2/26/07 - A liquid cooled G5 with a leak in it's plumbing

Here's a liquid cooled dual processor Power Mac G5, which started to leak. The client started having issues with the unit, and did not look inside. By the time he brought it into us for service the power supply, logic board, and processor where all damaged. If you have a liquid cooled G5, we recommend regular inspections to ensure that the cooling system is in working order.

11/22/06 - The devil is in the details: A 5th Generation Video iPod with a cracked screen

They say the devil is in the details. That may be true, but we could not resist posting this picture of a 30 GB Video iPod with a broken screen. When the screen shattered in such a way you might think a message is being sent. So now when your parents tell you to stop playing that "devil music" you'll know what they are talking about.

7/26/06 - MacBook soaked with 20oz of coffee (with cream & sugar)

Can MacMedics bring a Mac back from the dead? Yes we can! While we don't have gory photos to show the heinous damage, we did have quite a victory in-lab this week. Charles, one of our in-lab engineers was able to rescue a very, very sick MacBook. Our client had just bought this new beauty one week prior to spilling a 20-ounce hot coffee with cream and sugar (if you've ever worked on a cream and sugar spill, you know what I'm talking about) into his MacBook. There was so much liquid inside the unit it was on every part, and was actually dripping out of every opening. He was smart and quickly turned the unit off and removed the battery, but he waited a day or two before discovering MacMedics and bringing it in. Needless to say the logic board was coated in coffee, and growing corrosion on every chip and piece of metal. Charles took the MacBook completely apart; every screw was removed, every part taken out of the unit. We cleaned all the parts, used a Dremel buffer where needed, and when it was all said and done the unit was completely restored to its original condition.

7/18/06 - 4th Generation iPod with a cracked screen

Here's a picture of an iPod that came into our lab today. As you can see the ipod's screen is broken, and will need to be replaced. The iPod was set on the roof of a car and slipped off when they drove away.

7/2/06 - iMac G5 logic board with leaking capacitors

Here's a picture of what an iMac G5 logic board that qualifies for the Apple recall looks like. Note the leaking electrolytic fluid, and the bloated capacitor tops. If your iMac has scrambled video or power problems, you might have a unit that is suffering this problem. You can lean more about Apple's recall at their webpage. If you have this problem, MacMedics can complete the Apple Repair Extension for you free of charge as MacMedics is Apple Authorized Service Provider.

6/16/06 - iBook 14" with a really smashed screen

This sad iBook G3 14' showed up this morning in lab. The screen is smashed pretty spectacularly.

6/12/06 - MacBook Pro with a serious battery problem

We had a MacBook Pro in our lab today, where the user complained of a problem with his track pad clicker button. It appeared that the clicker was stuck, and when pressed sometimes it would unstick for a moment, and then go back to having the track pad button continuously pressed. After a short investigation, we found the problem to be the battery. The battery had swelled and had even separated some to the point where it was pressing up on the underside of the track pad area causing the button not to work.

Update: Apple has established a program to replace batteries that have failed in this manner. Also, if your battery is within a certain serial number range they will send you a free replacement. See this page for more information.

5/23/06 - First MacBook in the MacMedics Mac Lab

We received our first MacBook today. It's for a client that is upgrading from a Lime iMac running OS 9. She's going to be using Verizon DSL and since their new self-install kit does not support OS 9, she thought this might be a good time for an upgrade. Of course we had to take a picture.

5/19/06 - PowerBook 17" that fell off a table

This 17" PowerBook G4 fell off a table at a Baltimore hospital with a security cable attached to it. As you can see, the security device can be defeated if you don't mind a PowerBook looking like this.

5/1/06 - PowerMac G5 that got run over with a forklift

This PowerMac G5 was shipped from Maryland to New York. Unfortunately the shipping company ran over it with a forklift. We had to order a new case and completely re-build the unit in the new case. Luckily, the aluminum case saved this computer's bacon. The only damage was the smashed case.

4/28/06 - G3 iBook filled with sand

This G3 iBook came into our Mac Lab today. It was filled with sand. While it had lots of foreign matter inside, it only appeared to have bad hard drive. We performed data recovery on the unit, and retrieved all but 5 Megs of the lost data. A different Mac service company had replaced the drive recently, so we're hoping the hard drive is covered under the manufacturer's warranty.

4/26/06 - Weird power port damage on a 15" G4 PowerBook

Here's a picture of a 15" PowerBook with odd damage to the power port area. The owner of the PowerBook does not recall seeing the dent before, and has never dropped the unit. It was discovered at the Apple Store when he brought it in for another reason.

Smashed PowerBook

Here are a few pictures of one of our more unusual Macintosh repair jobs. In fact we think this unit is a total loss, and won't be worth fixing. This unit was "seriously damaged" by an enraged spouse of one of our customers. It's a PowerBook G3 Wallstreet, and since it has a cracked screen among other numerous problems, we are suggesting a replacement computer, perhaps a 14" iBook. While this might not really qualify as a repair, we figured it was worth showing what can happen when you spend too much time on the Internet.



The above story does have a happy ending. Since this machine was too far gone to effectively repair, we found a used PowerBook Lombard G3 to replace the "smashed" Wallstreet G3. The data on his hard drive was surprisingly still usable, so we copied it over to the new unit by way of a 2.5-inch FireWire case and one of our in-lab PowerMac G5's. The new computer is pictured on the left, the retired computer is dark and on the right. Rest in Peace!

MacMedics Mail-In Macintosh Service

MacMedics is famous for our Macintosh repairs, so it's only natural, that folks from all over want to send their iPods, MacBooks, MacBook Pros, PowerBooks, and iBooks to us. Call us and we'll arrange to send you a shipping box, or ship your unit to us directly at:

MacMedics
Mail-in Repairs
1131 Benfield Blvd, Suite H
Millersville, MD 21108

MacMedics would like to thank our colleagues at www.macintouch.com and www.macobserver.com for linking to this page. We've been surprised at the worldwide attention that this little PowerBook's plight has attracted. It's obvious that this story and the related pictures have struck a nerve.

From Italy:

Are you looking for a VERY experienced Apple Authorized Service Provider or Macintosh consultant in the Baltimore - Annapolis - Columbia MD, Washington DC Metro, Northern Virginia, or Philadelphia, PA areas? How about a 100% Macintosh consulting company that has more than 40,000 service calls on their resume? Since 1989, MacMedics has been providing our progressive style of award-winning Macintosh service, Macintosh consulting, Macintosh training, andMacintosh sales to the Macintosh community. We offer full service Mac support at your location (with no travel fees) or in our fully equipped Mac repair lab in Millersville, MD or Lanham, MD. MacMedics also specializes in complex Macintosh data recovery. From graphic art freelancers to full-fledged ad agencies and graphic design studios, MacMedics has the resources and manpower to take great care of you and your Macs!