My MacBook makes me more frustrated everyday.

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Ugh... I hate my MacBook. Ever since Apple moved away from making Macs in Taiwan, quality control has been pure crap. Let's have a list of problems, shall we?

Problems with my MacBook

  • Newly dicovered wrist rest discoloring
  • Random Shutdown Syndrome
  • Buzzing fan
  • Problems similar to that of the logic board of a a problematic iBook(lines accross screen, video occasionally freezing)
  • The Fan: The fan is spinning fast, but not doing much to keep it cool. It spends 90 percent of the time at 6200 RPM, the fan's maximum speed.
  • Incredibly slow
  • Volume will randomly adjust if I move the computer around (sometimes, this isn't all the time)
  • Sharp edges
  • iSight causing conflict on motherboard with speakers, causing them to randomly make a very loud beeping sound.
  • iSight turning on when not needed, therefore wasting the battery
  • MagSafe whines
  • MagSafe light turns off sometimes, even though it is still working
  • Scratches way too easily.
  • USB Keyboards/mice make it freeze sometimes
  • Connecting an external screen is very troublesome

I'm very angry. I hate my MacBook.
 

cwa107


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I've read that there has been some problems periodically with overzealous use of thermal compound on the CPUs. That might account for your high temps and constant fan cycles. Have you voiced any of these concerns with Apple?
 
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hmm... i absolutely love my macbook, i have only had it for about 6 months, but no discoloration thus far, it has never randomly shutdown, video has never frozen, my fan only gets up to 6200 when i'm using a demanding program, it seems incredibly fast! volume has never randomly adjusted, the edges are way to sharp, the only time i've heard a beep caused by isight is while using imovie, and it only happens once. isight turning on?:S that's really weird, mine is only on when i have a camera program open:S, my magsafe makes no such noise... the light has never turned off. it does scratch easily, i use a usb mouse all the time and no freezing. and as for an external screen, i have never tried, although unless it is an apple screen, i can see it being hard to do..

don't hate, love:)
 
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If you're still under warranty, hit up Apple for repairs. I had a similar list of problems with my MacBook; I bought mine when they first came out. Big mistake, I'll never buy first generation hardware again! Anyway, I took it down to the Apple store and they installed a new logic board ($1,224 bill paid under warranty). No more problems after that! Your MacBook should be perfect; if it isn't, take it to Apple for repairs. I've been fairly pleased with their service so far.
 
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iRye
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it's going in to repair pretty quick. I'm just gonna make a case number by calling apple.
 
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I've read that there has been some problems periodically with overzealous use of thermal compound on the CPUs. That might account for your high temps and constant fan cycles. Have you voiced any of these concerns with Apple?

Yeah i have seen some posts on this, especially that dude with his MBP, its just not good enough IMO.
 
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Complaining about it here's not going to get anything done about it. Go to an Apple Store or send it into AppleCare and get it fixed.
 
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I had a lot of issues with mine and they replaced everything except the CD drive inside my computer and it has been working good since then.
 
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iRye
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I know that, BenjaminDaines. Ever heard of venting?
 

dtravis7


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I know that, BenjaminDaines. Ever heard of venting?

If you really want to Vent, you can try what those Two videos showed here a few days ago, A Sledgehammer or a Pick Axe! :D

dtravis7 runs for cover from iRye and his Axe!! hahahahah :D
 
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iRye
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Haha. *carefully disassembles macbook, and then smashes fan with a sledgehammer*
 

dtravis7


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Haha. *carefully disassembles macbook, and then smashes fan with a sledgehammer*

Have them give you the old Fan and then you can destroy it!
 
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iRye
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Heh, I was actually thinking of that :p
 
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iRye
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To whoever gave me that neg rep, I was only frustrated. I didn't mean to be rude.
 
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Wasn't me.

Anyway, I would say that you have described the very definition of a Lemon. We have two macbooks (black, white) and it exhibits none of those problems.

Just Magic Eraser'd my wrist rests and they're as good as new.

I'll kind of agree with you on the sharp edges. I just avoid them whenver possible.

And I have a DVD drive that 'grooves up' CD/DVDs if you tilt the computer while the drive is spinning. I'm taking it in to Apple tomorrow. I've procrastinated because it doesn't do it to the media unless I move it, and I have to spend a Macbook-less night. :( Got my old Mac Mini that I suppose could stand in for awhile. It has bluetooth, but how to pair a bluetooth wireless keyboard/mouse to a machine without built-in keyboard? Guess I'll have to use the other wireless keyboard mouse. Waaaa!
 
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About the sharp edges, just sand them down. I'm a new Mac user (less than a month), and I don't take credit for this idea -- read it here, or on one of the other boards.

Get some 320, 600, and 1,000 grit sandpaper, and some blue painters tape. Mask off the wrist/palm guards and the sides of the case, and have at it. Took all of 15 minutes to smooth the edges and did not change the appearance whatsoever, except ...

Be careful and go slow at first to get a feel for how much material you have to remove (it isn't a lot at all, you just want to round the edge a bit) -- and try not to cry too much when you gouge the side of your shiny new MacBook like I did (hence my recommendation of the blue painters tape).
 
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My MacBook is the best lappy I have ever owned and no problems except the top sharp edge, this to my mind is just very poor design, but overall I love it.
 
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iRye
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Alright, so here's the deal. I'm taking it in to the nice apple store on either tuesday or Wednesday. I'll be on vacation until...um... tuesday, i think. I'm always on the lookout for an older machine, so PM me. has to be portable :)
 
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Ugh... I hate my MacBook. Ever since Apple moved away from making Macs in Taiwan, quality control has been pure crap. Let's have a list of problems, shall we?

Problems with my MacBook

  • Connecting an external screen is very troublesome

Definitely a lemon. My MacBook has none of those problems—not even the sharp edges! I'm curious about external screen. What do you mean by "troublesome"? I'm amazed at how smooth and natural the MB runs a separate monitor. Beautiful integration and functioning. Just like they were born for each other.
 

cwa107


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Definitely a lemon. My MacBook has none of those problems—not even the sharp edges! I'm curious about external screen. What do you mean by "troublesome"? I'm amazed at how smooth and natural the MB runs a separate monitor. Beautiful integration and functioning. Just like they were born for each other.

I have quite a bit of trouble with some external displays. Sometimes the MBP wants to change the resolution on the internal display to what it should be on the external (it gets the two confused). Sometimes it just picks the lowest common denominator for both displays. Very seldom do I get it to detect perfectly on the first try - even with brand new LCD projectors. It seems that my 37" Sharp Aquos is about the only display it plays nicely with.

I can definitely relate to this frustration - especially if you're trying to put a presentation together in front of an audience.

One tip, though - I find that it helps if you put the Displays icon in the menu bar, this will give you the option to easily see what resolutions are set, how the monitor is being detected and allow you to easily change things (for the most part). You can enable this by going to System Preferences => Displays => Check "Show displays in menu bar".
 

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