Random Shutdown Because of Heat Sensors?

I bought my white MacBook in mid-May (week 19 production) and it worked fine with the exception of a whine when I did not have the iSight Cam on, the occasional mooing after using the computer heavily then using the CPU lightly for a while, and the discoloration. If you ask me it wasn't that much of a set back because this computer was fast and reliable... or so I had thought!
All of a sudden about a week ago, after I had the discoloration fixed, thanks to AppleCare (which only took 5 days), my computer shut down randomly in the middle of light usage...
At first I had thought that my external hard drive was the problem and I was very upset that this had happened. I tried to reboot my computer, but all that would happen was the usual DVD drive start up sound and then it would turn off again. I tried about 5 times to restart it with no luck, so I walked away. About 20 minutes later I was able to start it back up...
After not using my external hard drive for a day, it happened again, in the middle of normal internet browsing and listening to music it randomly shutdown. I thought that maybe it was an OS 10.4.7 issue, because I had not had any problems with x.6, so I erased and restarted from scratch, and once again, another MacDeath. Once again, I thought it to be my fault in my installation of 2Gb of RAM. I re-installed the custom 2x256 RAM that came with the computer ( and will remain in my hands forever, because you can't even pay someone to take away a stick of 256Mb RAM these days) well after the old RAM was forcefully shoved back in, it died again! This is when I started to get mad...
I put up with the whinning, I put up with the heat, I put up with the discoloration (for a while), but now this? WHY!
Over the next week it happened almost daily and sometimes when I would turn on my computer after it being off for at least 5 hours, it would load my home screen and after about a minute I would hear the fan come on for a few seconds, and then it would die again. I noticed that most times that my MacBook would shutdown unexpectedly, the fan had just turned on for a few seconds or I was playing a game and the fan was already on...
So today I called AppleCare and I had to wait about 30 minutes before I talked to someone... (When I called last time about discoloration, the wait was about 5 minutes) So either there are more and more angry customers calling, or Apple is firing employees to increase their stock value...?
When I finally got through the man told me that it was most likely not the Logic Board, but instead FAULTY HEAT SENSORS and/or FAULTY HEAT SINK APPLICATION. I won't lie I have seen Core Duo Temp show readings as high as 91 C (about 196 degrees F). I knew that this things got hot, but not so hot as to start a fire if left on too long....
So I am getting a box from DHL tomorrow (woohoo) MacB. and I get to part ways again, but this time, from reading many threads, I assume our time apart will be much longer approaching around 2 WEEKS!!!
All I hope is that AppleCare will fix the heat sensors that are supposed to shutdown the computer when it gets overheated.... I have to go to school in about a month and I will not have time to deal with these kinds of issues! I really like the MacBook and all of it's features, but I did not sign up to get a MacDieOnMeBook!
APPLE USE SOME OF THE 24% SALE INCREASE THIS QUARTER TO HELP YOUR LOYAL CUSTOMERS WHO HAVE BEEN WITH YOU THROUGH THE GOOD AND THE BAD!
MB 2GHz White 2GB RAM - 250 GB External HD Mac OS X (10.4.6)

As of yet i'm not exactly sure about the heatsink problem, although a few in here have reported machines that work well after having this part replaced, while others who only had the MLB replaced reported a recurrence of the problem.
as for the volume indicator, i noticed that mine did that too, but it was in fact muted whether or not the tool bar indicated it. i dismissed this as a small quirk, similar to when my volume indicator didnt change as i pressed the volume buttons on my old laptop. but so long as there was an acknowledging "squirt" noise on the computer indicating change of volume, that shouldnt be a problem.
good luck withyour MB

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HT1212 my ipod screen is cracked and i can't sync my ipod on to itunes becauseit it is locked with a password and i can't enter the password because the heat sensor is messed up and i don't want t restore it and lose everything so how can i get passed tha

My ipod screen is cracked and i can't sync my ipod to itunes because it is locked with a password and i can't enter the password because the heat sensor is messed up on the ipod becasue of the screen and i don't want to restore it and lose everything. What can i do?!

All you can do is to restore and thus erase the iPod unless you can get a data recovery company to preserve the data.
Place the iOS device in Recovery Mode and then connect to your computer and restore via iTunes. The iPod will be erased.
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If recovery mode does not work try DFU mode.
How to put iPod touch / iPhone into DFU mode « Karthik's scribblings

My mid 2007 24" is starting to have random shutdowns. Maybe heat related? Fans are working.

My 2007 iMac has started to shutdown randomly. The longer I use it the more frequent the shutdown happen. I can hear the fans working but the top of the computer is very warm. Is there over heating protection on these iMacs?

Hello Ticks,
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
I'd like you to please reset the SMC by following the steps in the article below and report back if the issue has been resolved or not.
Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
Take care,
Alex H.

To Everyone with Random Shutdowns! (Solved! REALLY!)

Hey all,
I had posted about a week back about my Macbook (Core duo white, late 2006), it was having the same symptoms as some of the others with the known random shutdown syndrome (RSS). Like many others I had thought it was the end of my macbook and the logicboard needed replacing because that is what the 'genius' people do, but I was still wondering what would cause it. It would randomly shut off! (or so I thought) I'd be typing in Safari, watching a youtube video, and even playing games, it would just shut off and I could hear the hard drive spin down. I'd restart and it would do it again sometimes right away, sometimes hours later.
This got me to thinking (like others have said) that it must be an issue with over heating. To test my theory I backed up my HD, and tried to reinstall Snow Leopard after zeroing the HD (as a fresh install). During the install process the Macbook's fan started to get loud and then it happened, it died again! So, this proved to me that it is NOT a software/OS issue at all, which means the said efforts in other posts of changing screen saver and energy saver settings had nothing to do with the cause! Aha moment!
I thought to myself... something is making it shutdown, obviously, and has to do with too much heat as the fan was going crazy even while reinstalling the OS. After reading many posts on different support forums I came accross the possibility that it could be the heatsink and/or sensor that is attached to it. I also found out that this "RSS" only applies to the non-unibody, core duo, and core 2 duo macbooks... you know what that means?
These models are the only ones with the shared memory and GPU on the same heatsink! GAH! A possible solution presents itself? To make a long post even longer... I removed the keyboard, carefully unscrewed the heatsink and fan and what did I see? Cracked and dried out thermal paste on the CPU AND GPU, they are both under the same heatsink after all, this was bad, really bad.
Luckily I had some Arctic Silver thermal paste in a tube from years ago when I upgraded my PowerMac CPU. Using some rubbing alcohol and a soft cloth I removed the crud on the heatsink, processor, and GPU (I might add that there was way too much paste on there in the first place). I waited an extra few minutes to make sure the alcohol evaporated, and then I applied a small (dime sized) amount of thermal past directly onto the two chips, I aligned the heatsink carefully and gave it a very small gentle push down onto the chips, reattached the sensor wire to the mainboard, and screwed the heatsink back in.
After putting the keyboard back on and making sure all screws were in... I immediately turned on the laptop and reinstalled the OS. The OS install took approximately 10 mintues! (crazy!) The last time I did that it took over 30 mins to install! I was stunned!
After the OS installed I let the computer idle and shut down, I let it sit for about an hour to allow the paste to contract as it cooled. After starting up again I immediately downloaded Temperature Monitor and installed it (I did have it running when my mac had RSS by the way), here are the results to prove my theory:
My Macbook with RSS:
CPU1 and CPU2 Idle temp - 114 degrees (F)
Heatsink temp - 128 degrees (F)
Approximate over heating temp - 184 degrees (F) (causing the heatsink sensor to shutdown the laptop)
My Macbook with new high quality thermal paste:
Idle temp of CPU1, CPU2, and GPU - 77 degrees (F)
Heatsink temp - 84 degrees (F)
Running temp with adobe CS4, youtube, and typing this message - 103 degrees (F)
Pretty amazing if you ask me!
Before I applied the thermal paste my Macbook took at least a minute to start up with a fresh OS install, now it only takes about 15 seconds! I have not heard the fan spin up and go crazy since! And I can't even explain to you how much fast it is now!
This does prove that Random shutdown syndrome (RSS) is caused ONLY by your GPU over heating due to old thermal paste between the chips and heatsink! A design flaw by Apple? probably not because thermal paste will crack and dry over time.
This also proves that energy conversion to data in the chips can decrease because of over heating, causing the computer performance to dramatically drop!
So before you take your out-of-warranty macbook to Apple or a repair shop, see what your internal temp readings are and try to replicate the problem with over heating your CPU/GPU! This was a 10 minute fix! I am still amazed at how much faster everything is, and haven't had a random shutdown since! I hope this helps alot of people that think they are out of luck and have to pay to get it fixed!
- Cory -

I too have this problem as well and it has been getting worse lately, I don't know what to do anymore. Here is a little info about my macbookPro. I have the late 2008 unibody model, i bought it in late 2009 Refurbished from Apple. Recently my mac has been turning off out of nowhere. I may be doing something and all of a sudden it just shuts off, it usually happens faster when i start to open up more programs like Photoshop or Final Cut Pro. My mac is out of warranty now and i dont know how much apple is going to charge me to fix it. i mean they want 50 bucks just to talk to them on the phone (ridiculous if you ask me)!.
    I have a temperature sensor installed and here is my data
CPU A Proximity: 126F
CPU A Temperature Diode: 133F
Graphics Processor Chip 1: 122F
Graphics Processor Heatsink 1: 113F
Graphics Processor Heatsink 2: 126F
Graphics Processor Temperature Diode: 131F
Left Palm Rest: 91F
Main Heatsink 3: 122F
Main Logic Board: 118F
Northbridge Chip: 127F
Northbridge Position: 124F
Here is more data from the Power
Battery Information:
Model Information:
Manufacturer:          GSA-1281
Device Name:          ASMB016
Pack Lot Code:          0
PCB Lot Code:          0
Firmware Version:          0
Hardware Revision:          0
Cell Revision:          0
Charge Information:
Charge Remaining (mAh):          3739
Fully Charged:          No
Charging:          No
Full Charge Capacity (mAh):          4610
Health Information:
Cycle Count:          68
Condition:          Normal
Battery Installed:          Yes
Amperage (mA):          -1766
Voltage (mV):          11793
System Power Settings:
AC Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes):          0
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes):          0
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes):          90
Automatic Restart on Power Loss:          No
Wake on AC Change:          No
Wake on Clamshell Open:          Yes
Wake on LAN:          No
Display Sleep Uses Dim:          Yes
GPUSwitch:          2
PrioritizeNetworkReachabilityOverSleep:          0
RestartAfterKernelPanic:          157680000
Battery Power:
System Sleep Timer (Minutes):          60
Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes):          0
Display Sleep Timer (Minutes):          2
Wake on AC Change:          No
Wake on Clamshell Open:          Yes
Current Power Source:          Yes
Display Sleep Uses Dim:          Yes
GPUSwitch:          2
Reduce Brightness:          Yes
RestartAfterKernelPanic:          157680000
Hardware Configuration:
UPS Installed:          No
AC Charger Information:
Connected:          No
Charging:          No
PLEASE HELP ME, I CAN NO LONGER TRUST MY MAC FOR WORK. any replies will be appreciated. thanks

2006 model Random Shutdown

Here's some of the details:
My computer was purchased in May 2006. Since then it has crashed twice because of overheating. The power cord has been replaced, CPU fans and the HD x2. I have never had any problems with random shut down except 3 years ago it would shut down immediately after the power cord was disconnected.
A few days ago I noticed that whenever I returned from classes the computer would be shut off. The problem: I never shut it down.
I'm unsure if this is somehow connected or not, but a few years ago the cd burner suddenly quit working and then today I tried uncessfully to eject a dvd. It made the sound to eject, even began to eject the dvd but didn't make it out even 1cm before the computer decided jk, and stole it back.
Now the unit is shutting down while I only have firefox running. I restarted the computer and now the light on the power supply is absent, along with the battery % which is normally present.
I know it's 4 years old but nothing quite like this has happened before.
Also, when the unit shuts down, it is not even remotely hot. I've read several places that the heat sink expands (or maybe it was something else) which then causes a short circuit.
Does anyone have any ideas?

Do you have all of your firmware updates installed? A firmware update is a little different than a regular update. You would get the firmware update via Software Update, but you would have to manually install it after it downloads... going through a process involving holding down the power button when you start it up... and getting some loud beeps. Have you ever done that?
There was a known problem with random shutdowns in those machines related to a faulty heat sensor... the update was basically to ignore the faulty sensor.

Random Shutdown: Locked Clockspeed, Processor Voltage Correlation?

I use Hardware Monitor to keep track of more sensor readouts than just temps. I recommend everyone install it. Using it, I've discovered some weird behavior in the processor clockspeed and voltage that correlates in a predictable with my typical macbook random shutdown problem. I wonder if others witness the same correlation.
Normally, according to my sensor readings, the clockspeed and cpu voltage fluctuate frequently and continually, presumably according to the demands on the processor. Clockspeed typically runs between 1333Mhz and 2000Mhz, voltage between 1.00 and 1.30V.
When running like this, it is subject to random shutdowns at any time, but most especially — indeed with absolute reliability, so to speak — within ten minutes of waking from sleep — regardless of whether i'm using mail, surfing, playing music, or running intense calculations and (so far as i can tell), regardless of how many or few processes are running simultaneously, and regardless of temperature readings. Indeed, now with the new firmware update my temps are quite low. In fact, since the computer most reliably shuts down soon after waking up, it's temp at shutdown often registers no more than the mid-50s (it'll shut down at 47).
After the macbook shuts down, it refuses to restart reliably with a simple press of the power button. Like many others, I have to hold down the power button for about ten seconds, until I hear the pained protracted beep, before the computer will enter into the normal booting process.
After it boots up like this from a shutdown — and this is what I haven't seen enough commentary on — the processor speed remains locked at 1000Mhz and the voltage at .99V until the computer goes to sleep again.
While the computer is locked into this slow-clockspeed-low-voltage mode, it is absolutely reliable. It never shuts down randomly. It runs much slower. Which is really noticeable and frustrating when using any graphics-intense or movie app.
So my questions are:
Does anyone else experience this sort of locking processor behavior?
Why would the processor lock like this?
Is it possible that the sensors are wrong? That in fact the processor is fluctuating normally but now the computer doesn't "know" it?
How would the processor's ability to vary its clockspeed and the voltage it draws affect its propensity to shutdown randomly?
I would be grateful for the observations of others regarding clockspeed and voltage at shutdown and after rebooting.
Thanks.
macbook 2.0 Ghz, 1.25GB, 80GB, week 20 Mac OS X (10.4.7)

hi
I have exactly same problems and symptoms.
It was a refurbished week 20 unit from apple uk it arrived in excellent condition and worked perfectly for two weeks without the fan comeing on at all it was perfectly quiet but hot.
As this was my first mac I was unaware that this was abnormal I had heard that they ran hot but being new to mac I was on a learning curve. Then two days after the remorse return period it began to shut down the first time was after a period of sleep just after I opened the lid. It then was and still is impossible to start it from warm or cold in the normal way, but only by holding the power down until beep. Then it will work for days at 27 deg c without a problem all be it at the 1 gig reduced speed which as you say is frustrating to say the least. Applecare UK don't acknowledge the problem at all they just want to treat it as a normal warrenty repair at my inconvenience. I am at present awaiting a more generous response from apple. I'm demanding a replacement unit but they just want we to fill out their standard web questionaire. (with non relavant tick boxs) If only one could speak to a real knowledgeable individual at apple I'm sure I'd get some satisfaction. But in this age of executive big bonuses what can one expect.
I hope Apple get real with this soon because the disscussion forums are getting overloaded with this issue its getting harder to login have you noticed.
yours unhappy customer.

Another Random Shutdown Thread!

Hey all
So, ive got the random shutdown prob. Ive downloaded the firmware update and when I go to install it im told its not needed, I tried the battery update..and still the prob persists. Is it just that my battery is a dud?
Thanks !
Kasra

Yeah, I was suprised about that too. I'm sitting outside the Apple Store right now with my replacement. I demonstrated the crash once to the guy by running yes, and then it crashed again on him while he was trying to look at the logs.
This one's a week 32. I'm currently running yes in two Terminal windows and all seems well. Let's hope it stays this way!
edit: I think the problem with my old MacBook was with the temperature sensors or with the fans, because I didn't hear the fans kick in once while I was using it and the fans just kicked in on this one. Strange thing is, it crashed even when it was cool to the touch. Just thought that was worth mentioning...

Help - Thermal or Random Shutdowns

My MBP 15” is outside the warranty and developed what appears to be a thermal shutdown issue. After a period of time it just shuts down. When I restart, it shuts down again very quickly. Each restart results in a shutdown sooner than the last. If the MBP is left off for a longer period of time it will restart, but shuts down after 10 or so minutes.
Being out of warranty and being brave I dismantled it and found nothing outwardly wrong. However, the heat sink compound was pretty dried and cake-like. So I cleaned and replaced the compound and fired it up only to have the problem once again. The compound may have helped a little, but it is not statistically significant. I also pulled the battery backup wire while I dismantled the MBP. I am not sure if that erases the non-volatile memory or not.
The problem shutdowns occur with and without the battery installed. The only way I have been able to work around this problem was to install a third-party fan control program. I set the minimum fan speed to 2500 – 3000 RPMs and life is fine. I have not had a shutdown in the last two weeks since I installed the fan control program. That tells me that the thermal sensors are probably initiating the shutdown. I can’t say what they are measuring is real or not.
However, I can’t recall ever hearing the fans before the MBP shuts down. I hear them now with the fan program running, but I can’t ever recall hearing them before the install. Any thoughts?

Have you run something like iStat Pro... just to get an idea of what the temp sensor readings are? It's possible you may have just a faulty sensor... Something like iStat Pro:
http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/status/istatpro.html
or Temperature Monitor:
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/19994
... will give you the reported temps of a number of components. If you have a faulty sensor... it should be easy to detect (for example, if your heat sink shows 120 C but both your processors show around 60 C and your other heatsink slightly lower... you'll know the first heat sink probably has a bad sensor). The first generation MacBooks had a problem with random shutdowns due to a faulty heatsink sensor. Apple was able to put out a firmware update that basically ignored the faulty sensor... but for those that had the problem, if they run one of the above programs... they can still see the faulty readings... only their machines no longer shut down as they are now ignored.
You should first determine your processor and heatsink temps... just to make sure you actually are not experiencing an overheat problem vs. just a faulty sensor.

[solved?] possible reasons for random shutdowns

Several months ago, my laptop started to suddenly shutdown for no apparent reason. Initially, I assumed it was overheating. Lenovo had a look, found nothing but replaced the thermal paste anyway, gave it back.
The issue continued so somebody from IT stuck my laptop in a server room on top of a hot computer and stress tested it for a few hours. Conclusion: can find nothing wrong, definitely not a heat problem! (Laptop never went above 65.) They ran a bunch of hardware tests as part of this, got my cable and adaptor tested etc.
Next theory: issue had only ever occurred on one level of the building (in my office) and it turned out there had been another issue with another laptop in that area and it turned out to be shutting down to protect itself due to spikes in the power supply. A UPS solved that issue. One is currently on order for me.
Meanwhile, last weekend I had the issue occur twice in a friend's house in Birmingham. Even more worrying, however, I just had it happen here at home even though I use the machine extensively here and have never seen this happen here before.
I'm guessing this rules out the environmental hypothesis although I'm by no means certain of this.
That leaves: hardware or software.
Hardware is a pain - Lenovo already ran it for 48 hours straight and found nothing. Moreover, although I have paid to extend the warranty and although they've taken my money, I've so far been entirely unsuccessful in getting Lenovo's system to recognise the extension. In any case, with the holidays and everything I'd rather be sure of what I'm dealing with before giving the machine up for an extended period of time. I cannot reliably reproduce the issue so it is hard to troubleshoot.
So I would like to know what possible software issues might trigger apparently random shutdowns.
The shutdowns are immediate. One minute I am working on some document or whatever. The next the machine is off. journalctl shows nothing except:
-- Reboot --
If it was a hardware protection feature, would this get logged?
It does not reboot - it powers off - but I always have issues with reboot since I switched to systemd. Generally, it just powers off instead. [Oh, and before anybody tries to blame systemd, the random shutdowns started before I switched to systemd.]
I've checked the RAM.
Any suggestions, however unlikely, are welcome at this point.
Last edited by cfr (2013-04-13 23:42:03)

Thanks. The adaptor, cable etc. was "PAT tested" by the electricals person in our building and they checked the fuse etc. in the plug as well. Moreover, the laptop never usually has a problem switching from AC to battery and back. My battery is more than adequate for this sort of purpose and, if the battery did run low, the laptop would automatically suspend to RAM. Also, I know if this happens because, among other things, the display is set to dim on switch to battery. When the power supply has disappeared due to a power cut or just unplugging it, the switch has always been flawless.
I've just been jiggling and shaking and rotating the laptop itself as suggested above with no effect whatsoever. I've also tried pressing around the edges of the casing just in case I'm somehow putting pressure somewhere and that's affecting things. (I assume if it was pressure due to typing or touchpad, it would be happening all the time.)
I've also just spent a while jiggling the adaptor and both parts of the cable - also with no effect.
The one thing which makes me reluctant to test sans battery is that I've read that the batteries in ThinkPads serve some sort of protective function in case of issues with the power supply and that you shouldn't use them without the battery for that reason. (Somewhere on Lenovo's site but it was months ago so I can't remember where to check the details.) In case there is an issue with the power, I'd obviously rather not fry the laptop. (But it seems weird if it happens in several places in that case...)
I'm not sure about the cold boot comment. Do you think a cold boot might help? If so, I already performed one yesterday as I opened the back to look for loose connections. So if a cold boot might help, I'll just have to see. I've done cold boots before, though, after opening it up to look for issues following shutdowns.
These issues appeared several months ago and I've reproduced the issue with the LTS kernel a while back. So if it is a regression, it has been around for a bit. I might try a live Ubuntu USB. (I don't have an optical drive.) The problem is that a negative result won't really prove anything because the issue is so random. Given that yesterday is the first time it has ever happened to me at home and that even in my office I've sometimes gone three or four days without problem, a couple of days testing won't cut it. (And will make it difficult for me to get stuff done!) It might be best to wait and try it in my office after the holidays - if it worked for, say, a week there without issue, that would strongly suggest something in my Arch setup. (Or something about the hdd, I guess.)
Somebody suggested modules so, for the record, here's output from lsmod:
Module Size Used by
usb_storage 47385 0
uas 11120 0
efivars 12441 1
fuse 69213 3
hid_generic 1114 0
usbhid 37036 0
hid 85974 2 hid_generic,usbhid
rfcomm 33792 8
bnep 8858 2
ipt_REJECT 2282 2
ip6t_REJECT 2797 2
xt_LOG 12055 6
xt_limit 1978 6
xt_tcpudp 2472 4
nf_conntrack_ipv4 7799 5
nf_defrag_ipv4 1340 1 nf_conntrack_ipv4
nf_conntrack_ipv6 7512 5
nf_defrag_ipv6 6318 1 nf_conntrack_ipv6
xt_recent 8603 12
xt_conntrack 3298 10
nf_conntrack 64101 3 xt_conntrack,nf_conntrack_ipv4,nf_conntrack_ipv6
iptable_filter 1457 1
ip_tables 16947 1 iptable_filter
ip6table_filter 1397 1
ip6_tables 18519 1 ip6table_filter
x_tables 17000 11 ip6table_filter,xt_recent,ip_tables,xt_tcpudp,xt_limit,xt_conntrack,xt_LOG,iptable_filter,ipt_REJECT,ip6_tables,ip6t_REJECT
nls_cp437 5954 1
vfat 10120 1
fat 48403 1 vfat
uvcvideo 72788 0
videobuf2_vmalloc 2469 1 uvcvideo
videobuf2_memops 2283 1 videobuf2_vmalloc
coretemp 6071 0
kvm_intel 124718 0
snd_hda_codec_hdmi 24529 1
videobuf2_core 24073 1 uvcvideo
videodev 100860 2 uvcvideo,videobuf2_core
snd_hda_codec_conexant 47159 1
btusb 12373 0
kvm 374014 1 kvm_intel
media 10406 2 uvcvideo,videodev
joydev 9992 0
arc4 2040 2
bluetooth 192234 22 bnep,btusb,rfcomm
iwldvm 171052 0
mac80211 426350 1 iwldvm
snd_hda_intel 26181 2
snd_hda_codec 98034 3 snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_codec_conexant,snd_hda_intel
thinkpad_acpi 62562 0
snd_hwdep 6429 1 snd_hda_codec
snd_pcm 75735 3 snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_codec,snd_hda_intel
snd_page_alloc 7218 2 snd_pcm,snd_hda_intel
microcode 12346 0
snd_timer 18935 1 snd_pcm
nvram 5907 1 thinkpad_acpi
snd 60189 12 snd_hwdep,snd_timer,snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_codec_conexant,snd_pcm,snd_hda_codec,snd_hda_intel,thinkpad_acpi
rts_pstor 401665 0
atl1c 33647 0
psmouse 71952 0
iwlwifi 125182 1 iwldvm
iTCO_wdt 5256 0
iTCO_vendor_support 1930 1 iTCO_wdt
cfg80211 177109 3 iwlwifi,mac80211,iwldvm
rfkill 15605 5 cfg80211,thinkpad_acpi,bluetooth
soundcore 5443 1 snd
i2c_i801 9572 0
evdev 10267 25
serio_raw 4690 0
pcspkr 1900 0
mei 32666 0
lpc_ich 10610 0
ac 2537 0
thermal 8120 0
battery 6774 0
wmi 8380 0
nfs 127008 0
lockd 64905 1 nfs
sunrpc 186134 2 nfs,lockd
fscache 40996 1 nfs
acpi_cpufreq 5934 0
mperf 1300 1 acpi_cpufreq
processor 26856 1 acpi_cpufreq
ext4 440435 10
crc16 1360 2 ext4,bluetooth
jbd2 78802 1 ext4
mbcache 6027 1 ext4
sha256_generic 10262 2
ablk_helper 1973 0
aes_x86_64 7556 5
aes_generic 26139 1 aes_x86_64
cbc 2737 1
dm_crypt 15800 1
dm_mod 72106 35 dm_crypt
sd_mod 29560 4
crc32c_intel 1988 0
ghash_clmulni_intel 4278 0
cryptd 8742 2 ghash_clmulni_intel,ablk_helper
ahci 21361 3
libahci 20024 1 ahci
libata 167757 2 ahci,libahci
scsi_mod 133434 5 uas,usb_storage,libata,rts_pstor,sd_mod
ehci_hcd 41817 0
usbcore 150472 6 uas,btusb,uvcvideo,usb_storage,ehci_hcd,usbhid
usb_common 955 1 usbcore
i915 496012 3
video 11277 1 i915
button 4663 1 i915
i2c_algo_bit 5392 1 i915
intel_agp 10745 1 i915
intel_gtt 15660 2 i915,intel_agp
drm_kms_helper 32878 1 i915
drm 218903 4 i915,drm_kms_helper
i2c_core 20708 6 drm,i915,i2c_i801,drm_kms_helper,i2c_algo_bit,videodev
I did wonder about the watchdogs and whether I should try turning (any of?) them off. But I suspect this thought just shows my ignorance of these things.
I don't think there's a fan in my power supply - it is just a brick type adaptor between the AC and the laptop. If it is the battery, it would be odd that it only ever happens when I'm plugged into AC. (Again, I use it a lot more on AC and the problem is random so this need not mean much.) One difference between battery and AC is that laptop-mode tools is configured to disable the NMI watchdog on battery. But again, I don't understand enough of what this means to know whether this is even vaguely relevant.
My graphics is intel so I'm not using any closed source drivers from Nvidia or ATI. The driver is currently set to use the default acceleration. QT is using default rendering (X11/XRender) rather than Raster or the experimental OpenGL.

Random Shutdown SOLVED

This just DUGG'd
http://maba.wordpress.com/2006/09/01/macbook-shutdown-solved-at-last-hopefully/
"The heat sink expands during operation and gets into contact with the sensor cable and melts the cable’s isolation. This in turn causes a short circuit and, thus, the immediate shutdown of the Macbook. As the heat sink is cooling down, the heat sink contracts to the point that it looses its contact with the cable and breaks up the short circuit."

I am experiencing random shutdown with my black MacBook, but suspect that it is a firmware issue rather than hardware issue for the following reasons:
1. When the MacBook shutdown to the point that it will not boot up, I immediately remove the battery and adapter, press the power button for a few seconds, replace the battery, and it will start up and operate normally.
2. The MacBook will operate normally by pressing the power button until the long beep, even when it has shutdown and refuse to boot up with a single press of the power button.
3. It could soon shutdown suddenly after a long period of power off or sleep (which means the CPU temperature is still low).
4. The shutdown could also happen after quitting an application with high CPU load with the fan running, which seems to be a case of sudden drop in CPU temperature.
I hope that Apple can update the SMC firmware quickly to address this issue.

Random Shutdowns Possible Triggers?

Simple CPU useage doesn't seem to be the answer here
We are dealing with a power related problem maybe we should all be thinking about things that might stress the power systems? Do the people who have more frequent shutdowns do something different with respect to sleep, shutdowns, and restarts that somehow increases the probability of a random shutdown?
For example, I normally just put my computer to sleep when I am done with it. Maybe lots of restarts strsses the PMU in someway that leads to more random shutdowns?

This is intersting- I wonder if this has something to do with the thermal grease breaking down/degrading because of extended exposure to heat:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_grease
http://www.answers.com/topic/thermal-grease
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5990418.html
"thermal paste should not be exposed to very high temperatures for extended periods of time because such exposure may lead to degradation of the interface coolant and deterioration of its thermal conduction capability"
This would at least explain why you could only reproduce the problem AFTER it had already started. This might also explain the random nature of the problem.
Applying too much thermal paste can be an issue as well (as has been discussed on this forum)...

Possible Random Shutdowns

Greetings to All,
I have been reading all these posts regarding random shutdowns on the MacBooks, and although I have never had it happen on either of my MacBooks (Week 27 and 29), I have had to troubleshoot a few that were having some issues, at our campus, with what was thought to be random shutdowns. These are Faculty/Staff machines.
Since time was at a premium, for me, I only spot-checked the batch of 7 and took peoples word for it. They have been following the discussions, after someone enlightened them to the discussion pages. I had one shut down on me after about 15 minutes of run time and it had hung up on a printer issue. I tried it again after letting it cool down, and it did the same thing after 30 minutes this time, and it was only when I went to do a test print – it hung again. There could have been others with this problem, but I didn’t have time to play around, and the others that I did test were a matter of fixing the user more than anything else.
I wiped them all clean, and reinstalled the OS X 10.4.7 from scratch, as well as Office 2004, and all of the Adobe software. The machine in question was used here for almost a week putting it through its paces without a single issue. I gave it and the others back to the users and everything was fine until a couple of days ago – she had had it for a week, and the shutdown trouble started again.
It turns out that some unauthorized software was installed; some printer drivers were installed for use at home, and some strange off the wall open source games. I blew it all away, again, and reinstalled as I did before and it’s working OK again. I did the same thing on another one that came back with more unauthorized stuff installed and other changes. It’s clean and working as normal, and all the other units are reporting OK, as I check on the folks every day.
I did do one other thing, I reseated the memory chips in all of them - and we bought the additional memory from Apple. They all have 1.256 Gig of Ram.
These were all bought in late July, but I didn’t look at the week they were built.
I do not work for Apple, I’m the Network Manager/Engineer for a large community college, and one of the few Mac users that have a fairly high level of hardware experience with regards to the Macs, as well as PeeCees, Solaris, HP-UX and so on and so forth.
It appears that bad software; drivers, programs, etc can kill the machine as well as hardware. My personal MacBooks have been working fine, so far and they have been hard at work every day for many hours a day with Parallels loaded so I can manage my Microsoft Active Directory – works great, too. I also have PeeCee notebooks and am perfectly happy with them, but I prefer a Mac and I don't want to lug around more than one notebook at a time. My other MacBook stays home for use there.
Cheers……. ☺
iBook 12" 1.42 MacBook Black 2.0 Mac OS X (10.4.7) 17" iMac PPC, 17" iMac Intel, Powerbook 12" 867, G-4 Tower, iMac Flat Panel, mor

I agree that it may be to soon to tell if the issue has gone away, and I hope it has. At the current time all of those MacBooks are up and running - I just called two of users that had the most trouble and they are happy campers, as they use them everyday for their classes, overhead projectors, Key Note presentations, email, and all the usual stuff.
On another note, and your timing is perfect, the Macbook that has been giving us the most trouble is back, with the same unauthorized software back on it. It was doing the random shut down thing until I removed all that software. As soon as I did that and turned it on, it started working again, and as of this point in time I'm writing this on it. I have been using the thing all morning for my daily routines without a glitch. I even installed Parallels on it and will install Win XP later.
I don't think heat is the issue, because when it's not behaving correctly, it shutdown within a minute or two. I have felt underneath and it is at room temperature. It is a lot warmer when I have it working, like right now writing this and burning a CD.
Am I satisfied that it's fixed for good - not a chance, I need to test further and pass this notebook around to my staff for a week. The Faculty member won't take it back as she is not happy, has no confidence in it and has decided that she wanted her desktop back.
What I have may not be the same thing as the other postings have eluded to, or maybe it is - who knows. I have 40 of these things, with 30 of them in a lab situation, and so far so good - not a glitch. We have Freeze-X on them so they can't install anything on them in the labs, so each time they reboot, they revert back to the way they were configured - works cool. I can't do that to the Faculty/Staff, much to my chagrin.
All of these machines are from the same time frame - bought at the same time, in otherwords.
I'll keep watching the saga unfold, and post if anything for sure comes along in the way of a fix, that I may get directly from Apple. They don't seem to know much about this issue, right now.
Cheers ...............

Random Shutdowns Started Again After Fix - Some Questions for Others

::sigh::
After a very prompt repair followed by 3 weeks of constant use with no problems, tonight I had another random shutdown. (Here we go again.) I never was able to find anyone at Apple who could tell me what they fixed (it was not a logic board replacement) but apparently it wasn't a permanent fix.
Some observations and questions:
When random shutdowns start, my "previous shutdown code" in the system log changes to -72, and continue to register as -72 even when I shutdown the computer myself. During the period when the system was working after the repair, shutdown codes were always 0s or 3s. Have others noticed the same pattern? In my experience, once that first negative code appears, it doesn't change back to normal, regardless of how the computer is turned off (except after the repair).
Also, tonight was the first time since my repair that I used the 3-prong power cord with the AC adapter (rather than just the two prong). Could there be any connection (perhaps a faulty cord sendinga surge to the system and damaging something)? During the last round, shutdowns occurred whether on AC power or battery, but I'm wondering if the use of that cord may have triggered the problem in the first place. Has anyone that has had random shutdowns never used the 3-prong cord at all?
The other thing I've noticed is that importing digital camera photos into iPhoto often seems to trigger shutdowns (not all of them, but some of them). My random shutdown tonight happened after editing photos I'd just imported from my camera (and right after I ejected and unplugged the camera). Could the connection to the camera somehow cause a problem? Has anyone who has had random shutdowns NOT connected a digital camera or used iPhoto?
Just grasping at straws here to try to figure out what causes this problem (since apparently Apple hasn't figured it out yet). Looks like I'm going to have to take it back again. I love my MacBook better than any PC I've ever had, but I never had these kind of hardware problems with my PCs (and if I did have a problem it was usually pretty simple to troubleshoot and repair).

I think you're confused, it's not as simple as that.
Here's why - I just ran two yes terminal sessions on my wife's MacBook and let it run for 15 minutes. Fan came on, system is running warm but running just fine.
On my RSD MacBook, while I was at the Apple Store, trying to demonstrate the RSD it ran two yes terminals for like 5 minutes and kept running however when I closed Terminal - wham RSD.
It IS NOT heat related. Most likely the system "thinks" there's a heat problem by a bad sensor, wire whatever.
If I can't run my MacBook at 100% (actually 200%, both cores) for as long as I need then it is defective and should be returned to Apple.
When my MacBook was working I ran EVN (Escape Velocity NOVA) which runs under Rosetta, man that thing sucked the battery dry in less than 60 minutes and the system got pretty warm too. BUT IT KEPT running and didn't shut down. When my system was acting up I couldn't even browse the Apple web site and ut would shutdown.
Greg
PS I installed the SMC update a week before my system started having RSD.

Random Shutdown Problem

Hello I started seeing the random shutdown problem around 6 weeks ago. The problem occurs every once in a while usually around the first 5 minutes of the unit booting up. When the system powers down I will try to bring it back up but it just powers down within about 15-30 seconds again. So I wait a little while about a minute, sometimes removing the battery for 30 seconds and the system will come back fine. The random shutdown has happened probably about a dozen times within the last 6 weeks. It's not causing a real big headache yet. I didn't purchase Applecare as I never do because I rarely keep a laptop for more than a year. My question is has anyone got their unit fixed what was the culprit. I've sent my unit in already once due to receiving a spinning pinwheel 90% of the time. They gutted the unit and sent it back and it has been working fine other than the RSD. I've been waiting things out to see if there is going to be a software fix for the RSD. Any tips recommendations are appreciated.

My question is has anyone got their unit
fixed what was the culprit.
Mine has not had the problem recur after replacing the heat sink a month ago. Currently Apple seems to be replacing both logic board and heat sink with a new design for the combination.
They gutted the unit and sent it back
and it has been working fine other than the RSD. I've
been waiting things out to see if there is going to
be a software fix for the RSD. Any tips
recommendations are appreciated.
General opinion would say it's a hardware problem; there won't be a software fix.
I'd say you should send in it for repair.

Random Shutdown in 2010 for a 2006 Macbook

Hello-
I have a 2006 Macbook 1.83 GHz processor and I never had the whole random shutdown problem previously... it burned through batteries like nothing and I was about to install my third hard drive, but no random shutdown problems. Well, now I have it...
Anyway, it is out of warranty, obviously.
1) Will Apple still replace the heatsink, since it was defective even though I am out of warranty?
2) If not, does anyone know if by replacing the heatsink that should fix the problem?
Thanks

Sure Apple will replace the heat sync. At a price. I may be something else though. It might be full if dust after all these years. You could try putting a vacuum cleaner over the in vent and give it a good sucking. Worked for a friend of mine...

Random Shutdown Because of Heat Sensors?

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