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Damaged and looking for help

J

jgprather

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 17, 2007
2
0
Hi everyone:

As I was getting out of my car on campus, my MacBook Pro fell out of my backpack and onto the ground (concrete).

It hit on one side. There is a dent on one corner, the casing is twisted and now there is a "star-like" figure on the screen. I took it to the Genius Bar tonight. The guy said that it would cost $1400 to fix (might as well replace it at that price). But being a poor college student, neither is exactly ideal. He said the star thing is a sign something inside (he said exactly what it was, but I can't remember) is damaged and the computer will start to experience problems, but he didn't give me a timeline.

I have the AppleCare Protection Plan. That doesn't do me any good because it doesn't cover accidents. And he said if I were to buy another (I just got this one in May for my birthday) the Plan may not be able to be transferred to a new machine.

So does anyone have any suggestions? I'm kind of desperate here.
 
Can you be a little more specific on the "star-like" description. By the sounds of it, by dropping the laptop on its side you likely damaged the logic board (there is nothing else I can think of that would cost that much). Let us know so that we can see if it's just the screen (hopefully- it only costs $400).
 
Even looking at ifixit the LCD is about $700, so Apple's price of $1400 isn't that insane considering the case damage (parts which are rather pricey.)

You can cash out your Apple Care if you have not used it or the phone support.

NOTE: This is one of the reasons a lot of us tell college students to buy the MacBook, since the MBP is so expensive to repair. And college students usually cannot cough up that much.
 
Yes, he did mention the logic board was affected. As for the star, he mentioned this was representative of something that was like aluminum foil and it has a tiny hole in it. Sorry guys, I know nothing about the technical side of computers.

I actually didn't buy the MBP, my grandmother bought it for me for my birthday. So I can only cash out the Protection Plan only if I've NEVER used it? Because I have made a couple of phone calls. I'm actually within my standard 1 yr warranty.

Thanks everyone. I'll check back tomorrow.
 
That was painful just to read.. I hope you find some way to fix it cheaply.. was it in a sleeve or anything?
 
Do post some pics if you can, it is distinctly possible that you may only need to replace the screen, and if such is the case, you might not have to pay too much.
 
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