I had the same problem. My computer crashed and I needed the discs to test to see if it was a software vs hardware vs. software not communicating with the hardware problem. I called apple care and they sent them to me gratis. They also said that if you brought your computer into an apple store they could run the discs in your computer for you but they couldn't give you the discs to take home to do yourself. That might be an option to consider.
However the discs were useless as it was a hardware problem and needed a physical repair of the fan and Ram? Apple care set me up with a local vendor. I dropped the computer off 4 pm Friday and picked it up 4 pm Monday and it cost me nothing. They have very good customer service.
I actually started by calling the local dealer, that appplecare eventually set me up with, who explained to me that certain macs have a known hardware failure and that apple is aware of this failing and repairs it for free. They are the ones that suggested that I call apple care but they also diagnosed the problem for me over the phone when I described the problems that I was having with the computer. Apparently if you get pings when you start up your computer they are a code ( depending on the number and rhythm of pings) as to what is wrong with the computer. I got both a message and pings which was also a clue. Keep that in mind if you call someone up to explain the problem.
Good luck.
