Macbook Random Shutdown

My macbook has also been having random shutdowns on and off for two months. Happens most with a DVD playing (episodes, movies, whatever) but also with Excel, Safari, etc. Took it to the university bookstore where I bought it, and after a few software patches (didn’t work) and reseating the memory (didn’t work) they sent it off to Apple. Just got it back with a new Logic Board and heat sink.
So far, it runs fine - I’ll update this blog if it happens again.
If I don’t update this, you can assume that as of 11/27/06, the logic board/heat sink “fix” fixed the problem.
Justin

I’m not sure if a link to this app has already been posted on the site - I only had a quick look for it and couldn’t seem to find anything, so apologies if it already has been.

http://www.conscius.de/%7Eeidac/index.html

This nifty little device allows you to manually set the speed of your MacBook’s fan when it starts to overheat (and as if on cue I can hear it mooing now). I find it really useful - found the link from a friend’s blog.

Just wanted to add my supprt for this action. This is not happening only on MacBooks but on PowerBooks also. But this is clearly documented elsewhere Clearly Apple are having a major problem. This is affecting my career as a visual artist who works with video; Apple have to take responsibility for this inconvenience to my work schedule. The center of my digital life is becoming my ruin.

I thought they had this issue fixed in the new models. I guess not, my Macbook pro (15″ 2.33Ghz) shutsdown if it gets too hot (even watching a video podcast via iTunes is enough to do it). I’m going to take it in in a few days to see if they know what’s up. I would think that the wire insulation melting thing would have been fixed, so I don’t know what it is.

EDIT: My shutdowns are NOT heat related!! They are completely random with nothing that consistently triggers them. Once, my macbook pro had trouble turning back on for about 15 minutes. I tried resetting the SMC and no effect. Only leaving it (it kept retrying to turn on automatically) for 15min let it turn on at one its attempts. It’s now in for repair.

Ever since Apple released their firmware “fix”, I’ve been concerned about how exactly a firmware patch could repair what is a widely confirmed hardware issue. (And I’m not the only one; see http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=193402956)

What worries me is the probability that all the firmware patch does is tell the Power Management Unit to ignore all aberrant signals it receives, including the infamous one that must be generated when the heat sink expands and metal-to-metal contacts that wire. What if the patch has crippled the PMU so it continues drawing from your nearly-empty battery when it should not?

Li-ion batteries have a cut-off point after which they will essentially refuse to accept any charge. A system using Li-ion batteries should shutdown your computer before it passes that point. Well, not long after installing the firmware update, my battery is no longer recognized, displaying an “X” in the menubar indicator and “No batteries available” in the menu. Googling for “no batteries available” +macbook finds way too many hits to make me comfortable. If this is the cost for that so-called firmware update, it is WAY too high because as soon as my 1-year-warranty is up, needing to purchase a NEW battery to make up for Apple’s shoddy engineering will really, really, tweak me off.

Has anyone else experienced a murdered battery? I am currently on a Thanksgiving vacation and allowed the machine to completely power off for the last couple nights while watching DVDs. This is no different than the process Apple outlines in its own manuals for calibrating the battery. Everyone should be aware! Or, perhaps, try and force this yourself BEFORE your warranty period ends.

The Core 2 Duo is now out - anyone using it yet? what are your thoughts of the new processors?

According to Apple…

…says its latest MacBook Pro laptops, equipped with Intel Core 2 Duo processors in place of the Core Duo chips that powered the first generation of the family, “deliver performance that is up to 39 percent faster.”

Here is a full review of the Core 2 Duo over at Macworld

This is a little off topic, but on a slow news Friday, I wanted to post it:

I just stumbled across a contest on jobs.net for a chance to win $1,000 for just submitting a video of yourself doing your ‘happy dance’ the day you got your job or huge bonus. Heck, with all the Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii excitement, you could do your dance of yourself getting one of those and win a quick $1,000! Enjoy!

Submit your video today for a chance at $1,000

Cheers!
Matthew

Well, here I go again.
As stated in a previous post, mine went in for RSS. Flextronics in Memphis. Came back broken with loose parts rattling around in it. It had been pried apart carelessly quickly, damaging enhancing the case and bending artistically modifying the top cover (I have photos I need to post somewhere) and reassembled with hasteimproperly. So it went back again. Came back, all looked good. One full battery cycle later, the fan is scraping against something. Again, I am guessing it was not assembled properly. So will the third trip to Memphis fix it? Who knows, just makes me embarrassed to be from Tennessee.. Memphis is a long way from here though..

It’s been over a month, now, and I thought I’d report in.

Since I’ve had my MacBook (white 2ghz/2gb/120gb) in to AppleCare (and upgraded to 10.4.8), it’s been working fine. Within acceptable limits, anyway. I notice the usual hangs on peripherals, etc., but no dreaded RSS. The fan does come on more frequently, especially when I’m doing some heavy disk transfers or working with multiple machines under Parallels.

I can live with that.

Fingers crossed, and all, but I’ve been able to get on with doing what I want with it.

rickb

My automatic update did some sort of EFI Firmware update that supposedly fixed the known start-up/wake-up problem. I assume that means RSS. We’ll see.