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My iMac went dead. My Golf is sick. Sigh!

My iMac

My iMac kept turning itself off either during boot-up (before start-up chime) or during use (after boot-up) without any warning sign or error message. I tried resetting the SMU/SMC, PRAM and NVRAM on my iMac about a week ago. It worked fine for the first few days but the problem was back again after that. And now I can’t even turn it on! I called Apple Tech Support yesterday morning to report my problem. I was led through a few troubleshooting tasks, which were the same I had done myself before, but none of which worked. The support person then asked me to run the Apple Hardware Test by booting to a CD (the Mac OS X Disc 2) that came with my iMac. But how come I can do this when my iMac is not working at all! Sigh! Anyway, they promised to send a technician on-site to check my iMac this week. So let’s see.

Update (21st Feb 2006): The technician showed up at around 4:30pm. He checked my iMac and found that both the logic board and the power supply had problem by checking the diagnostic LEDs. My iMac is still under warranty so they will replace them for free but they don’t have stock now. They will need to order them from Singapore.

Update (22nd Feb 2006): Parts ordered but no shipment date yet. I was told that it would take at least a week. Dan!

Update (1st Mar 2006): The logic board arrived but the service center is still waiting for the power supply. Once they have everything on hand they will come and replace them. Thanks Tom for the update.

My Golf

When I was driving to meet my girlfriend this afternoon, the “EPC” light suddenly came on on my dashboard. I was like, “Oh fxxk.” Although the EPC light came on, I couldn’t feel any difference and my Golf was still running without hiccups. I drove to the carpark where I would meet my girlfriend in the first hand. After a quick discussion with her, we decided to drive my Golf to the dealership. But when I started the engine again, the exhaust fault light came on as well. I had no choice at that point so I drove my car directly to the service center in Kowloon Bay. My dealership is now taking care my Golf. They will fix the issue together with the following items:

1. Fix the left rear brake noise
2. Replace the faulty wheel bearing
3. Fix the compartment rattles

Update (24th Feb 2006): Called Kathy in the afternoon. She told me that the oxygen sensor was broken and that’s why the engine fault light came on. They had replaced a new one for me already. I was told that the brake noise issue and the faulty bearing were fixed and replaced as well respectively. However, they still didn’t have enough time to fix the rattles. It would take a few more days. I am fine as long as they can really fix all these.

Update (28th Feb 2006): Just got a call from Kathy. My car is ready now. I will go picking it up tonight.

Days Without My iMac and My Golf

I am ok but a little bit boring without these 2 things with me. Maybe it is good news to me. I can do something else now.