WARNING: NERD CONTENT
Okay I got my old computer back although they replaced so many parts it’s practically a new computer. They didn’t replace the hard drive though, and everything was right where I left it. SWEET.
One thing they did take out was the 16 gigs of OWC RAM I installed a few years back. The MacBook Pro supports 16 gbs of memory but it isn’t Apple approved, so I got 8 gbs of brand new memory. Interestingly, since getting the machine back, the fan has been silent (knock wood). This is great because it used to start wailing like a chain saw on as soon as I turned on the machine, and if I sat with it on my lap I had a rash from the heated body of the computer wherever it touched me. This is a common complaint about recent MBPs—some say the thermal paste used to insulate the components wasn’t applied properly, blah blah. There are a lot of conspiracy theories about this particular make of Mac. I can’t say any of my experiences disproved those theories—however, you never hear from people whose machines are working just fine, either.
Anyway I wonder if the overheating was due to all the extra RAM? I may never know. I got my OWC RAM back but I doubt I’ll put it back in. I’ll see if I can struggle along with 8 gigs.
I never had a laptop go kerflooie two years in before, although I use this one a lot more than previous laptops. Although it was not up to modern tasks, my 12″ Powerbook (still one of the cutest computers ever) chugged along bravely—despite being dropped many times, including three years in a row at San Diego—and the silver-plated keyboard is perhaps the nicest feeling keyboard of any Mac I have used. Other Apple conspiracy theorists say that since Jobs died, Apple products are meant to fail a few years in. I hope that isn’t true, because I will never ever go PC.
So yeah, that happened. I came out way ahead because of all the support from you, my readers, and I will never ever forget that. In my worry wort way I keep thinking something horrible is going to happen. I’ll be busy backing stuff up and clouding it and so on for the next few days, but yeah, we’re here to stay!
There is no way that RAM chips, “unapproved” or not, can create that much heat difference. Since the fans were running immediately, and now aren’t, it was probably just dust and hair clogging vents and causing overheating.
“Unapproved” just means they haven’t tested that brand of RAM (or more accurately, the manufacturer hasn’t paid their bribe to Apple to be on the approved vendors list) which they made a big deal about so they can sell you an 8 gig stick on the way out the door after taking 3 days to pop the keyboard off your laptop, blow some canned air in there, and replace a couple fans.
I used to love Apple products, but when Jobs returned to the company they adopted a policy of being completely user unfriendly, both by making it difficult if not impossible for the owner to do even routine maintenance and repair (if you can’t open it, you don’t own it, etc etc) and by taking more and more aggressive steps to control the content and applications you can have on your devices. Which is a shame, because the mac OS is probably the best ever seen, and I’d be all over it if I thought it actually worked for me before it worked for Apple.
24 Hour Party People was a pretty good movie (the video in the article is from the movie/includes footage from the movie). I liked that line about Steve Coogan’s character being a bit player in his own life story.
And get off Mac. They’re overpriced, underpowered, and fueled by near literal Chinese slave labor.
I had a malfunctioning fan on my MBP. It was imbalanced and created that ridiculous banshee wail and crazy heat. Took it in to the apple store a day before the apple care expired for various issues, and got an completely overhauled machine. new logic board, fan, lcd screen.
@johnny–what decent computer ISN’T made in China?
In storage is a Wall Street with a cracked LCD and a Jedi that stopped working completely (or so Tech Serve says…I don’t trust them).
I’m using a white 2006 Apple MacBook, running 10.4.something.
No cute code name, just some number.
I bought it in 2009 off eBay for $250.
It had Microsoft Office installed, which was why I bought it.
Yeah, I get the beach ball/fright wig when using WordPress, but overall, it works fine for what I use it for. A little warm, and the battery seems to drain automatically now whenever it is off. (Battery life? Less than an hour.)
I would trust OWC ram over Apples any day. I’d just reinstall the 16gb of RAM. Should take you two minutes.
“And get off Mac. They’re overpriced, underpowered, and fueled by near literal Chinese slave labor.”
As compared to every other brand of computer, which are also made by near literal Chinese slave labor? You only hear about the problems with Apple’s supply chain because they’re Apple; articles about the problems with HP’s or Dell’s or Toshiba’s don’t generate page hits.
If you have cats,so does your computer. Hair that is. A can of compressed air and a vacuum fixes it.
I should nota that I used my MBP at home in clamshell mode so there wasn’t much cat hair in it BUT this method causes problems of its own like burning out the battery.
No fan action since it came home.
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