Apple Store Repair How long and what do I need to know?

Hi & Wow..?'s ?'s ?'s
The Applecare goes by the Serial Number, but I would also suggest your wife takes any paperwork relating to your purchase of the Mac.. Did you check to see it was a legitimate owner/seller?
The repair will take as long as it takes, they may need to order a part or a new complete panel...L

2nd Response// They will need your passwords/or you can disable them.. & I would suggest a Full Back..Once the techs have the unit although they try it is sometimes impossible to save the info..
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Hi chaimdan. You ask some good questions about taking your computer in for repairs.

There are three ways to go about getting a repair for an Apple portable. One, as you suggest you are doing, is to carry in to an Apple retail store. Another is to call Apple directly (800-275-2273 in the USA) and have them set up a mail in repair. Third is to go to an Apple authorized service provider and have them do the repair. If it can be done in store, the Apple retail store repair is probably the fastest. If not, I would go with the mail in repair. All three of these can usually be done in under a week, but if the parts you need are out of stock it can take longer. On occasion mail in repairs can be completed in as few as four days (including shipping) which is astonishingly fast!

Always always always make backups of your important data before sending the computer in for repairs. Apple will run a final hardware test on your computer after completing the repair, and if the hard drive shows signs of failure they will replace it, without warning you and without backing up your data. You will need to give them your password before they can do repairs. If you have data you want to remain confidential, take it off the computer.

If your wife does take it in to an Apple retail store, be sure she [makes an appointment|http://www.apple.com/retail] first or she may spend a long time waiting to speak to a Mac Genius.

Registration does not matter. Computers change hands all the time. If you own it now, ask Apple to register it to you.

Best of luck.

Hi chaimdan, I'm glad I was able to help. Concerning your follow up questions:

No, it is not common for them to wipe or replace your hard drive. It does happen, however. If your data is important to you, you need to back it up. Actually, even if you were not sending your computer in for repairs I would urge you to make backups of all your important data. Hard drives are mechanical devices and can fail at any time. IT professionals know that there are two kinds of hard drives: those that have failed already and those that will fail sometime in the future. The only question is when.

If they do swap out the hard drive, they will not give the old one back. It is sent back to the manufacturer.

External hard drives are cheap insurance against data loss. Only you can decide how important your data is. If you don't want to lose it, back it up!

Best of luck.