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4850 Replacements

Dave,

The "crash test" that worked for me was simply turning iTunes visualiser on full screen. Freezes within minutes.

UPDATE: First iMac collected by carrier.

Date 1st computer was delivered (knock on your door): 21 April
Date you placed computer into FedEx possession: 23 April
Date FedEx is expected to deliver computer to Apple: TBC
Estimated Days to ship 2nd computer (while order status says "not yet shipped"): 7 business days. UPDATE: Status is now "Despatched"
Estimated Delivery date of 2nd computer (while order status says "not yet shipped"): 08 May, 2009 - 11 May, 2009. UPDATE: 05 May 2009
Date Apple has started building your 2nd computer (when order status no longer says "not yet shipped"): 24 April
Date FedEx is expected to deliver (the day you KNOW you will hear a knock on your door):TBC
Any Freezes?:


davemulheran said:
Well that was quick.. my replacement arrived today at work!

I rang to request my replacement on Monday 20 April

I was originally told to expect delivery on the 6th May

I then recieved an email saying it was being shipped and to expect delivery on the 28th

THEN i get a call from the loading bay at work today saying it has arrived.

Very quick turn around.

can anyone reccomend tests that I can do to as soon as I unpack it to try and bring on the freezing issue?
Click to expand...
 
Replacement iMac is here. Time Machine is doing its thing right now, so I haven't even actually used it yet. I'll update periodically.
 
jaw1034 said:
Replacement iMac is here. Time Machine is doing its thing right now, so I haven't even actually used it yet. I'll update periodically.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I've received my iMac yesterday and so far 3 freezes all with itunes visualizer over a period of time. Please keep up updated on how the replacements are doing. I'm planning to call Apple later today.
 
davemulheran said:
Well that was quick.. my replacement arrived today at work!

I rang to request my replacement on Monday 20 April

I was originally told to expect delivery on the 6th May

I then recieved an email saying it was being shipped and to expect delivery on the 28th

THEN i get a call from the loading bay at work today saying it has arrived.

Very quick turn around.

can anyone reccomend tests that I can do to as soon as I unpack it to try and bring on the freezing issue?
Click to expand...

Same here - about to box this one up and set up the new one. Fingers crossed!!!!
 
jaw1034 said:
Replacement has the same problem. [Insert expletive here!]
Click to expand...

What are you going to do? Mine also has a dead pixel although you only notice it on a black screen.

Haven't seen the problem on my new iMac yet but only just finished setting it up.
 
I would not send mine back

Likely it is some inherent conflict with the 4850 that needs a firmware update. I seriously doubt that a new machine will resolve the freezing problem, so you may get more enjoyment out of keeping the iMac and using it on ethernet (if you can) which seems to avoid the freezing problem.

FWIW, I've had my 4850 iMac since Tuesday and have been using it on ethernet (WiFi is OFF) and have had no problems.

So, turn off WiFi and relax. An update will come. For people who have to have WiFi, I can imagine this is really frustrating, but I cannot see a new machine fixing the problem until they identify it and push out an update.
 
D-Style said:
Likely it is some inherent conflict with the 4850 that needs a firmware update. I seriously doubt that a new machine will resolve the freezing problem, so you may get more enjoyment out of keeping the iMac and using it on ethernet (if you can) which seems to avoid the freezing problem.

FWIW, I've had my 4850 iMac since Tuesday and have been using it on ethernet (WiFi is OFF) and have had no problems.

So, turn off WiFi and relax. An update will come. For people who have to have WiFi, I can imagine this is really frustrating, but I cannot see a new machine fixing the problem until they identify it and push out an update.
Click to expand...

Yeah easier said than done when I have to use WiFi because of the location of my Mac and my Airport Extreme. Plus this machine has a dead pixel. Quality control at Apple is clearly hopeless.
 
UPDATE!!

My replacement iMac froze aswell.

Both machines side by side on the dining table

Ran 3 HD trailers from the apple store on loop and played itunes on loop also, with the visualiser on

FREEZE!

very p**sed off!

New one going back! Angry phonecall to apple tomorrow!

3 HD trailers with itunes on visualiser shouldnt stress the imac should it!? they are both 3.06 4GB versions

Both machines SEEM to be fine with just one or two HD trailers and itunes visualiser....


Looks great doesn't it!.. not so great when they both freeze!

SNV30497.jpg
 
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Holding on to my freezing iMac (for now)

I received mine today and quickly did the wifi-iTunes visualizer test and got the freeze in two consecutive tries. Since it sounds like Apple hasn't fixed the problem and is simply sending folks another problem iMac, I'm hanging on to mine for a bit to see if this gets sorted out -- hopefully software-wise.
 
I talked to Apple today about my freezy replacement iMac and they said I should keep it for a while to see if their engineers fix the problem. They said if it's not fixed in three months, they'll give me a new one again or refund my money. As upsetting as these dysfunctional computers are, Apple has been consistently helpful. Color me satisfied.
 
jaw1034 said:
I talked to Apple today about my freezy replacement iMac and they said I should keep it for a while to see if their engineers fix the problem. They said if it's not fixed in three months, they'll give me a new one again or refund my money. As upsetting as these dysfunctional computers are, Apple has been consistently helpful. Color me satisfied.
Click to expand...

That sounds pretty nice, ALMOST. It's sad though if it's going to take that long to fix it. Would be supernice if a NEW imac line came out then, but that's 99% unlikely. but you could be getting a free snow leopard, assuming it comes out before august.

Did you ask/make sure it was put in their "notes" for your imac's serial number? You may want to make sure of that, because after I read your first sentence, I strongly disagreed because after 14 days, they will attempt to "repair" it before replacing it.
 
My replacement is still Not Yet Shipped. I'm saddened that I order it before 95% of you guys (night of march 3), but yet you get your replacement before me. :confused:

On the bright side, maybe next week's computers are the new "batch" without freezes.

My current plan is to keep requesting a replacement until when I ask along with it, "Are you aware of this problem?", they will say "yes".

I'm sure by the time we all get to requesting our 4th, or 5th, or 6th, or 10 replacement, the problem will be officially acknowledged.

If they are aware, they will then be able to tell me what is being done about it. Perhaps this is why they are telling the majority of us that "this is the first time we've heard of it".

If they hadn't figured out a cure for the issue, but told us they knew about the issue, then they wouldn't be able to give a satisfactory answer of what was being done about it and what you (we) should do in the meantime, and what our compensation for their mistake is.
 
I agree completely. Anyone having the problem should escalate the issue within Apple until they acknowledge it and provide information on what the fix will be and when it's forthcoming.

They certainly won't enjoy replacing too many $2000 machines due to a problem they fail to admit to.
 
Tymbo said:
That sounds pretty nice, ALMOST. It's sad though if it's going to take that long to fix it. Would be supernice if a NEW imac line came out then, but that's 99% unlikely. but you could be getting a free snow leopard, assuming it comes out before august.

Did you ask/make sure it was put in their "notes" for your imac's serial number? You may want to make sure of that, because after I read your first sentence, I strongly disagreed because after 14 days, they will attempt to "repair" it before replacing it.
Click to expand...

Hahaha, yeah I made sure they put it in my notes. I explained my laundry list of concerns to the tech over the phone and he assured and reassured me the guarantee was in my notes that I would get replacement with no questions asked. But I still didn't believe him, so after I got off the phone I called Apple back to talk with another tech just to make sure.

I'm not expecting a new iMac line to come out, but according to one of the Apple reps I talked with Snow Leopard is coming out in June. So I would get a free copy of Snow Leopard.

Also, if there is a price drop, I would expect a proportional kickback for having to use a freezy machine for 3 months only to have it replaced with an exact replica but more modestly priced.
 
New imac arrived yesterday. Looks good so far (i bet that'll jinx it ;) )

Ran a stress test is osx (copied over 40 gigs, ran 4 movies and had the visualizer on full) with no problems.Will run the GPU test later on...

Honestly, I think i haven't run the iMac long/hard enough for it to crash , so I'm not getting my hopes up!
 
You know what... I'm going to give this replacement iMac a chance. My 1st iMac just froze whilst using handbrake to compress a DVD.

So I'm going to do a migration from my 1st imac and then get it picked up next week by UPS.

I just rang apple and told them that the replacement arrived and it also froze, but I will be giving it a few days to test. So I asked them to note this on my file. That way.. if halfway in to my new 14 days grace period, the replacement starts to freeze more and more.. the process is well documented when I ask for my 2nd replacement!

come on iMac no.2!! don't let me down!

EDIT.. still pretty cool having 2 imacs in the house... and it helps speed up ripping and compressing dvds on two machines!!!!
 
replacement imac also froze!

Might hold on to this one, i really think it's a firmware issue - have 14 days to decide ;)
 
jmpage2 said:
Anyone having the problem should escalate the issue within Apple until they acknowledge it and provide information on what the fix will be and when it's forthcoming.
Click to expand...
Do you honestly think that anyone within Apple (even in engineering) knows what the fix will be and when it will be forthcoming? I do not, not yet.

I work in the base engineering group for one of HP's mission-critical operating systems. Among other duties, I sometimes work directly with customers to try and resolve critical problems. By the time a problem report gets to me, it's been through two levels of service -- the telephone support staff (who in our case are technically knowledgeable folks, with access to code listings), and the support escalation managers who work along side the engineering department. When the first two levels cannot resolve an important issue, it usually gets escalated to engineering.

Usually, when a new kind of issue gets to me (as an engineer in the O/S group) I cannot predict how long its going to take to resolve. Most such predictions would just be guesses, which if communicated to the customer would tend to set a false expectation.

The problem is understood when the cause is found. Rarely before that point. Often when the cause has been found an estimate can then be made for how long it might take to resolve. But even then not always -- many problems do not lend themselves to obvious solution.

Getting back to the issue of freezing 4850 iMacs, I kind of doubt that Apple folks have figured it out by now. The people staffing the consumer-facing support telephone lines are unlikely to know the detailed engineering escalation plan.
 
I now have a 10 metre ethernet cable stretched across the rear end of my living room hanging over picture frames and so on lol - no freeze though.

I also tried smcFan Control still with airport on and it still crashed.

It is still going back as it has a stuck pixel.

Personally I think the heat from the graphics card is affecting the wifi card and then causing a freeze.
 
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