Here at MacMedics we see more in-warranty MacBook hard drives fail than any other type of Apple hard drive (laptop or desktop). This may be due to an issue with a certain type of failure in some MacBook hard drives where the assembly’s read/write head detaches (ouch), making recovery impossible. As a result, we recommend that our client’s MacBook hard drives be “retired” after 1 year of use. If you have a MacBook computer used for mission critical needs (or you’re just really concerned about your data or spend lots of time traveling), then it might be wise to simply install a more robust hard drive as soon as you can. The MacBook’s factory hard drive could be installed into an external case to make a handy back up drive. You could also carry your original drive with you as a “spare-in-the-air” back up loaded with a fresh OS and all of your applications in case your drive fails (thus rendering your MacBook useless in most cases) during a photo shoot or at a client presentation. The MacBook hard drive can be replaced in the field in case of an emergency, so having a spare drive with you at all times makes pretty good sense. We think that it’s worth the $100 to have a laptop that you know you can could on when the chips are down.

We wanted to let you know about some of MacMedics’ 2008 New Year’s resolutions a little early.

Almost every day we learn about folks with varying degrees of data loss. We hate hearing about this topic, as there’s always a sad story involved. We’re pledging to educate our clients even more about the risks of hard drive failure.

There are four main points we want to address:

 1. Always have your data in two places.

 2. Use an automatic back-up program & test your back-up regularly.

 3.  Proactively retire hard drives before they start to fade away or fail outright.

 4. If you ever hear your hard drive make a funny noise (popping, clicking, or grinding), turn off the computer and give us a call right away for advice.

Buying a new hard drive to replace your current drive is smart, especially if it will allow you to end up with an automatic back-up system. Having new drive installed before 2007 ends might also make sense so you can book some additional business expenses in the current year. The Maryland sales tax rate will increase to 6% on 1/3/08, making all hardware purchases more expensive.

Another great reason is if you’re planning an upgrade to Leopard, Apple’s new version of OS X. If your machine is a few years old, you should be looking at retiring your hard drive anyways, but upgrading to Leopard with a new, larger, and faster hard drive is wise. In most cases, your old hard drive can be incorporated into a new, automatic back up system as well.

Hard drives are really inexpensive (please visit our website to get our latest price sheet, or send us an e-mail), so much so, that installing a new drive as part of service call can be more cost effective that trying to erase, test, and re-use an older hard drive for Leopard.

Want more details? Please visit our new website with more information on this topic at:

www.HardDrivesDie.com

As you might imagine we take delight in providing good service for iPods and Macs. This testimonial came to us yesterday.

“After putting my iPod through a year of abuse, I found myself at the point that I needed to fix it or get it replaced.  Wary of using an Internet based iPod repair shop, I stumbled across ipodmedics.com, who just happened to have a brick and mortar storefront I could visit about 30 minutes from my front door.  After emailing them about my problem, they emailed me back (after 9:00 PM no less), quoted me a price (that was more than fair), and welcomed me to drop it off during business hours.  I had no hesitation about skipping the drive, and dropping my iPod in that mail after knowing it would be well taken care of.  Three days later, not only do I have a functional iPod once again, but ipodmedics.com, went above and beyond, and fixed a separate issue I had free of charge . Needless to say, I not only highly recommend them, I’ve already given their name to a co-worker with his own broken iPod.”

Phil Ross – Baltimore, MD

See more of them here:

<a href=”http://baltimoremacs.com/testimonials.htm”>More MacMedics testimonials</a>

Is your iPod sick, tired, or just plain busted?

Before you sent your iPod away to the West Coast or who knows where (maybe someone’s basement), bring it (or ship it) to ipodmedics.com (a division of MacMedics) Washington DC & Baltimore’s leading Mac and iPod repair shop (See pictures of our shop here). We fix all kinds of problems with iPods. From cracked iPod screens, to a busted headphone jacks, or jacked up hard drives, we’ve seen all kinds of problems. We’ve fixed wet iPods that have gone through the washing machine, been in fist fights, involved in dog bites (I guess music does not always agree with dogs), as well as units that have just been dropped or have stopped holding a charge from over charging.

Send your iPod to the company that revolutionized on-site Macintosh service. We take delight in learning WHY your unit has a problem and formulating a repair plan that starts with the basics and works it’s way up to actual parts replacement. Just because your iPod is sick, does not necessarily mean you need a new part installed.

We stock all iPod parts and batteries, so we can complete repairs quickly (usually in 24 hours). We’ll test your iPod and find out what’s wrong with it before we recommend a new part replacement. We thrive on word of mouth referrals, so the less we charge you, the happier you’ll be, and hopefully you’ll tell your friends about ipodmedics.com.

Stop by our website for more details at:

ipodmedics.com

Or call our office at 1-866-MAC-MEDICS

MacMedics started fixing our client’s iPods last year. We have seen a ton come through the door in the last few months. We’ve fixed broken screens, replaced hard drives, and installed hundreds of new batteries. Out of all the iPods we’ve seen almost all of them had been misdiagnosed with a major problem. Just because your iPod is clicking it does not mean that you automatically have a bad hard drive. Some iPods cost upwards to $400, so when it breaks you don’t have to accept a $300 repair from Apple, nor do you need to run out and buy a new one. If we’ve worked our MacMedics magic on your Mac, and you’ve got a sick iPod, let us have a shot at it. If you’re a MacMedics client we’re happy to give your iPod a check up. Call our Baltimore office for more info on iPod repairs, service, and battery upgrades or check our webpage for more info.