[chucker]

So after a broken fan and a melting MagSafe power plug, I now have the third support case in just about a year.

Windows Vista (hardly ever use it; pure coincidence) was running, and I was out. When I came back, it showed me an alert informing me that my MacBook Pro's internal hard drive was failing, and it offered me to back up as soon as possible using its built-in tool. I decided to use HDTune to verify, and indeed; one SMART property was red, another was yellow, and even with just a quick scan (rather than a deep one) one sector was identified as broken.

So I rebooted into Mac OS X and am now backing up everything with SuperDuper!. I assume the drive is still okay enough to get that done, because, as your average-day luck would have it, my most recent backup has been accidentally wiped out.

Anyway, the question now becomes how to handle the replacement (I assume the drive is beyond repair): the laptop was purchased at the German Apple Store (online). Which should I try first: to go to a local retailer (despite them being a third party; last time they were being rather uncooperative with a "you didn't buy here" attitude), or do I call Apple?

I have AppleCare APP, so that's not the issue. I assume the hard drive is covered for all three years. (Right? Pwetty pwease?)

Thanks for advice.

[Sketch]

Call Apple. When my PB broke, I called Apple and then they gave me a choice either I could send it to them or to a local retailer. You can ask the same. About the HDD warranty, I replaced my PB HDD after year and a half by using the warranty coverage usually given to the HDDs (I suppose almost all the HDDs have at least 2 year warranty from the original manufacturer?). I just had to pay the replacement charge.

[Perfecting_Zero]

Chucker, sorry to hear about the run of bad luck you've had with your MBP... and the (poorly timed) demise of your recent backup. At least know that your latest travail has roused me from my laziness: this evening, I plan to make a SuperDuper! bootable copy of my MB's HDD to an external FW HDD.

I hope you get a good resolution to your HDD problem.

Best,

Z

[Mugge]

Magsafe, fan and HD, in just one year?!

Give an applause for rev. A products!

Damn I've got the exact same MBP as you chucker, however, mine has only been acting wonky now and then. But I've also caved in and got Apple Care. I didn't read anywhere in the service agreement that they didn't cover the HD, so I strongly think you are going to get a replacement.

[chucker]

Originally Posted by iceman009 I replaced my PB HDD after year and a half by using the warranty coverage usually given to the HDDs (I suppose almost all the HDDs have at least 2 year warranty from the original manufacturer?)

The manufacturer's warranty doesn't matter, since it's an OEM; it's Apple's call. The drive manufacturer's warranty only applies for retail products.

At least in Hitachi's case.

Now, here's a twist: SMART Reporter and Disk Utility insist there's no SMART error at all.

[chucker]

Originally Posted by chucker Now, here's a twist: SMART Reporter and Disk Utility insist there's no SMART error at all.

So they both suck. Because smartmontools says:

=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===SMART Attributes Data Structure revision number: 10Vendor Specific SMART Attributes with Thresholds:ID# ATTRIBUTE_NAME          FLAG     VALUE WORST THRESH TYPE      UPDATED  WHEN_FAILED RAW_VALUE  1 Raw_Read_Error_Rate     0x000e   100   253   006    Old_age   Always       -       0  3 Spin_Up_Time            0x0003   094   092   000    Pre-fail  Always       -       0  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0032   100   100   020    Old_age   Always       -       609  5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct   0x0033   100   100   036    Pre-fail  Always       -       7  7 Seek_Error_Rate         0x000f   084   060   030    Pre-fail  Always       -       243559438  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032   094   094   000    Old_age   Always       -       5272 10 Spin_Retry_Count        0x0013   045   013   034    Pre-fail  Always   In_the_past 0 12 Power_Cycle_Count       0x0032   100   100   020    Old_age   Always       -       493187 Unknown_Attribute       0x0032   088   088   000    Old_age   Always       -       12189 Unknown_Attribute       0x003a   001   001   000    Old_age   Always       -       13818190 Temperature_Celsius     0x0022   055   047   045    Old_age   Always       -       825032749192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032   097   097   000    Old_age   Always       -       7554193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0032   015   015   000    Old_age   Always       -       171463194 Temperature_Celsius     0x0022   045   053   000    Old_age   Always       -       45 (Lifetime Min/Max 0/15)195 Hardware_ECC_Recovered  0x001a   061   045   000    Old_age   Always       -       194422016197 Current_Pending_Sector  0x0012   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       1198 Offline_Uncorrectable   0x0010   100   100   000    Old_age   Offline      -       1199 UDMA_CRC_Error_Count    0x003e   200   200   000    Old_age   Always       -       0200 Multi_Zone_Error_Rate   0x0000   100   253   000    Old_age   Offline      -       0202 TA_Increase_Count       0x0032   100   253   000    Old_age   Always       -       0

"Pre-fail" on four items? "Old age" on all others? This thing isn't even a year old.

After how much trouble is it worthwhile/fair/appropriate to ask Apple for a replacement?

[Sketch]

Originally Posted by chucker After how much trouble is it worthwhile/fair/appropriate to ask Apple for a replacement?

Unless you can proove it is manufacture f***-up I don't think they would replace it. Hell, my PB had its mobo replaced, HDD replaced and had 3 bad pixels, not even then they wanted to replace it. (All happened with in an year before I completely screwed it up by having some coke on it. )

[FFL]

I believe Apple won't consider a replacement till you have at least 3 major components replaced.

The hard drive is a major component. The fan and MagSafe are not.

[chucker]

…and now my left fan broke.

[Mugge]

That sucks!

Did you kill any kittens lately?

[chucker]

Not that I know of.

[turtle]

You know, you really should quit abusing your MBP.

[PB PM]

You must throw it against the wall or something... sounds like a lemon.

[chucker]

Originally Posted by turtle2472 You know, you really should quit abusing your MBP.

[M555]

I've used my MBP extensively throughout 6 months. And within those 6 months my Mag Safe melted, hard drive failed, and cycled through 3 logic boards. Everything was replaced under warranty. I simply took it to the Apple store and as long as you're able to replicate the problem to them, it will be replaced or fixed. In my case, a new Mag safe, new hard drive and new logic board.

Kudos to Apple for great prompt service! Good luck with yours.

[chucker]

21.12.07 09:21:15 smartd[153] Device: IOService:/AppleACPIPlatformExpert/PCI0@0/AppleACPIPCI/SATA@1F,2/AppleAHCI/PRT2@2/IOAHCIDevice@0/AppleAHCIDiskDriver/IOAHCIBlockStorageDevice, 19 Currently unreadable (pending) sectors

21.12.07 09:21:15 smartd[153] Device: IOService:/AppleACPIPlatformExpert/PCI0@0/AppleACPIPCI/SATA@1F,2/AppleAHCI/PRT2@2/IOAHCIDevice@0/AppleAHCIDiskDriver/IOAHCIBlockStorageDevice, 19 Offline uncorrectable sectors

21.12.07 09:29:28 SMARTReporter[203] Drive: 'ST910021AS (Originale, Untitled | 3MH070HR | disk0)' Status: SMARTOK (S.M.A.R.T. condition not exceeded, drive OK)

$ diskutil info disk0[..]   SMART Status:             Verified

Could it make up its mind already?

[RobUSVI]

Originally Posted by chucker Which should I try first: to go to a local retailer (despite them being a third party; last time they were being rather uncooperative with a "you didn't buy here" attitude), or do I call Apple?

If the machine is under (global) warranty, and the local place is an Apple Authorized Service Provider (AASP), then they have no choice in the matter and must fix the computer regardless of where it was purchased. Apple will de-authorize an AASP that refuses to fix an Apple product under (global) warranty. There is no exception just because the AASP didn't sell the hardware. It isn't as if the AASP isn't being reimbursed for the service by Apple, so I don't understand why they would be difficult.

(Apple defines "global" warranty for any Apple device that runs off battery, thus all Apple laptops are covered under a global warranty.)

I've seen a lot of MacBook hard drives fail. It seems to be the single most common failure, followed by water/spill damage.

[chucker]

Originally Posted by RobUSVI If the machine is under (global) warranty, and the local place is an Apple Authorized Service Provider (AASP), then they have no choice in the matter and must fix the computer regardless of where it was purchased.

Actually, the issue was that they weren't positive if Apple would cover it.

In any case, turns out I worried too much – called Apple, and the guy assured me they'd definitely cover this issue. I have a case number (though, strangely, it doesn't work on Apple's website), and now I get to go to the AASP…

[Capella]

Ouch. Best of luck getting it fixed soon!