The dark side of Mac

[Macnoviz]

In my friend circle, I am the only Mac owner, everyone else uses Windows. I do a lot of teamwork, like for movie editing, and with my new Macbook, it's very easy. That is, when I'm alone.
Whenever ANYBODY is watching, it goes crazy. Programs start crashing, the OS starts crashing, Finder won't start anymore, Hard Drives going crazy, etc. Even the double force quit doesn't work all the time. (okay, I exagerate, but all of these things DID actually happen, I even lost hours of work after iMovie crashed)
I love Macintosh, and I recommend it to everyone exept gamers, but it's really hard to convince people if they see my laptop is as crash-prone as their Windows box.

My question: has any else experienced similar situations, is OS X not as stabel as everyone would have me believe, Is the revision A Macbook crap, or is this an example of Murphy's law?

 

[DevilsRejection]

Return the Mac and get yourself a real machine.

A production level machine should never, ever, crash.

 

[bill4588]

ive had the OS crash and some programs crash before but never the finder. the most annoying problem ive had with my MB is when i open the lid and the computer doesnt turn on at all and i have to force shut down....that's happened twice.

 

[skipsandwichdx]

Return the Mac and get yourself a real machine.

A production level machine should never, ever, crash.

A Macbook is a production level machine? What's a production level machine?

 

[redAPPLE]

i always believe, apple users are the more intelligent group (compared to pc users).

this might not be the reason for the alleged crashing, but i also could be.

i never install untested software on my mac. at least not in my main user. i create a dummy user and i test = install shareware, freeware and other untested software. if it runs for months without problems, i install it in my main user account.

 

[Blue Velvet]

A production level machine should never, ever, crash.

Come on. That's just pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking. Kernal panics on our work dual G5s happen now and then, particularly when working with peripherals... and let's not get into application crashes. Illustrator CS, for one, is notoriously unstable.

As for the comment about getting a 'real' machine, that's just trolling nonsense.

 

[Macnoviz]

i always believe, apple users are the more intelligent group (compared to pc users).

this might not be the reason for the alleged crashing, but i also could be.

i never install untested software on my mac. at least not in my main user. i create a dummy user and i test = install shareware, freeware and other untested software. if it runs for months without problems, i install it in my main user account.

Maybe I should have mentioned this, but most crashes occur in iMovie, and these projects take up dozens of GBs, I use an external hard drive for them.
Could it be that 1 GB RAM is not enough to work with thos kind of movies? And if yes, could that be causing the crashing?

 

[JBot]

very very possible, yes.

 

[Applespider]

Is the external drive attached by USB2 or FW? If USB, perhaps it's just not coping well with the constant stream that video needs?

I run iMovie off an external FW drive and while it crashes occasionally, it's not that regular an occurrence. I've got 1.25GB of RAM but only a 1.25 G4 too so I don't think it's necessarily the RAM since I've happily had 30GB projects in iMovie.

 

[Dreadnought]

Had that multiple times. Especially when you are with windows friends. I think it's typical of a Mac.

 

[ToddW]

not to be a troll or anything just thought this statement would be funny:

Maybe your mac has performance anxiety in front of groups of people!

 

[DevilsRejection]

Had that multiple times. Especially when you are with windows friends. I think it's typical of a Mac.

fantastic, the mac has a bio sensor that detects users of microsoft products. when this sensor is activated it literally panics! at which point it crashs and burns.

are you listening to anything you're saying?

 

[Artful Dodger]

Return the Mac and get yourself a real machine.

A production level machine should never, ever, crash.

Someone is just a tad bitter because they need to sell their iMac

Back to the OP...
Have you installed RAM, if so will it happen without the RAM? how much RAM are you running? Have you used the hardware test disc to see if everything is okay? Try going and creating another user and see what happens. Try everything without the external HDD, then try it with it. Last is anyone else playing with the MB when your around, i.e. they don't know what they are doing and it crashes?

 

[DevilsRejection]

By real machine I mean something not a MacBook

How does anyone expect to do production level work on a MacBook is beyond me.

iMac yes, MacBook Pro yes, the upcoming Mac Pro's yes, but a freaking MacBook? or a Mac Mini? hell no

 

[Blue Velvet]

How does anyone expect to do production level work on a MacBook is beyond me.

Two years ago, I was doing 'production level' work on a G4 733 Quicksilver with 1gb of RAM running OS9.2. Which is more powerful? The MacBook or that old machine?

 

[joop1987]

your not alone. My OSX crashes and freezes a lot more than Windows XP. Both running on my macbook.

 

[bill4588]

i think it's a give and take situation. windows gives you a lot of ***** when you're using it but it hardly freezes. OS X has more freeze moments but until those moments happen it works flawlessly. well, that's just how it works with me....

 

[xfiftyfour]

i think it's a give and take situation. windows gives you a lot of ***** when you're using it but it hardly freezes. OS X has more freeze moments but until those moments happen it works flawlessly. well, that's just how it works with me....

I have to disagree - at least from my experience, OS X is about a million times more stable than any windows machine I've dealt with. I've had my PB for just under a year now and I think it's frozen maybe 5 times in its life - and trust me, I'm on this machine for hours upon hours a day, and hardly ever shut it down except while traveling. On the other hand, the windows machines I've worked with in the past used to crash on a weekly basis..

 

[A.Fairhead]

iMac yes, MacBook Pro yes, the upcoming Mac Pro's yes, but a freaking MacBook? or a Mac Mini? hell no

Opinion. I do graphics work on a PPC Mac Mini with little trouble.

OS X has more freeze moments but until those moments happen it works flawlessly. well, that's just how it works with me....

I usually find that where I have PCs crash on me (or have me kill the app from Task Manager), my Mac beachballs for a few moments then carries on like normal. Also, s'great how OS X will let go of an active application instead of locking up the entire system

On-Topic: Are others meddling with your machine? It could be that as you have an audience, you're trying to work faster than usual? Maybe give the MB a chance? (30GB movies are quite big, after all)

EDIT:

OS X is about a million times more stable than any windows machine I've dealt with.

Amen

 

[generik]

Return the Mac and get yourself a real machine.

A production level machine should never, ever, crash.

Indeed, a real machine the likes of dual opteron with hardware raid controllers and ECC memory.

Oh wait, Apple has never handled fish that big before.

MacOS running on a Macbook is the same MacOS that runs on a PowerMac. Since Mac proponents always like to explain how Macs are so expensive (yes, we don't have to argue this point here, Macs ARE more expensive, period) because of the fine software R&D Apple did to ensure good synergy between hardware and software, so.... where is it? Is this it?

You may not believe me when I say this, but Windows Vista with the new User Account Control will seriously kick MacOS's butt provided Microsoft didn't screw up too badly. I have virtually no trouble maintaining a spyware/malware free Windows XP box by using some roundabouts accomplishing the same effect as UAC, with UAC proper I don't even need to use roundabouts and have my machine locked down nice and easy, without getting in my way.

Perhaps I should also say that on quality hardware (read: not cheap no brand OEM ones) Windows XP can achieve as good an uptime as any Mac. In fact it is not like your Macs can run more than a month or so before the next OSX point release forces an update, so get off that high horse and stop exaggerating when you say how your mac has never been shutdown since year 2000...

 

[Bern]

By real machine I mean something not a MacBook

How does anyone expect to do production level work on a MacBook is beyond me.

iMac yes, MacBook Pro yes, the upcoming Mac Pro's yes, but a freaking MacBook? or a Mac Mini? hell no

I do graphics design and digital music production on my MacBook with no trouble. I consider it very much real... more so than the previous Powerbook I owned

 

[Macnoviz]

Is the external drive attached by USB2 or FW? If USB, perhaps it's just not coping well with the constant stream that video needs?

I run iMovie off an external FW drive and while it crashes occasionally, it's not that regular an occurrence. I've got 1.25GB of RAM but only a 1.25 G4 too so I don't think it's necessarily the RAM since I've happily had 30GB projects in iMovie.

USB 2, so I guess that will be the main cause, since the times I'm with people to work on the Macbook, it's mostly for editing. Maybe I'll consider a FW hardrive for Movies (and keep the USB for other stuff, the 200 GB is already almost full)

Someone is just a tad bitter because they need to sell their iMac

Back to the OP...
Have you installed RAM, if so will it happen without the RAM? how much RAM are you running? Have you used the hardware test disc to see if everything is okay? Try going and creating another user and see what happens. Try everything without the external HDD, then try it with it. Last is anyone else playing with the MB when your around, i.e. they don't know what they are doing and it crashes?

The RAM was built to order at Apple Store, so my RAM slots are as vestal as can be, there are two 512 MB DDR2 RAM modules. I'll check on the rest later, and I'm pretty sure I'm the only one operating the Macbook, save for an occasional person playing Quinn, who incidentaly was the same person who sent me a .docx file, starting of anoher thread, in which he was called nitwit.



I thank you all for answering. If anyone is interested in some stuff I did with iMovie despite the crashing, please follow the link below, and if you have a youtube account, feel free to rate or comment.

 

[ModestPenguin]

All windows users are implanted with chips that when in range of a mac whose user is showing off the mac flips out.

Damn Bill and his monoploistic ways

 

[Flowbee]

By real machine I mean something not a MacBook

How does anyone expect to do production level work on a MacBook is beyond me.

iMac yes, MacBook Pro yes, the upcoming Mac Pro's yes, but a freaking MacBook? or a Mac Mini? hell no

He already said that it mostly happens in iMove. I'm not sure why you're stuck on "production level work."

BTW - I have no problems with iMovie on my G4 Mac mini.

 

[daveaudio]

USB 2, so I guess that will be the main cause, since the times I'm with people to work on the Macbook, it's mostly for editing. Maybe I'll consider a FW hardrive for Movies (and keep the USB for other stuff, the 200 GB is already almost full)




The RAM was built to order at Apple Store, so my RAM slots are as vestal as can be, there are two 512 MB DDR2 RAM modules. I'll check on the rest later, and I'm pretty sure I'm the only one operating the Macbook, save for an occasional person playing Quinn, who incidentaly was the same person who sent me a .docx file, starting of anoher thread, in which he was called nitwit.



I thank you all for answering. If anyone is interested in some stuff I did with iMovie despite the crashing, please follow the link below, and if you have a youtube account, feel free to rate or comment.

Ok your two issues are, 1: USB 2, do not!!! I repeat do not!! rely on USB2 for any kind of professional Audio or Video application work. If your doing any Audio or Video work you should be using Firewire.
2: 1 gig of ram is barely enough for audio or video work these days. I would advise you run at least 2 gigs if you want things to run smoothly.
3: You should also be running 7200 rpm ext drives in case your not.
If you follow those above rules your crashs should be few if non existant.
I Run Logic Pro 7.2 on a Macbook with 2 gigs of rams and it does not crash. I run a fair amount of plugs and soft synths alongside the audio tracks .
These are solid fast little machines and yes the internal 5400 rpm drive is very fast compared to previous 5400 rpm drives and yes I do run a external 7200 drive throught Firewire for all my audio files.