Injured MacBook Pro

Question

Level 1

9 points

Injured MacBook Pro

Greetings. I recently dropped my MacBook Pro on a carpeted area, approximately 1 week past my Applecare contract .

Seemingly Brain Dead, I contacted Apple and received no support or encouragement. Fortunately, a seasoned Mac

veteran suggested squeezing around the edges of the machine, which worked like magic. After fulfilling a few Disk

Repair / Utility ops , the machine is functioning beyond expectation of a brain like injury of the Hard Drive. I'm a novice

at repairs and not a risk taker. This is the first Mac injury that I've experienced ever, including non physical crashes.

Not bad for a lady that got her start on a iMac Performa.

Two weeks later I am up to 90 % functionality, with primary stalls initiating Apple Mail as well as attempting more

than one task simultaneously. There are also unexpected quirks which I'm monitoring quite closely with the Activity

Monitor. My Hard Drive is encrypted ( File Vault + Keychain ), both apparently linking to appropriate selections.

It's apparent that I have no loss of data. However the machine gets headaches frequently, with beach ball hallucinations.

Specs : 2011 MacBook Pro with 448GB available , OSX 10.9.4 with Time Capsule 1TB backup. FileVault on / encrypted HD.

To the point, I'm looking for any insights , including physical repair and specialized software, that may improve

functionality. Ultimately I would like to take this to Apple or an authorized Apple repair service, however the

affordability may have me planning that scenario later. I've learned of ProSoft software : Drive Genius 3 or Data

Rescue 3, with the latter being a bit of overkill. My budget at the moment is $ 500 tops , with much of that going

towards an adequate HD purchase, ASAP.

Before I do anything experimental, I'm gonna purchase a dedicated external LaCie Hard Drive for true file backup.

It was only today that I learned of Time Capsule's limitations.

Thank you

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.4), also using iMac OSX 10.4.11

Posted on Jul 27, 2014 6:07 PM

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Answer 1

Jul 27, 2014 6:14 PM in response to Whimbrel_T4

You are taking a good, common sense approach...a solid backup is the first order of business. That way you do not lose content if things go badly fast.

The shady-tree mechanic fixes often are only temporary things, eventually problems start cropping up. Get your hard drive and backup the system. Then I would take the Mac to an Apple store genius bar, if possible, and have the techs run complete diagnostics on the machine (that part is free). They can tell you if you have physical damage and the extent of it. What repair/replacement would cost. Then you can make decisions. But with a complete system backup you won't loose material.

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Answer 2

Jul 27, 2014 6:15 PM in response to Whimbrel_T4

I am guessing that the machine is probably 3 years old, since you said that it is one week past your apple care contract. In my opinion, I would be budgeting for a new machine. Save the $500 bucks and whatever other monies you were planning on spending on this machine, and buy a new machine this time next year, or so. My humble opinion. :-)

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Answer 3

Whimbrel_T4 Author

Level 1

9 points

Jul 27, 2014 6:58 PM in response to Ralph Landry1

Thanks. I try to be as pragmatic as possible, with informed decisions. Having a limited budget at the moment,

my usual " take it to the experts " approach had me revising my efforts. I did not realize the Genius Bar folks

at Apple performed complimentary ( pre) diagnostics. The phone rep wasn't very empathetic at all. From

relating to my old acquaintance and BMUG buddy, we got through the Disk Utility stuff just fine. His help is

invaluable, however limited with respect to physical ( motherboard ) repairs. It was also his insight to question

over-reliance with Time Capsule. A dedicated external hard drive is Mac User Group teaching 101. Thankfully

my iMac desktop ( lamp) utilizes an external LaCie HD ( too small to absorb all from the MacBook Pro ).

I'm intrigued with ProSoft's claim of Apple using their product at the Genius Bar. Any perceptions of their products ?

Naturally I'll contact their reps for additional insights. Amazon customer mentioned that the Data Rescue 3 retrieved

items long ago deleted or ill appropriate for the OS system current use. The Drive Genius product might be useful

for an annual checkup or emergencies such as this one.

Thanks again for your reply.

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Answer 4

Whimbrel_T4 Author

Level 1

9 points

Jul 27, 2014 7:04 PM in response to victoryhat

Thanks for your reply. In the meantime, I need a functional machine that doesn't suffer migraines ( :

If my desktop were up to the task of taking over, I'd switch until budget allows for a new machine next year, as

you suggest. On the other hand, I hate tossing more un-recyclable electronics into the environment. I kept my

Performa for 10 well used years.

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Answer 5

leroydouglas

Level 10

200,646 points

Jul 27, 2014 9:26 PM in response to Whimbrel_T4

junco8 Jul 27, 2014 6:07 PM

approximately 1 week past my Applecare contract

Applecare does not cover accidental damage, like dropping your mac. So that part of your story has no bearing.

You can run the AHT yourself to see if it generates any error codes. Not definitive by any means but it is DIY.

AHT http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1509

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Answer 6

Whimbrel_T4 Author

Level 1

9 points

Jul 28, 2014 1:59 PM in response to leroydouglas

Thanks for your reply. I found the link insightful, if only a concise review for troubleshooting facts. I've bookmarked

the link for future reference.

The mention of my AppleCare and the response from Tech Support had a significant " bearing " on my situation.

I received no support or encouragement, not an ounce of empathy. I was told my machine was dead and likely

devoid of any hope of recovering anything on it........ even with Time Capsule. I was also told the only remedy

to my situation was a "new machine" , as taking it in to be serviced at Apple would be a wasted effort..... ".

Not exactly good support or customer service. Ironically, going outside my comfort zone and desperately any seeking

any insights from any person , resulted in my MacBook Pro at least operating at an acceptable functional level. In

fact, I'm sending responses to my original query from the injured machine. Not a miracle, just good old fashioned

give it a try and see what happens. Much respect for the people that came forth to my aid.

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