MBP (Mid 2012) continuously crashing.

[MasturB]

Hello all,

This issue started about a little over a month ago after I finally updated from Mavericks to El Capitan. I'm not saying the update is correlated with my issues but just wanted to point out that it literally started happening a day or two after I installed El Capitan.

Anyhow these are the issues:

• At first it started when I would leave my computer to sleep while plugged in for an extended period of time (overnight while I sleep, leaving the house for a few hours). The second I would get out of sleep mode or open the lid again, the computer would be returning from hibernation. I have never used hibernation on my MBP or my previous iMac and this was doing it every time I would let it charge for a long time.
  
  
• The crashing began a short time after the hibernation issues. They would happen randomly while using, never during start up. It would be from random movements, such as moving the laptop from a table and walking with it to place it down on another table. And it would just crash in general. No program overload or anything like that.
  
  
• As much as 2 weeks ago the crashes began happening more frequently. And I've been having to restart my MBP a few times a day due to the crashes.
  
  
• About 2-3 days ago, the crashes began happening almost all the time. The slightest movements while having it on my lap and typing, from just to turn the computer slightly to align it, would have it crashing.
  
  
• It is now an issue where starting up my MBP is now a 5% success rate. I've had to get creative trying to get it to JUST the loading bar. Tilt the computer sideways slightly, lift it etc. just to try and get it to load. I got lucky just holding my iPod Touch under the left side and it finally loaded all the way.
  
  
• Today, I was going to bring it in to geeksquad (lol I know but the nearest Apple location is a few hours from me) because my Best Buy Extended Warranty expired, and I wanted to try something. I had already backed up my data 2 days ago before the real frequent crashing began, so I finally got it to boot into disk utility after 20 tries. I cleaned the disk, did first-aid, and then re-installed OS. And alas it started working, I could lift it and move it to another table without it crashing. I thought maybe after the first-aid it was a disk issue (it said there were sector errors and then it said it was fixed) so I decided to restore the backup. Hours later I come home and it starts the same issues again.
  
  
• A few minutes ago I finally cleaned and re-installed OS again and it is booting up. It's still crashing, but not as frequently as before I cleaned and re-installed. It's back to about a 50% success on boot up rate.
  

I'm ready to take it back to geek squad and if it costs too much to fix, I may just get a new MBP but I was hoping I could avoid it.

Is this an issue possibly with the hard drive? I have a Samsung EVO 250 SSD that I was planning on changing out the HDD for when I bought the laptop but never got around to it. If this is an HDD issue then a clean swap should fix the problem?

Is this a RAM or motherboard problem? How about battery?

I've tried posting on Apple discussion but that place isn't very helpful in this instance.

I'd like to try everything possible without having to send to Apple or Geeksquad to fix and replace. I've only had the laptop for maybe less than 3 years and only this past year when I sold my iMac did I start using it more frequently. I'm typing this right now with the MBP on a solid table and it's taken me 3 computer boot ups to type this, finally saved a few drafts in email then posted it. I'm sure as soon as I try to move or lift this thing it will crash again.

 

[MacInTO]

I just bought a 2012 13" MBP 2.5/4GB/500GB, all original, 'for parts' because the previous owner said it was rebooting when she moved it or held it from underneath or put it on an uneven surface. She took it into Apple and they reformatted the HD and opened it up, etc. to no avail. They told her that there was a problem with the motherboard so she bought a new Mac. It was in mint condition so I thought I could use the parts.

When I took it home and opened it up, it was FULL of dust. There was huge amounts of dust accumulation. I even pulled a large amount of dust out of the SD card slot! Clearly, Apple did not open up the machine.

I cleaned it up and it runs perfectly fine now. Not bad for a machine for parts!

Opening it and giving it a good clean might be a good start.

 

[MasturB]

I just bought a 2012 13" MBP 2.5/4GB/500GB, all original, 'for parts' because the previous owner said it was rebooting when she moved it or held it from underneath or put it on an uneven surface. She took it into Apple and they reformatted the HD and opened it up, etc. to no avail. They told her that there was a problem with the motherboard so she bought a new Mac. It was in mint condition so I thought I could use the parts.

When I took it home and opened it up, it was FULL of dust. There was huge amounts of dust accumulation. I even pulled a large amount of dust out of the SD card slot! Clearly, Apple did not open up the machine.

I cleaned it up and it runs perfectly fine now. Not bad for a machine for parts!

Opening it and giving it a good clean might be a good start.

Thank you so much.

I'm gonna give it a try.

I backed up to an external, and when I had re-installed OS without restoring anything, it was opening up and having a higher success rate at loading. But now it's become almost impossible to start. Like I'll start it up, and maybe 1/20 it actually goes into password login. After using for about 10 minutes it just cuts off. Really disheartening.

I bought a new MBP mid-2012 today, and I'm gonna spend the next few days trying to fix the old one. If I can get it fixed I still have 14 more days from BB to return.

 

[makinao]

Something similar happened on my mid 2012 MBP 15" in 10.11.3. It turned out to be a problem with sleep/standby. This solved it:
http://osxdaily.com/2013/01/21/mac-slow-wake-from-sleep-fix/

 

[MasturB]

I just bought a 2012 13" MBP 2.5/4GB/500GB, all original, 'for parts' because the previous owner said it was rebooting when she moved it or held it from underneath or put it on an uneven surface. She took it into Apple and they reformatted the HD and opened it up, etc. to no avail. They told her that there was a problem with the motherboard so she bought a new Mac. It was in mint condition so I thought I could use the parts.

When I took it home and opened it up, it was FULL of dust. There was huge amounts of dust accumulation. I even pulled a large amount of dust out of the SD card slot! Clearly, Apple did not open up the machine.

I cleaned it up and it runs perfectly fine now. Not bad for a machine for parts!

Opening it and giving it a good clean might be a good start.

Just wondering, how much did you clean up? Bought a can of dust remover spray, removed the fan and cleaned everything. Wasn't even as dirty as I thought. I flipped out the HDD for an SSD and at first it was doing the same thing shutting off. This is the second restart and it hasn't shut down on me yet with the SSD. If it does, it's not the hard drive anymore, it has to be something else.

EDIT: A few minutes after I posted this, the MBP proceeded to shut down. Ugh.

Something similar happened on my mid 2012 MBP 15" in 10.11.3. It turned out to be a problem with sleep/standby. This solved it:
http://osxdaily.com/2013/01/21/mac-slow-wake-from-sleep-fix/

Were you having issues of the mac shutting off randomly as well? Or just the hibernation issue as an isolated problem?

 

[makinao]

Were you having issues of the mac shutting off randomly as well? Or just the hibernation issue as an isolated problem?

Just freezing after waking up. In my experience, shutdowns happen due to overheating, which are caused by errant apps.

 

[MacInTO]

Just wondering, how much did you clean up? Bought a can of dust remover spray, removed the fan and cleaned everything. Wasn't even as dirty as I thought. I flipped out the HDD for an SSD and at first it was doing the same thing shutting off. This is the second restart and it hasn't shut down on me yet with the SSD. If it does, it's not the hard drive anymore, it has to be something else.

EDIT: A few minutes after I posted this, the MBP proceeded to shut down. Ugh.



Were you having issues of the mac shutting off randomly as well? Or just the hibernation issue as an isolated problem?

Mine was just a shut down issue.

There was a lot of dust. Enough that I used a vacuum cleaner to remove it. When I put pressure on the bottom of the computer with my hand or lifted the computer with my fingers on the bottom it would reboot. I think in that case there was enough dust between the RAM and bottom case that it was maybe moving the RAM (a theory) and casing it to reset.

I also spent several minutes pulling dust out of the SD card slot with a piece of tape and eventually that started working as well.


I did have another computer that I would put to sleep but it would go into hibernation mode. I corrected that with some terminal commands I found with google.

 

[MasturB]

Just freezing after waking up. In my experience, shutdowns happen due to overheating, which are caused by errant apps.

In my case, shutdowns are happening at like the slightest movements.
[doublepost=1463511299][/doublepost]

Mine was just a shut down issue.

There was a lot of dust. Enough that I used a vacuum cleaner to remove it. When I put pressure on the bottom of the computer with my hand or lifted the computer with my fingers on the bottom it would reboot. I think in that case there was enough dust between the RAM and bottom case that it was maybe moving the RAM (a theory) and casing it to reset.

I also spent several minutes pulling dust out of the SD card slot with a piece of tape and eventually that started working as well.


I did have another computer that I would put to sleep but it would go into hibernation mode. I corrected that with some terminal commands I found with google.

The hibernation mode I'm not too worried about. It's the constant cutting off at the slightest movements. I'll open her up again and see what I find.

 

[MasturB]

So I just realized the battery is constantly moving. The connection itself is stable, but the harnesses of the battery shell that made it stay still where you had to unscrew the screws to remove the battery are broken, so the battery just moves a little. The millimeter in between the harddrive and the battery is just enough for the battery to move. Let me try to stuff something in between to see if that will somewhat help.
[doublepost=1463524984][/doublepost]So I folded a piece of paper several times until I could stuff it in between the hard drive and battery. So far no issues or sudden shutdowns.

I'll see how this works for another day or so before I decide if this actually solved the problem.

The inside wasn't as dusty or dirty. It was surprisingly pretty clean. Sprayed the anti duster just incase.

 

[MacInTO]

That's good to know! Thanks!

 

[adamsmith100]

Hello,

I have basically the same issue! I noticed that if pressure is put on certain areas, then it will glitch and crash.

I went to the apple store and they recommended a logic board replacement. I haven't actually gone back yet to get it replaced.

I also noticed that my computer also has a broken battery clip when I opened it up, so the battery does wiggle around a few mm in the case. Please let me know the reliability of the battery fix. I might not actually need a logic board replacement then! Thanks for posting.

 

[MacInTO]

Hello,

I have basically the same issue! I noticed that if pressure is put on certain areas, then it will glitch and crash.

I went to the apple store and they recommended a logic board replacement. I haven't actually gone back yet to get it replaced.

I also noticed that my computer also has a broken battery clip when I opened it up, so the battery does wiggle around a few mm in the case. Please let me know the reliability of the battery fix. I might not actually need a logic board replacement then! Thanks for posting.

Try tightening up the loose screw. It's usually only one. That should stop the battery from moving. It requires a special trilwing screwdriver, but if you're careful, you can use a small flathead screwdriver.

Let us know how that goes.

 

[adamsmith100]

To clarify, do you mean the one that is holding the battery in place, or the one that isn't holding anything?

 

[MasturB]

Sigh.

Issue still happening of it shutting down again and again.

I can only surmise it's a logic board issue now.
[doublepost=1463546915][/doublepost]

That's good to know! Thanks!

Sigh.

Issue still happening of it shutting down again and again.

I can only surmise it's a logic board issue now.
[doublepost=1463547044][/doublepost]

Hello,

I have basically the same issue! I noticed that if pressure is put on certain areas, then it will glitch and crash.

I went to the apple store and they recommended a logic board replacement. I haven't actually gone back yet to get it replaced.

I also noticed that my computer also has a broken battery clip when I opened it up, so the battery does wiggle around a few mm in the case. Please let me know the reliability of the battery fix. I might not actually need a logic board replacement then! Thanks for posting.

I think it's the logic board also. Surprisingly I explained the issue to a Geek Squad guy at BB a few weeks ago and he suggested the same thing.

I thought it was either gonna be the battery, hdd, or fan being too dirty and it was neither. I'm about 99% sure now it's the logic board.

I think I've read apple does a flat rate repair for out of warranty non-accidental damage stuff for around $300ish.

Might have to just go ahead and get that done.

I put a thick folded piece of paper in between the HDD and the battery to make sure it wouldn't move. It's not moving but the issue is still occurring.