Don’t Beat Up Your MacBook Pro Unibody – Your Hard Drive Is Directly Under Your Right Hand!

A client brought us his MacBook Pro Unibody 15” yesterday. He got mad at his Mac and smashed his fist down onto the palm rest.

Sadly, this was a not a good thing for the health of the MacBook.

Here’s the carnage report:

1. Dented Palm rest (We did our best to bang the dent out)

2. Dead hard drive (It’s no longer spinning)

3. Lost hard drive data (Since the drive is not spinning, we can’t recover the data)

4. Voided Apple/AppleCare warranty. (Because the damage was due to abuse the repair could not be handled under warranty, and the client had to pay for a new hard drive)

If you spill coffee into your MacBook or MacBook Pro, the trick is to get it to MacMedics fast. Don’t try to fix it yourself, and just because it seems to be working OK, does NOT mean you’re out of the woods. Best thing to do is try to mop up excess liquid, remove the battery, then get it to us a quickly as possible.

Here are some Do-It-Yourself procedures to avoid:

1. Don’t try to turn the unit on NO MATTER WHAT. If there is liquid in the unit, and it’s making a connection between anything, then that could very well be the end of your laptop.

2. Don’t try to take the unit apart yourself. It’s not that hard to take off most MacBook’s top case, but to ensure the liquid is gone, the logic board needs to be removed in almost every case.

3. Don’t try to clean your logic board or any other part of your computer with “distilled” water. In fact, we don’t recommend you even try to clean it at all.

4. If moisture gets in, it’s usually not going to go away on it’s own. If your computer seems to be working after a spill, then that means you most likely got lucky and we might be able to fix/save your MacBook or MacBook Pro. But, in order to do so, turn the unit off and remove the battery. The liquid problem almost never goes away on it’s own.

5. If you have something like coffee, orange juice, soda, and many other type of acidic liquids, two things, 1. the acid will cause more corrosion than just water, and 2. Anything that has sugars in it won’t totally evaporate, it will just turn in a syrup which can cause it’s own set of problems. If you are growing a corrosion “science fair” project inside your laptop, you’ll end up with something that looks like mold that we call “creeping crud“. This stuff is nasty, because as long as it’s inside your unit, it can sort of “grow” and “creep” to reach other parts of your computer and cause more damage along the way. Anything it touches and then grows on will get get fried if power is applied (even well after the liquid is long gone). It’s also very brittle and it can crack off and then “float” around inside of your unit causing more issues as it “pinballs” its way around the inside of your computer.

6. Do us a big favor, don’t put your Apple laptop into an oven to dry it out. This can cause a whole new set of problems. We just wrapped up writing an estimate on a Unibody MacBook Pro that the owner tried to take it apart, then tried to clean the keyboard with water, and then baked the whole thing in the oven. Total repair $1700. New computer $1200.

One other thing to think about: Your hard drive. If your data is NOT backed up, your liquid soaked laptop could be putting your data at risk. This is the first thing we look a when working on a liquid spill case. We remove the hard drive and check to ensure that your data is safe. Most DIY repairs don’t take this into account, and most won’t take the controller off the hard drive to ensure there’s no liquid under it. When making a back up plan, you should take into account laptop damage as a possible way for your data to get in harm’s way. Please ensure you have a back up (tested and working) at all times.

Here’s a testimonial for one that we fixed a while back. This client was smart and he got the unit to us quickly, so we could get the coffee out while it was still wet.

“Well I’ve received my MacBook delivered back to me via your courier; and, I have to tell you that it was like getting a member of the family home from the hospital. Five days after buying my MacBook, I spilled coffee across the open laptop: I was certain that I had just spent $1,200 for coffee I wouldn’t get to enjoy. I never dreamed you could have saved my files– much less the entire computer. I am in awe of the dedication and skill it must have taken to disassemble my laptop, clean it piece by piece, and then return it to me as good as new. Thank you for the attention, the care, and the professionalism you demonstrated in far exceeding my expectations in quality of service and affordability. I highly recommend MacMedics, and would encourage any Mac user who drinks coffee to put your number on speed dial.”

Shane Townsend
Baltimore, Maryland

Are You Snowed In Baltimore Or Washington DC Today? This Would Be An Excellent Time To Check Your Time Machine Or Other Macintosh Backup System.

Are you snowed in the Baltimore-Washington area? A snow day is an excellent time to review your Mac’s back up plan, add an extra layer of protection, or test the back up you already have running! Don’t forget, there’s no such thing a set-it-and-forget it backup plan! (This post has links to all my other posts on this topic. Read, learn, and protect your data.)

We also see a rise in data loss that can be attributed to folks moving data or computers around during bad weather. If you are moving your data, switching back ups, or upgrading to a new computer, or doing ANY type of data housekeeping, please read this Blog post first.

A new client in our Washington DC office, brought us a MacBook that had a dying hard drive. He needed the data, so Mike H, one of the talented MacMedics in Lanham was able to recover it all.

Folks, this would be so much easier if everyone had data back ups. I promise you that even without countless “Data Recovery” cases coming in every day, we’ll still be able to stay in business. If you don’t have a tested, working, and automatic backup working for, it’s TIME to get one. We can help if you need guidance.

If you have a back up, then test it, and please consider a clone back up and an off-site back up to boot. You can never have TOO MANY back ups.

Our client in Washington DC sent this:

“Dear Mr Stibolt

Steven S.”

We had a new MacMedics client call us on the phone and then come by the office with their sick iMac. The complaint was the unit was super slow. Right away I’m thinking a bad hard drive. The client tended to agree with me. The iMac fits our profile for hard drive “retirement” anyways since it’s right at the three years old mark. This is a fine time to “upgrade” and “retire” a desktop hard drive. (MacMedics recommends desktop hard drives be retired after 3 years and 2 years in laptops)

In this case the client was in a hurry, so in trying to find the fastest solution we looked for the “sniper shot” hard drive fix to see if we could put her back in shape without replacing her hard drive. She had a presentation to work on tonight, and she felt most comfortable with the idea of getting her unit back on-line. We offered a low cost rental, since she had her Time Machine data, but she really wanted her iMac back.

We felt comfortable trying some “fixes” on her hard drive, because she had an up-to-date Time Machine back up. Well, when it really came down to it, those fixes and even a new install of her operating system failed to solve the problem. This told us that it was in fact the hard drive that was the cause of the problem.

The client opted for a new hard drive, AND an upgrade to a 1 TB hard drive (from a 500 MB. Read more about iMac hard drive service and upgrades here.), since her hard drive was dying. Because of what we had learned about her drive being super slow, we decided to multi-task and run utilities on her Western Digital TIme Machine volume while the new OS was also installing. As we started looking at it carefully, we learned that the Time Machine drive was also failing.

We’re not big fans of this brand of hard drive, and when we told the client it was failing, she was shocked to hear it. We learned that the drive was less than a year old (don’t forget hard drives can die at anytime. See our website http://www.HardDrivesDie.com for more info.) When I told her that Western Digital was not my first choice for storing data, she was again shocked as she bought it from the Apple Store.

Here’s the facts folks. Any hard drive can die at any time, and just because it was purchased at the Apple Store does not give you an extra layer of protection. The other thing to remember is that the process of TIme Machine running every hour is rough on hard drives. The other item everybody needs to know, is there’s no such thing as set-and-forget-it the world of hard drive back ups.

All hard drive back up systems need to be tested and monitored on a regular basis. Time Machine is no exception. It does a great job of providing extremely easy to use back ups, but it should not be the only back up you trust your data with. (See my previous post about Time Machine here.) We recommend a double back up. TIme Machine for your first layer of back up, and a “clone” back up for your second layer of protection. Ideally, you should also have some sort of off-site back up as well.

As we store more and more of our digital identity and life on hard drives, it’s akin to more “eggs in one basket”. When you have more data stored in one place, you increase your risk, if that single hard drive fails, you could stand to lose all of the data stored on it. The other thing to keep in mind is as the amount of data you have active and live on your computer grows and grows, TIme Machine loses some if it’s ability to keep a longer record of you past data. The larger your Time Machine hard drive volume is in ratio to your main hard drive, the longer Time Machine will keep you data backed up. Of course having any back up is better than no back up, but Time Machine’s real advantage is in it’s ability to to keep months and months (even a year) of data for you to look back on if you should need a file that you accidentally erased 6 months ago (or longer).

As was the case today with our new client, she came very close to losing her data as, both her primary and her TIme Machine back-up drives were both failing in different ways. That could have proved disastrous.

What can you do to prevent this? Make a clone of your drive. For as little as $99 you can by a portable USB hard drive and either clone your whole hard drive, or just copy your user folder to it. You can also start burning some of your data to DVDs or CDs and storing that data off site.

No matter what you need in terms of a back up, MacMedics can help. Call any of our offices, and we’ll be glad to help you add your first, second, or third layer of back up. It’s important, so don’t delay.

Tip: If you bought a Time Machine drive when you purchased your new Macintosh, it needs to be installed in order to protect you. Don’t start generating data you care about AND can’t stand to lose if you’re NOT backed up. If you’re reading this, and you need help checking you back up or getting it configured, call us we can help. It does not matter if you’re local to MacMedics here in Baltimore, Washington DC, or Philadelphia. We can come on-site, or we can visit your computer via our Desktop Support Software. A back up coaching session over the phone can be set up and running in about 15 minutes. PLEASE, don’t wait!

You can read some of my other posts on Time Machine here:

Congratulations your hard drive made it through another Friday the 13th!

Back up and secure your data! (Then test your back up system!)

Do you use Time Machine as your only back up? Double it!

Installing a second hard drive into a MacBook Pro = Very Cool. Having a mobile bootable backup anywhere = PRICELESS.

Leopard’s Time Machine might not be a powerful enough back up for you.

MacMedics Frequently Asked Macintosh Service Questions: Is It Worth Repairing A Macbook Pro With $1200.00 In Liquid Damage? This dollar amount is a pretty common price quote from the Apple Store. Before you accept a quote for an “advanced” Macintosh repair of any kind (from anybody), be sure to get a second opinion from the experts at MacMedics. We’ve been fixing Macs since before the Apple Store and since 1989 in teh Baltimore-Annapolis-Columbia area.

It is best to see the unit, but there’s no harm in calling us to go over the options and details. Give us a shout anytime at 1-866-MAC-MEDICS!

First off, this is a far too common of an issue. We just successfully repaired a MacBook that had a “Blueberry Smoothie” spilled into it. Folks, please keep liquids at least an arm’s length away from your Apple laptop.

See this image large size here.

Being in a situation where liquid is in play brings up lots of questions. I’ll try to touch base on a few of the major ones here. If you find yourself in this situation, just call us at 1-866-MAC-MEDICS or send us an e-mail. We’re happy to talk shop about your Apple repair or service problems at anytime.

The first order of business is get the the MacBook or MacBook Pro right into us. Even if it appears that the unit is working after the spill, don’t assume you’ve dodged a bullet. Once there’s moisture inside the unit, it can grow into what we call the “creeping crud” which is really just corrosion that grows kind of like mold inside your computer. If this grows to a point where it’s touching two point that carry current, then zap! and you get a short and could end with with a fried logic board.

What to do if you have a spill: Turn off the computer, remove the power adapter, and if possible remove the battery. It’s pretty much pot luck on what to do next. If liquid went in the keyboard, then turn the unit upside down with the screen open. Use a stock of books to place the unit on it’s keyboard, with the screen open. Depending on the situation hitting it with a hair dryer might help too.

How to get started: For $99 we’ll open the unit up take a look around inside. If we see surface damage we can clean, we’ll attack it. If we have to go deeper with the unit we’ll let you know and as in the case of the “Blueberry Smoothie” unit we just wrapped up, it ended up being about $300 in labor to fix the unit. If the unit is beyond repair, the $99 still buys you some rudimentary liquid removal, and we’ll give you the facts on what’s going on.

This is far better then just signing the death certificate yourself, and even if the news is bad, $99 is a small price to really know what’s going on. Moving forward you can know that if you need to buy a new unit, your old unit at least had the best chance possible.

Is it worth fixing? If very well might be. In cases of liquid spills (coffee is the most common) the Apple Store is likely to quote you $1200.00 for your repair. Even if you have minor damage (that might seem major) it’s usually the same price. Here at MacMedics, we’ll just fix what’s broken, and accurately diagnose the problem you have. A common issue after a liquid spill is a bad keyboard, that might be $200 to fix. Another issue we see frequently is a unit that can’t charge the battery or can’t run off the battery. Again, a repair like this at MacMedics is generally going to be $200 to $300.

Even if you do need a new logic board, it’s quite likely that our price will be lower then the Apple Store, and unlike Apple, MacMedics puts a full 1-year warranty on our repairs. (Apple is only 90 days). The other factor is turn around time. At Apple, almost all liquid spills get shipped out for depot service. This can work against you as the unit is out of your control, and you could end up with a repair that is far more than what was quoted. As an Apple Authorized Service Provider, Apple frequently sends clients to us for major repairs because they know our prices are likely going to be better than theirs. Liquid Spills, major case damage, and MacBook and MacBook Pro LCD and glass repair referrals from the Apple store are a daily occurrence at both of our MacMedics repair centers.

There’s not much good news when you spill something into you MacBook Pro. If the unit is a total loss, and you do end up buying new, MacMedics will take the old unit as a trade in (in most cases). As an Apple Authorized Value Added Reseller, we carry the full line of Macintosh MacBooks. We can also help with removing the hard drive from a damaged unit, and if needed cleaning it. If the hard drive is a loss too, and we can’t do anything with it, we can put you in touch with one of our clean room data recovery partners.

One thing that many people forget to check is your home owners or renters insurance. If you laptop suffers major damage, in many cases your insurance will cover it. The deducible is usually pretty high ($250 to $500), but that’s better than getting nothing. Also, American Express offers 1-year of accidental damage protection when you buy with your AMEX card. Also, many other “high-end” credit cards also offer various protection from 90 days to 1-year.

There’s also a company called SafeWare that will insure your laptop against damage. It’s also possible to buy an extra insurance rider that can help protect your laptop if it get lost, stolen, or damaged.

MacMedics Frequently Asked Macintosh Service Questions: Snow Leopard Installation

Do I need to to back up before installing Snow Leopard?

In a word YES! Whenever you run a minor or major software update, you DO need to have your data backed up (and be sure to have that back up tested as well!).

Time and time again we have clients come in with a major hard drive problem right after they have tried to upgrade their Mac OS.

Run Time Machine BEFORE you run that installer. If you are not on Leopard or Snow Leopard, run a program like SuperDuper to make a clone of your hard drive before you perform your upgrade. Even if you have a Time Machine back up, I highly suggest you have a fresh clone of your hard drive on standby whenever you’re running a major Apple software upgrade. This way if something goes wrong, you have a bootable copy of all of your data. Nice thing about a clone vs. Time Machine is you can boot off it and TEST it BEFORE you run a major upgrade. This way if something goes wrong you can get right back to work by booting off the clone.

Never run an Apple software update when you’re on deadline or have a major project due. Updates should always be performed when you’re not under the gun.

Should I unplug my external backup when installing Snow Leopard?

Yes. In fact MacMedics recommends that all USB and FireWire devices (except your keyboard and mouse) should be unplugged before you run the Snow Leopard installer. That holds true for any software update or upgrade as well.

See our full Snow Leopard upgrade Blog post with all the things you should consider here.

UPDATE 1/2/10: I’m re-posting this Blog POST from a few weeks ago, because lots of folks are spending time during the New Year holiday to do some house keeping on data from 2009. I’m sure lots of people got new Macs for the holidays too, so be sure to read the Blog post below.

Two things to remember:

1. Never delete data that has not been certified in it’s new location or on a new computer.

2. Never use a computer to process and generate mission critical data without a back-up.

When folks buy a new computer and then transfer the data to the new unit, they are often anxious to re-purpose or re-sell the old computer. So much so, that once they see the new unit is up and running, they will ERASE the old unit and put a fresh OS on it in preparation for it’s new life. In many cases they have already made a deal to sell their old Mac and the sale is “pending” on them getting the new Mac up and running. So there’s often some pressure to get the job done quickly and complete the transaction.

With all hard drives (and new hard drives in NEW computers) there’s a 30 to 60 day “burn-in” that if the drive is going to give up on you there’s a pretty good chance that it will fail in that time frame. There are almost no DOA hard drives, so the ones that have issues are the ones that develop one in that first 30-60 days. If a hard drive comes off the line at the factory and it’s got an issue, they catch those, and destroy them. In fact, it’s been quite some time, since a hard drive has arrived here at MacMedics “Dead On Arrival”. In a few cases we see them dead, when they have been improperly packaged for shipment. We cannot afford to have one of our client’s computers to have a sick hard drive installed in it, so if a batch of hard drives comes to us and they were shipped by an idiot, then back they go. Thankfully we buy by the case, so the factory shipping container is usually very sturdy, so this is not an issue very often.

NEVER EVER put new data on a new hard drive (then delete your old data or sell an old computer) and assume that you’re safer then you were with the old drive. Data SHOULD always be in two places at once!

If you need to erase an old computer and you’ve just transferred ALL of your data to a new shiny computer, don’t let that “new computer” feeling of safety (because it’s new I’m at LESS risk!) distract you! If it’s a new Mac, then run a quick Time Machine back up or clone your drive with SuperDuper BEFORE you erase that old data. Don’t forget to ensure that new backup is also working correctly. This is a common issue, so DON’T fall into this trap!

See my website at http://www.HardDrivesDie.com. Yeah! It’s that common of an issue that I made a website all about it. It has my TOP 5 list of data protection-preservation tips. Also see my Friday the 13th Blog post on topic of hard drives.

If you’re a creative professional working for an ad agency, graphic design or photography studio with Apple Macintosh computers in the Philadelphia Metro, South New Jersey, or Wilmington, Delaware areas, we’d love to help you.

We’re MacMedics Philadelphia, and as Apple Authorized Service Providers and Apple Authorized Value Added Resellers, MacMedics Philadelphia has what it takes to solve your Mac IT problems. We’ve been providing Macintosh Solution to Creative Professionals since 1989.

We’re here to provide the very best Macintosh Service and Consulting available, and we don’t require contracts or any other type of future commitments in order to receive very efficient and fast Macintosh service.

MacMedics brings the kind of technical and management capabilities that you would expect from a full-time IT professional — without the expense of a full-time professional. We don’t take sick days and we’re always just a phone call or e-mail away. We also offer remote desktop and telephone technical support.

If you’re not 100% happy with your current Mac Tech or Consultant, 2010 might be a great time to make the switch to MacMedics. Please call MacMedics for your free on-site Environmental Assessment. We would be delighted to give you a free second opinion on your Mac network or server installation. Please see our previous Blog post on topic.

RT @marioarmstrong Video: Digital Santa series! Save money on your Apple power cords! Heres how from @DanaStibolt http://tinyurl.com/ybygc9w

iBook G4 (2004) and eMac hit #Apple “Vintage” list. Original iBook G4 and Quicksilver G4 Hit the “Obsolete” list.

Sound the alarm! A counterfeit #iPhone 3G S is inspected and compared to real iPhone 3G S at @MacMedics http://bit.ly/5s24QE

Are you using @MacMedics for your Mac IT? If not, you can still get free second opinion on your network from us! http://bit.ly/6lr7n0

I just updated my Blog post “Ten Great Reasons Not To Wait In line & Fight The Crowds At The Apple Store”. http://bit.ly/4OVbVD

Why using a #Drobo for Apple’s Time Machine might not be a good idea. http://bit.ly/6Gv89C

Hard drives can die at anytime! New or old. Make sure you’re backed up. We just updated our web page with top 5 rules. www.HardDrivesDie.com