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MacBook Pro randomly reboots!

K

Kalmia

macrumors member
Original poster
This has been driving me crazy for a while now, but I've been at a bit of a loss as to how to handle it, as it's not easily replicable and the problem seems to come and go. On top of that, I've been enrolled in classes, so I couldn't quite afford to be without my computer, and I live over an hour from the nearest Apple store at best. But I digress... my problem.

In an issue somewhat akin to the old MacBook random shutdowns, my MacBook Pro (15", 2.0 GHz, 2 GB Crucial RAM) has a tendency to randomly reboot itself. The issue is sporadic and difficult to predict, as it doesn't seem to have much of a bearing on anything. Most commonly, it happens when I'm playing The Sims 2, which leads me to believe that it may be a heat issue, but a) it reboots instead of shutting down, which is odd and b) it's happened when the computer was on a solid surface, when I was running just Safari and iTunes, etc. etc. It's not consistent and not easy to replicate, as it may happen five minutes in or it may go for weeks without a single reboot.

I've tried repairing disk permissions, resetting the SMC, and running Memtest for three full rounds in single-user mode. I don't believe there are any kernel panics taking place, although I can double-check the logs if someone will tell me what to look out for. (It's been a while, and I am very sleepy besides...) I also have recently replaced the battery (June), if that has any bearing on anything. My old battery was defective, but the problem doesn't seem to be linked to one or the other.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm really stumped by this one--I can't find anyone else who's had a similar issue. 😕 Thanks in advance!! 😀


~Kalmia
 
I'm using 10.4.10, and yes--the most recent firmware update I did was the EFI firmware update from November.


~Kalmia
 
Hmmm... well to be sure, I'd probably run an archive/install of the OS from the disk which came with your Macbook. It won't erase any personal data, but it's best to back up before you do it. Or let's say it's a good excuse to update your backup!

If that doesn't do it, I'd take it to an Apple store when you can and talk to them about it. Heat indeed sounds like the most likely culprit if an archive/intsall doesn't do the trick. It could be as simple as a bad thermal paste job on the processor. Considering the facts that the firmware is up to date and that you've reset the SMC, which controls varoius power functions, it sounds like a heat thing. There are a couple of utilities which can help you monitor the system heat too, though I don't remember their names...

Another thing to consider - you probably have directory damage at this point. One of the things your Mac does during a proper shutdown is to update the disk directory. When it shuts down unexpectedly, errors can occur in the directory. The best way to fix this would be to get your hands on a copy of Diskwarrior 4. Also, did you run fsck while in single user mode? That can fix some basic file system issues.
 
nateDEEZY said:
Do you have anything like smcfan control or like istat to tell you the temperature of your macbook pro?
Click to expand...

I was going to look those names up, but as soon as I got done with my post, there you were to answer that like magic... good show!
 
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