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Apple took my ram

W

wbe858

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 30, 2008
97
0
Greensboro, NC
So get this, i took my mini in for service for a problem with no sound and i get it back a week and a half later with 3 gb less of ram. They had no reason to mess with the ram or anything other than the sound board...so why take it out? Either way i am very upset and going to go in there tomorrow and show it. So any ideas on how best to show it and be sure to get my ram back? :mad:
 
so looking further into this i found out that they replaced my entire computer because the serial number on this one is different than my original one. Now what would they do with my computer and my ram if all it was, was just a sound board. :confused:
 
I'm not surprised. Apple has been known to remove aftermarket rams and return the computer with the only the OEM rams installed and the aftermarket rams separately in a plastic bag. They do it to rule out faulty aftermarket rams.
 
JayLenochiniMac said:
I'm not surprised. Apple has been known to remove aftermarket rams and return the computer with the only the OEM rams installed and the aftermarket rams separately in a plastic bag. They do it to rule out faulty aftermarket rams.
Click to expand...

That's why you always remove your aftermarket ram before you give anything to them. The less they know the better :)
 
This is good to know. I was unaware they had a habit of removing aftermarket parts. Now I know to remove my RAM before going in for repair, should the occasion rise.

I assume they don't pull this with HDDs... any thoughts?
 
nickXedge said:
This is good to know. I was unaware they had a habit of removing aftermarket parts. Now I know to remove my RAM before going in for repair, should the occasion rise.

I assume they don't pull this with HDDs... any thoughts?
Click to expand...

HDD's are different then RAM. They won't go pulling them - I'm almost positive. All my HDD's are always bought afterwards through Newegg and I just file the original HDD they stick in there away in a cabinet usually.
 
wbe858 said:
They had no reason to mess with the ram or anything other than the sound board...
Click to expand...
wbe858 said:
Now what would they do with my computer and my ram if all it was, was just a sound board. :confused:
Click to expand...
Here's the inside of an Intel Mac mini. Where is this separate sound board thing you want them to replace?

story0421-03L.jpg
 
nickXedge said:
I assume they don't pull this with HDDs... any thoughts?
Click to expand...

I haven't seen this, just aftermarket rams. Applecare requires at least one original RAM, so it's smart to hold onto your two 512kb sticks (or the one 1GB stick that came with your iMac). Just swap them out before sending it off.

Be aware that this doesn't happen to everybody and there are certainly customers who get their machines back with aftermarket rams intact (especially those who have the original 1GB plus aftermarket 2GB). But it's crapshoot so it's never a good idea to sell off the original rams for $15 or so.
 
JayLenochiniMac said:
I haven't seen this, just aftermarket rams. Applecare requires at least one original RAM, so it's smart to hold onto your two 512kb sticks (or the one 1GB stick that came with your iMac). Just swap them out before sending it off.

Be aware that this doesn't happen to everybody and there are certainly customers who get their machines back with aftermarket rams intact (especially those who have the original 1GB plus aftermarket 2GB). But it's crapshoot so it's never a good idea to sell off the original rams for $15 or so.
Click to expand...

I don't think that is true. I had my macbook in 2 times, one for the case and one to replace the hard drive. Both times I had two aftermarket sticks of Ram and they did not touch them.
 
I would bet that they did not evan open the mini , plug it in OK no sound , give him a new one . So they would not evan know there was more ram installed .

They would check the original spec and provide the same spec
 
Apple typically record the configuration of the computer, at least for those with user replaceable parts.

Mac Mini suppose to not be user replaceable, that's probably why they did not record it or know about the additional RAM. If they don't know it, they cannot swap it to the new machine.
 
emoore said:
I don't think that is true. I had my macbook in 2 times, one for the case and one to replace the hard drive. Both times I had two aftermarket sticks of Ram and they did not touch them.
Click to expand...

You guys seem to keep forgetting:

The macbook's ram IS user serviceable

The mac mini's ram IS NOT user serviceable.

They should have not even fixed it at all because you technically voided your warranty by opening it in the first place.
 
reebzor said:
They should have not even fixed it at all because you technically voided your warranty by opening it in the first place.
Click to expand...

Opening the Mini does not void the warranty. If you want to get all technical about it then provide documentation from Apple stating that it does void the warranty.
 
Regarding warranty, the only thing I could find was in the user manual:

If you open your Mac mini or install items, you risk damaging your equipment, and such damage isn’t covered by the limited warranty on your Mac mini .
Click to expand...

So if you upgrade it and it breaks, your out of luck. Otherwise, it's okay.
 
Warranty void upon opening - I've never seen anything one way or the or the other on this. However, Apple does technically have the right to deny warranty claims based on physical damage caused by opening, regardless of whether it appears to affect functionality or not. Whether they will or not is probably up to the individual technician working on it.

They took my ram - Pretty much everything you leave in or on your computer is your responsibility to retrieve prior to service. Stickers, discs in drive, ram, data on the hard drive, etc... If you put it on it or in it, then you can take it back out.

They swapped my computer when all it needed was the sound board - I noticed today that Apple doesn't have the 2009 mini logic board listed anywhere on their site since it's so new. I suspect that anything currently diagnosed with a bad logic board will have the entire system replaced until they get this part into their inventory. I would probably replace any user installed items in the mini prior to taking it into service or risk possibly loosing them for good.
 
wbe858 said:
So get this, i took my mini in for service for a problem with no sound and i get it back a week and a half later with 3 gb less of ram. They had no reason to mess with the ram or anything other than the sound board...so why take it out? Either way i am very upset and going to go in there tomorrow and show it. So any ideas on how best to show it and be sure to get my ram back? :mad:
Click to expand...

When I worked at the University we sent hundreds of Macs in for service. Apple always told us on the phone and included a piece of paper advising that all systems should be backed up and any 3rd party products removed because they will not be responsible for damaged or missing components.

Just keep the original equipment and put the machine back to its original state before requesting Apple service OR...

Us an authorized service center. They don't care about add-ons and will not replace or destroy your data.

Cheers,
 
If you want any chance at getting that ram back, you better get there before they ship that thing off to wherever they ship it to.
 
He should get his RAM back. Nothing wrong with installing it himself. Give them a call and I'm sure it will get resolved.
 
They took my ram - Pretty much everything you leave in or on your computer is your responsibility to retrieve prior to service. Stickers, discs in drive, ram, data on the hard drive, etc... If you put it on it or in it, then you can take it back out.

taking = > stealing
they should return IMHO
 
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