public service announcement

Back up your hard drive. Like right now. Read the rest of the post once you're done.

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You didn't do it, did you? Today was the second time my MacBook's drive failed in the 2 1/2 years I've owned it. They said it was a known issue and the replacement was free, warranty or no, but my last backup was Friday so I'm out a week. Could have been worse.

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Now that you're back from actually backing up your drive, here's some other MacBook problems that are covered out-of-warranty:

1) when your power cord shorts, melts the insulator, and starts shooting sparks
2) when the outer edge of your top case cracks and falls off
3) the repair for 2) will also replace your touchpad and mouse button, which may have become unreliable in their age.

- Z