12" PowerBook G4; hard-drive failure?

K

KANYON527

Registered
I own a 12" PowerBook G4 and yesterday I believe the hard-drive must have gone bad. I left it running for a few minutes, and when I came back, it was frozen, and when I restarted it, it sounded like the hard-drive was making sounds and the computer wouldn't run correctly. It would sometimes boot up and the OS would start, but every few seconds, it would make some clicking sounds and the computer wouldn't respond for a few seconds.

I have my receipt, but it was purchased on April 10th, 2004. I don't have AppleCare, so I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions about what I should do. Can Apple still service my laptop for a charge or am I on my own to get it repaired? Is there any chance Apple will service it under warrany despite the fact that it is two months beyond the warranty period?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.
 
Go to the Genius Bar at your local Apple Store.

OR

Since you've only had it for a few months, you can call the Apple help line (Phone # on your invoice) and tell them whats going on. If they can't walk you through a solution on the phone, they'll send you a box so you can send it back to them.

FYI --- When you buy a new Mac, you get 90 days of free phone support & 1 year warranty.

Hope this help, and I hope you get your PB fixed soon!
 
eleveneastgate,

Thanks for your quick response, but I actually purchased the PowerBook in April of 2004, so unfortunately, it is beyond the standard Apple warranty period.

Thanks for your response though, I appreciate you taking the time.
 
I did read your post and note that your purchase was more than a year ago (april 2004), so - -

Yes, you can take it to an Apple Genius. They will tell you it's out of warranty, and will give you some options about hard drive replacement (that will likely be needed.
Apple sometimes will make exceptions for out-of-warranty systems, but they are exceptions. It doesn't hurt to ask.

Apple can still service your PowerBook, you just get to pay for it.
 
DeltaMac said:
I did read your post and note that your purchase was more than a year ago (april 2004), so - -

Yes, you can take it to an Apple Genius. They will tell you it's out of warranty, and will give you some options about hard drive replacement (that will likely be needed.
Apple sometimes will make exceptions for out-of-warranty systems, but they are exceptions. It doesn't hurt to ask.

Apple can still service your PowerBook, you just get to pay for it.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your response.

Do you happen to know if hard-drive replacements can be done at an Apple store, or can they act as an intermediary if it needs to be sent somewhere else for repairs?

Also, does anyone have any experience with Apple performing repairs on a PowerBook, and if so, can you describe the turn-around time and approximate cost of service?

Thanks again.
 
You would have access to what Apple calls a flat-rate repair, something like $400, and everything gets done (a display, or outrageous damage is more, sometimes a lot more) they WILL NOT back up your old hard drive.
Do ask at the Apple Store, you may find that they can easily do it there for less, and may provide a backup or data transfer, if it's possible.
 
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