The First Week Of 2012 Has Been Horrible...

[jk-27]

A few days ago I accidently dropped my Macbook. No biggie, it's a sturdy thing, but unfortunately my headphones were in it at the time and the headphone jack snapped off inside the headphone socket. I've tried to get it out several ways but without any luck. I'm now without any sound on my laptop as it thinks the headphones are in so won't use the speaker. This means I can't watch any of the movies I've got on it, or iTunes, YouTube or anything.

That wasn't a problem as I can use my PS3 as a back up for DVDs etc. Today, my PS3 went kaput. It just shut itself off and the red light flashes constantly. It won't restart, the game is stuck in the drive and I can't get it out, the PS3 is dead.

I've booked in to go to the Apple store next week to see if the genius bar can sort out the Mac but on the Mac forums it seems that you can't just replace the headphone socket as it's attached to the entire motherboard so could cost £400 to fix! Furthermore, the PS3 now needs to go back to Sony for a service. However, it's out of warranty so it is going to cost £128 to get it done.

Will probably need to spend over £500 to get my technology back, and in the meantime I'm stuck with ****ty Saturday night British TV!

 

[Zax]

That is very unfortunate lol. Same situation happened with me and my Macbook. I lived in a frat house two years in my college career, and it was probably a bad choice for my Oakley's and my Macbook. I'm super happy I had a 3 year warranty on it...

I played music out of it on the weekends, and one night a girl decided to spill a whole beer on my keyboard. It never started the next day...Took it in and they gave me a new one basically.

Second year, a girl trips on the chord to the jack and it gets yanked, but later I find that the metal pieces got bent in a manner where it THOUGHT there was still a plug in there, when there was not. Also, I couldn't connect my headphones or audio cables to it. Had to get yet another Macbook.

Best of luck my friend! Hopefully Apple will be kind.

 

[Oakley_Sight]

A few days ago I accidently dropped my Macbook. No biggie, it's a sturdy thing, but unfortunately my headphones were in it at the time and the headphone jack snapped off inside the headphone socket. I've tried to get it out several ways but without any luck. I'm now without any sound on my laptop as it thinks the headphones are in so won't use the speaker. This means I can't watch any of the movies I've got on it, or iTunes, YouTube or anything.

That wasn't a problem as I can use my PS3 as a back up for DVDs etc. Today, my PS3 went kaput. It just shut itself off and the red light flashes constantly. It won't restart, the game is stuck in the drive and I can't get it out, the PS3 is dead.

I've booked in to go to the Apple store next week to see if the genius bar can sort out the Mac but on the Mac forums it seems that you can't just replace the headphone socket as it's attached to the entire motherboard so could cost £400 to fix! Furthermore, the PS3 now needs to go back to Sony for a service. However, it's out of warranty so it is going to cost £128 to get it done.

Will probably need to spend over £500 to get my technology back, and in the meantime I'm stuck with ****ty Saturday night British TV!

I feel you pain jk-27. I'm sat here watcing Dodgeball again cos ITV's coverage of Football (Soccer to all you Yanks..........lol) is soooooo BAD & the BDO darts is a poor standard to PDC. If all else fails have you tried to maybe superglue something onto the jack to try to pull it out?

 

[Mickle]

Will probably need to spend over £500 to get my technology back....

Man that sucks!! Think of the nice pair(s) of O's you could have gotten with that £500!

 

[jk-27]

I feel you pain jk-27. I'm sat here watcing Dodgeball again cos ITV's coverage of Football (Soccer to all you Yanks..........lol) is soooooo BAD & the BDO darts is a poor standard to PDC. If all else fails have you tried to maybe superglue something onto the jack to try to pull it out?

Yes, tried that. Methods tried & failed so far have included:

1) Unfolded paper clip pushed in to release the springs holding in the jack
2) Supergluing a toothpick to the end of the jack, letting dry and trying to pull it out
3) Superguling the headphone lead back on to the broken jack and pulling it out
4) Tweezing it out (tweezers can't get inside to get the end of the jack)

Hopefully Apple have experience of this and have some special tool that will get it.

As for the PS3, clueless as to what's wrong with it. I was hoping it had just over heated but it's been off for hours and when I turn it back it still refuses to start up and just flashes it little red light at me.

I'm watching the re-run of the footy now, I chose to watch Die Hard with a Vengence on BBC instead earlier. That ITV footy host has worse jokes than Gary Linkekar. It's embarrassing.

 

[jk-27]

Man that sucks!! Think of the nice pair(s) of O's you could have gotten with that £500!

I'm more worried about paying my bills Mickle. A headphone jack can't cost more than 50p and yet it can cause £100's of pounds worth of damage if I have to replace the whole motherboard. Seems silly, I'm not the first person this has happened to, you'd have thought they'd have worked out some way of not having to replace a while motherboard when all you need is a new headphone socket.

 

[Menendez1293]

Man that really sucks. Hopefully all goes well with you. With apple you gotta always expect the most because apple charges you an arm and a leg for the smallest of things.

 

[Peeza21]

Sounds like a rough start mate! Hope they can fix your mac for cheaper that 400quid!

 

[jk-27]

Just as an update. Took the Macbook to the Apple Store and their genius bar. I told them the problem and they immediately said the only way to fix it was to replace the logic board, which would cost £350. They wouldn't even take a look at it, wouldn't even let me get the Macbook out of my bag to at least see what I was talking about, let alone try and have a go at getting it out.

I wasn't paying that so I took it back home. After about a day the lack of any sound bugged the hell out of me, so I went on to Gumtree (which is just like craiglist) to see if a local IT guy might be able to help. Contacted a guy who said he was an Apple expert and could fix it for £40. He came round earlier today and took the machine apart. I saw a lot of stuff flying out of it, and the screw driver digging around a lot before he then said he couldn't fix it as it need a replacement jack and he'd have to solder the part back on. He said it would take a few days to get one. I was cool with that so asked him to put the Macbook back together so I could at least use it. That's when things went funny. He said he needed to take it with him but I said I needed it, just put it back as it was and when you come back fix it then. He then started to try and sell his laptop to me (it was the same model) and he'll take mine and fix it for himself. No, what's mine is mine all you need to do is put it back as it was.

He started to put it back. He left a bracket out and said he would put it back when he returned in a few days with the part. I asked if it would still work without it and there wouldn't be any more issues by him not putting it back in and he said no. Fine I thought. He then asked for a deposit to at least cover the part he has to buy and I'll pay the labour costs for installing it when he completes the job which again I thought was a fair deal. So I gave him a deposit, he gave me a receipt and marked on the receipt that further payment was due when the job was completed. I see him out the door and think all is fine. It's only when I returned to the Macbook that I notice the keyboard is now loose and not secure anymore. I then notice that's because not all the screws have been replaced. I turn the machine on and it seems to be working (apart from not having any sound, as before) and I see the battery is about to run out. I plug in the recharger but it doesn't work. It doesn't recharge. The power point is at the back in the very area where the bracket he took out but didn't replace was. Now I know something is up. I tried calling him but no one now answers the phone. I've used my sister laptop to email him but have got no reply, where as before he always replied to my emails within 30 mins. I now have a dead laptop, missing bits, which is no good to anybody, and a guy who seems to have done a runner because he screwed it over.

Like I said, 2012 sucks so far.

 

[Mrs H]

Awww JK. That is hideous!!! What's your next move? Can you not claim on house ins???? and just replace it?