Frustrated with my new Macbook Pro

[diego1288]

I have gone through an iMac and a Macbook in the past ten years. After having my Macbook for 4 years I decided to invest in a new Macbook Pro 15 inch. I bought my Pro and with Time Machine passed all of my info to the new one. I am starting to regret it because it is the only explanation I have for my problems.

My Pro is 20 weeks old and my battery is already down to 91% Health(verified with Coconut and iStat Pro). My battery does not last close to the 7 hours, I would say it is around 4 hours of just using internet and Mail. Whenever I use Skype or iChat, my fans rev up so much that I have to put the volume to the max to hear the other person. I constantly had these problems in my older Macbook and the only explanation that I have is that when I passed all of my info to the new one, that same thing that caused the fans, and temp is now oing the same in this one. I see no other reason for this. Could someone think of a solution? I really appreciate the help and sorry for writing too much. If someone needs more info in order to help me out please do not hesitate to ask me.

 

[GGJstudios]

My Pro is 20 weeks old and my battery is already down to 91% Health(verified with Coconut and iStat Pro). My battery does not last close to the 7 hours, I would say it is around 4 hours of just using internet and Mail.

Check out the BATTERY LIFE FROM A CHARGE section of the following link. This should answer most, if not all, of your battery questions:

Apple Notebook Battery FAQ​

Whenever I use Skype or iChat, my fans rev up so much that I have to put the volume to the max to hear the other person.

Your fans are always on when your Mac is on, spinning at a minimum of 2000 rpm (for MBPs) or 1800 rpm (for MBAs, MBs and minis). They will spin faster as needed to keep temps at a safe level. If they're spinning up without increased heat, try resetting the SMC. PRAM/NVRAM has nothing to do with these issues, so resetting it will not help. Also, make sure you don't block the vents, which are located at the rear, near the hinge.

Learn about the fans in your Mac
Apple Portables: Operating temperature

 

[mape2k]

The fans should not speed up so high while just Skyping. How many apps do you have installed, how many are running in the background? Check the Activity Monitor (be sure to select All process from the drop-down) to see if any app in the background is causing CPU load. This would also explain the low battery life you're experiencing.

4 years is quite some time and a lot could've accumulated over the years... I would suggest a clean reinstall?

 

[NutsNGum]

Yep, I'd usually avoid Time machine for anything other than incremental backups for a single system. Having twice used it on iMacs in the past, it's been fairly helpful at breaking a number of things, causing graphics problems, ruining licences for software, etc.

I'd wipe it and start again.

 

[Rhyalus]

Skype DOES suck. This is a well known issue that they have not resolved.

I uninstalled the latest version and installed 2.8 and it is much better. I even like the old GUI better.

http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/get-skype/on-your-computer/macosx/2-8

But in general, this is the life of a Mac. Great portable, but throw something tough at the CPU and this little bitch can't get rid of the heat. The next design should be better.

R