• The optical drive won’t read discs or burn them
• The fan is on constantly regardless of the computer’s temperature or how hard it’s working
• The battery is bulging and the computer tells me it needs to be replaced immediately; full charge gets me 35 minutes of time unplugged
• The trackpad is malfunctioning and sticking, making it more or less impossible to actually do anything on the damn thing. It thinks it is being clicked constantly when it’s not, leading me to accidentally drag things around and into other folders, highlight everything, close and open programs, open and minimize windows, etc.
(For the record, the MBP was purchased in the summer of 2008. I have all of its files backed up, phew.)
Fortunately I’ve got the iMac to rely on so I won’t be computerless. But there are times when I travel and do work (especially photo stuff on the go) with a laptop so I am going to need another one eventually.
So. Try to get it repaired or just start saving (HA HA HA HA) for a new one?
Speak, nerds. Give me your wisdom.
You aren’t going to like it…
Optical Drive: laser could be dirty, might want to try a cleaning kit if it matters enough to spend $15-20 on. Or, just buy an external burner for $80 and don’t worry about it.
Fan: Could be a sign of a few things. Obstruction, knowing you, cat hair is a likely culprit. Or it could be a sign that an internal temperature sensor is fried. Or it could be a sign of a half-dead logic board.
Battery: What do you mean by “bulging”? Like, there is a bulge in the batter block itself? Or that it isn’t sitting securely in the compartment? The first could be a possibly fire hazard, so be careful. Second, the batteries are slated for like 18mo-2years at normal use. Not taking the bulge into account, you probably need a new one.
Trackpad: Disable it in the system settings, get a mouse. Those are signs the thing has something caught in the sensor, and it’ll have to be replaced.
Laptops have about a 3 year estimated life span. If you get more out of them, you’re doing great.
If you can live without it for a few days, take it to the Mac store and get them to give you an estimate on the work needed to fix it. You may be pleasantly surprised, or horrified. If it is a logic board about to give up the ghost, you’re kinda SOL.
Sorry there isn’t good news in there.
But, seriously, be careful with that battery.
Is it a unibody model or the older generation? (Unibody has the black around the screen and looks like this: http://bit.ly/qmhxc5; the previous is all aluminum and looks like this: http://bit.ly/okr7oP)
I’ve owned Macs since the early 90s and pretty much every single optical drive I’ve had (whenever they started including them) has been effed up at some time, but it’s usually due to dirt or, ahem, cat hair. Like Zach said, there are fairly cheap ways to troubleshoot or bypass it. I wouldn’t pay to get it fixed, and replacing it yourself is not too easy.
I can’t think of what would cause a battery to bulge unless it’s corroded or something crazy and is about to explode, so I’d definitely replace that. Actually, now that I think about it you must not have the Unibody since you can’t replace the battery on that yourself; it’s inside the machine. I’ve recently ordered a third-party battery for an old PowerBook (god rest its soul, as I’m about to change out the HD on it, too) and can say that third-party batteries are BULLSHIT. They suck. Spend the $100 on an Apple-made battery. It will last longer and will not cause you more trouble like an aftermarket part will.
The fan running all the time is weird, but it could possibly be due to the battery. On one of my computers the battery was acting really funky (it was later recalled, THANKS APPLE) and when I replaced it the fans stopped acting up.
The trackpad thing could be due to dropping stuff in it over the years, but I’ve seen people have the trackpads replaced for not too much money. Granted, people around here generally take their computers to the Genius Bar for a diagnosis and then to MacAuthority for the actual repair because they’re cheaper.
I’d recommend this: 1. Make a Genius Bar appointment and see what they tell you about each of these items. Ask them for estimates on what it would cost to fix various things, but don’t have them service it (at least not right away). 2. Go to MacAuthority (do you have one in Memphis?) or another Apple-certified repair shop with a good reputation and see what they say. Hopefully they can at least repair the trackpad. You should be able to fix the battery situation w/ a new one, and the optical drive might be able to be cleaned.
I don’t think you’re in dire-straits-panic-time here yet. It should be fixable or at least manageable. :)
Zach is right on it.
I’d strongly agree with his opinion of taking it in to get an estimate on repairs. Even $300 or so is preferable to $2,000.
I’m leaning toward a motherboard/logic board that needs replacing.