So I've had a 10.4 macbook pro for four years (almost to the date) and it has crashed. The disc drive broke about 4 months ago, but i've been using it for school stuff. Took it to school, worked all day on it, brought it home, lent it to my friend; he opened it, started firefox, clicked on a homework assignment webpage, firefox then froze, then the computer turned off about 1 minute later. I restarted it, and everything but my pictures and documents were wiped. No applications (even iMovie is gone), music is gone, library is gone. I can't keep it running for more than a few minutes without it freezing up again. What is going on here? Anyone know why this happened?
@Virago: Most likely an HDD crash. They all go eventually, even faster in notebooks. If you're seeing pieces of data disappear like that, the only other explanation would be a serious OS failure. However you typically see a kernel panic if it is just an OS crash. Hopefully you've been backing up, or you're about to learn the hard way. A replacement HDD is cheap and easy, but you depending on your financial situation it might be time for an upgrade. New MacBook would be a significant update for all specs.
" @secretagent009: Please tell me that was sarcasm. "
I hope so... four years of use sounds pretty reliable to me, better than our old HP laptop that lasted a little over a year and a half before dying (P4 mobile, not much RAM, ATI GPU of some sort) I think it was a zx5000 or something
@secretagent009: You mean the MacBooks that are $999? Cheaper than a similarly spec'd notebook from a brand of your choice? In four years, what components failed? The only two moving parts? How unexpected! The HDD and the optical drive both spin, friction will kill any disk eventually like it kills the engine of a car. Both parts can be replaced for little money, and he could upgrade to a new OS while he was at it. If he hasn't already he could add more RAM. Voila, for under $200 he has refreshed unit.
Also I'm not sure what manufacturer makes the drive in his MB, but pre-installed in my nearly three-year-old MacBook Pro was a Seagate Momentus. Seagate is widely considered the best brand in storage. Complain to them about your ridiculous 6-8 year lifecycle.
I'm probably the biggest Mac hater around here, but a dead HDD is hardly Apple's fault. Save the hate for real issues, not ones that are common in every single computer with a mechanical drive.
" @secretagent009: I'm probably the biggest Mac hater around here, but a dead HDD is hardly Apple's fault. Save the hate for real issues, not ones that are common in every single computer with a mechanical drive. "
I am not far behind you on Mac hating, but when it comes to parts that is not that brands fault unless it is proprietary part they made or manufactured
@Virago: Most likely an HDD crash. They all go eventually, even faster in notebooks. If you're seeing pieces of data disappear like that, the only other explanation would be a serious OS failure. However you typically see a kernel panic if it is just an OS crash. Hopefully you've been backing up, or you're about to learn the hard way. A replacement HDD is cheap and easy, but you depending on your financial situation it might be time for an upgrade. New MacBook would be a significant update for all specs.
I hope so...
four years of use sounds pretty reliable to me, better than our old HP laptop that lasted a little over a year and a half before dying (P4 mobile, not much RAM, ATI GPU of some sort)
I think it was a zx5000 or something
Also I'm not sure what manufacturer makes the drive in his MB, but pre-installed in my nearly three-year-old MacBook Pro was a Seagate Momentus. Seagate is widely considered the best brand in storage. Complain to them about your ridiculous 6-8 year lifecycle.
I'm probably the biggest Mac hater around here, but a dead HDD is hardly Apple's fault. Save the hate for real issues, not ones that are common in every single computer with a mechanical drive.
I am not far behind you on Mac hating, but when it comes to parts that is not that brands fault unless it is proprietary part they made or manufactured