MacBook gone for repairs
After sufferring yet another lot of random shutdown fits on Saturday, I decided to take my MacBook to the Genius Bar at the Apple store.
More after the jump.
The genius logged the fault in and after I told assured him that
1. I’m using the RAM that came with the MacBook,
2. I’ve already reset the PMU (Power Management Unit) and the NVRAM,
3. I’ve also re-seated the RAM and re-installed OS X
only to have the random shutdowns come right back, he disappeared into the back of the store for a good 10 minutes, to check if this was a known issue and find out what he could do for me.
Considering my MacBook was just over 2 months old, he was unable to offer me a replacement but he did book it in for repairs and said I should have it back within a week. He also requested they replaced my topcase and bezel, saying that the top case may be causing thermal insulation problems. I guess this is also linked to avoiding any discolourations of the case in the future.
While I wait for my repaired MacBook to arrive, I am quite concerned that it may well come back and still exhibit the same problems.
If you are planning on sending your MacBook to Apple for repairs, I would suggest you first Re-Seat the RAM, then Reset the PMU and NVRAM before contacting Apple as they will be unable to arrange for a repair or a replacement unless you’ve already tried those steps. Instructions for doing those are available from the Apple website:
Resetting the PMU
Resetting the NVRAM
To re-seat your RAM, simply take the RAM chips out and push them back in again.
If you have upgraded your RAM since you bought your MacBook and you are using third party RAM, you will also need to put back in the Apple RAM before they will take it in for repairs.
UPDATEs
It has been reported that resetting the PMU and NVRAM (sometimes referred to as PRAM) may temporarily alleviate the random shut down problem.
30th Aug
Apple Diagnosing my MacBook
Related Posts:
MacBook Random Shutdown List
MacBook Random Shut Down
Testing Your MacBook for Random Shut Downs
Life is Random
~10% of MacBooks (13″) have Random Shutdown
4 Responses to “MacBook gone for repairs”
By Matthew on Aug 29, 2006 | Reply
Great to hear you took it in Ash, however, I would be very curious to see if your issue is the Heatsink too like mine.. keep up posted, I totally know how you feel!! What a PAIN!!!!
-Matthew
Macbook Random Shutdown