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mike Savage

Q: Colored vertical lines on PB 17" display

There is a lot of documentation on various websites and discussion boards about 17" Powerbooks with displays that break down after about 15 months of use.

I am unfortunate enough to own a 17" powerbook assembled in April 2005 in China - serial number beginning with W8. I believe this is the same time-period and factory location where hundreds (if not thousands) of identical machines were assembled that are now having the same colored-lines-in-the-display defect as my machine.

All these machines assembled at the same time, at the same place, using the same batch of LCD screens, are experiencing the same defect after the same amount of use.
Something stinks, and it smells like a manufacturing problem to me.

Does anyone know if Apple has man'd up and acknowledged the problem yet?





17" Powerbook G4 1.67   Mac OS X (10.4.9)  

Posted on May 21, 2007 5:36 PM

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Q: Colored vertical lines on PB 17" display

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  • by kingmack,

    kingmack kingmack Jul 26, 2007 5:47 AM in response to grun44
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 26, 2007 5:47 AM in response to grun44
    Sorry to hear you have joined the club. There is no obvious way to report the problem to Apple on their web-site. They do provide a page for product feedback (http://www.apple.com/feedback/), but it only has links for post PowerPC machines i.e. Intel as far as the computers go. I find it annoying and telling that they have not even provided a single link for feedback for older machines. It is as if they want to forget about them, even though many are not especially old, the last ones rolled out a little over a year and a quarter ago. You can still buy new PowerPC Macs today from non-Apple outlets.

    Some people have suggested that the following link be used to report problems (http://www.apple.com/contact/feedback.html) and select the general comments option. It is a little obscure and I do not know if it will get your message to the right people, but it seems like the only option for reporting you problem on their site. The page says it is for reporting site problems, but for lack of a better option....

    I would personally recommend you call up Apple support, report your problem and get a case number. This way you will have a date in Apple's system of when your problem occurred incase a recall or warranty extension is ever put in place. Some people have said that it is important to call Apple in the US due to information not being shared between countries. The point being that Apple will not be aware of the full scale of this problem unless the call is directed to the US. I do not know if this is the case, but enough people have mentioned it and it can't hurt to cover as many bases as possible.

    I would also call Customer Relations and complain about the way Apple are dealing with this problem if you are as upset about Apple's handling of this situation as most of us are. Here is a link for Apple's phone numbers: http://www.apple.com/support/contact/phone_contacts.html

    I do not know how familiar you are with the scale of this problem, but a little web searching might bring you up to speed. The number of affected people is increasing and at least one other manufacturer has had the same problem, but taken corrective action unlike Apple. Mentioning links is not wise here as they usually get removed. I hope this is of some help and wish you the best of luck.
  • by trevr,

    trevr trevr Jul 27, 2007 6:49 AM in response to mike Savage
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 27, 2007 6:49 AM in response to mike Savage
    I have this exact problem, it's started today.
    My serial number is in the W85xxxxx range.

    I bought the laptop secondhand about six months ago and it's been the best investment I've ever made. But I'm really worried.

    It's my impression that I won't be able to get applecare as it's a second hand laptop and it's probably now out of warranty.

    Does this leave me with a potential brick?

    I've just switched from being a lifelong MS/PC user, starting out on 8086's and 8088's with MS-Dos 3 and with the release of Vista i decided that this was just too much. I want stability, i want elegance but not in 30 different flavours.

    +So i went Mac, please don't tell me I'm better off going back!+
  • by Adam Prall,

    Adam Prall Adam Prall Jul 27, 2007 12:56 PM in response to mike Savage
    Level 1 (50 points)
    Jul 27, 2007 12:56 PM in response to mike Savage
    Really, we don't want to just "note" the problem - we'd like it repaired, and the answer is already, clearly, "No" from Apple based on the previous requests.

    Our web report to Apple hasn't even been answered or given a case number. Sometimes a phone call is just better for these things.

    Also, our serial numbers are not like yours'. I can check one of the machines right now and the rest later (you need to hook up an external monitor in order to even read them now).

    The one machine here's serial number starts with YD53... anyone else have this?
  • by macuser08,

    macuser08 macuser08 Jul 27, 2007 9:35 PM in response to mike Savage
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Jul 27, 2007 9:35 PM in response to mike Savage
    One vertical line appeared several days ago, and now tonight before heading off to bed I noticed a second one has appeared. Customer support was unhelpful and stated it was not a widespread problem. I'm swtiching back to PC.
  • by Hawkmang,

    Hawkmang Hawkmang Jul 27, 2007 11:35 PM in response to mike Savage
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 27, 2007 11:35 PM in response to mike Savage
    I called the AppleCare number today and spoke to a woman about the sad state of my precious PowerBook 17" (W8) which was purchased in August of 2005 and now has 27 lines on the screen. She quoted me a repair price of $1200-$1300 and said I might be better off if I purchased a refurbished MacBook Pro from the website as it would be an upgraded version and just a few hundred dollars extra. I have always been a happy and loyal Mac user but this problem is really upsetting. Everything else about my laptop is well worth the $3000 I happily paid for it, but every new line is like a stab in the heart. Aaaagh! :_-(
  • by jsingletary,

    jsingletary jsingletary Jul 28, 2007 6:24 AM in response to Hawkmang
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 28, 2007 6:24 AM in response to Hawkmang
    I purchased two 17" Powerbooks after our house was robbed and our laptops stolen. Mine had "the problem". I got it fixed figuring things break. (I've been a Mac user since a Mac 512k+ and never had an issue.) Then "the problem" happened to my son's. Both were purchased the same day from the same place. I called Apple and got a "too bad, so sad" reply and that I should have purchased Apple Care. I'm opposed to expensive extended warranty insurance on the principle that it rips off the consumer and lines the pockets of the manufacturer. Apple's turned 'rotten' on this one!
  • by fagnaz,

    fagnaz fagnaz Jul 30, 2007 6:27 PM in response to mike Savage
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 30, 2007 6:27 PM in response to mike Savage
    Message was edited by: Host

    null
  • by DavidHudd,

    DavidHudd DavidHudd Jul 29, 2007 12:41 PM in response to fagnaz
    Level 1 (40 points)
    Jul 29, 2007 12:41 PM in response to fagnaz
    fagnaz, whilst I would love to have everybody go to my database and log their faulty PB, posting the link on this site is a sure fire way of have this thread, like the many before it, locked or deleted all together. A little searching on the internet and you can find my site.

    Please log back in and delete the link (a sad request I know!) as it will just end up being another in a long line of threads being eradicated from this site about this problem.

    Many thanks, David Hudd
  • by patonino,

    patonino patonino Jul 29, 2007 2:44 PM in response to DavidHudd
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 29, 2007 2:44 PM in response to DavidHudd
    Hi everybody:
    I have started getting vertical lines two month ago. My Powerbook 17" was assambled in 2005 with Serial Number begining with W85...
    As a member of the VL club I want all of you to know that i went to an apple store in my country and they told me we have to write to legal@apple.com to make a claim about our problem. They told that was the procedure o follow. We need to join together to get some "quality program" or something similar for solving our vertical lines problem.
  • by tuscan,

    tuscan tuscan Jul 29, 2007 3:56 PM in response to patonino
    Level 1 (44 points)
    iPhone
    Jul 29, 2007 3:56 PM in response to patonino
    the VL problem is apparently spread all around the globe. how can we all join such a quality program? what should we write to the mentioned email address? can maybe someone post a template text?
  • by trevr,

    trevr trevr Jul 30, 2007 7:10 AM in response to mike Savage
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 30, 2007 7:10 AM in response to mike Savage
    You know I have to ask the question, does Apple give a toss about their customers?
    I'd really like to know.
    Or do they just care about the ones that make the most noise, the 37signals, the Daring Fireballs, the Coudals of this world?
    If a David Heinemeier Hansson or Jon Gruber had this problem how soon would they have had it fixed?

    This is very well and clearly documented issue.
    The evidence is incontrovertible.
    There's a clear fix.

    Just get on with it Apple! If Dell can do it so can you!
  • by Honora,

    Honora Honora Jul 30, 2007 12:56 PM in response to mike Savage
    Level 1 (25 points)
    Jul 30, 2007 12:56 PM in response to mike Savage
    Hi everyone. I have a 12" PB (my serial # begins with UV4) and so far I have only one vertical line, blue, about a third of the way across my screen from the left. But it is MADDENING to me; it's like having something irritating in my eye! I did call Apple and I got a case number, as was suggested here.

    I did post on the 12" Display Forum, with a suggestion that all 12" VL members 'get together' as you 17" folks have done - and my post was removed by some Host!

    Anyway, I'm just officially 'joining' the VL Club and am subscribing to this thread.

    Sadly,

    Susan
  • by stannard,

    stannard stannard Jul 30, 2007 6:16 PM in response to Honora
    Level 1 (29 points)
    Notebooks
    Jul 30, 2007 6:16 PM in response to Honora
    I just sent a message to the Legal e-mail address above and it bounced back. Anyone else manage to get a message through?

    BTW - My screen now flickers and jumps around like crazy. Sometimes it eventually stabilise but other times it just goes black. It's not the back light though, because even when it's black I can still see my 13 vertical lines as clear as day.

    P
  • by mikeandbecka,

    mikeandbecka mikeandbecka Aug 4, 2007 11:39 AM in response to mike Savage
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 4, 2007 11:39 AM in response to mike Savage
    I got my first Vertical Line a day ago.. Yellow. Powerbook 17 (W85..)

    I thought a simple restart would fix the problem. As I have always treated my machine like gold, and I had no sudden bumps that would have made the screen react this way.

    I was surprised when reading other posts throughout the internet that this is now a common problem. I am upset, but glad I am not alone. Upset because I now know this problem is only going to get much worse and Apple isn't addressing it. It is upsetting that the company I personally evangelize for isn't covering their most loyal user base and showing good taste to their newfound "switchers", is quite disheartening.

    Message was edited by: Host
  • by Dpmontgomery,

    Dpmontgomery Dpmontgomery Aug 6, 2007 7:48 AM in response to mike Savage
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 6, 2007 7:48 AM in response to mike Savage
    Vertical line just appeared on my screen a week ago. 17" PB G4 with serial number starting W8 and purchased 7-8-05.
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