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Macbook going downhill

taylor200588

taylor200588

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 18, 2007
225
0
Arbroath, Scotland
hey

i really need your opinion and help for a few problems with my macbook

okay so i bought my macbook from the glasgow store late september, its just the basic 80GB version, nothing fancy but still cost me over £600 (used my student discount ;))

so anyway ive had it a few months and i love the machine ... hell i love apple :) BUT NOW its beginning to annoy me a little. I HAVE A LIST haha i dont use the laptop for much, surfing the net, music, iphone, essays for college that sorta thing.

1. When on the net or using the laptop in general the bottom gets unbelievable hot and so does part of the screen. then the fans kick in and dont go off till i switch the computer off sometimes. Also when charging it the adapter gets really hot. Too the point where i find it too dangerous and unplug it to let it cool down.

2. I watch alot of DVDs on my machine and i love the glossy screen, its great for watching movies on. BUT whilst watching a film the other night i noticed a dead pixel. a big white one in the middle of the screen, it shows up alot and my eye is immediately drawn to it and its really annoying. Another thing is when on a white screen or anything its sorta patchy, like its dirty but the screen is clean. its not a completey white almost mucky in bits.

3. a few times now when ive switched the machine on it loads up to the password screen, i type in my password then it begins to load, it loads up the dock but nothing else loads for sometimes up to 2/3 minutes. its only happend a few times but its become more regular.

4. and finally, i look after my mac, treat it like a piece of expensive art work, i clean it regularly and everything. But like most white macbooks im begining to get the dreaded palm rest discolour marks. Ive always cleaned that bit the most cos i didnt want it happening but it has. Its just ruining the look of it all.


SO yeah, i paid alot of money for this laptop, i love apple and would never buy anything else. But its rather annoying that only having the machine a few months that the quality its beginning to deteriorate. Before i had this i had a G4 iBook that i had for about 2 years and i NEVER had a problem to it, its still going strong to this day.

I was planning on calling up apple in glasgow and telling them all this and bringing the laptop in to see what they can do. Its still under the year warranty.

Basically what im asking is what you guys think apple might do and if anyones had any experience like before and what the outcome was.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and i hope someone can help me :)

Craig
 
1. Thats normal. What is the temp?
2. Dead pixels suck, covered by Apple though.
3.Can't help their. How much RAM do you have?
4. Covered by Apple. You can use Mr.Clean Magic Eraser.
 
I don't like the new Apple notebooks. The MacBook and MacBook Pro quality is really bad compared to the older iBooks and PowerBooks. My girlfriend really wants a Mac to replace her Acer laptop, but I do not want to have her buy a MacBook at this point. Quality control is bad at Apple right now.

Yes, take it to Apple store and get a new one.
 
hey noodle haha

1. the temperature can get pass 60 / 70 c on the wee iStat thing but it gets so hot i cant touch it sometimes

2. will they just replace the screen or what?

3. ive got 1GB of RAM

4. sweet, so will they ust replace that too?

Cheers guys for your replies

like yeah apple could just replace the parts that are wonky but i dunno if i want them too, its just gonna happen again aint it. you think apple would just replace the whole machine or am i dreaming?

craig
 
the heat is unbelievable, i dont like charging it up at night incase it sets my house on fire! i dont even like leaving it running while in not in the room just incase haha

:(
 
The charger is a known fire hazard; you're probably better off that way. You can go to Apple.com and read reviews in the Store on how often the charger short circuits right where it goes into the computer.
 
i've read some reviews on here about the problems the chargers are giving! its the actual laptop thats worrying me, its not where the battery is its more the back half of the bottom and some parts of the screen. sometimes ive seen me sitting with the laptop on my lap doing whatever and it getting so hot ive had to move it onto another surface OR shut it down and let it cool.

im just wondering when i take it back will apple just replace the parts that are faulty, screen, plastic palm rest, charger and maybe fiddle with the heat problem OR would they give me a replacement machine?

Craig
 
They might do either, depending on how severe they think the problems are. Worst case scenario, they take it in to fix for several days (and bring it back with a set of new issues). Still, it's worth a shot. You'll want to go in before your year is up if it doesn't seem like the issues are going away.
 
1. Sites with flash playing usually takes up a lot of CPU and makes any laptop hot. Go to Activity Monitor (under App/ utilities, or use spotlight), if Safari or some minor app is taking up more than 30% CPU you know something is messed up. Closing the page with the flash content (or removing the flash plug in) usually solves the problem.

2. No replacement for 1 pixel. Try messaging carefully. Btw, dead pixel isn't white, it'll be black.

3. Go to System Preferences / Security / uncheck "Log out after x minutes of inactivity"
This will make your computer less secure. But even with it checked, it shouldn't take long to log in though. You need to open Disk Utility, repair permissions (don't bother verifying it, and no need to post the logs), and verify disk.

4. As much as we all like it to be, almost nothing in the world stays in like-new condition forever... Unless the whole piece is changing colors.
 
i'll give your tips a try! where i live i cant get broadband so im on dial up so its not like im watching Youtube or anything online, i only really use MSN and surf Bebo :p

I totally agree with you that nothing stays in the "as new" condition but when you spend over £600 on a laptop you would think the quality would be top notch and last a while if taken proper care off

another thing thats bugging me is i dont live anywhere NEAR Glasgow, im gonna hav to take a day off college or work to get the train (2 hours and £30 a ticket eek) to go through to the apple store there. so if they do repair it and keep it for several days, which im totally ok with, will i have to go and pick it up or could they send it out to me?!? AND whats the service like at apple?

haha when i went to buy the laptop the guy that sold it to me was totally thick as mince, didnt have a clue about macs, THEN he said "we're doing a special offer for students, half price Apple Care!" and i was like "GREAT i'll take it", got to the checkout, "oh .... sorry i was wrong about that offer, its full price again!" i was like "haha no thanks then!"

I hope i get someone usefull
 
If you're willing to spend a few days away from the laptop, try calling Apple directly. If you explain the unfeasibility of travel, they'll likely send a box for you to ship it in. Down side's that you'll probably be away from it for a week or more.
 
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