Q: Replacement Program - ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT video issue

I got one that was another 2600XT exactly like the one it replaced.  So alike in fact, that it doesn't work either, and has a serial number that matches the ones that are eligible for replacement!

The replacement process as stated here

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3630

is not correct.

Here is my first hand experience:

Have had the intermittent problems as described almost since the computer was new. After many calls to applecare and ROM upgrades, software upgrades and reinstalls, new boot drive - problem persisted until last week -now monitor stays on black screen on startup.

Called local Apple store as described in support page - they know nothing about it and you cannot talk to a tech on the phone - have to make appt. Asked the receptionist to please describe problem to tech and see if they might be able to help before I take the time to make appt. I was told that they don't handle that here - go to an outside service center. Of course its Friday and the outside service is closed until Monday. Call another apple store and make an appointment - they seam more willing to help.

Follow the instructions and remove board and take it with Mac serial number to store.

I am told that they will not release the replacement board unless they install it themselves in my computer. I politely point out that the service doc states otherwise - no dice. Tech orders the board - won't know until Monday what delivery schedule is - he guesses 2-3 days and they can install when it comes in.

Lesson learned.

You can't trust what apple says in a tech document - maybe you can't believe anything they say. Frustrating part is that you can't talk to anyone to get a straight answer until you nail someone down in person - and how do I know that the tech told me the right thing. After all, doesn't corporate dictate policy? I got the policy from the corp site. So which is right?

Do you think they would reimburse me if I went out and purchased a new board and did the replacement myself?

"If you believe you have paid for repair or replacement because of this issue, contact Apple regarding a refund."

I highly doubt it based on what the tech said - but who should I believe?

Followup_

I am on hold with applecare.

Getting to applecare - there's a trick to it...

Call the applecare number and they want $49 to talk if you don't have a current account.

Instead go to:

Use Express Lane for fast, personalized service.

select that your problem is not listed and eventually you will have an option to click on

recently upgraded to osx

then you can set up a phone call to you

Talked to a nice tech at applecare who initially read the bulletin and said yes you should get a card without bringing in the computer. Yes the card qualifies. Put me on hold to confirm and found that you do have to take the tower in for testing and they will replace the card at the store.

There is no upgrade policy to apply the cost of the replacement card to a different card - too bad.

Oh well - off I go to the apple store.

I had a generally good experience with this issue.  The card in question was in a Mac Pro (early 2008) running OSX 10.6 (Snow Leopard).  For some time, my display had been exhibiting small rectangular patches here and there, with each such patch sparsely populated with mis-colored pixels.

After I took the update to 10.6.8, one such patch would follow my mouse around the screen, which was annoying enough to prompt me to look into the problem.  I found the service note referenced above, pulled the card, and brought it to the Apple store in Cambridge, MA along with a printed copy of the service note and the serial number of my machine.  After taking a few minutes to familiarize themselves with the issue and find a replacement card in store stock, they cheerfully swapped mine for a new one.  I noticed that the new card fell within the affected serial number range and asked the technician about it-- the answer was that not all such cards were affected -rather, this was a quality issue affecting a small fraction of such cards.

The new card completely fixed the problem.  Given the regular patterns on the screen, and the change in behavior following the update, I'd guess this is a memory problem on the affected cards.

Take note of the July 31, 2011 cutoff for the replacement program.  My machine was already just out of the normal three-year warranty, so another month and I would have been out of luck.

The Apple Store in Bristol, UK, gave me a faulty replacement, so I took the whole machine in to them and let them sort it out.  They were actually very quick and efficient, and given that the Mac Pro was over three years old anyway I am happy with Apple's approach to repairing this problem.  The only thing they could have done on top would have been to contact owners to let them know of the scheme.  Isn't that why we register the warranties with them?

Followup - 2

Took the machine in and they had a card in stock and replaced it within 15 minutes. Booted up to login in screen - all looked good - went home.

Plugged everything in at home, logged in, and video anomalies appeared - menu bar was red, random vertical lines appeared when moving cursor, gray boxes around objects. Immediately took the tower back. This time they kept it for 5 days - the replacement card was also bad. They ordered another card and replace it.

I don't have much faith in this card - will it go bad over time like the original card? I asked if they would upgrade and was told they have to replace with the same card. Not a good policy IMO with a unit that has known defects.

Thumbs up on the store and online personnel for professional, courteous service.

THUMBS DOWN on the corporate policy. Why did they not alert original owners about this problem? They have our emails!

The saga continues....

Board went bad today after a little over 3 months. Apple store replcaed it with the same for the 3rd time. Computer has now had 3 defective boards installed.