Imac 27 Hard Drive replacement at Genius Bar

[biscutty]

I have a less than a year old imac 27inch which has a failing hard drive - ive mad an appointment with genius bar to take a look at it at the Bluewater branch. Also, I have applecare on this imac.

My problem is I need this Imac for work, so what is the likelihood of them being able to swap out the hard drive right away? or how long would this usually take?

Also, would going to a bigger store like Covet Garden make getting a speedy repair more likely?

Thanks All.

 

[spacepower7]

I have a less than a year old imac 27inch which has a failing hard drive - ive mad an appointment with genius bar to take a look at it at the Bluewater branch. Also, I have applecare on this imac.

My problem is I need this Imac for work, so what is the likelihood of them being able to swap out the hard drive right away? or how long would this usually take?

Also, would going to a bigger store like Covet Garden make getting a speedy repair more likely?

Thanks All.

If you bought this iMac on a business account rather than personal, you'll get better service. Even if you did not, you might want to call the store and talk to their biz sales rep who may be able to get you better service.

 

[Zortrium]

It's my understanding that, under AppleCare, Apple may be willing to send out a tech to your home if you've got a desktop (iMac counts) and are 'within range' of an Apple store. I've never tried for this though, so I'm not sure how it would work.

And there's always option 2, which is doing the install yourself. I'm no hardware hacker, and I did it on my 27" iMac which was still under AppleCare (mostly since I had an SSD to install). If you've got an hour or two, some patience, and a steady hand, it's totally doable (also, an assistant helps).

 

[biscutty]

Thanks for the reply's

It was bought under a business account, so might try calling them.

They did offer to send someone out when I called tech support yesterday, but they said they would collect and return the system, with a 5-7 working day turnaround, meaning i would potentially be without a system for 1.5 weeks (not good)

This is my first imac after being a mac pro user for many years - and now thinking the mac pro makes more sense from a repair point of view as i could have just put in a new hard drive without voiding the warrantee.

 

[biggd]

Save all your data before you bring it in.
It's not their job to maintain data integrity.
And should help speed up the fix

 

[aristobrat]

The optional ProCare program is the only way I know to guarantee faster service.

Even then it doesn't guarantee that theyll fix it on-the-spot, just that it jumps to the front of the queue of machines in the back waiting for repairs.

 

[gwerhart0800]

If you are insistent, they may offer a while-you-wait in-store repair. I had a Mac Book Pro with loud and dying fans. The MBP is my primary work system and was purchased by my company for me with full Apple Care. My first conversation with Apple Care was that I could drop it off and pick it up the next day (once they had the parts). I told them that it was not an acceptable practice by my company to leave the laptop with them unless I scrubbed the hard disk. They then offered an appointment with a promise to fix it while I waited. It took all of 30 minutes. Give it a try.

 

[gnasher729]

I have a less than a year old imac 27inch which has a failing hard drive - ive mad an appointment with genius bar to take a look at it at the Bluewater branch. Also, I have applecare on this imac.

My problem is I need this Imac for work, so what is the likelihood of them being able to swap out the hard drive right away? or how long would this usually take?

Also, would going to a bigger store like Covet Garden make getting a speedy repair more likely?

Covent Garden may be bigger, but I'd rather take a large box to Bluewater with plenty of parking everywhere. Replacing a hard drive in an iMac isn't a big job if you have all the tools and it's not your first one, just depends on how much of a queue is in front of way waiting for their repairs. I'd give them a call; they would know which are busy times and which are not.

 

[robgendreau]

I don't know what your backup scheme is, and what software you use, but the bigger time suck might be migrating your data, applications and system to the new drive. I changed the hard drive in an older iMac in less than an hour, but the migration took hours.

If you just use a word processor and your data is in the cloud somewhere, you could get that onto a new drive in pretty short order. But a full hard drive with an Adobe Suite and all kinds of other stuff could take much more time.

If you have a clone, then have them just do the more basic installation of Snow Leopard and go back to the office and boot off the clone.

And now you see the limitation of an iMac in business, in that you have to part with the whole computer rather than just taking out the hard drive and getting a new one. I tend to think that having a second computer rather than going with a single Mac Pro would be a better option, since you never need stop working. But YMMV.

Rob

 

[biscutty]

Update

Phoned the store business manager who checked my serial and told me they had the replacement hard drive in stock and would be able to replace it same day.

I took it in to Bluewater, and was then told 1 and a half weeks to replace a hardrive in an imac - even if they have the hard drive in stock.

Was pressurised to buy ProCare for £79 to push me to the front of the line, and it will take 2 days!

Biggest joke is I'm working on a creative project for Microsoft, where all the people I am working with are having a good laugh at the situation!

Bottom line - dont buy iMac for business if you cant be without your system and extended period while apple repairs it... (The Business manger in store said that he "Wouldnt recommend iMac to his business clients"!)