MacMedics would like to thank Dwight Silverman’s Houston Chronicle’s TechBlog for the kind plug for MacMedics’ $150 Liquid Spill Rescue Program.

If you have just arrived from Dwight Silverman’s Houston Chronicle’s TechBlog regarding this topic. This is a delicate subject, and my comments were deemed too long (and maybe too self serving) to be posted on their Blog site. Seriously, please call us to at least chat about your issue, and $150 is a small price to pay to have ALL of the facts regarding your liquid spill case. If you don’t fully read this Blog post, don’t fall into the trap of thinking you’re out of the woods if your MacBook or MacBook Pro (or any other laptop) is working after you wiped it off, and dried it out. We see lots of cases where the computer will FRY it’s self after what’s left of the liquid inside starts to corrode and grows what we call creeping crud.

MacMedics does offer a $150 “liquid spill” assessment. For $150, we will have our Apple Certified techs take the unit completely apart and perform one round of electronic cleaning. The $150 will also get you a written estimate of what exactly the unit needs in terms of parts for repair, which you can in turn submit to your insurance or credit card to start a claim. Our $150 evaluation and first go-around of cleaning is a good deal, as sometime we can save the unit for $150.

See this review from DJ PHAZE We were able to save his DJ MacBook for $150.

Also, here’s our full post from the MacMedics Blog on liquid spills.

In regards to sending your unit out for repair we accept repairs from all over the world, and we are known for our quick turn around times. We will also start looking at your MacBook or MacBook Pro the day it arrives, so we do not wait around on liquid spills. Also, as this article mentioned, getting inside the UniBody MacBook and MacBook Pros are a pain. It is definitely not a repair for a beginner.

Another advantage MacMedics can offer is that we fix only what has a problem. When you compare our quote to $1200 one from Apple that uses a “tiered” repair system that favors the worst case scenario and no cleaning, our repair can be half as much, or even less depending on the problem. We only clean what needs cleaning, and we only replace what needs to be replaced. By totally talking the unit fully apart (most others do not perform this service) we have a fairly accurate view of what needs to happen. When you compare that to someone just giving a verbal estimate of $1200 without taking the unit apart, our repair is usually less. One other factor that is commonly overlooked is if Apple sends your unit away for depot service, there is a disconnect in ownership of the problem from the Genius who checked it in to the Repair Tech who handles your case in another state.

I’ll just mention one other thing here. Often someone will have a liquid spill, then clean it up, dry it out, and then use the computer. You really, really need to get inside that unit to ensure ALL of the liquid and corrosion is totally gone. We commonly see units suffer from a spill, for a few days, then totally fry, because the corrosion (creeping curb) will short out a circuit somewhere, killing the logic board or other complex electronic system.

When you are dealing with a crisis like this, it is helpful to talk to someone who has been through this process before. Feel free to call and talk to me, or any of our expert techs to get all of your repair options. 1-866-MAC-MEDICS

Also, MacMedics is an Apple Authorized Value Added Reseller, so even if you do have a MacBook Pro catastrophe on your hands, we can sell you a new unit, transfer your data, and give you a trade-in allowance for your damaged unit.

Sorry to ramble on, but this is a complex topic. Please check out our Blog for more details.

Dana Stibolt

Keep Your Stapler Away From Your MacBook’s MagSafe Power Connector

Don’t forget that the magnet inside the MagSafe connector on your MacBook or MacBook Pro is very strong.

It WILL pull metal objects into it, and as you can see in this picture a staple is the perfect size. This is a “used” staple, but an “unused” stable also fits into the MagSafe port perfectly.

This unit was working, but even after some other seeming unrelated damage it stopped working. We’re wondering if this staple had anything to do with it.

There have also been reports of certain type of “sand” being picked up and stuck inside the MagSafe connector. It’s a good idea to keep and eye on it, and be sure to promptly remove anything you find.

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

Getting An Accurate Macintosh Repair Diagnosis Is Important. You’ll Always Get One At MacMedics, And Never For More Than $49

Recently, a MacMedics client showed me an on-line review of another Apple Authorized Service Provider that shares the Metro area with one of the MacMedics offices. To keep things as fair as possible I won’t name names or locations.

Here’s a copy of the review that was marked 1 out of 5 stars:

“Let me fill you in on my story. I’m a sophomore in college, and I own a MacBook Pro. One day the display just stops working. External displays don’t even work. So I bring it to an Apple store nearby. They tell me they can’t cover it under the warranty because of the “external damage” (really nothing more than a few scratches and a small bump or two). So, they want to charge me $1300 for repairs. I figured I’d just take it to an Authorized Service Provider, and have them fix only the parts that aren’t working. Little did I know that about a week later I’d get a call saying they couldn’t do anything for me and that they’d have to charge me $125 for “Diagnostics” when they can’t even tell me what’s wrong with the thing. Overall, if it’s a hardware problem, I’m not even sure if it would be worth trying to save the computer. You may as well just buy another one?”

Let me tell you why this type of situation never happens at MacMedics:

1. If you bring in a unit that is obviously beyond our help, we won’t try to entice you to check it in for a diagnostic if we don’t think it’s going to be worth fixing. In many cases, if you stop by with your sick Mac, we’ll be able to tell pretty quick if we think it’s worth fixing or even worth looking into. We’ll often plug a unit in to see what’s up with it while-you-wait if we have the open bench space when you stop by. We know that nobody wants to be without their computer, and in many cases if we find out your issue is a simple problem like a bad power adapter, bad battery, corrupt power manager, or a bad stick of RAM it can often be repaired right on the spot.

2. If we have to open up your MacBook or MacBook Pro to look inside for trouble, and we deem that it needs a repair that is either too much for you, or just to expensive in general our fee for the diagnostic and surgery is only $49. That fee is only charged IF you decide NOT to fix your Mac laptop.

3. If you bring us a Macintosh computer for service, we will usually have an answer for you within 24 hours. Never a week or more as was the case in the review mentioned here.

4. If your unit is super sick (like it needs a $1200 repair) it may still have salvage value. A. We’ll help move you into a new Mac and transfer all of your data (if your data is healthy) for a flat fee of $99. B. If you unit has any value to us, we’ll offer a trade-in value for it. (That’s not something Apple does or anyone else we know of.)

5. If your MacBook laptop has suffered a liquid spill, we offer a $99 “estimate” service, which will get you an estimate on the total repair, and 1-way take apart on the laptop. We’ll remove the logic board, look under the hard drive and even try some basic cleaning and testing to see what is wrong with your MacBook. Unlike out $49 fee, the $99 liquid estimate is work we have to perform, so it’s really like the first leg of the repair, so any needed repairs and part are in addition to the $99 estimate fee. See this MacMedics Blog post for more info.

6. Our in-shop techs will be honest with you. We will try to find the cause of your computer’s issue, and report back to you with ALL of your options. If we can repair your Mac cost effectively, we’ll go in that direction. If your repair is more than 50% the cost of replacing the unit, we’ll most likely recommend replacing it.

In some cases of a major hardware failure, MacMedics, might be able to move you into a pre-owned Mac. We often can move over your upgraded hard drive and/or RAM to try and maximize the value of what you have already paid for.

We really do love what we do, and no matter what your situation is, we would LOVE to talk to you about your problem. Give us call, send us an e-mail, or just stop by either of two Apple Certified Mac Labs in Millersville or Lanham, Maryland.

The Apple Store won’t upgrade your hard drive for you. But, MacMedics can, and we can do so either in or out of Apple warranty.

Here’s a common hard drive scenario that we help MacMedics clients with every day.

Your hard drive has failed, but you’d like to replace with a larger hard drive.

This makes perfect sense. Your MacBook with a 120 GB hard drive kicks the bucket, and in the process of replacing it, you’d like to upgrade it. MacMedics can help!

In Warranty: If your Mac is under warranty AND it’s hard drive fails, we can upgrade you to a larger capacity hard drive “under warranty”. All you do is pay for a new hard drive in the capacity of your choice.

Here’s how it happens:

1. We diagnose your computer’s hard drive as failed.
2. We order a new hard drive from Apple.
3. We install a new third party hard drive in the capacity of your choice.
4. We will install a new operating system on your new hard drive. (good time to upgrade your OS if you wish!)
5. You pay MacMedics for the cost of the new hard drive.
6. We send your old hard drive back to Apple.
7. We give you the Apple replacement hard drive to keep.

Your total cost: Just the price of a new hard drive, assuming we don’t also have to worry about or recover any of your data.

The free “original” size hard drive is yours to keep and you can sell it, keep it as a spare part, or use it to upgrade one of your other Macintosh computers.

Installing a new, large, faster, and more robust hard drive in your Macintosh does not void your AppleCare warranty. The only caveat that you have to keep in mind is that the Apple warranty WILL NOT cover the third party hard drive under Apple’s warranty. But if it should fail it is covered by a 1-year MacMedics warranty.

Out Of Warranty: If your Mac is out of warranty, we can also replace your hard drive with any size hard you would like. Most hard drive “upgrades” or “retirements” are done for our flat fee of $150 plus the cost of the hard drive. (Black or White original MacBooks are done for $99)

Obviously, if we have to recover your data from a failing hard drive, and provide other services in order to get your computer back in shape other charges may apply.

Here’s how it happens:

1. We diagnose your computer’s hard drive as failed.
2. You choose a new hard drive size and speed.
3. We install that new hard drive for you.
4. We clone your data from old hard drive to new hard drive
5. We test and run updates on your computer.

MacMedics keeps all popular hard drive sizes and speeds in stock at all times, so we can get you back on-line as quickly as possible.

This is just one more reason that MacMedics is often a better choice than trekking to your local Apple Store and dragging your iMac or Mac Pro through the mall. See our complete Top Ten reasons of why not to wait in line or fight the crowds at the Apple Store here.

Some of Apple’s newest MacBook Pros with upgraded 500 GB 7200 RPM hard drives might have an issue. Owners are reporting odd beeping and clicking noises along with performance issues. MacMedics techs have now also seen the issue in our lab first hand.

The buzz on the Internet seems to point an issue that may be caused by an issue between Apple’s on-board anti-shock system and some kind of incompatibility issue with Seagate’s G-Force protection system that it includes with these drives.

A representative from Apple has now acknowledged the issue, and they are working on a resolution.

For users that are just handling standard computing tasks, it appears that this is not an issue as it appears to only be affecting folks doing high intensity read and writes on the hard drive. This seems pretty limited to pro audio or video work.

A quick scan of the various articles on this issue seem to point to the fact that this is only limited to 7200 RPM drives, as there appear to be no reports of problems with 5400 RPM hard drives.

If you’re already a fan of MacMedics and our award-winning Macintosh service and repair, the following testimonial will not surprise you. For Macintosh users who have not yet discovered us, be sure to read our Blog posts about why to come see us instead of going elsewhere.

Both posts can be found here:

Apple selects MacMedics (again!) for the Commitment To Excellence service award.

Nine reasons not to wait in line & fight the crowds at the Apple Store.

Our Apple Macintosh service and repair system is dedicated to speedy and accurate results. If there’s ANY way we can do the service better or faster, we’ll always take that route. When special circumstances (like the following testimonial) present themselves, we always rise to meet the Mac service or data recovery challenge.

If you’re not working with an “award-winning” Apple Authorized Service Provider and Value Added Reseller, why aren’t you??

Late last month, I was traveling within the US on a multi-city whirlwind business trip. Imagine my horror when in the early AM, my Macbook Pro completely died of what appeared to be a logic board failure. Without my laptop the rest of my 3-week business trip would need to be abandoned.