Posts tagged mac

Answer 24
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Posted 7 months ago
My macbook kept randomly turning black. Everyone said that there was something wrong with the inverterboard. I brought it to the apple genius bar and they said it would probably cost about $70. They just called me and told me that what they tried to do didn't work and it cost about $35, but now they were going to try and fix the screen which they said would cost $300. This all seems like a lot of money. Are they ripping me off? WHat do you think is wrong with it?
whatyougotacrushonme asked

Display issues generally are one of 3 components:

  • Display panel itself
  • Main Logic Board (issue with the video subsystem)
  • Components between the two including the Inverter board

If it’s something like an inverter board (generally no backlight but there’s actually an image on the screen) you’re looking at the cheapest repair there. Main Logic Board or display panel are costly. It’s not that they’re ripping you off, it’s that they weren’t exactly sure which component had gone wonky. 
It also sounds like they may not have properly set the expectation of what it could cost vs what you’d like it to cost.


Repairs like this are the #1 reason to buy AppleCare - one repair of a Main Logic Board out of warranty is easily enough to buy AppleCare.

Answer 8
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Posted 7 months ago
Hi, I love your page! It is so helpful! I had a quick question, and was wondering if you could help me out. I had used my computer last night and then shut it down and it sat without moving on a bookcase until about a half hour ago. When I turned it on, the screen started flashing and little lines would appear across the screen in a flickering fashion. It will also turn a purple shade as well. I can still use the computer, but I am nervous about the screen. Any suggestions? Thank you!!
sam-ebs asked

Take it in pronto. It could be a few different things, but from your symptoms, it could be the LCD panel itself, your Main Logic Board or anywhere in between including the LVDS cable being pinched through the hinge.

Answer 3
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Posted 7 months ago
Hello! :D i was wondering, my applecare expires in january 2012 and i wanted to know if that can be renewed again? and if not, am i just left to pay generously for repairs god forbid something happens lol.
fuckyesnicole asked

Sorry, but AppleCare is a one time deal. There’s no “renewal” option for it.

Answer 92
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Posted 8 months ago
Can you suggest me a printer to buy? Inkjet, and I don't need (or really want) a ton of extra features like scanners and faxes etc. I would like to set it up in my house to print to wirelessly from several different computers. If it was one that I could print from from my iPad that would be great too! (but that's not super important). Thanks!
krpnski asked

Oooh boy, printers are one area that you’ll get death matches over. Myself, I like HP and Canon. They’ve never done me wrong. I despise Epson. 

Others will swear by Epson and say HP or Canon are shite. It’s all jaded by personal experience.

For driver support, you can’t go wrong with HP. Apple builds them into the OS and keeps them up to date, which is very nice. 

For AirPrint, HP has a good selection of products, thought it looks like you’re into the All-in-one type printer/scanner/fax etc unit.

Myself, I have a (3 year old?) HP Photosmart. It does print,scan,fax and copy, has wifi (802.11g), separate ink tanks (CMYK,PC,PM), a duplexer, an auto document feeder (very nice for multi-page scan or fax), wireless fax and a photo tray (for separate 4x6 photo paper).

I think I picked it up for about $250 from Staples at the time (and got $50 knocked off because I recycled my old printer with them).

While it seems like a bit of a hefty investment for a printer, I have had zero issues with it. The ink is also reasonably priced and you can find an entire set of the ink on eBay for ~$35. (In a pinch you can find ink for ~$11 each retail.)

Now that I’ve had it for 3+ years, the per-year cost really starts nose-diving the longer I keep it. If you go cheap and get a $99 printer, you may end up replacing it in a year. It can add up.

Moral of the story: don’t cheap out. Get a nice one that will last some time.

Answer 12
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Posted 8 months ago
Which Mac would you recommend me to buy for typical use like web, and writing?
muquanzo-deactivated20111102 asked

Desktop: iMac

Portable: MacBook Air

Also, check out my feature on How to Buy a Mac.

Answer 5
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Posted 8 months ago
When I turn my imac on or it comes back from being set to sleep, the back of my mac crackles and pops. Is there anything I can do? It's not even a year old and I don't want to send it away because I need it.
photodots asked

Well, it’s not going to get better :) Especially because you’re within your first year, get it looked at now as it’ll be covered by your warranty. 

Also, buy AppleCare while you’re within the first year.

Answer 4
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Posted 10 months ago
I'm finally moving into a place that will have room for my "office" (recording, video editing, photo editing and illustration). I don't want portability, I want power, performance and something that will last.

I am thinking about getting a refurbished iMac - what should I look for in processing power and memory departments? What about a Mac mini?
stevd asked

Power, performance and something that will last are mutually exclusive if you’re talking iMacs or Mac Minis. Get yourself a Mac Pro, sir. I have a feeling if you get yourself an iMac, you’ll feel about a year, maybe two years, down the road like you bought too little Mac. Then you’ll get the Mac you should have (a Mac Pro) and in the long run will have spent more than if you’d just gotten the Mac Pro to begin with. See my post on buying a Mac for more info.

Don’t skimp if what you’re doing requires balls.

Answer 13
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Posted 10 months ago
I'm having a dilemma. You see, when my Mac was purchased it was booted up without me and I don't know if they(my dad) set up a password. How do I change my password without knowing it?
joulo asked

Boot it from the OS Install disc. Under the Utilities menu there’s a password reset tool. See Apple’s site. It applies to 10.6 as well.

Answer 12
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Posted 10 months ago
Legit question: I sometimes turn on 'open in 32-bit mode' on Photoshop to do some stuff that doesn't work without that, like importing video frames. Is there anything wrong with leaving 32-bit on all the time? It just gets old opening it normally, realizing I can't import video, quitting it, turning on 32-bit, then opening it again.
casualty asked

Unless you have more than 4GB of RAM, it’ll make no difference. 64-bit mode allows your machine to address more than 4GB of memory (and actually allows for up to a comically large amount of RAM of which the theoretical limit is far beyond what any current 64-bit machine is capable of containing).

And feel free to ask any quasi-legit questions you want :) Legit ones can be boring sometimes.

Answer 7
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Posted 10 months ago
Thanks for answering my last q. Another quick one:

I understand that MacBook (mid 2007) can only use 3GB of RAM. Is there any harm (or benefit) in using 2x2GB RAM? Getting ready for Lion!
goingpostal asked

The only harm will be that it won’t address the additional 1GB of RAM. It should work ok, outside of it only using half of one of the pieces of RAM. I’ll tell you right now though, don’t hold your breath for spectacular performance from Lion on that machine. You’re at the bottom of the barrel for system requirements.