M5WJF

Q: Less costs more?  ***

I buy a MacBook Pro in Early 2009, buy 3 years Applecare Warranty, which ran out over a year ago.

 

The Seagate Momentus HDD fails after 4 years and 2 months.

 

If I bought from Seagate I'd have got a FREE 5 year Warranty for faulty replacement, I approach Seagate and they point me towards Apple as an OEM Reseller for hardware support.

 

Apple tell me they won't replace the Seagate HDD, unless I pay.

 

I paid extra for this level of customer service?  Do they want me to buy another Apple product in the future or not?

 

Anyone else faced this?

MacBook Pro (17-inch Early 2009), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.3), Seagate Momentus Drive not covered

Posted on May 20, 2013 7:30 AM

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Q: Less costs more?  ***

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  • by ds store,

    ds store ds store May 20, 2013 7:49 AM in response to M5WJF
    Level 7 (30,395 points)
    May 20, 2013 7:49 AM in response to M5WJF

    Far as I know, Apple never used the Seagate Momentus in their products or as a replacement drive, it's a hybid drive and back in 2009 I think wasn't even on the market, certainly not a proven product Apple would carry.

     

    So somewhere along the way it was changed to that, if by you then AppleCare doesn't cover it.

     

    If it is a Apple OEM product and your AppleCare wore out, then there is nothing you can do.

     

    Have a local PC/Mac tech shop install a new  drive or do it yourself, it's a four year old box and likely to die out on you soon anyway.

     

    Install/upgrade RAM or storage drive in Mac's

     

    How to erase and install Snow Leopard 10.6

     

    How to clone your old hard drive to a new hard drive / ssd

     

    Most commonly used backup methods

  • by M5WJF,

    M5WJF M5WJF May 20, 2013 8:07 AM in response to ds store
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 20, 2013 8:07 AM in response to ds store

    This is the UK Market, and the only times the machine has ever been opened was by an Apple Approved Repair Centre under Warranty for a faulty Superdrive, and by me to replace the 2GB ram with 8GB bought from Apple UK.

     

    The Seagate Momentus 7200.3 Model ST9320421ASG is the original drive, its always appeared in the hardware list ever since delivery.

     

    Check for yourself with Seagate using the following

     

    SN: 5TJ0HY8C

     

    It's listed as OEM

     

    I'm on the machine, I replaced the HDD with a Western Digital bought off eBay, I was building PCs for years until you could buy them for less than the cost of parts.

     

    Apple are always promoted as having products designed to last five years, so I know I'm in the last 12 months of that and nothing lasts forever, but the principle of charging more for less just rubs me up the wrong way.

     

    Cheers.

  • by Allan Jones,

    Allan Jones Allan Jones May 20, 2013 8:11 AM in response to M5WJF
    Level 8 (35,131 points)
    iPad
    May 20, 2013 8:11 AM in response to M5WJF

    Apple are always promoted as having products designed to last five years

     

    I'm not seen that in official Apple ads, etc. I know some Mac mavens who have said that since Day 1.

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 May 20, 2013 8:21 AM in response to ds store
    Level 9 (50,387 points)
    Desktops
    May 20, 2013 8:21 AM in response to ds store

    ds store wrote:

     

    Far as I know, Apple never used the Seagate Momentus in their products or as a replacement drive, it's a hybid drive and back in 2009 I think wasn't even on the market, certainly not a proven product Apple would carry.

    That is not correct, the Momentus is not a Hybrid drive (that would be the Momentus XT)

     

    The hybrid Seagate drives entered the market in 2007 (along with a Samsung branded version and they were Windows Vista only)

     

    You are right that the hybrid drive has never been supplied as standard equipment in a Mac. But the OP has a standard (not hybrid) drive, so the point is moot.

     

    The Momentus 7200 series has been used as a standard drive in Macs for a long time, in the US and the UK.

     

    To the OP, go buy a new drive and fit it yourself, yours is out of warranty and this is the cheapest way to replace it.

  • by ds store,

    ds store ds store May 20, 2013 8:30 AM in response to M5WJF
    Level 7 (30,395 points)
    May 20, 2013 8:30 AM in response to M5WJF

    I was building PCs for years

     

    Your certainly on the wrong platform then, Mac's are increasingly being shuttered up like a common toaster.

     

    I sometimes don't even know why I bother with them anymore if they are only buttering their own bread, likley scratching their heads and wondering why their sales are dropping off the roof.

  • by M5WJF,

    M5WJF M5WJF May 20, 2013 8:40 AM in response to Csound1
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 20, 2013 8:40 AM in response to Csound1

    Yes, already done that, there's a Western Digital inside as I write this.

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 May 20, 2013 8:43 AM in response to M5WJF
    Level 9 (50,387 points)
    Desktops
    May 20, 2013 8:43 AM in response to M5WJF

     

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 May 20, 2013 8:48 AM in response to ds store
    Level 9 (50,387 points)
    Desktops
    May 20, 2013 8:48 AM in response to ds store

    ds store wrote:

     

    I sometimes don't even know why I bother with them anymore

    I wonder the very same thing,

  • by M5WJF,

    M5WJF M5WJF May 20, 2013 8:51 AM in response to ds store
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 20, 2013 8:51 AM in response to ds store

    I think I'll probably by a Mac for video editing, but will replace some of the hardware almost immediately for better specifications and sell the Apple parts on eBay, I'll not be investing in a 3 year Applecare Warranty, I'll repair the **** thing myself after the first 12 months.

     

    Over here you only get a 12 months statutory manufacturers guarantee on anything, so anyone, such as Seagate guaranteeing their products up to five years for free is always going to get my business.

     

    I'll keep the MacBook Pro for email and browsing until it goes pop, but won't buy another, I usually repair/upgrade old Dell laptops and those of some other manufacturers, and run Ubuntu, I expect I'll end up going down that route as regards email and browsing.

     

    I still have a number of old rackmount and tower PCs in the shed, maybe I'll get back into building again, who knows, cheers anyway.

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 May 20, 2013 8:57 AM in response to M5WJF
    Level 9 (50,387 points)
    Desktops
    May 20, 2013 8:57 AM in response to M5WJF

    M5WJF wrote:

     

    I think I'll probably by a Mac for video editing, but will replace some of the hardware almost immediately for better specifications and sell the Apple parts on eBay, I'll not be investing in a 3 year Applecare Warranty, I'll repair the **** thing myself after the first 12 months.

     

    Over here you only get a 12 months statutory manufacturers guarantee on anything, so anyone, such as Seagate guaranteeing their products up to five years for free is always going to get my business.

    I think you'll find that in the UK the statutory guarantee is 2 years, manufacturers and vendors can extend it if they choose, they can not shorten it.

     

    You (if you choose to push it) could possibly make a case against Seagate, but they will argue that you did not buy it from them and that Apple should be liable, and Apple will argue that they are fulfilling the statutory requirements.

     

    ds.store is correct in that Macs are a bad choice for do it yourselfers.

    I think I'll probably by a Mac for video editing, but will replace some of the hardware almost immediately for better specifications

    Do yourself a favor and buy a MacPro (tower). iMacs are quite difficult to assemble/disassemble and have limited space. If you buy an iMac with Thunderbolt connections then you will have a 10Gb/s pipe to the outside but peripherals are still expensive, and there's not many of them yet.

  • by M5WJF,

    M5WJF M5WJF May 20, 2013 9:11 AM in response to Csound1
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 20, 2013 9:11 AM in response to Csound1

    Wow, an actual benefit for being in the European Union, who'd have thought...

     

    I'm a little out of date then, thanks for the heads up, appreciated.

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 May 20, 2013 9:30 AM in response to M5WJF
    Level 9 (50,387 points)
    Desktops
    May 20, 2013 9:30 AM in response to M5WJF

    M5WJF wrote:

     

    Wow, an actual benefit for being in the European Union, who'd have thought...

    Not sure that is sufficient compensation but, it's better than nothing.

     

    And FYI, I'm English, a Londoner.