MacBook Pro - Swollen Battery

Last week I noticed that my MacBook Pro would shut off at around 30% battery charge. I didn’t think too much about it the first time but when it shut down when I was in the middle of an important document you bet I noticed it shut down at around 60% charge.

I immediately got on the phone and gave Apple Care a call. Their phone number is 1-800-275-2273. After a few moments of holding I was connected with a support staff. The staff member wasn’t much help. He asked for my computer serial number. I gave him the information. He also asked for my batteries serial number. I supplied that. Then he asked me to give him my batteries cycle information. Sure, no problem. After I gave him that information he told me that Apple Care couldn’t help me because the battery was old and this sort of thing happened. I bought my Macbook Pro, from the Apple store, on October 2006.

As I listened to him talk I couldn’t help thinking, “Really, batteries just swell like this for no reason?” I knew he didn’t know what he was talking about but since I didn’t have the time to question him about this or speak with someone in a higher position I quickly got off the phone knowing that I would be calling back or going to my closest Apple store later.

Guess what? “Later” happened yesterday. I was working on my MacBook Pro and noticed that it wasn’t setting flush on my desktop. I picked it up. No, there wasn’t anything under it to make it rock. Hmm… I put my computer back on the desk. This happened a few times before it dawned on me. Check the battery Opal!

Sure enough when I looked at the battery I could see it visibly buckling. I had read that some MacBook Pro’s had faulty batteries during one one of my visits to Apple’s forums. It’s a lithium battery and it’s made by Sony. Dell, has also reported problems with some of their batteries made by the same company.

I removed the battery immediately. I didn’t want that thing exploding. Earlier this week I had planned on taking my MacBook Pro into the local Apple store tomorrow so I could receive a replacement battery; however, I decided to try my luck with Apple Care. I had a lot of deadlines, and traveling to the Towson Mall would take some time. Last week was the first time I’ve ever encountered problems with Apple’s support staff.

This time the representative I spoke to was helpful, and a new battery was shipped. The great thing is I’ll be receiving it today. That’s not bad. I can stay at home and complete my projects, and I don’t have to trek all the way to Towson, MD to get a new battery. Of course, I have to return the old battery within 10 days. Although the replacement battery is free, you still have to give them your credit card number in case you decide to do something such as not return the old battery.

How Do I Know Whether My Battery Was Received?
Log onto Apple Support and check the status of your battery. That’s it.

Since I’ve had Apple I’ve only had to use Apple Care support twice. The first time was my fault I accidentally wiped out a system file, and the kicker is I knew as soon as I emptied the trash that I had erased a folder instead of the file, dooh!

I didn’t blame Apple because of my first experience regarding this situation. I know that you will have some workers regardless of the companies they work for that need to improve their customer service skills, and yes I did report him.

Technorati Tags: AppleCare, MacBook Pro, Battery, Warped Battery, swollen battery

Thankfully I haven’t had a problem with my MacBook Pro overheating even when running applications such as Final Cut Express HD, Aperture 1.5, or Photoshop.

My Mac is Overheating What Do I Do?

If you are looking for a solution that will help you cool down your Mac you might want to check out smcFanControl 2.1.2 as of this writing that’s the latest, an greatest, release. As I mentioned I haven’t had this problem If I play a movie, which is rare, it will get a little warmer. If I have it setting on my lap but I don’t have it setting on my lap when I’m watching a movie.

However, I will download SMCFanControl 2.1.2 and install it on my MacBook Pro. I’ll update once I have played a movie. We’ll see whether it is cooler. The reason why I decided to include this application for people to check out I have heard so many positive things about it from a variety of Mac related forums.

Technorati Tags: smcFanControl, Mac, Apple computer, Mac overheating

If you come from a Windows OS and find yourself on a Mac you might be wondering how in the world do you right click on the Apple Mac? After reading Thomas - Technical Blogger’s post about Civility and Blog Comments I thought I would post this short tutorial. I thought I had already posted this.

I rarely use right click but if you are curious as to what you need to do you might want to check the tutorial I’ve included below.

How Do I Right Click On A Mac?

1. Hold down the ctrl key
2. Click on the trackpad or click on your mouse (I use the mighty mouse) while you are still holding down on the ctrl key.

That’s it! You now can right click on your trackpad or mouse!
The above works on any Mac OS.

How Do I Configure The Right Click Button On My Mighty Mouse?

• From the main menu click on System Preferences

• Select Keyboard & Mouse

• Select Mouse
• Select the right mouse button as the secondary mouse button.
• Congrats you now have right click on your mouse.

If you’re new to the Mac please check out my Mac Resources page. There you’ll find links to a variety of Mac related forums. As a new Mac user I was able to log onto the forums, search, or ask questions when I did not know the answer.  I found the people to be very helpful.  It’s hard to believe that next month will mark a year that I’ve been using my MacBook Pro.

My MacBook Pro is not going to perform the same way as my HP Dv6000t.  They use two different operating systems. I should not be surprised that it won’t do the same things as the Windows OS?  Remember they won’t be exactly the same.

Here’s something to think about if  you complain about how the Mac OS isn’t like your Windows OS  you really don’t give yourself a chance to fully appreciate the fabulous things that the Mac has to offer.  Don’t be afraid to ask for assistance when you are working with a new operating system.

I bought my father a PowerMac G5 about a week after I purchased my MacBook Pro, although I was a newbie myself, he contacted me often in the beginning.  He wanted to know how to use his OS.  How did I learn? I googled and found the answers to all of my questions. If you purchased the product from Apple log onto their tech support, or give them a call.  I had to call them this past April and the technician I spoke to was very knowledgeable and was able to assist me.

Technorati Tags: Mac, Windows Operating System, How Do I Use Right Click On A Mac, Thomas - Technical Blogger

“Could not Complete Your Request.”

Uh! Oh! Are you receiving this message in Photoshop?

I faced the same issue a few days ago when I attempted to load Adobe Photoshop Element 4.0 (Mac.)

It wouldn’t load instead I received the message, “Could not Complete Your Request.” What’s a Mac Diva to do?

After much searching I Read the rest of this entry »

A few days ago I realized that my MacBook Pro backlight was no longer functioning. I always liked that feature. I was pretty bummed about it thinking that I would have to call Apple Care to see how the issue could be resolved.

I even thought about taking it into the Apple Genius bar Read the rest of this entry »