mac pro emitting odour

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assagai

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so, i got the mac pro a while ago - was very happy until i started noticing a sort of burning plastic/new car smell coming from the mac - a week has gone by and the smell hasn't diminished - this is just unacceptable for such an expensive machine - can't seem to get any joy out of core - i'm really regretting buying the damn thing!
 
I remember the old CRT's smelling like mielies at the back..... hehe
 
yeah, i can't work with this machine - feel a bit ill after a couple hours in the same room.
will do what i can to return it and seek a refund
 
it's just over a week old - but - i called apple usa and they told me their warranty doesn;t cover south africa - so basically we're stuck with core - it's also the last of the previous gen mac pros - so they won't swap it out - it'll be consigned to core workshop hell
 
bwana said:
What did they say when you called them?
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lol - i tried the whole day - no answer - eventually called apple usa who told me they can't help because they have no official service partners in south africa and recommended i take it back to core (who the applecare support person had no record of)
 
assagai said:
it's just over a week old - but - i called apple usa and they told me their warranty doesn;t cover south africa - so basically we're stuck with core - it's also the last of the previous gen mac pros - so they won't swap it out - it'll be consigned to core workshop hell
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I've never been anything other than satisfied by their workshop service. Its their sales that leaves plenty to be desired.
 
bwana said:
I've never been anything other than satisfied by their workshop service. Its their sales that leaves plenty to be desired.
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let's hope you're right - i've had things in that workshop for weeks at a time, so my experience doesn't match.

anyway it's been interesting to discover that the 'international' apple warranty is not honoured in south africa - where there is authorised apple support you get a swap-out within the fist 14 days, not so in south africa because core is not genuine apple support.
 
It's an old issue, reported on Slashdot before.

http://www.freshdv.com/2008/09/mac-pro-smell-possibly-dangerous.html
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=5936011
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=962025&tstart=0

Get it replaced.

It could be a chip, power supply or memory issue.

Re: Mac Pro Smell
Posted: May 26, 2007 12:51 AM in response to: ken71

Thanks for the offer, Ken. The AppleCare techs I talked to (I was escalated) ultimately told me to try the Apple Store I bought it from since I was still in the return window.

The Genius there verified I wasn't crazy regarding the smell from the CPU and the plastic shavings on the heatsinks, and they ended up exchanging the whole system for me. One of the heatsinks actually looked to me like something impacted and then was dragged along it. Not good. From the way he described it, they would probably have been swapping out the entire logic board and both heatsinks anyway, so the new system was easier given the timing.

My original system was manufactured in China; the new system was manufactured in the US. The new one just plain smells like fresh electronics, nothing like the funky odor coming out of the first one.

All's well here now, and I still can't believe how quiet these machines are.
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assagai said:
it's just over a week old - but - i called apple usa and they told me their warranty doesn;t cover south africa - so basically we're stuck with core - it's also the last of the previous gen mac pros - so they won't swap it out - it'll be consigned to core workshop hell
Click to expand...

I havent had any experience of dealing with Core but when I dealt with Apple in both the US and the UK they would definitely have swopped a faulty old unit for a new one if it was only a week old.

Really wish Apple would enter the SA market on their own as one of the joys of owning an Apple machine overseas was the the excellent after-sales service.
 
PaulMark said:
I havent had any experience of dealing with Core but when I dealt with Apple in both the US and the UK they would definitely have swopped a faulty old unit for a new one if it was only a week old.

Really wish Apple would enter the SA market on their own as one of the joys of owning an Apple machine overseas was the the excellent after-sales service.
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Absolutely no such luck with core. They will not swap it out. This was a very expensive mistake and the last time I ever buy any apple product
 
assagai said:
Absolutely no such luck with core. They will not swap it out. This was a very expensive mistake and the last time I ever buy any apple product
Click to expand...

Don't give up! Go visit the core offices and cause a stink! Go crack some skulls!
 
I had a swelling battery on my Macbook Pro about 2 years ago. I phoned Core, and they said the replacement of the battery is not covered by a US replacement policy. I printed out as much information about the problem and the affected batteries from the internet, took that and the machine to Core, and they promptly replaced the battery when they saw the state of the thing and all the paperwork I collected.

Take it to them (if you are in Gauteng) and do as much homework as possible on the problem
 
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