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MacBook random shutdown

We need INFORMATION

As previously stated, I bought two macbook recently and both of them have been randomly shutting down.

I am very disappointed. Apple won't replace or reimbourse me.

I understand from this thread that I am not the only one dealing with this problem.

How many are we ?

If you have this problem with your macbook, can you please send me an email at macbookproblem@mac.com with the serial number of your computer, model and date of purchase.

I plan on publishing weekly stats about number of computer affected and contact apple with the information.

any suggestions welcome.

Thanks;)
Stephane Elkouri, Montreal, Canada
 
Torbocto said:
As previously stated, I bought two macbook recently and both of them have been randomly shutting down.
Click to expand...
Same here, 1 MacBook white, 2GHz, 2GB ram, bootcamp active.
MacBook bought 13/06/2006, first shutdown problem 26/08.
29/08 the yes > /dev/null trick caused shut down within 1 min.
The day after the trick didn't work (tried for 10 min., CPU temp up to 85C), no problems.
Think I'll wait with repair as long as possible, until Apple has found a solution.

Makkie (Belgium)
 
My Black MacBook started randomly shutting itself off. Took it to an Apple store an hour and a half away and tried to get a a replacement since I am leaving for Peru on Friday. They said they would repair and have it ready tomorrow around 6pm. The genius said that it is DEFINITELY the logic board. I'll keep you guys updated.

UPDATE: They replaced the Logic Board and the Top Case. OS 10.7. SMC is 1.4f8. Been using it for about 30mins with no restart. The fans run constantly however the temp is at 167 F.
 
i have also had this problem.
i actually purchased my macbook from nextbyte in australia. i have just brought it in today and is now in for repairs. i had 2GB of RAM which i bought elsewhere, so naturally they immediately suspected that. but then they replaced this RAM with some of their own RAM, and it shut down with their RAM. I'm actually quite glad it shutdown on them while it was there, otherwise they wouldnt believe me
so hopefully it will get fixed or even better replaced (but i doubt it!)
 
Has anyone noticed a pattern in their random shutdowns?

I;ve noticed that (apart from really random ones) they are often 4-5 days apart, would happen within the first hour of turning on, and if it happens that day, then the computer is doomed for the day (i.e. that day will be full of rsds).

Anyone else?

I just thought it was an interesting and odd phenomenon which probably has nothing to do with our problems.

I am also waiting for them to know what they are doing before sending mine into repair.
 
Torbocto said:
If you have this problem with your macbook, can you please send me an email at macbookproblem@mac.com with the serial number of your computer, model and date of purchase.
Click to expand...
Good idea. Would do it but mine is currently in getting serviced and can't remember serial#.

Update: After 4 days at my local Apple shop I was told today that it "needs a new logic board". In addition to witnessing the rsd's, he also said something about the "video ram/card being faulty" or something which he deduced from the "panic log". Any others getting reports of faulty video hardware as well??

Anyway, Apple Australia is currently "out of stock" on logic boards (I wonder why....) so i might be in for a bit of a wait..... not happy!

UPDATE 6-Sep-06: Just got macbook back from service (where "new logic board" was fitted). Unfortunately i was unable to ask the technician exactly what they did. It seems to be working ok now but time will tell. Pushing the processor as we speak from cold start. Got to 70degC and still ok. Will update if it stops working again!
 
yet another thought?

ok i need to confirm this with people who knows about the computers... but if pushing our on button for 5 seconds makes our processors underclock at 1ghz (i think thats what i read)... why does that completely solve the rsd problem? this morning i had 2 rsds and i did that and vs. usually when my computer continues to rsd for the rest of the day, it stopped. so it works... but why???

and how does it underclock? is it only using 1 of the cores? or both are slower?

can we set the computer to do this constantly? i need it to be reliable. will it damage the computer? this massive BEEEP sounds like a 'you are completely wronging me and frying my circuits beep' (sorry i was watching star wars last night... that makes you interpret beeps afterwards i think... i so wish this could turn into an r2d2... how weird would that be?)

acutually i don't. r2d2 looks heavy and clunky. even if he is the cutest robot. (insert debate for the dr. who dog beep beep here)
 
fatties said:
Has anyone noticed a pattern in their random shutdowns?

I;ve noticed that (apart from really random ones) they are often 4-5 days apart, would happen within the first hour of turning on, and if it happens that day, then the computer is doomed for the day (i.e. that day will be full of rsds).

Anyone else?

I just thought it was an interesting and odd phenomenon which probably has nothing to do with our problems.

I am also waiting for them to know what they are doing before sending mine into repair.
Click to expand...

Mine also seems to shutdown within the first hour of use (after a long sleep) but not all the time. Yesterday I tried to use it early in the morning only to have it shutdown on me about 6 times in 10 minutes. I then used it for a few hours with no issues... then 2 more shutdowns in the evening before bed.

All in all I can definately say that I DO NOT see 4-5 day breaks between shutdowns. I see on average 5-6 shutdowns a day. Would everyone else agree? Am I about par with everyone? Or do I have it worse?

Thanks
 
One Experience

ok, here is my experience with RSD's

Model: 1.83Ghz Macbook
Bought: 19th of August
Installed: Firmware update

RSD Pattern: -Soon after starting up -More than 3 times a day
-Less likely without power cable plugged in -More likely with CD/DVD drive active


My Guess: Hardware fault due to firmware update, can be fixed with a patch. But does a new logic board fix RSDs?

Listw
 
My Macbook has shut down four times randomly. It seems to be stable for a while then will do it out of the blue...

2.0 GHZ, 1.0 G RAM , 80 GB Harddrive No third party hardware except a compaq mouse.
 
We need INFORMATION - update#1

As previously stated, I bought two macbook recently and both of them have been randomly shutting down. I am very disappointed. Apple won't replace or reimbourse me. I understand from this thread that I am not the only one dealing with this problem.
How many are we ?
If you have this problem with your macbook, can you please send me an email at macbookproblem@mac.com with the complete serial number of your computer, model , date of purchase,outcome and as much information as you want.
I plan on publishing weekly stats about number of computer affected and contact apple with the information.

any suggestions welcome.

This is the first stats report:

NUMBER OF MACBOOK with SHUTDOWN PROBLEM : 33

serial numbers / model / purchase date / email available

4H619 / ? / ?
4H619 /White 1.83 GHz /June 15 / email
4h6199n2u / ? / ?
4H6199X8U9C / ? / 20-05 / email
4H619ASPU9B /1.83 ghz, white /10-06 / email

4H620 / white, 1.83 GHz / 31-05 in SF/ email
4H620 / white, 2GHz, 1GB / ?
4H620033VMN /black macbook 2.0ghz / 19-05 /email
4H6201 / white, 2GB / ?
4H6208TGVMM / 2 GHz / ?

4H621 / ? / ?
4H621 / black / case#65194196
4H6211 / ? / europe
4H621276VMM / black / 10-6 in Germany case#67490518 /email
4H62128KVMN / black, 2 GHz, 1GB ram / 26-5 in Canada /email
4H6212C4 / White 2Ghz / Italy / email
4H6213M / white / end of May
4h6215ueu9e / ? / ? /email
4H6216UYU9B / 1.8GHZ/512MB/60GB/Combo / 13-06 Perth, Australia /email

4H622 / ? / 13-06 / email
4H6228STU9C / white, 2 GHz, 2GB ram / 13-06 in Belgium /email

4H623 / ? / ?
4H6232ESU9B / 1,83GHz, White. / 18-06 / email

4H62413RVMM / Black, 2GB / July*/ email
4H6242DPU9D / white, 1.83 GHz / 14-06 in France / email

4H625 / 2 GHz, 2GB ram / USA
4H625 / white, 2 GHz, 2GB ram / USA
4h6257xxxxx / white 2.0 /Houston / email

4H62918BVMN /Black 2Ghz / 10-06 Antwerp, Belgium / email
4H6291D4VMN /Black 2GHz 1 GB RAM 120 GB / midjuly /email

4H630767U9E / 2.0 / 2x512 / 100gb / email
4H631KXTU9B / 1.83Ghz / 19-8 / email
4H6317RR / 2 GHz, 100G HD, 1 GB / 4-8 / email


some example of the problem:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=cWsPzS5eKbs&mode=related&search=macbook problem
or
http://youtube.com/watch?v=vThy5yF-30w&search=macbook problem

A lot of users are reporting problems even after repair.


Time for a recall ?

Thanks
Stephane Elkouri, Montreal, Canada
 
Smeone mentioned this earlier and I have to say that I am starting to agree. The RSD issue does seem to be related to graphics, or at least start with graphics... I have been running ichat and safari most of the morning without any trouble. 1 minute after logging into World of Warcraft my Macbook shuts down. It seems to shutdown a few times again soon after I close warcraft. Almost as if it is saying "you pissed me off trying to running such a graphic intensive program like WoW"

I have tried this a few times and it does seem to "force" the shutdown to happen. Of couse I still get the random one every now and then when just using imail or something.

But before I jump to conclusions.. Here is a question... does a program like WoW utilize some aspect of the graphic card that watching a movie on itunes doesnt? I watched 4 episodes of "The Office" the other night without one RSD... a few minutes later I boot World of Warcraft and it shutsdown...

Can anyone make sense of this?
 
Merser said:
Smeone mentioned this earlier and I have to say that I am starting to agree. The RSD issue does seem to be related to graphics, or at least start with graphics... I have been running ichat and safari most of the morning without any trouble. 1 minute after logging into World of Warcraft my Macbook shuts down. It seems to shutdown a few times again soon after I close warcraft. Almost as if it is saying "you pissed me off trying to running such a graphic intensive program like WoW"
Click to expand...

Nah, it's not related to graphics. I can run WoW for hours and not have a shutdown...

I can run Microsoft Word for five minutes and have a shutdown.

It seems to be completely random :/
 
i got it when i ran rossetta apps, though as i explained earlier, i fixed it by relaying all the cables in my macbook.
 
i want to break steve jobs's face with my logic board.

yes. i want to break his face with my logic board. i was in the middle of writting a paper, shutdown. no backup. i think we should be intitled to something for all this b.s. and especialy for the ammount of money. then having to ship it away for 10 days, i got off the phone with apple care and they said that it could be out for 1-4 weeks. A month! i paid 1000 + dollars for this and im in a rage. there should be some form of compensation atleast, does anyone feel similar?
 
MCDeath said:
yes. i want to break his face with my logic board. i was in the middle of writting a paper, shutdown. no backup. i think we should be intitled to something for all this b.s. and especialy for the ammount of money. then having to ship it away for 10 days, i got off the phone with apple care and they said that it could be out for 1-4 weeks. A month! i paid 1000 + dollars for this and im in a rage. there should be some form of compensation atleast, does anyone feel similar?
Click to expand...

Even without a random shutdown problem, why wouldn't you have autosave enabled? All sorts of things can happen even on a perfectly functioning computer that would make working on a paper without ever saving it a pretty bad idea.
 
yay! just talked to applecare, i can't part with my computer at the mo., but whenever i call next they are going to send it off!!!!!! Hopefully my computer won't deteriote in 2 months and they will have a definite repair thing then (and or a firmware!)

woohoo! apple genius bar dude, up your ***! (yes, i still don't like him for trying to flog me 500 quid of ram)
 
I had the shutdown as well during the heat wave here in Belgium. I'm pretty sure it was heat-related, cuz if i took it to a cooler place (basement, garden at night, etc.) it wouldn't shut down. I had it fixed, they replaced my outer case as well (staining - but the new one seems to stain as well), and it's stopped shutting down randomly. But the weather's been **** lately, so I should check with the 2007 heat wave, I'll keep you posted ;)
 
Mine has been fixed when they replaced the heat assembly (heat sink and stuff). Perhaps some got out with thermal paste applied wrong?
 
Strange that the same problem affects both the MacBook and MacBook - surely indicating it's likely to be a problem with a component common to both.

Has anyone here replaced their MBP battery through the free replacement programme? Did that fix the issue? (I've replace my MBP battery, but since I've only ever had 3 shutdowns, it's too early to say if it's fixed or not).
 
whooleytoo said:
Strange that the same problem affects both the MacBook and MacBook - surely indicating it's likely to be a problem with a component common to both.

Has anyone here replaced their MBP battery through the free replacement programme? Did that fix the issue? (I've replace my MBP battery, but since I've only ever had 3 shutdowns, it's too early to say if it's fixed or not).
Click to expand...

Another irish man :)

Well my Macbook is getting a new logic board, i've been told that there is a shortage of boards (sign of a new revision maybe? maybe i'll get a merom board :D) and i'm stuck without it again this weekend.

As i ranted , i was going to buy a new revision iMac but after this i'm seriously thinking about just buying a new PC and building it myself. At least i know i can fix that, i know i can get it working, i know a replacement for any broken part will be free and i won't have to pay for phone support. I know it won't be OSX and it won't be as nice as an iMac but if i can shove it into a cupboard then it will be just as quiet as an iMac and that will make me happy. I will miss front row and the remote control though. Maybe get Media Center edition.
 
TBi said:
Well my Macbook is getting a new logic board, i've been told that there is a shortage of boards (sign of a new revision maybe? maybe i'll get a merom board :D) and i'm stuck without it again this weekend.
Click to expand...

i dunno... may be they have to fix quite a few of them because the dude who was on the phone with me today said the waiting time to be fixed will be on the longer end of 1-4 weeks since they are a little low on parts (uk)...

imagin it coming back with memron and all this happen again. i just want something that turns off when i want to and plods along at a reasonable speed! arr!
 
Class Action

I’ve become seriously frustrated with Apple’s: 1) lack of attention to detail / quality control AND 2) lack of communication with their customers about the issue. If they don’t announce a fix (or at least acknowledge the MacBooks have serious problems) for the shutdown issue, I’m seriously considering filing a class action lawsuit. How many of us can tolerate this for much longer? I rely on my computer for work (as I’m sure many of you do), and having an unreliable computer is totally unacceptable.
 
jimrich3 said:
I’ve become seriously frustrated with Apple’s: 1) lack of attention to detail / quality control AND 2) lack of communication with their customers about the issue. If they don’t announce a fix (or at least acknowledge the MacBooks have serious problems) for the shutdown issue, I’m seriously considering filing a class action lawsuit. How many of us can tolerate this for much longer? I rely on my computer for work (as I’m sure many of you do), and having an unreliable computer is totally unacceptable.
Click to expand...

When an issue is this widespread and occurs when the computer is practically new, customers should be given a new computer and an apology.
 
jimrich3 said:
I’ve become seriously frustrated with Apple’s: 1) lack of attention to detail / quality control AND 2) lack of communication with their customers about the issue. If they don’t announce a fix (or at least acknowledge the MacBooks have serious problems) for the shutdown issue, I’m seriously considering filing a class action lawsuit. How many of us can tolerate this for much longer? I rely on my computer for work (as I’m sure many of you do), and having an unreliable computer is totally unacceptable.
Click to expand...

I'd love to agree with you but class action lawsuits only really make the lawyers rich and we users don't get much out of it and apple loses millions it could be putting into fixing this problem.

I'd prefer to put them under media pressure, get a few news networks to talk about it and they'll be going head over heels to look good.
 
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