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Can I have some opinions on this nMP problem (3rd replacement)

C

compute

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 11, 2013
125
13
Can i have you guys opinion on a problem i’m having with my NMP 6-core.

On the first nmp i received i noticed that the port lights in the back don’t light up when the computer was moved when the machine was completely turned off (they should light up even when the machine is completely turned off) Only sometimes did it work but most of the times it didn’t.

I contacted AppleCare and since i only had it for a few days they offered to send me a new machine. All said and done…after a week or so i received my replacement and guess what, it had the exact same problem…port-lifts in the back did not work for most of the times when the machine was turned off…really strange sometimes it worked sometimes it didn’t.

I contacted Applecare again and this time they put me in contact with an AppleCare senior advisor, he guided me trough a few steps i should take (reset…etc) everything in the book, but with no luck…i had the problem recorded on my iphone (fact that soon as i turned off the bmp the port lighting did not work) and offered to email the video’s to him. After he received the video’s he mailed me and told me that he was going to take it up with the NMP developer team to see if this was either a hardware of software problem.

After a few days he contacted me to say that the developer team was of the opinion that it was a hardware problem and he offered me to send another replacement…he told me that a possible reason for receiving two nmp’s in a row with the exact same problem probably had something to do with the fact that they came from the same batch.

Yesterday after two weeks of waiting i finally received my other replacement and again “exact” same problem…soon as i turn off the computer the port lights don’t work…this computer has no 3rd party software installed what-so-ever, it did the exact same problem straight out the box….i didn’t even do the 10.9.3 update or any other update.

i restarted it 10 times and out of the 10 times 4 times did the port lights worked when moving the computer if its turned off.
However the port lights work perfectly when the machine is running.

Am i correct in saying that it could hardly be a software related problem since 1) the computer is turned “off” so there’s no software running at that time. 2) there is no 3rd party software installed, it does this straight out the box. 3) same problem occurred on my second replacement witch had the 10.9.3 update installed.

I’m not asking for possible solutions here but would like to have some opinions, does this actually still sound like hardware problem after 3 replacements doing the exact same thing…seems like i’m the only one having this problem as i can’t find any other postings of other people experiencing the same problem. I tried using different power connection throughout the house but that didn’t change anything….

What would you people do, again ask for a replacement or just forget about it and move on….i’m kind of getting tired of this and have gotten to the point where i’m about to just leave it like it is, then again this is a 4000$ computer…
 
Out of curiosity, have you run any tests on your power supply line voltage numbers? It seems odd that this would be happening with different machines. Makes me wonder if, somehow, your power supply voltage might be somehow outside of the sensors specs and your Mac pros don't know they are powered up, even though they are turned off?

I would take the nMP and plug it into different power supplies, or even into a neighbors's power and test it in a totally different environment.
 
i tried almost all power supply line in the house with no difference...if this would actually be a power supply problem than shouldn't the port lighting just work or not work at all (as in if the voltage supply is outside of the sensor specs than the port lights shouldn't be working at all)...in my case sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't...
 
compute said:
I’m not asking for possible solutions here but would like to have some opinions, does this actually still sound like hardware problem after 3 replacements doing the exact same thing…seems like i’m the only one having this problem as i can’t find any other postings of other people experiencing the same problem. I tried using different power connection throughout the house but that didn’t change anything….

What would you people do, again ask for a replacement or just forget about it and move on….i’m kind of getting tired of this and have gotten to the point where i’m about to just leave it like it is, then again this is a 4000$ computer…
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I suppose that Apple checked the 2 previous computers in their own workshop to confirm it has nothing to do with your working environment, monitor, external accessories etc, on your desk. (...Who knows?),
I have just moved my nMP to see if even when it is off the ports light since I never tried it before and the lights went on.
However to be sure it always happens I would need to repeat it again and again and it would be just to check this for curiosity, since I normally do not need to move it at all!
If you need now the computer or are just fed up with waiting and with those useless changes, since it is a very tiny small bug not affecting your work, you could work an agreement with the Senior Adviser you contacted so that when they find out the faulty part responsible for that bug in the computers which belong to that production batch (and can be identified by their serial numbers), they get in touch with you and replace it in your computer.
Ed
 
Normally I would say return it considering the price, but since you've done this more than once already, I would do as Riwam suggests. Get it documented with an agreement to replace when the problem is identified and corrected.

Don't let the lights keep you in the dark. It's time to use the thing.
 
Do you favour clockwise or anticlockwise rotation or are you turn it both ways kinda person?
 
Does anyone know when the sensor part is broke does this affect other hardware parts in the long run or short run...for example couldt this interfere with the power buttons hardware or other parts to the point that these could also stop working?

If it doesn't than i'm thinking about not bothering for yet another replacement since part from the port lights not working (sometimes they work sometimes they don't) the computer is working fine.

thing is that now i still have the ability to ask for another replacement, if i keep this one and in about two months it stops working than i can't ask for a replacement but then i would have to bring it in for repair witch could take 3 weeks. What would you guys do?
 
compute said:
Does anyone know when the sensor part is broke does this affect other hardware parts in the long run or short run...for example couldt this interfere with the power buttons hardware or other parts to the point that these could also stop working?

If it doesn't than i'm thinking about not bothering for yet another replacement since part from the port lights not working (sometimes they work sometimes they don't) the computer is working fine.

thing is that now i still have the ability to ask for another replacement, if i keep this one and in about two months it stops working than i can't ask for a replacement but then i would have to bring it in for repair witch could take 3 weeks. What would you guys do?
Click to expand...

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It depends how you feel.
If not replacing it will make you feel in the future bad, and regret it, then have it replaced.
If this problem does not bother you to the point you will regret not to have had it replaced, then is difficult to believe that it might "spread" to other parts and cause a serious malfunction. (Nobody however can guarantee to you that it doesn't).
People react quite differently to a minor problem they detect.
Some people will for instance NOT STAND a partly dead pixel (1/3) in a computer display containing countless and countless of them and will ONLY LOOK at that single point and feel bad about it. :eek:
Others will not notice it any longer and forget about it.
You are the best judge of yourself.
Will this sometimes lighting and sometimes not, further bother you or will you forget about it?
I can only say I tried once to see if it works and will ignore it since I do not have any need on my desk to turn the computer.
So it is possible that if I do it every day several times, on some occasions it does not light. Who knows?
However I do not intend to check it again and again so I will never find it out.
Nobody can judge your feelings better than you by yourself. :)
 
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