sudden problems with macbook: help!

[[email protected]]

3 problems with my MacBook:
1. all of a sudden when I double click on a file to open it nothing happens; I can still open it by using command-open but I don't know why hitting the space bar no longer works
2. my cursor seems to have a mind of its own: when I go to select something, it selects more than I choose and then won't let go of it
3. my icons on the bottom (where I choose my applications like firefox or photoshop or mail) have changed their arrangement on their own which is scaring me combined with the other two sudden problems
4. once, for a second, the screen went dark for no reason but then lit up again

Since I bought my MacBook less than six months ago, I have had to send it in and have the hard drive replaced (that was the first month); last month, the screen went completely dark and at the Mac Store they reconnected a cable that had come loose.

I am now very nervous about using it and fear something worse is about to occur since the above four items all occurred in the last hour.

I am a devoted Mac user and yet I am for the first time no longer confident I can depend on my computer. Any advice will be welcome.

I have run disk utilities twice and it says everything is okay. Then again, it no longer show me all the permissions it is fixing as it used to: it just goes through its thing and at the end, says all is fine.

Help!

marcia smilack ([email protected])

 

[Ric]

Hi there and welcome,

1. Have you tried a restart, have you run "Repair Disk Permissions" in disk utility or "Repair Disk"?

Hitting the space bar no longer works? Can you explain futher I'm not sure what you mean ?

2. Again, restart.

3. Does anyone else use your Mac ? Could you have done it accidently ?

4. Have you got anything set in the Energy Saver settings in System Prefences, that would make the screen go dark ?

Does this seem like the fault you had before ? If so take it back to the Apple Store and get them to check the cable...explain that this has happened before etc... Can I have a new one please...or an extended warranty !

regards

Ric

 

[[email protected]]

thanks for your quick response.
1. Yes, I ran disk utilities; I suppose I could start up with the software disk it came with and do a real repair (though it says there is nothing wrong).
2. By "hitting the space" bar what I meant to say was that when I double click a file to open it -- e.g. if I'm in mail and want to open the letter or if I want to open a word file on my desktop -- when I double click the letter or the icon, nothing happens whatever.
3. no one else has used my computer
4. the absolutely only different thing is that last night I was changing the screen saving settings but I don't think that would affect the cursor. I did use my external disk this morning: I suppose theoretically, introducing files from it might affect the computer but that is only a guess.
5. When I had to send in my Mac for the new hard drive, the problems were far worse: there was a clicking sound to start and a lot of other problems much different from this which feels mechanical rather than . . . what do I call it? software? I am currently on 10.4. When I had my big problems with the hard disk, they began after I updated the system so I have been afraid to do that.
6. I tried to get them to give me a new computer but they refused. Please don't disillusion me and tell me Mac is not what it used to be and yet I fear since they got so big, they are less reliable. Also, I have jsut read about the class action suit filed on behalf of the MacBook so apparently many people are having difficulties, particularly with screens going dark after start ups: for that reason, I just put it to sleep and avoid turning it off.

It's so nice to talk about it! It's like therapy.

Marcia

PS Is this an example of a problem? I just went to click the box below that says "quote message in reply" and I cannot get it to take the click. Nothing happens.

 

[Ric]

Hi there,

Did you you Run "Repair Permissions in Disk Utility" ?

regards

Ric