The Nvidia Defect Forum

Hey, apologies if this is the wrong section.

Last evening, I was on my iMac (purchased in June 2008, running Snow Leopard) and the image below appeared out of nowhere.



I was going to connect my iPod, turned away from the screen for a few seconds and this appeared. I couldn't quit anything and restarted by holding in the power button, but the screen still looked weird. I'm outside of Apple Care/warranty. I left it off for a few minutes, but I'm still getting the same lines across the screen and it won't even get to the login.

The card is a NVIDIA GEFORCE 8800 GS W/512MB.

Do I've a leg to stand on here? I contacted Apple, but they're pointing me in the direction of an authorised repair outlet. I raised the issue of a recall, but the Apple rep said there was nothing on that.

Hello Black Oil and welcome to our forum.

Sorry to hear that your iMac has failed.

Looking at the image it is clear that the fault is directly attributable to the Nvidia GPU so I would say that it is highly likely that your Mac is inherently defective.

Take no notice of Apple when they try and fob you off to a repair centre as they are the one's responsible to you.

I take it you did purchase from Apple directly?

If so you should contact them and should tell them that your iMac has failed due to what you believe to be an inherent defect in the Nvidia GPU.

They may tell you that your iMac is out of warranty and that there is nothing that they can do. You should tell them that the warranty status is irrelevant as you have six years from the date of purchase in which to bring an action against a retailer when the goods in question are inherently defective.

See what they say. If they say they will inspect it for a fee you should refuse and say that due to the "reverse burden of proof" then you will provide your own independent engineers report.

There is a step by step guide on this forum that will help you reach a positive resolution and that is here:- post13.html#p13

Where the guide refers to a laptop your should simply substitute this for iMac.

If you follow my advice in that guide then you will be successful.

I hope the above helps.

If you have any questions or if you need any advice then please let me know.

Good luck and best wishes

Paul
The Admin Team

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Please note that I am not legally qualified and I only offer my own personal advice. You are advised to seek professional legal advice for formal clarification of advice I give.

Hey Paul,

Thanks for your input. Yeah, it was purchased from Apple directly. I did try to suggest I believed it was an inherent fault, essentially there from day 1, but the chap didn't seem too interested. The authorised repair place would charge an inspection fee of €75, I presume they could produce a report, but I don't know how much that would work in my favour if it simply says the part is defective rather than inherently bad, if you know what I mean. I'd then need to forward such a report to Apple, yeah?

6 years, where does that come from? I'm based in Ireland.

Just to add, based on that step-by-step link, can I still proceed with an engineer's report through the authorised repair place, if required? I think http://www.lapcure.co.uk/register.php won't be of any use to me.

Hello Black Oil,

The six years that I speak of is the length of time that you have from the date of purchase in which to take legal action when the goods are inherently defective. This is a right under the Sale Of Goods Act and the Limitations Act.

However, this would only be applicable if you are resident in Northern Ireland. If you live in Southern Ireland then things are different as the Sale Of Goods Act does not apply.

Please let me know and I will advise further.

Best wishes

Paul
The Admin Team

_________________
=======================================================
Calculate the minimum refund that you would be entitled to.
FAQ's
Why you should not accept a repair
Links to evidence
What is the Nvidia Defect?
Step by step help to getting a refund
Do you need an engineers report?
=======================================================

If you like what you see on this forum and would like to help then please post links to this forum in other forums or blogs. The more people we can help the better.


Please note that I am not legally qualified and I only offer my own personal advice. You are advised to seek professional legal advice for formal clarification of advice I give.

Thanks Paul. We have consumer legislation here re Sale of Goods Act here, but I'm not 100% familiar with the nitty gritty aspects of it. http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1980/en/ ... index.html In the end, if things don't work out, I may just have to take the hit, which would be quite costly. :/

Hello Black Oil,

May I suggest that you seek some free legal advice to see what options are available to you.

The six years that we have in the UK is a saving grace without which I would say that claims would be made more difficult.

There must be some law or other in Ireland which you can use to your advantage. I know that there have been a number of successful claims in Ireland so there will be a way.

If you take some legal advice then that will better guide you with your claim.

If you can let me know what options are available then I will be able to help others in your position.

Good luck with your claim.

Remember, persistence is the key to success. If you give up then you will not receive anything but if you stand your grounds and stick to your guns then you will be successful.

Best wishes

Paul
The Admin Team

_________________
=======================================================
Calculate the minimum refund that you would be entitled to.
FAQ's
Why you should not accept a repair
Links to evidence
What is the Nvidia Defect?
Step by step help to getting a refund
Do you need an engineers report?
=======================================================

If you like what you see on this forum and would like to help then please post links to this forum in other forums or blogs. The more people we can help the better.


Please note that I am not legally qualified and I only offer my own personal advice. You are advised to seek professional legal advice for formal clarification of advice I give.

Thanks Paul. I'll be on to the Consumer Affairs Association tomorrow and will see where I stand then. Will post back with any developments.

OK, I was in a place today, they mostly do Windows, but have a guy who deals with Macs and could take a look at it. Apparently, their diagnostic is free. Anyway, I had hardly explained a quarter of the story, just mentioned an out of warranty Mac with a (likely) graphics problem, I didn't even mention Nvidia and the guy started into an explanation that it/Nvidia was a 'well-documented' issue.

I also went to an authorised Apple place and to be fair, the guy was pretty sympathetic. He suggested trying to contact Apple again in the hope of getting through to an Irish person who might be more flexible. I think I said above that it's €75 for this shop to assess it.

I contacted Apple by phone this evening and got the response I was expecting, that I'd have to go through the authorised outlet 'procedures'. I was a bit firmer than I had been in my first phone call, suggesting I was not happy and such, but no luck and this fell on deaf ears due to the machine being outside of warranty. The guy suggested troubleshooting in resetting the SMC and PRAM, but those options are essentially useless as the thing will hardly turn on. I asked for an address to write to, even though I have it already. Perhaps if I got a report from the first guys mentioned above, and I've no luck from Apple, I could proceed with the Small Claims Court. I'm eager for the machine to be repaired without cost to me if their is a known defect. The machine cost a lot, I've other Apple products, took out Apple Care on each of them and I've bought other Apple stuff as well. I know that doesn't count for anything, but some flexibility on Apple's part would be useful.

Hello Black Oil,



Sadly, Apple are not alone in the way that they are handling this.

In the first instance I would send a letter before action to Apple prior to proceeding with a report.

This gives Apple seven days in which to respond to you with a positive offer. If they fail to respond in that time then you should proceed with the report.

Once you have the report you should send a copy along with a final letter before action.

They then have a final seven days in which to make you a positive offer. If they fail then your should sue them in the Small Claims Court.

There is a step by step guide on this forum that will help you reach a positive resolution and that is here:- post13.html#p13

If you follow my advice in that guide then you will be successful.

I hope the above helps.

If you have any questions or if you need any advice then please let me know.

Good luck and best wishes

Paul
The Admin Team

_________________
=======================================================
Calculate the minimum refund that you would be entitled to.
FAQ's
Why you should not accept a repair
Links to evidence
What is the Nvidia Defect?
Step by step help to getting a refund
Do you need an engineers report?
=======================================================

If you like what you see on this forum and would like to help then please post links to this forum in other forums or blogs. The more people we can help the better.


Please note that I am not legally qualified and I only offer my own personal advice. You are advised to seek professional legal advice for formal clarification of advice I give.

Hi Paul,

I'm writing a letter as part of following the guide you've linked to above. However, the question is, how bold to be. Obviously, I'll keep the tone formal and polite, but apart from that, eh...