Posts tagged repair

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 38
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Posted 8 months ago
My iMac 2008 model starts up with a greyish white screen with a folder with a question mark in the middle very often, how do I fix that?
nxie asked

That’s an indication that it can’t find the System folder. It could be hardware (failing hard drive) or software (wonky OS). You can do an Archive and Install of your OS to rule-out the software. If that still doesn’t work, you may be looking at a failing hard drive.

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.

Text 8
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Posted 10 months ago

iPhone back in action

vb:

No more broken screen and my headphone jack works proper now.

Fixed it myself with $20 in parts. w00t!

Yep, she’s back. Yeah, I said I was going to show you how but really, it was so fiddly that I would have been totally distracted from actually doing the job. You can look on YouTube for plenty of DIY iPhone repairs. 

It also took 4 hours. Not for the glass. What I didn’t say before is that my headphone jack stopped working some time ago. So in addition to the glass, I ordered a new one of those. Holy crap does Apple squeeze a lot of screws into this thing.

(Source: vb)

via vb
Answer 3
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Posted 10 months ago
About how much would it cost to replace the keyboard and trackpad on a Macbook Pro (13")? The damage is from rain and isn't covered by my warranty and I don't want to take it to the Apple Store (they said they need to replace everything in it and it would be over $700). They're the only things that are damaged on the Macbook and I need to know how much the parts would be.
mr-bacons asked

Hit up PowerBookMedic. $280 for the part. Look at the repair videos to see if it’s something you want to tackle. If not, looks like they have a $95 flat rate for MacBook Pro labor.

Answer 1
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Posted 1 year ago
Hi, I asked a question a couple months ago about a problem I'm having with my macbook, and you told me it was likely the data display cable (and I'm pretty positive you're right).. anyway, I was wondering how difficult a fix that is (for people who know what they're doing, I mean).. is that something I could take to an apple store or a place that specializes in mac repairs and have them fix on the spot? Or is it a more involved process that they would have to send it away to have done?
pleaseslowitdown asked

Unless you’ve been tearing apart MacBooks for years, it’s not a repair you want to attempt yourself. You want someone who can strip a MacBook to the frame with their eyes closed.

If you take it to the Apple Store, they’ll likely do it in-house. This used to be something that we sent out however most repairs these days occur at the store itself. I don’t know about turn around, but if I had to guess, I’d say they’d quote you a week.

Make sure you make a reservation before you go as the Bar can get hopping.

If you take it to an authorized repair center, they’ll likely also do it at the store. If you’re out of warranty, you may get a better price from the non-Apple repair shop as all of Apple’s out of warranty repairs are flat-rate.

Answer 10
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Posted 1 year ago
I have a black macbook that I got in 2008, and recently (within the last 5 days or so) the backlight has started randomly dying. At first, it would come back on if I just closed it and opened it, or turned the brightness settings all the way down then all the way back up.. but it's been getting progressively worse to the point where it will only stay on for a split second when I do that, and then shut off again. Usually at that point I just restart it over and over until I can get it to stay on more than a couple seconds, then it will stay on until I either move it and set it down again, or put it to sleep. I really can't send it away right now because I need it for school.. (the IT guys on campus told me I could leave it with them to look at, but that computers under warranty take precedence over ones that aren't, and mine isn't, so it would take a few weeks to get it back if they had to send it away to be fixed).. I guess I was just wondering what you thought the problem might be, if you thought it was going to get worse to the point of not being able to use it at all, and if there was anything I could do in the mean time to fix it myself? There's only another 1 1/2 months until I'm out of school for the summer and can send it somewhere.. I just need a quick fix if there is one. :) Any ideas/comments would be helpful.. sorry this is kind of a long message!
pleaseslowitdown asked

It’s likely your MacBook’s display data cable. This is a common problem with the MacBooks. iFixIt has them ($39.95). Search around iFixIt to find the appropriate tear-down guide for your particular MacBook.

Answer 4
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Posted 1 year ago
Hi there. I've got a MacBook 4,1 from 2008. I've got some problems with my speakers in my MB. The bass sounds so cracky.. I never had this before. Can you please help me? (btw: love love love your blog!)
chateaumigraine asked

Speakers are one of those super simple things and problems with them usually indicate hardware issue. I’d take the little sucker in.

Now, aren’t you folks happy that this is post 1000 instead of me answering a question about beer? (Though, when given the option, I’ll take beer over rattly speakers, love.)

Congrats flowersandmachineguns (love the name, btw) you’re post 1000. I’d give you some kind of prize or drop some balloons or something, but this is a fly by night enterprise and I have no schwag to give away. 

Maybe by post 2000 I’ll be able to mail a balloon out. Celebratory assembly required.

Answer 2
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Posted 1 year ago
Hello!
I think that I done a bad thing. Recently the charger for my 13" MacBook broke, where the narrow wire comes out from the box. (I believe this is a fairly common complaint with this kind of charger)

Anyway, being broke, I followed an online guide to fix it myself. This went ok, except I didn't have soldering irons to reconnect the wires, and electric tape wasn't going to do it, so, in the interim period I decided to just twist the two coils of wires together, quite haphazard i know. This meant if I moved the charger, they would come apart, so i did this as little as possible.

The other day I absent-mindedly twisted the two wires together again, the wrong way, and plugged it in before i saw my mistake. I plugged out, rectified, and tried again. So, to bring this long winded imbecilic query to a close, my laptop no longer turns on.

Did I fry everything? Is it dead? Should I be allowed to own electrical appliances?

Thanks
K
karltobin asked

I’d try resetting the SMC and seeing if that helps.