Kernel panics, lag and running hot. Help!!

[badger91]

Hey everyone I have a late 2008 Macbook Aluminum and Glass with the 2GHz intel core 2 duo processor, 128GB Samsung SSD and 4GB of ram. I've been having issues with it for a few years now, but it has been usable for college. Last spring the trackpad quit working and has been okay other than that. When Yosemite came out I erased the HD and installed a fresh copy of Yosemite then dragged my flies from my time capsule onto my Macbook.

This week it started acting up by getting super hot to the point where it hurts my hands to touch the bottom of the computer. Also, two days ago it restarted a few times and I get an error saying "your computer restarted because there was a problem" along with getting the beachball very frequently. Yesterday it was okay other than the fact that it had white bars scrolling on the screen when I restarted it.

I'm becoming really worried about the stability of my computer and don't know if I should go pick up a new MB because I cannot risk having my computer crash during finals. Do you guys have any suggestions for how to fix it or should I just go pick up a new MB? I wanted to make it last until new MacBooks are released, but I guess I might not be able to do that. Any help would be much appreciated!!

 

[badger91]

I forgot to mention that I ran the basic hardware check and nothing came up. I checked and I have over 50GB available on my hard drive and under activity monitor the graph never gets in the red for pressure. I'm not sure what to do, but I have three papers due on Monday and my computer is acting really odd.

 

[badger91]

Anyone???

 

[n0cus]

Anyone???

Check if the fan is actually spinning. It sounds like it might be an overheating issue.

 

[badger91]

Check if the fan is actually spinning. It sounds like it might be an overheating issue.

I can feel it blowing air out the back like normal. Or how do I check it other than that?

 

[Weaselboy]

Anyone???

Start Activity Monitor and look in the CPU tab then sort by CPU%. Is there anything there chewing up CPU cycles?

Also, try holding the shift key when booting to get to safe mode just as a test. Safe mode stops any login or startup items from running. If the issue goes away in safe mode, that tells you there is a login or startup items causing a conflict with Yosemite.

 

[badger91]

Start Activity Monitor and look in the CPU tab then sort by CPU%. Is there anything there chewing up CPU cycles?

Also, try holding the shift key when booting to get to safe mode just as a test. Safe mode stops any login or startup items from running. If the issue goes away in safe mode, that tells you there is a login or startup items causing a conflict with Yosemite.

Here is my CPU%. I don't think that any of my apps are set to launch on login. I tried to do the in-depth hardware check and my computer locked up every time. Last night it sounded like a jet taking off and was super hot so I just shut it down

 

[Weaselboy]

Here is my CPU%. I don't think that any of my apps are set to launch on login. I tried to do the in-depth hardware check and my computer locked up every time. Last night it sounded like a jet taking off and was super hot so I just shut it down

MSWord is chewing up 42% there which is odd. Try quitting that and see if it helps.

The safe mode boot stops more than just login items. There are many utilities that install "startup" items that are not shown in the login items screen. You really need to try the safe mode boot to eliminate those also.

 

[badger91]

MSWord is chewing up 42% there which is odd. Try quitting that and see if it helps.



The safe mode boot stops more than just login items. There are many utilities that install "startup" items that are not shown in the login items screen. You really need to try the safe mode boot to eliminate those also.

That was a few minutes after restarting my computer and opening word. What do I look for in safe mode then?

 

[Weaselboy]

That was a few minutes after restarting my computer and opening word. What do I look for in safe mode then?

Start in safe mode and let it run a bit and see if the overheating issue goes away. If it does, that tells you a login or startup item is causing a problem.

You can use the app Etrecheck to show a list of all login and startup items running.

 

[badger91]

Kernel panics, lag and running hot. Help!!

Okay I just put it in safe mode. The screen keeps flashing and having bars spin up and down.

 

[Weaselboy]

Okay I just put it in safe mode. The screen keeps flashing and having bars spin up and down.

Eeek...

That coupled with your comment about it not being able to complete the hardware test, makes me think you have a more serious hardware failure here rather than just some utility conflict. I see a visit to the Apple store in your future.

 

[badger91]

Eeek...



That could with your comment about it not being able to complete the hardware test, makes me think you have a more serious hardware failure here rather than just some utility conflict. I see a visit to the Apple store in your future.

https://vimeo.com/112631923

 

[smithrh]

That video - coupled with your description of the symptoms - does not bode well, I'm sorry to say.

Has Apple opened a store in Madison yet?

 

[badger91]

That video - coupled with your description of the symptoms - does not bode well, I'm sorry to say.



Has Apple opened a store in Madison yet?

Yeah madison has an Apple Store. So you think to get a new MBP? My parents have been telling me for about a year to get a new one haha

 

[smithrh]

I held onto my 2008 MBP for a long time too, but it's probably time for you to upgrade - you'll be happy with the results.

Understand the part about wanting to wait for the next gen, but I'm starting to think the gains won't be all that great. You do run the risk of a catastrophic failure on your current machine, that wouldn't be good around exam time.

 

[badger91]

I held onto my 2008 MBP for a long time too, but it's probably time for you to upgrade - you'll be happy with the results.



Understand the part about wanting to wait for the next gen, but I'm starting to think the gains won't be all that great. You do run the risk of a catastrophic failure on your current machine, that wouldn't be good around exam time.

Yeah very true. That's what my parents have been telling me. Mine currently has a 128gb ssd and it has 50gb free. Do you think I should get the 128 or 256 MacBook Pro retina? I might to to apple this afternoon.

 

[chrfr]

Okay I just put it in safe mode. The screen keeps flashing and having bars spin up and down.

In safe mode, the graphics are not accelerated so if that page is refreshing, you might see that, so I wouldn't be too terribly concerned.
You might try taking the bottom covers off and using some compressed air to blow out dust. This could also be as simple as bad RAM. Do you still have the RAM that came with the computer or are the 4GB in it the original?

 

[smithrh]

Yeah very true. That's what my parents have been telling me. Mine currently has a 128gb ssd and it has 50gb free. Do you think I should get the 128 or 256 MacBook Pro retina? I might to to apple this afternoon.

Well, I don't know you or your usage patterns so, it's hard to tell.

Retina apparently shows off Yosemite better, but it's harder to upgrade.

Then again, Apple's blade SSD performance is pretty good.

Edited to add - the batteries for the 2008 model were prone to swelling, which will stop the trackpad from working. It's not a good situation to have a swollen battery, so you should check to see if that's the case. It'll be obvious, it won't lay flat on a flat surface but will rock back and forth.

 

[n0cus]

Yeah very true. That's what my parents have been telling me. Mine currently has a 128gb ssd and it has 50gb free. Do you think I should get the 128 or 256 MacBook Pro retina? I might to to apple this afternoon.

I mention this because I didn't see it anywhere on this thread, have you reset the PRAM and SMC?

 

[badger91]

In safe mode, the graphics are not accelerated so if that page is refreshing, you might see that, so I wouldn't be too terribly concerned.

You might try taking the bottom covers off and using some compressed air to blow out dust. This could also be as simple as bad RAM. Do you still have the RAM that came with the computer or are the 4GB in it the original?

It came with 2gb of ram and I upgraded it to 4gb less than a year ago when I got my ssd. At that time I cleaned everything out. I baby my computer and don't live in an apartment that's dusty at all.

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Well, I don't know you or your usage patterns so, it's hard to tell.



Retina apparently shows off Yosemite better, but it's harder to upgrade.



Then again, Apple's blade SSD performance is pretty good.

Most of my space taken up is music but I'm going to be an accountant so there will be a lot of excel work that I'll be doing.

I mention this because I didn't see it anywhere on this thread, have you reset the PRAM and SMC?

Yeah I did that yesterday before I did the hardware test.

 

[chrfr]

It came with 2gb of ram and I upgraded it to 4gb less than a year ago when I got my ssd.

If you still have that RAM, reinstall it and see if the computer is any more stable.

 

[n0cus]

If you still have that RAM, reinstall it and see if the computer is any more stable.

I totally agree with this! Although bad RAM is rare, it does happen.

 

[badger91]

Unfortunately I threw out my old ram because it was shot.

 

[smithrh]

Agreed with the others, if nothing else re-seat the RAM and see if that helps, and check for battery swelling when you do (I edited my last post, have a look).

WRT your usage, that's a fairly light usage model so you should be able to go a bit lighter on disk if you want. I also wouldn't worry so much about expandability in your case.