Mac Care

[jonwilly]

My I Mac would not eject a Music CD.

I tried all the methods I knew and looked up the problem on the net and found there where many instances of Audio CD will not eject with even more ways to eject a stuck disk.

This morning while in the Mac shop just off Hauy Keaw, I mentioned my problem and they said I must use the new shop Mac Care in KSG.

Not easy to find as it's off to one side near entrance from Car Park.

They tried and said they needed to open my I Mac.

About 1 hour.

OK I went did some shopping, got a sandwich and went back 30 mins later.

Just finished and Drive is broken.

How much for new one ? B7,000 and something.

Yeah OK how long. 4-5 days must come from Singapore.

Yes get new CD drive.

Pay first.

I don't have B8,000 on me.

You'd have thought I had just informed them I have a contagious infection.

Nothing apart from looks to each other of shock horror a Frang without B8K.

john

Yes not one more word.

Edited January 2, 2012 by jonwilly

[rakchaingmai]

I have a problem with my disk drive also i can't copy cd's on my macbook pro i also had problems ejecting the cd but i solved it by restarting my computer and holding down the eject while the computer came on also they told me 3,000 something for a new disk drive i did not change it as i don't really copy cd's but it is annoying as it was 2 days after the guarantee ran out .

[mcgriffith]

My condolences to the OP. I think Apple has done a brilliant marketing job in that they have convinced their buyers and users that if you come with us, you will be immune from the worries and cares of computerdom. Oh, and then there's the hip factor too, layered on top. Apple products are no better, nor worse than PC's. They have the same frailties, defects, recalls and bad <deleted> that happens to the other camp (just not so publicized due to limited market share). The user interface is slick and seamless; lots of little synchronicity features that warm the cockles of the heart, etc. Because there have been so relatively few of them, they haven't been as much a target of malware, spyware and other bad <deleted>. That is changing now that the iPhone/iPad boom has expanded exponentially worldwide in the last few years. The only real difference is that they cost about 30-70% higher than a comparable PC. And you can't just go on the market and order a replacement part (such as in your case) from dozens of competitive manufacturers and vendors like a PC. Has to come from the Main Temple of Worship, for double tariff. For 8K THB, you could buy a brand new EEE PC or Acer netbook, with an included external optical drive (or CD player as you termed it). This is exactly why I have avoided Apple products my whole life. (Oh, BTW I was good friends with Apple co-founder Steven Wozniak. We both went to Cupertino Junior High School and Homestead High School together. Steve Jobs was a freshman at Homestead the year I graduated). This is not intended as a diatribe against Apple- they really do make a fine product and are currently the second largest company in the world, by market capitalization. I hope you get your optical drive replaced in a timely manner.

[Mapguy]

OP had a very regrettable experience. That has not been my experience with the Apple people in Chiang Mai. They have been very accommodating over the years.

That shop has grown very fast in very recent years. Perhaps that reflects the explosion of interest in Asia generally in Mac computers. Huge growth. Perhaps the problem is with the newer repair people. About two years ago, I had a serious problem, too, and one of the shop gurus worked his butt off for a long time for practically nothing to fix it, and he did. No problems since.

Yes, the repair kiosk is hard to find in KSK!

Regarding post #2, I, too, have the same problem with for some time with my aging MacBook Pro DVD drive, a factory-installed Matshita DVD-R VJ-85 apparently known to go bonkers too often, and it is expensive to replace it. But the local Apple shop people said not too replace it through them but just go buy a much cheaper after-market drive. So, I did, and it was.

Quite different responses than those posted above.

[roger1999]

All three times that I have taken my Mac in for repairs at the small shop just off Hauy Keau the staff failed to return my guarantee. I had to ask for it all three times. I'm not the suspicious type but I did start to wonder if they were doing it on purpose hoping I would leave it behind. This was more than a year ago. I did not realize that they did not do repairs there anymore.

[Dante99]

All three times that I have taken my Mac in for repairs at the small shop just off Hauy Keau the staff failed to return my guarantee. I had to ask for it all three times. I'm not the suspicious type but I did start to wonder if they were doing it on purpose hoping I would leave it behind. This was more than a year ago. I did not realize that they did not do repairs there anymore.

What guarantee, the one issued by Apple? If so, they are not accustomed to people bringing in the guarantee since almost nobody does it knowing that the shop is going to confirm it online anyway by inputing the computer serial number.

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

just get an inexpensive external drive. More and more new laptops and Ipads for sure don't have optical drives at all.

Everybody uses the same drives and they are problematic. Really just the new floppy drive.

Get a good internet connection and its hardly needed. I have a MacBook pro bought last year and I don't think I have used the drive yet.

[amexpat]

My condolences to the OP. I think Apple has done a brilliant marketing job in that they have convinced their buyers and users that if you come with us, you will be immune from the worries and cares of computerdom. Oh, and then there's the hip factor too, layered on top. Apple products are no better, nor worse than PC's. They have the same frailties, defects, recalls and bad <deleted> that happens to the other camp (just not so publicized due to limited market share). The user interface is slick and seamless; lots of little synchronicity features that warm the cockles of the heart, etc. Because there have been so relatively few of them, they haven't been as much a target of malware, spyware and other bad <deleted>. That is changing now that the iPhone/iPad boom has expanded exponentially worldwide in the last few years. The only real difference is that they cost about 30-70% higher than a comparable PC. And you can't just go on the market and order a replacement part (such as in your case) from dozens of competitive manufacturers and vendors like a PC. Has to come from the Main Temple of Worship, for double tariff. For 8K THB, you could buy a brand new EEE PC or Acer netbook, with an included external optical drive (or CD player as you termed it). This is exactly why I have avoided Apple products my whole life.....

This is not intended as a diatribe against Apple......

I wonder how a diatribe against Apple would read.

.

[onthedarkside]

just get an inexpensive external drive. More and more new laptops and Ipads for sure don't have optical drives at all.

Everybody uses the same drives and they are problematic. Really just the new floppy drive.

Get a good internet connection and its hardly needed. I have a MacBook pro bought last year and I don't think I have used the drive yet.

I never bother about drives these days. i use flash sticks into the USB (I assume a MAC has USB port). I bought 8 gigs yesterday for about 300 baht, at these prices (and speed) I don't bother with CD or DVDs any more.

[T_Dog]

Try the new used Mac store up Huay Gaew Road and past Dunkin Donuts. (Just about 500 meters before the main CMU gate.) Their costs are about half the retail outlets. I finally bought a new battery for my old MacBook and their service was very good.

[hellodolly]

My condolences to the OP. I think Apple has done a brilliant marketing job in that they have convinced their buyers and users that if you come with us, you will be immune from the worries and cares of computerdom. Oh, and then there's the hip factor too, layered on top. Apple products are no better, nor worse than PC's. They have the same frailties, defects, recalls and bad <deleted> that happens to the other camp (just not so publicized due to limited market share). The user interface is slick and seamless; lots of little synchronicity features that warm the cockles of the heart, etc. Because there have been so relatively few of them, they haven't been as much a target of malware, spyware and other bad <deleted>. That is changing now that the iPhone/iPad boom has expanded exponentially worldwide in the last few years. The only real difference is that they cost about 30-70% higher than a comparable PC. And you can't just go on the market and order a replacement part (such as in your case) from dozens of competitive manufacturers and vendors like a PC. Has to come from the Main Temple of Worship, for double tariff. For 8K THB, you could buy a brand new EEE PC or Acer netbook, with an included external optical drive (or CD player as you termed it). This is exactly why I have avoided Apple products my whole life.....

This is not intended as a diatribe against Apple......

I wonder how a diatribe against Apple would read.

.

I was thinking maybe a touch of Jealousy.

I am not a nerd and when it comes to computers I am close to a dork. BUT I was under the understanding that a Mac was more durable because you could only use attachments and programs designed for Mac. Not ones designed to fit every thing under the sun. You have only programs designed by and for one computer not programs and systems designed by many different sources to fit a bunch of different machines.

Kinda like a ford engine with Chevrolet pistons and Dodge valves running of a Honda crank. Just seems to make more sense to me to use systems designed to interact with each other. But then again I am next door to tech challenged. Some would say I am there. LOL

And yes I am quite sure they do have problems from time to time also. But that does not make them a inferior machine. If these things never happened the cost for one would be very high. For myself I was a little put off when I heard they would not play a blue ray.

Edited January 2, 2012 by hellodolly

[mcgriffith]

My condolences to the OP. I think Apple has done a brilliant marketing job in that they have convinced their buyers and users that if you come with us, you will be immune from the worries and cares of computerdom. Oh, and then there's the hip factor too, layered on top. Apple products are no better, nor worse than PC's. They have the same frailties, defects, recalls and bad <deleted> that happens to the other camp (just not so publicized due to limited market share). The user interface is slick and seamless; lots of little synchronicity features that warm the cockles of the heart, etc. Because there have been so relatively few of them, they haven't been as much a target of malware, spyware and other bad <deleted>. That is changing now that the iPhone/iPad boom has expanded exponentially worldwide in the last few years. The only real difference is that they cost about 30-70% higher than a comparable PC. And you can't just go on the market and order a replacement part (such as in your case) from dozens of competitive manufacturers and vendors like a PC. Has to come from the Main Temple of Worship, for double tariff. For 8K THB, you could buy a brand new EEE PC or Acer netbook, with an included external optical drive (or CD player as you termed it). This is exactly why I have avoided Apple products my whole life.....

This is not intended as a diatribe against Apple......

I wonder how a diatribe against Apple would read.

.

Nice one, amexpat

Adding emphasis into a quote (that didn't exist in the original), and deleting parts that round out the overall tenor are not quite right.

(But your punishment is a slap with a wet noodle, and a happy new year to you!)

As I closed with in my (misquoted by you) post, Apple makes a fine product.

And lay off the Kool Aid, will ya?

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/perlow/should-i-drink-the-apple-kool-aid/18142

[amexpat]

Nice one, amexpat

"Adding emphasis into a quote (that didn't exist in the original)"

???????????????????????????, It was copy, paste, add emphasis. I know you can read what you wrote.

---------

and deleting parts that round out the overall tenor are not quite right.

(But your punishment is a slap with a wet noodle, and a happy new year to you!)

"As I closed with in my (misquoted by you) post, Apple makes a fine product."

Right, a product that is purchased by people who are easily convinced by a brilliant marketing campaign, and a need to feel hip, that they will never have any problems if they go to the Temple of Worship pay double, etc. Very faint praise, I'd say.

And lay off the Kool Aid, will ya?

What flavor is your kool-aid? Sour grape?

Anyway, Happy New Year to you, too.

Edited January 2, 2012 by amexpat

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Suggest to truck this off to the tech forum to die. Less embarrassing that way.

Anyway, I think overall Apple is a very high-end brand; it's all well designed and engineered and you pay for that. Doesn't mean it never goes wrong, especially something with moving parts like a drive.

As has been said before, optical drives were very last decade. But if you really need one then go buy an external one that works with a Mac. Will be closer to 800 baht than 8000. Mac Zone are still really mining it.

[junglechef]

Had lots of experience w/both shops mentioned w/o satisfaction. The one on the rd. replaced my harddrive w/a "new one" that never really worked after (it would not turn on half the time) and they kept keeping it to "check it" but when I went to their self proclaimed "headquarters" in the computer center on Super Hwy 11 it was just a large folding table in the hallway w/o many tools and my computer was just sitting there for days being "checked". I took to the one in the mall and they showed me my new HD was 7 yrs. old bought at Pantip Plaza (I took it to that store and they confirmed it). They replaced the HD and ever since the internet keeps shutting off (the first time in the shop when I went to p/u and they said internet off in mall and have heard about 10 diff. reasons by now), they have kept it 3 more times to check (and more that I took it home w/me) and now suggest I leave it again to check. Had many similar sagas. Now I'm trying to buy a iphone and if you buy it a the place in the mall they will not service it under warrantee and if buy from Apple they will etc. etc. All I want to be able to do is chk. my emails, watch some videos and be able to bitch on TV, is that to much to ask of a expensive machine!!

[jackr]

Did you try hitting it with a hammer?

Can't say I'm surprised, though your treatment is probably more a testament to the typically aloof service one often encounters in Muang Thai.

I'm with Mcgriff, though; nice looking kit but you can't do owt with it and when it goes wrong they shaft you. Each to their own but the whole ethos of Apple and their consumers that they're superior to the Windows user gets right up my shaft. Reality is if the guy had a PC he could have taken it anywhere and have it working for relative peanuts. If you're too stuck up for Windows (7/64 runs like a dream btw), get yourself Ubuntu (Linux) for free and run a proper open-source OS.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

A year ago you'd be right on Ubuntu, but then they released their new user interface well before it was ready. While promising, it's currently in the kind of pre-beta state that even Microsoft would never have dreamt of releasing even during their darkest days.

But no argument on Windows 7, that's rock solid. If you marry that to half decent hardware then that's pretty much the best computer experience money can buy. (And I do use Mac OSX sometimes.)

[ThePyawkt]

Hi!

Sorry to hear you are having a bit of run-around. I would take it to the Apple shop on Soi Siri Monkalajarn, off of Hui Kaow Road.

Go NW on Hui Kaow Road from the Old City.

Turn left on Siri Monkalajarn.

In about 250 meters, you will see the Apple service center on your right.

You can speak directly with the manager, his name is Peter; VERY friendly and capable.

They may need to order parts, if it's an older or rare machine.

I hope this helps!

Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com

[WinnieTheKhwai]

off Hauy Keaw

on Huay Gaew Road

just off Hauy Keau

NW on Hui Kaow Road

Let's keep those coming. Best part of the topic. My submission is "Huey Kee-o".

Edited January 3, 2012 by WinnieTheKhwai

[wynzlo]

Hi!

Sorry to hear you are having a bit of run-around. I would take it to the Apple shop on Soi Siri Monkalajarn, off of Hui Kaow Road.

Go NW on Hui Kaow Road from the Old City.

Turn left on Siri Monkalajarn.

In about 250 meters, you will see the Apple service center on your right.

Pretty sure Mac Zone moved their service center to Kad Suan Kaew. It's buried in one of the darker corners of the mall, so you're best off getting one of the people at the Apple shop near the entrance to lead you there.

[mikewet88]

just get an inexpensive external drive. More and more new laptops and Ipads for sure don't have optical drives at all.

Everybody uses the same drives and they are problematic. Really just the new floppy drive.

Get a good internet connection and its hardly needed. I have a MacBook pro bought last year and I don't think I have used the drive yet.

Yes. I swap out my Optical drive with an optibay and put 2nd HDD to increase the storage.

[hellodolly]

Had lots of experience w/both shops mentioned w/o satisfaction. The one on the rd. replaced my harddrive w/a "new one" that never really worked after (it would not turn on half the time) and they kept keeping it to "check it" but when I went to their self proclaimed "headquarters" in the computer center on Super Hwy 11 it was just a large folding table in the hallway w/o many tools and my computer was just sitting there for days being "checked". I took to the one in the mall and they showed me my new HD was 7 yrs. old bought at Pantip Plaza (I took it to that store and they confirmed it). They replaced the HD and ever since the internet keeps shutting off (the first time in the shop when I went to p/u and they said internet off in mall and have heard about 10 diff. reasons by now), they have kept it 3 more times to check (and more that I took it home w/me) and now suggest I leave it again to check. Had many similar sagas. Now I'm trying to buy a iphone and if you buy it a the place in the mall they will not service it under warrantee and if buy from Apple they will etc. etc. All I want to be able to do is chk. my emails, watch some videos and be able to bitch on TV, is that to much to ask of a expensive machine!!

Sounds to me like you got what is called a lemon in the auto industry. You can keep throwing money at it to no avail.

This happens with all makes of computers and is in no way indicative of the quality of the brand. You will hear a lot of complaining here because there is a few posters who have had bad experiences or are more concerned about price than quality.

See my post 11 not one objection to my opinion.

For the most part satisfied customers do not run around shouting it or making up excuses why it is so good. As they say the squeaky wheel gets the greece.

[Mestizo]

Try the new used Mac store up Huay Gaew Road and past Dunkin Donuts. (Just about 500 meters before the main CMU gate.) Their costs are about half the retail outlets. I finally bought a new battery for my old MacBook and their service was very good.

Do you happen to know if that used Mac store buys Macs as well? I have an older 15" Mac Book Pro that I need to get rid of.

-Mestizo

[Mestizo]

I've also had 2 extremely negative experiences with the Mac repair shops here in Chiang Mai.

The first time I took my MBP to have the fans replaced. One fan had stopped working and the other was suppering from the noise issues that plagued the older MBPs. I took it to the old shop near'ish to Monkey Club and asked them to just replace both of them. I left it with them and waited for a week, with no follow up. I called them a week later and they said it wasn't finished yet, that they need my password from me, and they would call me when it was ready. (Why would they need to login to the OS to replace a fan???) Another week and a half went by with no contact from them. I called them up again and they said oh yes, its ready for pick up. I picked up it and they didnt say much to me. I asked how much I owed them, they said that no charge. They said they didn't replace the fans, they only cleaned them and they were working just fine again. Got it home only to find out that the machine would not boot. <deleted>! They had somehow managed to majorly screw up the boot partition on the harddrive. I was able to recover most of my data from the device and reinstalled the OS. The fans of course, had the same problem as before I took it in.

So, second time I went back (a few months ago), was the new shop at KSK. My girlfriend explained the problem to them in Thai and made it clear that we just wanted to order fans and I would handle installing them myself. They gave me a receipt for the total amount, something like 3800 THB, roughly 1900THB per fan.. Once they fans arrived from Bangkok, they called and said they were ready to pick up. So, we sent the company messenger down there to pick them up for me. At that point they provided us with an itemized receipt. Each fan was approx 900 THB, and each fan carried an install charge of 1000 THB. So 2000 THB install charge for fans that I was installing myself. Again <deleted>!! So we had somebody call down there and try to get that money back. They flat out refused.

Never again will I deal with the Chiang Mai repair shop. For my newest Macbook Pro, if I ever experience any problems, I will be flying it down to Bangkok and trying my luck with a repair shop there.

Its really sad that such a great company like Apple can have their reputation totally tarnished by such unbelievably shitty service of a hole-in-the-wall "authorized" repair shop, like the ones that exist in Chiang Mai.

-Mestizo

[T_Dog]

Try the new used Mac store up Huay Gaew Road and past Dunkin Donuts. (Just about 500 meters before the main CMU gate.) Their costs are about half the retail outlets. I finally bought a new battery for my old MacBook and their service was very good.

Do you happen to know if that used Mac store buys Macs as well? I have an older 15" Mac Book Pro that I need to get rid of.

-Mestizo

They do indeed buy old Macs and other Apple hardware.

[Dante99]

For people having difficulty with the service at the CM Mac shop, I recommend emailing directly to Apple headquarters in Cupritino, California. I did it and got satisfaction with the help of an American Apple lady. Apple tries to get it right and maintain their top rating for service so they make an effort to straighten out their service organizations that are not up to par like the one in CM. But if they do not know the problems they can not help. Going to the BKK Mac people does not help much from my past experience, you need to email Apple headquarters in California.

Secondly, I was told yesterday that there is a helpful faring man working in the CM Mac service shop at Gat Suan Kaew so you might try asking for him.

[jonwilly]

Thanks for the replies and information.

I went to the Mac Store passed Dunkin donuts and for B1600, I now own an external DVD drive.

Good positive attitude by staff.

john

[junglechef]

One has to wonder when the girl behind the desk was making my bill on a Samsung laptop (and could not figure out how to use the printer, I had to wait 45 min. for someone to else to come in for a receipt). BTW have heard that some Apples can be lemons but mine is just old, had many yrs. of problem free use but I've drop some money into it recently so just trying to get some value before replacing and giving this one to the kids.

[nikster]

Use the Mac Zone shop if you get an under-warranty repair. Quick and easy.

For anything else, look for other solutions. I am pretty sure any repair shop in Icon Square can replace your iMac slot-loading drive with a no-name variety that would work just as well. These are standard parts, BHT 7000 for that is... 555 is all I can say, sure, yeah. And even though slot-loading drives are still not very wide-spread in the PC world, they do exist. On ebay they can be found for around $50.

I think the by far best solution is to get an external CD/DVD drive - these cost around 1500 baht and should they break you just get another one.

[nikster]

Thanks for the replies and information.

I went to the Mac Store passed Dunkin donuts and for B1600, I now own an external DVD drive.

Good positive attitude by staff.

john

Perfect!