do that? and would they give me teh newer macbook pro if they did?[/QUOTE]

is this an old MBP? not the unibody one? how old is ur MBP? talk to them i suppose and see what they say... i think apple policy is something like... if they cant fix it in 3 times, and it is a serious problem (like this one is.... corrupted screen image), you are elligible for replacement.

here is my story.... 2 out of 3 of my current MBP (17" SR) i deemed to be unacceptable and return it on arrival (dodgy power adapter, ticktocking motherboard, crappy screen, screen not latching, etc... even the latest one... which im somewhat happy with, has a problem with the GPU as you might be aware of (the 8600m issue) within the first day, the laptop would froze requiring a hard-shut-down. i was hoping this turns out to be a software problem, but then nvidia announce that bombshell in mid 2008. and.... this laptop also has some warping case problem.... which all the old mbp has... the new unibody construction is yet to be tested.

my early CD macbook has a problem with weird vibration. the laptop would vibrate 70% of the time and they cant seems to fix the problem (replace the CPU fan 3 times). they are unable to fix it, i should have asked for replacement, but the laptop was stolen now.... so.... thats that. oh, this laptop's keyboard has a crooked keys, and requiring replcament of the keyboard, upon arrival, the new one, has a (touchpad) mouse button which has uneven pressure and wouldnt click satisfactorily.... after a bit of fighting with the (authorised) apple service rep (they say they cant feel it... its within spec.... you're imagining things, etc. ).... they replaced... then, the keyboard was ok... also, we purchased two macbook... both of those macbook has a crack all around the case, all macbook seems to has that (look at the net), conclusion is; it seems to be heat cycling related..

sOooo... looking at my experience with apple laptop, there is 2 in 3 chances that you get a defective product and/or parts... it is also possible that the entire product line is defective also... like the 8600m GT MBP....

if it wasnt for apple excellent support replacement policy, it is really hard to purchase another apple product, considering we can get much cheaper laptop from windows which is not as painfully costly to replace.

hope this helps...

 

yeah i hear your pain on this one... happens all the time, and i got the feeling that the apple rep knows it, and they are taking advantage of it.

dude! this thing varies depending on a lot of factors!

Anybody got any tips to just get an exchange? what to say? how to say it?Not sure if i should do a suck up thing or a mad thing lol, either way i need something done.[/QUOTE]

be polite, try to explain the problem that ur having, like you do here.... bring a notes, prepare your strategy and write it down before you go. also... if ur laptop is the one with 8600m gt, tells them to search for apple database and tells them its a defective product.

 

Wait wait, Nvidia admitted to having defective graphics cards? see that's another thing, i asked about that and they said no (of course i know that they will tell you anything, but i can use that). But they DID announce that they were all defective? because yes, mine is the 8600m gt. could this be why it heats up like crazy at times? Oh yeah i just remembered my Capslock key sometimes doesn't work when i press it, like i have to press it in an exact spot to get it to turn on. lol im sorry if i don't press hard enough or in the exact spot.

 

If you get a replacement unit, they will give you the newest model available at the price bracket of your original notebook. However, its Apple's policy to only give replacement units to a notebook that has had 3+ major hardware replacements in a short period of time. If this is the first time sending your notebook in for repairs, do not expect to get a new unit. What will likely happen is that they will replace your MBP's logic board.

 

Ok but did Nvidia announce that their 8600m GT cards were defective? if that's the case i will freak on them, i mean that is the most important part of the computer in my case.

 

i doubt you will get real help if you "freak" on them. best way is to act discouraged and act the victim. do not victimize the people who are trying to help you.

 

as much as its a hassle, if the card dies, apple will replace the logic board for you. Will it die again? possibly, probably. But there it isnt really apples fault. Theyll change the logicboard i guess indefinitly (or i forget how long), but yea.

 

they will probably give you another old macbook pro

 

So i took it in yesterday and they kept it over night and ran some tests. they said whatever it is it isn't the hardware cause everything passed 100%. they also said if i wanted they would replace the hard drive, and they would replace the screen, but they don't see anything wrong. they said that my graphics card was at it's best and it wasn't one of the defective ones. they said the heating issue was normal and it's not a laptop lol. yep so no new macbook pro but i got this one checked out...