My MBP’s fiery almost-death
So, if that headline didn’t catch your attention, I don’t know what will. Actual, not-so-dramatic story below:
So the magsafe adapter on my Macbook Pro started showing signs of wear a few weeks back. Just small signs, really. There’s a little plastic sheath that goes over the part of the cable that connects to the magsafe head, and it had started to split a little bit. Not a big deal, right? Well, it wasn’t until yesterday.
See, yesterday, I got home from work and pulled up the trusty MBP, plugging it in to charge back up. Just after I sat down, I noticed my screen backlight kept coming bright and dark (a signal that it was switching back and forth between battery and outlet power). So, I looked at the magsafe plug head, and it wasn’t lit up. I adjusted the cable a bit ’til it lit up, and all was well for a few seconds. Those precious few seconds later, though, there was a spark from the plug head, some wires began to glow, and there was a bit of smoke coming out. Luckily, I caught it quickly, no damage done that I can tell. Good thing this didn’t happen when I was asleep one night ,eh? It was at this point that I decided to unplug the power supply, and call Apple.
It’s pretty clear to me from the conversation that ensued that this wasn’t Apple’s first rodeo with this sort of issue. They asked a lot of questions about if I was harmed, if any furniture was harmed, the color of the smoke, how long the smoke lasted, do I feel ok, did my computer appear to be ok, did I take any pictures or video, etc. In the end, they are sending me a replacement adapter, and having me send back the original. The only problem I have with that is that I’m sorta left hanging all weekend. It’s possible the new adapter will ship today and get here Monday, but it’s also possible it will go out Monday and get here Tuesday or Wednesday. So, I’m rationing battery very carefully. This post is being typed at maximum speed so I can get it up and get the MBP shut back down for use tomorrow as well. I’m having to move some of my bored-browsing to Jenn’s computer for the time being.
I’ve got an Austinite friend who might be kind enough to pick me up a new secondary adapter from the Apple store before she comes into Waco tomorrow, so let’s hope that pulls through. If I get around to it, I might add pictures to this post later so you can see the [overdramatization] charred, blackened remains of what was once my MBP power supply [/overdramatization], but that will have to be when I’ve got new power ready to go. I won’t chance the upload time on the battery right now. It’s like I’m in a bomb shelter using up the last bits of clean water…
The real question is, is it better for battery economy to keep the MBP asleep when I’m not using it, for a light battery draw and quick-and-ready access, or is it better to shutdown and start back up, for no intervening battery use, but a huge waste of power at the beginning and end of each session? A penny for your thoughts…