MacBook Pro Freezing

[HerronVCMac]

Similar Issue

I seem to have the same issue that everyone here is having. I've had my 15" MBP for a little over a year now... It's been a huge blessing and has never failed or even hiccuped until about a week or two ago.
Every so often my laptop freezes and i have to wait about 20-30 seconds for it to unfreeze. During the freeze I am unable to control anything except the mouse which has turned into the spinning wheel of death. After the 30 seconds it will run for about a minute or two until it freezes again. The freeze is longer and then after that the time between freezes decreases until it finally freezes and won't unfreeze.
I have to do a hard shutdown at this point. When I attempt to restart it just sits at the off white screen until a folder with a question mark pops up. i have noticed it gets hot unusually fast during this period. i repeat this process until it starts up again and it happens all over.
Is there any solutions at all to this? I have information on my mine that I cannot afford to lose with an OS reinstall. I am hoping leopard fixes this, but it doesn't seem to be an OS problem, more of a firmware one.
I called Mac on this but they couldn't help me since my "phone support" expired about 6 months ago. -.-
Any help or suggestions would be great... thanks guys.

 

[saltyzoo]

I seem to have the same issue that everyone here is having. I've had my 15" MBP for a little over a year now... It's been a huge blessing and has never failed or even hiccuped until about a week or two ago.
Every so often my laptop freezes and i have to wait about 20-30 seconds for it to unfreeze. During the freeze I am unable to control anything except the mouse which has turned into the spinning wheel of death. After the 30 seconds it will run for about a minute or two until it freezes again. The freeze is longer and then after that the time between freezes decreases until it finally freezes and won't unfreeze.
I have to do a hard shutdown at this point. When I attempt to restart it just sits at the off white screen until a folder with a question mark pops up. i have noticed it gets hot unusually fast during this period. i repeat this process until it starts up again and it happens all over.
Is there any solutions at all to this? I have information on my mine that I cannot afford to lose with an OS reinstall. I am hoping leopard fixes this, but it doesn't seem to be an OS problem, more of a firmware one.
I called Mac on this but they couldn't help me since my "phone support" expired about 6 months ago. -.-
Any help or suggestions would be great... thanks guys.

Mine froze every day twice a day when I plugged and unplugged my external monitor for 3 weeks. Then suddenly it stopped happening and hasn't happened for over a week now. I suspect an automatically updated driver....

 

[DaLurker]

I seem to have the same issue that everyone here is having. I've had my 15" MBP for a little over a year now... It's been a huge blessing and has never failed or even hiccuped until about a week or two ago.
Every so often my laptop freezes and i have to wait about 20-30 seconds for it to unfreeze. During the freeze I am unable to control anything except the mouse which has turned into the spinning wheel of death. After the 30 seconds it will run for about a minute or two until it freezes again. The freeze is longer and then after that the time between freezes decreases until it finally freezes and won't unfreeze.
I have to do a hard shutdown at this point. When I attempt to restart it just sits at the off white screen until a folder with a question mark pops up. i have noticed it gets hot unusually fast during this period. i repeat this process until it starts up again and it happens all over.
Is there any solutions at all to this? I have information on my mine that I cannot afford to lose with an OS reinstall. I am hoping leopard fixes this, but it doesn't seem to be an OS problem, more of a firmware one.
I called Mac on this but they couldn't help me since my "phone support" expired about 6 months ago. -.-
Any help or suggestions would be great... thanks guys.

Exact same thing for my 2.16ghz C2D MBP. All updated, formatted, reset, etc and it still happens. It didn't happen when i first got it but over the summer, it has gotten progressively worse.

At first I thought it was related to memory paging out, but then found it it didn't matter. Anyways I kinda assumed it was nothing, but since I gave the machine to my dad it seems to have gotten worse.

 

[mrdeathgod]

Wow I'm glad I found this thread. I just bought a Santa Rosa 15" MacBook Pro 2.2Ghz about 2 weeks ago, and this freezing is really starting to get on my nerves. As others have said, it's pretty inconsistent, but I have been using an external monitor a lot. I also have Parallels installed, but rarely use it. It does, however, keep a couple processes running at all times.

When it freezes, it's just like everyone else has described. The screen freezes, and the system is totally unresponsive except for the mouse cursor. Closing the lid starts the pulsing sleep light, but opening back up just brings same frozen screen, in addition to not asking for the usual wake-from-sleep authentication. Only way to beat it is with a hard powerdown.

As for the causes, the ones I remember...

- Once while jumping through a video playing on VLC on the external monitor.
- Just now, while command-tabbing to Transmission

One more thing, which might be something and might be nothing, is my storage setup, which I imagine is pretty unusual. Right now, I have a dual-drive eSATA enclosure with a pair of 500GB drives. They plug into a two-port eSATA ExpressCard. I keep the drives mirrored via SoftRaid in case one of them fails. The whole setup can be touchy at times, which might not help as far as system stability is concerned.

And does anyone know if this problem persists with Leopard installed? I'm eager to find out.

 

[mrdeathgod]

Just remembered two other crash instances...

- Once when booting my WinXP virtual machine via Parallels. Screen flip got about halfway and then froze.

- Once when I had my eSATA enclosure connected and mounted, and then plugged in my 4th gen iPod via FireWire.

 

[mrdeathgod]

Oh, and one Gray Curtain of Death, with the following panic.log:

panic(cpu 0 caller 0x001A4A55): Unresolved kernel trap (CPU 0, Type 14=page fault), registers:
CR0: 0x8001003b, CR2: 0x00000000, CR3: 0x01387000, CR4: 0x000006e0
EAX: 0x0000061c, EBX: 0x00000000, ECX: 0x046e1020, EDX: 0x00000002
CR2: 0x00000000, EBP: 0x2577b918, ESI: 0x000000d8, EDI: 0x046e1004
EFL: 0x00010206, EIP: 0x00cabeff, CS: 0x00000008, DS: 0x046e0010

Backtrace, Format - Frame : Return Address (4 potential args on stack)
0x2577b6b8 : 0x128d08 (0x3cc0ec 0x2577b6dc 0x131de5 0x0)
0x2577b6f8 : 0x1a4a55 (0x3d2524 0x0 0xe 0x3d1d48)
0x2577b808 : 0x19aeb4 (0x2577b820 0x1 0x2577b838 0x74f67f)
0x2577b918 : 0xca6723 (0x46e1004 0x46b7404 0x3 0x3)
0x2577ba48 : 0x84e60c (0x46e1004 0x46b7404 0x2577bb30 0x2577bb30)
0x2577bb58 : 0x84e33a (0x46e1004 0x468c004 0x1 0x1c)
0x2577bbb8 : 0xca110a (0x46e1004 0x468c004 0x1c 0xce6160)
0x2577bc38 : 0xca14f2 (0x46e1004 0x46b7404 0x100000 0x2577bd4c)
0x2577bd98 : 0xcc74cd (0x46e1004 0x46b7404 0x0 0x19a001)
0x2577be78 : 0x8452ac (0x46e1004 0x4613e04 0x0 0x46e1004)
0x2577bec8 : 0x71540b (0x46e1004 0x4613e04 0x0 0x1352bb)
0x2577bf08 : 0x39b3ff (0x23f6e004 0x4752500 0x1 0x3efa1cc)
0x2577bf58 : 0x39a5d1 (0x4752500 0x135eb4 0x0 0x3efa1cc)
0x2577bf88 : 0x39a307 (0x429a880 0x2577bfd4 0x134c09 0x135eb4)
0x2577bfc8 : 0x19ad2c (0x429a880 0x0 0x19e0b5 0x3ef31e8) Backtrace terminated-invalid frame pointer 0x0
Kernel loadable modules in backtrace (with dependencies):
com.apple.nvidia.nv50hal(5.0.6)@0xc56000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily(2.2)@0x5b9000
dependency: com.apple.NVDAResman(5.0.6)@0x701000
com.apple.NVDAResman(5.0.6)@0x701000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily(2.2)@0x5b9000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOGraphicsFamily(1.4.7)@0x6d7000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IONDRVSupport(1.4.7)@0x6f2000

Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 8.10.3: Wed Jun 27 23:29:36 PDT 2007; root:xnu-792.23.3~1/RELEASE_I386

 

[talazem]

I'm also having the same problem. 2.2ghz Macbook Pro running Leopard 10.5. I also use an external monitor frequently, though the freezing has not always been when connected or recently disconnected to the external. I just came back from using it out of the house, popped it open, and got: 1. black screen for 30 seconds, 2. normal screen but basically unresponsive, 3. responsive to the keyboard, but absolutely no mouse control. In the end I had to hard reboot. This has happened a few times now, and is getting in the way of work.

 

[mrdeathgod]

Well, so much for Leopard fixing the problem. Just came back to the MBP with the screensaver running on both the LCD and an external screen. I also had VLC paused on the external display from earlier. But sure enough, the screensaver was frozen in place, and the fan was running pretty hard. My guess is that the WindowServ process was the one stressing the CPU, as others have observed this. Not exactly the quality I was expecting for a $2000 investment.

Something else I've noticed, is that the light on the MagSafe plug goes out when one of these freezes occurs, even though the system remains on AC power. The light doesn't come back on until the MagSafe is removed and reconnected.

 

[jcmeza]

I'm glad to hear, I'm not the only one with this problem. I also have a MBP, dual core 2.4 GHz. This just started happening to me about 4 weeks ago. At first I thought it was just something random, but it's now easy to reproduce whenever I plug my MBP into a projector for a presentation. The only solution I've found is to shutdown my laptop first, plug it into the projector and then reboot. A bit of a pain, but better than making everybody wait after it hangs.
I was hoping Leopard would fix it, but I guess that's not going to happen.

 

[Killyp]

It would help if EVERYBODY let us know what OS they were running.


I'm having issues with my MacBook Pro as well, random lock-ups and kernel panics/grey curtains related with the AirPort, and once a lock-up when I connected an external monitor.

This has all started happening since upgrading to Leopard, something to be fixed in 10.5.1 methinks...

 

[jcmeza]

It would help if EVERYBODY let us know what OS they were running.


I'm having issues with my MacBook Pro as well, random lock-ups and kernel panics/grey curtains related with the AirPort, and once a lock-up when I connected an external monitor.

This has all started happening since upgrading to Leopard, something to be fixed in 10.5.1 methinks...

My bad (rookie mistake). Here's the relevant info for my system:
Mac OS X 10.4.10 (8R2232), Darwin 8.10.1 and Boot ROM Version: MBP31.0070.B02

 

[mjxg]

I just purchased a new 15" 2.2ghz mbp on friday and i'm having this freezing problem as well and the cursor and all keys don't respond.

Interestingly enough, i'm not using any external monitors, and i've only been using wireless to connect to the internet. it isn't power supply related as i've had it happen about 6 times, 3 plugged in, 3 not.

even more interesting is that if I close the laptop (cause it to go to sleep) and re-open it after it sleeps, i can continue using it again.

i know everyone here so far has been hard rebooting their machine - has anyone tried closing the laptop like i have to see if it works?

like i said, this is a brand new mbp. it came with tiger on it and i did a full format and install of Leopard. it is currently fully up-to-date (at least software update says so).

 

[NeXTLoop]

One thing that seems to aggravate the issue, at least on my machine, is if Growl in installed. It seems to hang up the system trying to catch notifications, especially when the machine is waking the display after its gone dark from inactivity.

Of course, YMMV.

 

[mjxg]

Hmmm. I also have Growl installed. I can't remember if this happened before that was installed though.

 

[NeXTLoop]

Having said that about Growl, I did have one lockup yesterday without Growl. But I also had my screensaver set to require password before unlocking.

Prior to that, I went over a week without a freeze... without Growl and without my screensaver set to require password.

 

[yoda13]

Similar issue here. I have a brand new MBP 15 " 2.2 GHz with an upgrade to 160 GB at 7200 rpm.
One of the first times I ran Safari I had the freezing problem. It has since happened throughout the week approximately 4 times with only Safari open (with a strong internet connection) and I had to force shutdown each time.

slightly off course here, but I have a black macbook that does exactly the same thing...one call to applecare and one trip to the apple store and they tell me that it is a corrupt preferences file or something of that nature and that the computer is fine....we shall see, I haven't found the culprit yet, but it freezes up just as you and others describe and more often than not Safari is open...also doesn't matter if its leopard or tiger...

 

[DaLurker]

slightly off course here, but I have a black macbook that does exactly the same thing...one call to applecare and one trip to the apple store and they tell me that it is a corrupt preferences file or something of that nature and that the computer is fine....we shall see, I haven't found the culprit yet, but it freezes up just as you and others describe and more often than not Safari is open...also doesn't matter if its leopard or tiger...

For my MBP it can't be a corrupt preference file since a fresh install and I'm still having that problem. Unless the suite of software I install is the culprit.... hmm......

I have tried to run memtest looping overnight and it doesn't seem to be a memory issue. I've tried two different sticks of 1gb (2x1gb Apple OEM, and 2x1gb Kingmax) and still have the issue.

The laptop is in Vietnam with my dad right now and I plan to bring it to the Apple Store when he's back over Christmas, but I'm not sure what they'll be willing to do for us considering it is such an obscure and hard to reproduce issue.

 

[velvetelvis]

mb w/leopard. freezing after girlfriend uses it... and only then. not a joke, it never froze until she used it for the first time 2 weeks ago. i got in long enough to run repair disk permissions and had a lot of suid (i think thats what they were) errors that could not be fixed.

i had a ms mouse plugged in when it first froze tonight. hard reset w/no mouse and it froze at the blue screen. hard reset again. froze at blue screen again. hard reset again and made it to the desktop. emptied trash and a file could not be deleted as it was in use. not sure who or what was using it. not me, i no that. finally got that to delete. froze. hard reset and ran repair disk. could not repair disk. froze. ran repair disk permissions and had the errors mentioned above... very frustrating. i switched from xp to apple because i thought this was not supposed to happen to apples. i thought wrong. but i still love my mb and really want to get it fixed....

oh, i also did the restart while pressing cmd, optn, p and r... didnt work. frozen as i type on my somewhat reliable xp desktop... damn you apple, why do you make me love you and then treat me like a $2 hooker?

 

[sergeytodorov]

Same problem here...

Santa Rosa chipset
MacBook Pro, 2.2GHz
128MB VRAM
4GB RAM
NVidia 8600M GT
Leopard 10.5.1

It froze 2 times in 2 days. Both times with an external monitor hooked up. First time lid closed (so only external display), second time with the lid open (so extended displays).

One thing to note is that both times, AirPort was disabled as the Mac was hooked to Ethernet.
Both times Safari was running and I think was the front-most window..
I suspected heat issues, but as I see there are a LOT of users experiencing this problem?
Edit: By the way, both times OS X froze completely - mouse cursor not moving or anything. But if there was an MP3 track playing, it would continue playing until its end, and then no next track would start...

Anyone find a solution yet? Thanks!

 

[kbalazs]

a solution

dear apple-consuming community!

i've found a simple but working(for me) solution for the freeze-on-attach-a-seconddisplay problem.

it is very simple.

1. You have to turn on the computer
2. attach the DVI-VGA adapter (only the cable! not the monitor!)
3. the screen makes a blue effect - it's the good way
4. attach the external monitor on the VGA end of the adapter
5. use it - maybe this time it detects not simply, but next time it'll do a normal monitor detection.

in the future You doesNOT need to do this procedure, simply attach what You want.

that's all. please send me chocolades and listen Radio Periszkop

 

[janibrooke]

macbook pro freeze up

If that happened to mine after a few days I would go right back to the Apple Store. It did recently happen to me (after a year of owning it), along w/ startup issues, and Disk Warrior cured the problem.

 

[MrSquiggleswrth]

Only happens under light load?

Hello, Everyone.

I just received a refurb MBP 2.2 GHz 4 days ago, and am having petty much the same thing. First freeze was about an hour after I unpacked it. Screen freezes solid with normal desktop, mouse moves but nothing else happening.

Most times I can SSH into it from another computer, but not always, and can do "sudo reboot" (better than hard power, at least).

Weird part is, I tried running "yes > /dev/null &" on the first day, and after patching it never happened again, so I thought it was fixed. But I forgot that the "yes" was running, pinning both CPU cores at 100%. Without "yes" running, it reliably locks up within 20 minutes or so, but with "yes" running it seems to go on forever (until I kill the "yes" and it dies in 5-20 min).

Never seen anything like this, and stumbled upon it by accident. Anyone else see the same pattern? Maybe it's a clue to the cause?

BTW - to the external monitor points, I have tried with and without an external monitor, both mirrored and as a second display; makes no difference for me.

--
MBP 2.2
Leopard, most recent patches
2 GB mem
Santa Rosa (I think, not sure how to verify)

 

[MacDNA]

two step process

I can confirm that connecting the DVI-VGA connector by itself, waiting for the blue screen flash, and then (and only then) connecting the VGA cable eliminated MacBook Pro freeze ups that made it difficult for me to connect a projector to my computer. I usually need to do a "detect displays" after the VGA cable is attached. Its not an elegant procedure, but rebooting to start a presentation is certainly worse.

Thank you for your posting!!!!!

dear apple-consuming community!

i've found a simple but working(for me) solution for the freeze-on-attach-a-seconddisplay problem.

it is very simple.

1. You have to turn on the computer
2. attach the DVI-VGA adapter (only the cable! not the monitor!)
3. the screen makes a blue effect - it's the good way
4. attach the external monitor on the VGA end of the adapter
5. use it - maybe this time it detects not simply, but next time it'll do a normal monitor detection.

in the future You doesNOT need to do this procedure, simply attach what You want.

that's all. please send me chocolades and listen Radio Periszkop

 

[saltyzoo]

I don't have any problems as long as I wake the computer up before connecting the external monitor. It works every time. But if I connect the monitor while the lid is closed....

 

[DaLurker]

Well turns out my computer was crashing because of a bad battery. It was not giving the computer enough voltage causing a lockup. Eventually the battery got so bad it would shut down at 80% battery life.

Having replaced the battery, the computer no long crashes.