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.

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

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.”

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 that 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.

MacMedics is pleased to now offer MacBook Unibody and MacBook Pro Unibody broken glass/lens and LCD replacement service for our clients. If you’re located in the Baltimore-Washington area, there’s really no faster way to have your broken glass or LCD repaired. No shipping your unit away to who knows where, and no putting your unit into the hands of someone you don’t know or don’t trust. MacMedics has been in business for 20 years, and we revolutionized On-Site Macintosh Service in the Mid-Atlantic area. Let us provide our award-winning Mac Service to you.

If your MacBook Unibody or MacBook Pro Unibody LCD and/or glass/lens is broken, MacMedics can fix that for all sizes of the MacBook Pro Unibody family (also the original MacBook Unibody). Get in touch with us to make arrangements, drop it off in our Lanham or Millersville office, or just mail it into us in Millersville using this form. If you have questions just e-mail us, or call 1-866-MAC-MEDICS

Most repairs are completed within 24 hours, and all sizes of MacBook/MacBook Pro Unibody LCDs and glass are in stock.

MacMedics is also pleased to offer iBook, PowerBook, MacBook, and MacBook Air LCD replacement service in about a day. In cases of older units, MacMedics may also be able to offer you a used LCD panel to save you even more money. All MacMedics LCD and glass replacement service is covered by our full one-year “no-hassle” MacMedics Service Warranty!

Update 2/16/10 Apple announces repair extension program for MacBook Seagate 7.01 hard drives. Get details from Apple.com. If you have an affected MacBook, call MacMedics and we can arrange to have hard drive replaced.

This post has been updated on 3/11/09. It appears that more of these drives are starting to let go. MacMedics is recommending a proactive approach. These drives should be replaced before they fail outright.

We have seen a number of MacBook hard drives fail due to a certain type of failure. 2.5 inch SATA Seagate hard drives with the firmware version 7.01 have a fatal flaw that can cause a serious hardware problem. In some cases we’ve also seen this drive supplied as an Apple service part and we’ve seen it in MacBook Pros and Mac Minis. Because of the nature of the failure, data recovery is usually NOT possible if this type of drive fails in the manner that we have seen. MacMedics is recommending that if you have this make, model, and firmware version of this drive, that you proactively replace it. For more info, please get in touch with your closest MacMedics office.

See this screen shot to learn how to identify if you have this drive installed or not:

Update 9/19/08: The affected Seagate drives do come in different sizes (we’ve seen both 60GB & 80GB). If you have a Seagate drive (look for the model that starts with ST) AND you have 7.01 firmware of any size capacity, then you should look to replace the drive.

Update 10/18/08: Several customers and folks who have read this post have asked about hard drive replacements. MacMedics offers four ways to replace this drive.

1. We can sell you a new hard drive, and ship it to you if you want.

2. We can sell you a new hard drive and install it in your MacBook at either our Millersville, MD or Lanham, MD offices for $49 plus the cost of the drive.

3. We can sell you a new hard drive, install it, and clone your data from your old drive to the new drive for $99 plus the cost of the drive.

4. We can sell you a new hard drive, install it, then install a fresh Apple OS (you could upgrade to Leopard here if you wish for $129 extra), then migrate your data from your old hard drive, and we will update your system for $150 plus the cost of the drive. This is our full service hard drive replacement where we update your OS, check all of your setting, clean the system out from top to bottom, so when you get it back it’s factory fresh with all of your data in place and ready to go.

Our drives carry a 3-year warranty.

Update 3/11/09: We’re still seeing these drives come in for data recovery. We had two in one day this week. Check your hard drive in your MacBook to ensure this drive is not in your Mac. If this drive kicks the bucket, there is only a small chance that it can be recovered. Any recovery attempt would have to be done in a clean room.

We are working with a data recovery company that has had “some” success in recovering the 7.01 Seagate firmware drives. If you are serious about recovering your data and willing to pay the “clean room” recovery price, which is about $1000, then feel free to get in touch with our partners at Gillware via this link.

If you think you have a Seagate 7.01 firmware drive and you think it has failed, it is extremely important that you leave it powered OFF! This failure can result in platter damage, so the longer the unit runs, the lower your chances for recovery. If you turn the drive on and you get three quick clicks in a row, then there’s pretty much no question that you have this problem. I’m looking for an audio recording to post here. I’ll Twitter about it when I post it.

This is a really serious problem. 1. If you know of anyone that has a MacBook, MacBook Pro, or a Mac Mini, tell them to check their drive before it’s too late. 2. Get a back up and test it often. 3. Don’t generate data you care about without having a back up! Hard drives are cheaper then ever (as low as $99 for decent 250 GB portable drive Pay $99 now or $1200 (or more later).

I’m working with a very sad client that lost 4000 digital photos to this exact drive failure. His drive has already been sent to one of the leading recovery firms, and they could not recovery any data from it, and told him it was a lost cause. Gillware is taking a second look at that same drive for free to see if they can see any data on it at all. Oh, and by the way if you do need “clean room” recovery Gillware will look at your drive and evaluate it for data recovery free of charge. They also have a very fair two-tier pricing plan for lower priced “non clean room” recoveries and full price for advanced “clean room” recoveries. If they can’t get your data you’d don’t pay anything. No crazy up front agreement, price ranges, or high pressure sales tactics either. Just the way I like it.

If you are shipping your sick hard drive off to a “clean room” recovery company (any company), don’t ruin your data recovery chances by packing and shipping your hard drive incorrectly. Packing peanuts are not safe to use, and make sure you have a static bag. If you’re in the area, feel free to stop by our Millersville, MD or Lanham, MD office and we’ll be delighted to give you free shipping supplies and a static bag for wherever you’re sending your drive. Yup. We really do care that much about your data.

Update 12/5/09. We made a video to show folks what these drives sound like when they fail:

Nobody likes to see a broken Macintosh laptop LCD, especially us. We love Macs, so we don’t like to see them hurt and broken after a bad drop or other unfortunate incident. Replacing the MacBook LCD can be an expensive repair when you seek help from Apple. They treat the entire LCD and top case of a MacBook as one part, and it’s expensive! MacMedics offers a flat-rate discounted LCD replacement service for the Black and White MacBook screens for $349. We’ll replace your broken or non-working) MacBook LCD with an OEM part, and return it to you as quickly as possible. If your MacBook has case issues or other problems associated with the broken LCD we’ll work with you to find the best solution for fixing those issues as well. Best of all if our replacement LCD screen has a problem it’s covered by our MacMedics full one-year warranty. (Fine print: we won’t replace the LCD if it’s been broken a 2nd time, so let’s be careful out there!)

Lots of companies are now jumping on the Mac service band wagon. When you have a major Mac service service need like an LCD or logic board, please consider that MacMedics is the regional leader for Apple Macintosh sales and service. We pioneered on-site Macintosh service, and our in-lab service is also highly regarded and award winning. Macintosh computers are highly engineered and as such they often have very small parts, various sized screws, and very tight fittings cases. All three of these things frequently trip up firms that are NOT specialized in Mac service. (see our blog post about how a big box store fried a perfectly working iBook) We frequently see computers after they have already been someplace else and NOT properly serviced. MacMedics is an Apple Authorized Service Provider and we’ve been fixing only Macs for over 20 years. So, before you ship your beloved laptop (or desktop) to places unknown, consider sending it to MacMedics. Also, all non-warranty Apple repairs are covered by our no hassle 1-year MacMedics warranty. If it fails, we fix it free.

See this image large size.

Ship your unit into us, or drop it off and for a limited time we’ll send it back to you via Fedex standard air shipping free of charge.

Add a 500 GB hard drive to any MacBook or MacBook Pro LCD replacement service for just $159 in a MacBook including a bit by bit clone data copy. When you get your unit back, your data will be in just the same place you left it. Also, your old drive is yours, so we’ll return that as part of the service, or we can make it into a portable back up drive for $40.

MacMedics is now also offering Apple iPhone 3G service and repair. Got a cracked screen?? Don’t pay Apple $199 to get it fixed! Come see us and we’ll do it same day for $109.99. Best of all, NO LINES here at MacMedics.

Well you never know what’s going to come through the door at the MacMedics Mac Lab. Today a PowerMac 6500 came in for some work. As you can see it’s sitting right next to a new Uni-body MacBook. New or old we can handle it. SCSI to SATA we’ve got you covered. Got an old Mac with some forgotten data on it? We can help! Bring it in and we’ll burn it to a DVD for you.

When a “Big Box” store with a national advertising campaign hangs out their shingle for Mac service, it might feel like a good option. We’re quickly learning from our clients that having a Mac serviced by someone that’s primarily working on PC’s and not super experienced on servicing Macs might be a bad idea.

Lots of companies are now jumping on the Mac service band wagon. When you have a major Mac service service need like an LCD or logic board, please consider that MacMedics is the regional leader for Apple Macintosh sales and service. We pioneered on-site Macintosh service, and our in-lab service is also highly regarded and award winning. Macintosh computers are highly engineered and as such they often have very small parts, various sized screws, and very tight fittings cases. All three of these things frequently trip up firms that are NOT specialized in Mac service. We frequently see computers after they have already been someplace else and NOT properly serviced. MacMedics is an Apple Authorized Service Provider and we’ve been fixing only Macs for over 20 years. So, before you ship your beloved laptop (or desktop) to places unknown, consider sending or bringing it to MacMedics. Also, all non-warranty Apple repairs are covered by our no hassle 1-year MacMedics warranty. If it fails, we fix it free.

Today, we had a client with a MacBook that had liquid spilled on it. They wanted to act quickly, so they took it to their nearest “Big Box” store, and the guys there quoted them a new logic board. When confronted with a large repair bill, they called MacMedics for a second opinion. We told them it would be a good idea to have us look at it, and ensure that it really did need a new logic board. It’s a good thing they brought it to us, because it turned out they panicked about the amount of liquid that was spilled, and that was not a factor. We think all the unit needed was a “System Manger Controller” reset and it was back on it’s feet. So for $49 they got an in-depth spill inspection and a SMC rest and they were good to go.

In another case of a client taking the “Big Box” route, we had a customer who wanted to get his hard drive upgraded in his G4 iBook. He brought it to us, and because we did not have the exact size drive size he wanted (super rare for us), he opted to take it to a local “Big Box” store for service. It should have been a pretty quick turn around as it was just a hard drive upgrade. After a few days and a few phone calls to their shop to ask about the unit’s progress, it was clear they were having issues with his iBook. We had just seen his computer here when he checked it in for a drive upgrade, but when we figured out we were out of stock, he took the unit with him. Nearly a week later he called me for advice. I told him to pick it up and bring it in for me to check.

We found numerous issues:

• The iBook had not be reassembled correctly
• There were missing screws
• There were stripped screws and screws in the wrong hole
• The iBook’s frame was broken
• The iBook’s logic board was fried as it would no longer display internal or external video

This is the iBook that was damaged by a big box store service dept.

When we added up all of the repair costs to get this super sick iBook back in shape, it looks it’s a better bet to go with one of the new White $999 Apple MacBooks instead of fixing this one. It’s still here, so I assume he’s having a hard time getting the offending service department to pay for their mistakes.

Update 2/22/09:

I ran into our client who had the problem with the big box store’s repair department at the Stefan G. Bucher Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington event on Thursday (MacMedics was a sponsor). He gave me an update on the status of his complaint. He ending up taking the offending service department to Small Claims Court here in Anne Arundel county. The court date is coming up quick, and it appears they are not going to settle out of court. I have to say I’m pretty surprised. Our client has pictures and other pretty convincing evidence to show the court. I’ll let you know what happens.

Update 4/1/09:

I heard from this client yesterday and he informed me that the “Big Box” store that damaged his computer did settle out of court with him for $1000. That of course does not really take into account that he he had to buy a new computer out of pocket, and that he had to wait over six months for the court case. Sad, that the folks that did the damage, waited until the day before court to settle up.

We’re always accepting exciting and difficult in-lab Mac repair work (like liquid spills, LCD screen replacements, hard drive upgrades, and of course data recovery (PLEASE check your back up system if you have one, or get one now that works automatically (like Time machine), so if you’ve got an Apple computer that’s not working correctly, bring it by and let figure out what’s going on with it. MacMedics has a long award-winning track record for service, and as an experienced Apple Authorized Service Provider, we have the tools and knowledge to quickly take care of your repair or data recovery situation.

Apple announced a new generation of the MacBook and MacBook Pro product lines.

New MacBooks:

Both the new MacBook and MacBook Pro is made from one solid piece of aluminum making it rigid and durable. New LED-backlit display is instantly on and offers glass “to the edge” of the screen and better energy efficiency. New models now come with up to 5x faster NVIDIA graphics performance, and the trackpad is now made of glass for multi-touch gesturing and clicking. Battery life has has also been improved

New MacBook models start at $1299 at Apple (Call your local MacMedics office to get yours on order)

Entry Level white MacBook available in plastic case is now $999

http://www.apple.com/macbook/

New MacBook Pros

Base model is priced at $1999, 15.4-inch LED backlit display. 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 3MB L2 Cache, 2GB 1066 MHz DDR3 Memory, The GeForce 9600M GT, 250GB hard drive and SuperDrive. New MacBook Pro model is .95 inches thick

Upgraded model is priced at $2499. 2.53GHz, 6MB L2 Cache, 4GB memory, 512MB video memory and larger hard drive.

(Call your local MacMedics office to get yours on order)

All new MacBooks and MacBook Pros are shipping today.

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/

MacBook Air
The new MacBook Air now comes standard with The NVIDIA GeForce 9400M which brings amazing, high-speed (4x graphics performance) graphics to this amazing model. The MacBook Air now comes standard with a 120 GB (an upgrade from an 80GB) and the option “solid state” hard drive is now offered at 128GB. This unit now also now has a Mini Display port, just like the new MacBook and MacBook Pro. Price remains the same.

http://www.apple.com/macbookair/

The 24” LED Cinema Display

The 24” LED Cinema Display offers 1920 x 1200 pixel resolution. This display only connects to your new MacBook, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air with the ultra compact Mini DisplayPort connector. The LED Cinema Display includes a MagSafe connector that powers and charges any Apple laptop with that type of connector. The display now offers three self-powered USB ports along with a built-in iSight camera, microphone, and speakers. It will be available for $899 in November.

http://www.apple.com/displays/

Watch the whole event right here.