Mac Questions Thread. I killed my Mac today....

[will...]

has anyone done a screen swap on a macbook themselves or got someone to do it for them? my little sister has stepped on it and it's cracked, and 'leaking' aka lots of dead pixels along the crack. being six she doesn't have the funds to replace, so i was thinking of doing it myself. is it really as easy as the guys on youtube make it look? there's a few screens on ebay for $200ish, seems fair considering apple store would charge $2098302981 to fix it.

 

[leitch]

Your little sis is 6 now? Wow. Doesn't seem so long ago she was sucking her thumb hiding behind your mum's leg!

 

[Daneel]

will: yeah, replacing a screen is pretty simple on most laptops. Generally all you should need is a micro screwdriver set, which you can pick up at any bunnings or electronics shop.. and maybe a paint scraper, again available from bunnings.

http://video.google.com.au/videosearch?q=replace+macbook+screen

^^ lots of good guides on how to do it here, although i had to laugh at the hugely american one where he says "puudty naiiife" instead of putty knife..

If you were in sydney i'd offer to do it for you, unless you want to ship it down here no charge for it

 

[Elbo]

Will, check this website out for a step-by-step guide to replace the screen. They have really great instructions! http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/
My old man sells Apple computers and always has a few second hand parts from current and older macs in the shop. I know we have a few MacBook 13" screens down at the shop at the moment. If you have trouble sourcing a screen, shoot me a PM.

 

[will...]

Your little sis is 6 now? Wow. Doesn't seem so long ago she was sucking her thumb hiding behind your mum's leg!

hahaha yes, she is, such a little shit now as well. haven't seen you in aggess man, should come down to the bowl one day . the total amount of riders has reduced to 3 now aha.

will: yeah, replacing a screen is pretty simple on most laptops. Generally all you should need is a micro screwdriver set, which you can pick up at any bunnings or electronics shop.. and maybe a paint scraper, again available from bunnings.

http://video.google.com.au/videosearch?q=replace+macbook+screen

^^ lots of good guides on how to do it here, although i had to laugh at the hugely american one where he says "puudty naiiife" instead of putty knife..

If you were in sydney i'd offer to do it for you, unless you want to ship it down here no charge for it

hahaha thanks for the offer man, i think i might have to pass though. thanks for the link too. i found this guide and apparently i need a #00 screwdriver and a 'spudger' which is basically a putty knife, but apples fancy version. i'll probably do it soonish, i'd need to set aside a solid day to do it without fucking anything up hahaha. too many delicate cables and shit to unclip to rush it ha.

might chuck in some more ram and buy snow leopard while i'm at it too. just loovveee tax return

EDIT:

Will, check this website out for a step-by-step guide to replace the screen. They have really great instructions! http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/
My old man sells Apple computers and always has a few second hand parts from current and older macs in the shop. I know we have a few MacBook 13" screens down at the shop at the moment. If you have trouble sourcing a screen, shoot me a PM.

that was the guide i was talking about above, seems pretty in depth and lots of pictures sure does make it easy(er). I might hit that up off you, I would rather deal with someone within australia rather than hong kong haha. I'll let you know in the next few days though. any chance of having any matte screens? i'd transfer the money tonight if so, there's none on ebay atm.

 

[sockman]

has anyone done a screen swap on a macbook themselves or got someone to do it for them? my little sister has stepped on it and it's cracked, and 'leaking' aka lots of dead pixels along the crack. being six she doesn't have the funds to replace, so i was thinking of doing it myself. is it really as easy as the guys on youtube make it look? there's a few screens on ebay for $200ish, seems fair considering apple store would charge $2098302981 to fix it.

I did the same thing. Apple quoted me about 1400 to replace the screen. I got a screen sent to me from Hong Kong, including post for about $280. Takes at most --- 40 mins to take the old one out, then install the new one. Don't even bother going to the crapple store, they're useless.

 

[skivi]

since i've updated to the latest version of Firefox (v3.5.3) on my MacBook Pro running OS X 10.4.11 as well as the latest update of flash player i'm noticing a lot of sites that use flash won't always work properly for me, this seems to happen to me every time i either update Firefox or Flash Player.

i've done a check through 'Disk Utility' and it said it fixed a few errors with flash player but i still i have problems with some sites.

 

[frostbite]

My mac (mbp 2.66ghz ) seems to randomly pause when playing back videos sometimes... using quicktime. Doesnt happen when i use VLC. How do i make it always open videos with VLC and how do I stop it from pausing with quicktime?

edit - this seems to happen with itunes too.

 

[kalem]

My mac (mbp 2.66ghz ) seems to randomly pause when playing back videos sometimes... using quicktime. Doesnt happen when i use VLC. How do i make it always open videos with VLC and how do I stop it from pausing with quicktime?

edit - this seems to happen with itunes too.

Select a movie/video file type (say an *.avi) that you want to change in finder, then get info (command + I) and you'll see a section don the bottom "open with" select VLC, then you can hit change all...

no idea about the random pause, try apple support forums?

 

[leitch]

Don't take this the wrong way, but you're not accidentally hitting the space bar, are you?

 

[frostbite]

Hey thanks for the advice on setting file association

As for space bar - nope.. its on the side of the room playing movies or songs when it happens.. noone touches it. Actually it has been playing itunes all afternoon now and it hasnt skipped yet... I restarted it yesterday.

So whats the verdict on snow leopard now its been out for a little? Worth getting it? I think i can order it online for cheap cause I got my mac right before it came out..

 

[Gluey_trails]

I've been backing up using time machine and recently its just been stopping prematurely and saying there is an error. I bought another hard drive (thinking that my other one was full - which it basically was) and this new terabyte hard drive is also stopping. It starts backing up and then just stops.

Prognosis?

 

[kalem]

So whats the verdict on snow leopard now its been out for a little? Worth getting it? I think i can order it online for cheap cause I got my mac right before it came out..

Get it while it's cheap, you might as well... Only problem i've had is the apple remote now controls itunes even when you're in VLC, EyeTV or any program where the remote is handy...Very annoying and surprising the first 10.6 update didn't fix it.

maybe just buy 10.6 and wait for a few rounds of updates before you install it. It's only $15 or something if you just missed it.

 

[Rendog]

Hey guys quick question, I have a iMac G5 1.8 processor and was wanting to just upgrade the processor, am I able to do this or do I have to buy a whole new iMac or I'm not sure...? someone help me out!!

 

[L.P.]

oh no, my super reliable old macbook has nearly died on me!

I dont use it with a power cable normally, as uni classrooms dont have enough power sockets. so the macbook was perfect!

I turned it on today and it turned off straight away. It now doesnt start without being plugged into the power socket... balls. its a macbook 2.1

Im fairly sure the solution is to take it to a macplace to get it looked at... but i dont really wantto pay for it. does anyone have any suggestions? cheers

 

[Daneel]

well, it'll be a dead battery, so you're going to have to replace that.. if it's still covered, it'll be free, but i'm guessing you're going to be looking at around $100 for a new one, plus installation, unless you're handy with a screw driver..

 

[tupper]

oh no, my super reliable old macbook has nearly died on me!

I dont use it with a power cable normally, as uni classrooms dont have enough power sockets. so the macbook was perfect!

I turned it on today and it turned off straight away. It now doesnt start without being plugged into the power socket... balls. its a macbook 2.1

Im fairly sure the solution is to take it to a macplace to get it looked at... but i dont really wantto pay for it. does anyone have any suggestions? cheers

Sounds like the end to your battery to me. New one will probably do the trick. But I would take it in just to be sure..

 

[Daneel]

Hey guys quick question, I have a iMac G5 1.8 processor and was wanting to just upgrade the processor, am I able to do this or do I have to buy a whole new iMac or I'm not sure...? someone help me out!!

nope, sorry.. no upgrade path at all for the PPC G5, especially if you have the 1.8 already. the 1.8 was the fastest processor available for that pc.

 

[L.P.]

thats not too bad, only $100 or so.

thanks guys.

 

[3viltoast3r]

Anybody else having troubles with Handbrake/Quicktime in 10.6????

Apparently handbrake is using VLC's library for DVD decryption, and reinstalling both fixes the problem but I havent had any luck. Also I dont know if this is related but Quicktime doesnt like some of my *.avi files, specifically ones of the downloaded Xvid variety...