[VertiGoGo]

First, I still love my Mac hardware.

However, Apple is a bunch o' [email protected]@rds when it comes to after sales support. My eMac is now just barely over three months old and I had a problem yesterday that I could not fix. My Internet access and email died...with no explanation. I called Rogers for help cuz I thought it was their fault. But they said it wasn't because they could ping everyone else in my building...except me.

Long-story short, when I called Apple to see if they could help me...this obnoxious @ss in tech support flat-out refused to help me because I was beyond my three months phone support period (by TWO frickin' days)!!!!!

He just kept babbling on about how I should buy Apple Care for $250 dollars and that I should just try reinstalling Jaguar or some other complicated bullsh!t. I cannot believe them!!!

The one and only time I have ever needed a guide-through from Apple and they brushed me aside like I was a horrible disease. Sh!t...and I thought Microsoft was bad at support! Apple is 100-times worse!!!!!!!

 

[dthompson101]

First off, yes, Apple does have bad tech support, however they also have the best tech support.

2nd, most CPU's only come with a 90 day phone support warrenty from almost all major manufacutrers. Apple is just following suit. Buying the Apple Care is actually a really good value and may save your loads of cash down the line if something happens to your hardware after a year.

Also, Apple can't be expected to support the software since they have no idea wha type of software from other vendors you have installed on your box so screw things up. Things like FaxSTF or other software.

Anyways, the problem is probably software releated on your box with a misconfigured port of some sort.

If you are using Rogers, I am assuming it's eithernet. Load up your CPU, go into your system preferences and select the network settings. select your internet ports (internal modem, ethernet, airport) and select "Network Port Configuration" from the pop up menu.

Take your ethernet port and drag it to the top of your list in the window. Make sure it is checked. Uncheck the rest of the ports such as modem, firewire, airport and so on.

Next, go into you configuration and make sure that everything rogers supplied you with is correct.

Once you do that, you can always give the eMac a reboot for good luck and to ensure the config changes have been made, but it is really not necessary on OS X.

After that, open up a terminal and try these 2 things first.

type in the following:
ping localhost

you will see a bunch of numbers come up that look like the following:
PING localhost (127.0.0.1): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 127.0.0.1: icmp_seq=0 ttl=64 time=0.209 ms

After that, you know you can ping internally, now you have to try to ping the loopback IP, so type in the following:
ping 127.0.0.1

again you should see the following:
PING 127.0.0.1 (127.0.0.1): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 127.0.0.1: icmp_seq=0 ttl=64 time=0.213 ms

To stop the ping sequence, type "control+c" to break the command.

if you are getting 0% loss on your pinging your break will look something like this when you end the command:

2 packets transmitted, 2 packets received, 0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max = 0.202/0.207/0.213 ms


The means that your internal NIC (ethernet) adapter is working fine. If you are hooked up behing a router of some sort and have more computers on your network try pinging them locally, such as:

ping 192.168.1.XXX
If not then try and ping a web address such as:
ping www.apple.com

If pinging the DNS name does not work, try to reverse ping the IP of apple.com at:
ping 17.254.0.91

I doubt that it's your eMac, unless you got all cocky one night and decided that you were going to set up BIND and a local DNS cache server on your machine. I think it rogers, but I might be thinking wrong.

Hope that helps. Free tech support, from David

 

[MacDoc]

Don't you just love helpful independents Well done David.
Vertigogo let us know how it works out.

The problem has arisen that with razor thin margins on hardware and increasingly complicated setups in hardware and OSes companies are really in a bind.
For every person with a real problem like this one there are 20 calls that could have been answered by just cruising the help menu.
Bottom line - just don't expect quality help from the manufacturer.
On-line groups, knowledge friends ( altho that can be dicey as a little knowledge can be truly dangerous

) are all excellent sources.
And if it's critical and you are not geeky in the least hook up with a knowledgeable consultant who can get to know exactly your setup and keep things running smoothly while you get on with your work.
That's been a big historical advantage for Macs is that projects actually get completed. So that over time cost of ownership and return on investment is significantly higher even tho entry price is higher.
Good luck - hope it's not hardware as getting parts ove the holidays can be difficult .

 

[CubaMark]

Ay ay ay! VertiGoGo, I sympathize. Isn't it always the way, that the moment a warranty expires, the hardware goes kaflooey? It's like there's a little "warranty countdown clock" inside, waiting to release the gremlins....

If Rogers hasn't told you to do this yet (I'd be surprised), shut down both the eMac and the cable modem for a few minutes. We have to do this about once every couple of months in Halifax using Eastlink.

You know we're here for you, amigo. If you're still having trouble, post the hardware config you have (is it straight ethernet cable from the cable modem to the eMac, or are you using a base station / airport setup? Got a router? We're assuming OS X?)


M

 

[mose]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> Hope that helps. Free tech support, from David <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Wow.. who said there is no Santy Claus! Too cool.

Now if we could only get a post about some booze-related problem and someone would offer some other free stuff there! Hey it's Christmas/ It is for the children...

Greetings from mose

 

[PosterBoy]

I'd just like to point out that none of the major PC makers support software over the phone past 90 days either, so whether you were calling HP, Toshiba, Compaq or anyone, if you were past 90 days you are SOL. Unless of course you purchase extended coverage.

--PB

 

[VertiGoGo]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> It's like there's a little "warranty countdown clock" inside, waiting to release the gremlins.... <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I am starting to think that myself.

Oddly...the problem fixed itself just as quickly as it created itself. You know, upon further reflection I think it was just the Apple rep being an absolute @ssh0le that ticked me off the most. He bordered on rude the entire call and basically oozed a "you're scum if you don't have Apple Care" attitude.

For the record...I still love my Mac and love ou folks to bits!!!

 

[jfpoole]

VertiGoGo wrote:
"He bordered on rude the entire call and basically oozed a "you're scum if you don't have Apple Care" attitude."

I wonder how much of a cash cow AppleCare is; I looked into getting it for my PowerBook and at $300CDN I was humming and hawing but now that it's gone up to $550CDN, well, no thanks.

 

[PosterBoy]

There is a lot of money in warranty sales, especially if you sell a product that doesn't break down a lot (like most Macs).

Think of it like insurance. If you never claim, then your premiums are basically 100% profit for the company you pay them to. However if you do claim, it can really save your butt, or at least your wallet.

--PB

 

[jfpoole]

PosterBoy wrote:
"Think of it like insurance. If you never claim, then your premiums are basically 100% profit for the company you pay them to. However if you do claim, it can really save your butt, or at least your wallet."

Well, my last laptop (a Compaq Presario) got shipped back to Compaq about five times[1] (hard drive died twice, DVD-ROM died twice, battery died once, and now the screen's going); good thing I purchased the extended warranty then

[1] Granted, I seem to be cursed around hardware.

 

[Brian Scully]

Well for what it is worth I think that Applecare is the best value you can have for the dollar even at the new prices. I had it on my orginal iMac DVSE and I had a key board replacement and an PRAM battery which more than covered the cost. The oneline Applecare help with my current iMac LCD on OSX.10.1.5 has saved my skin a couple of time. 98% of the time the techs have been more that helpful and willing to stay on line for 45 minutes or more to ensure that the problem was resolved. Its the old story of course that you get more bees with honey than you do with vinegar.....and of course if you are ticked with a tech always ask to be forwarded to the supervisor in charge and thus up the line until you get satisfaction. Warranties have limits..... two days? two weeks? Two months? There has to be a cut off point of course You seem to have had a Tech that was having a bad day and that is too bad but my *** who would want to hear complaints for an eight hour shift.

 

[Ohenri]

Vertigogo, I'm so not getting that eMac anymore. Unless an announcement comes in the new year (MacXpo), I'm so going to spend a bit more and either get the FlatP iMac or a tower, I.m actually typing this at a local retailer in VanCity and they said that the eMac has been problematic to say the least. ooooohhhhh.