I'm back
Some of you already heard about the problems I had with my iBook last year, and that Apple now admits there's a design/production flaw.
My iBook died again last week. Monday night it shut off instead of waking from sleep when I opened the lid. It started up again normally, so I shut if off and went to bed. I thought perhaps it was a wake-from-sleep glitch. (They did happen before, under earlier MacOS X releases.)
Tuesday morning, after perhaps 20 minutes use, it shut off (not shut down, closing applications in an orderly way, but simply shut off) and would not boot. No sounds, no display, nothing. Dead. And it smelled like something had gotten very hot inside, but it's always smelled like that since it first broke/died.
I figured the extended warranty for the video problem would cover this, but I should probably put the original 30GB disk back in. Apple means for users to install RAM and AirPort (WiFi) cards, so those tasks are easy. Doing anything else inside is like surgery. So I didn't get around to it until Sunday (yesterday).
As I took the iBook apart, I found a small screw lose in a corner. (No telling where it had been lodged before I opened the case.) This was the first time I had opened it up since it came back from the Authorized Repair Center. (Those familiar with failure #1 may recall my finding a lose screw and a lose spring, both of which must have been there since the factory assembly. I blamed them for the first failure, until I found out about the widespread problems on the blackcider.com site.) I put the original disk in and put the thing back together. It booted. Old accounts, old files -- my old machine, a window into the past. Hmmm.
I had no reason to think the new disk was bad (the machine had been deader than bad-disk dead), so I decided to put it back in. The machine works again with the 80GB disk. Was the problem the lose screw? I will probably never know. And what is it with these lose screws?
I don't know what to think about iBook reliability. I love the thing, but mine has had major problems, and so have many others. And maybe the new ones are fine.
The first thing I did afterwards last night was a complete backup. I think this will get me to do them more frequently. (Yeah, I've said that before....)
And now I've got iJournal again, and my non-work email and files, etc. I'm back.
My iBook died again last week. Monday night it shut off instead of waking from sleep when I opened the lid. It started up again normally, so I shut if off and went to bed. I thought perhaps it was a wake-from-sleep glitch. (They did happen before, under earlier MacOS X releases.)
Tuesday morning, after perhaps 20 minutes use, it shut off (not shut down, closing applications in an orderly way, but simply shut off) and would not boot. No sounds, no display, nothing. Dead. And it smelled like something had gotten very hot inside, but it's always smelled like that since it first broke/died.
I figured the extended warranty for the video problem would cover this, but I should probably put the original 30GB disk back in. Apple means for users to install RAM and AirPort (WiFi) cards, so those tasks are easy. Doing anything else inside is like surgery. So I didn't get around to it until Sunday (yesterday).
As I took the iBook apart, I found a small screw lose in a corner. (No telling where it had been lodged before I opened the case.) This was the first time I had opened it up since it came back from the Authorized Repair Center. (Those familiar with failure #1 may recall my finding a lose screw and a lose spring, both of which must have been there since the factory assembly. I blamed them for the first failure, until I found out about the widespread problems on the blackcider.com site.) I put the original disk in and put the thing back together. It booted. Old accounts, old files -- my old machine, a window into the past. Hmmm.
I had no reason to think the new disk was bad (the machine had been deader than bad-disk dead), so I decided to put it back in. The machine works again with the 80GB disk. Was the problem the lose screw? I will probably never know. And what is it with these lose screws?
I don't know what to think about iBook reliability. I love the thing, but mine has had major problems, and so have many others. And maybe the new ones are fine.
The first thing I did afterwards last night was a complete backup. I think this will get me to do them more frequently. (Yeah, I've said that before....)
And now I've got iJournal again, and my non-work email and files, etc. I'm back.