2008 Macbook many issues

I have an aluminum unibody 2008 Macbook running Mountain Lion. It's been great to me, however it has been slowly getting worse and worse. When I say worse, I mean many little tasks just do not function as they should anymore. Sorry in advance for the long post.
Some symptoms:
-Not waking upon opening lid
-Waking upon opening lid but the screen brightness is all the way down, and no way to change it
-Wifi takes about a minute to connect every time it does awake
-Volume controls stop working, when I move the mouse up to the corner to try and see what is going on, the swirly disk appears.
-Date and time stops working, when I move the mouse up to the corner to try and see what is going on, the swirly disk appears.
-Finder doesn't really respond - Not able to force quit, restart, sleep, shut down, etc. I've tried to do this as a response to the date/time/volume malfunctions to no avail.
-Poor battery life - barely an hour off the charger (although this could just be the battery rather than computer issues)
-Bluetooth connection stops working (this has only happened once, it said there was no Bluetooth device connected)
-Running very hot and loud
Note: I have reset the SMC, this only helped temporarily.
These do not happen all the time (with the exception of the Wifi connection issues, that is pretty consistent), but they have been getting more and more common. The only way I can seem to get past these sometime dehabilitating issues (stuck on sleep) is to hold down the power button and force shut down. I know this is bad for the computer but what else can I do? In one instance the computer was stuck on sleep and after trying for 10 minutes to wake it, I had to shut it down. When I turned it back on, I was greeted with a rapid error noise (the "****" noise) that wouldn't stop and left the computer frozen. So I had to shut it down again.
I've had to forcefully shut it down at least two or three times just this week. Again, I have reset the SMC, this helped greatly for about two days, then the problems started creeping back. Now I can't go a day without noticing at least one of the problems I mentioned on the list above.
Any advice? Is the computer just slowly dying? I know every computer has a lifespan, so is this the end for my computer?

No one here can help you.
We are just other users like yourself.
If you feel that you are having problems with a repair done by the Apple depot about your only recourse it to take this up with Apple Customer Support.
Allan

Similar Messages

  • Aluminum 2008 MacBook Trackpad issue

    Any ideas as to what may be causing this. I have searched tons of threads, but my issue seems unique. The trackpad on my MacBook suddenly is unresponsive in the middle of it. If I touch the upper most and lower most portions of the trackpad it works nearly fine. The scrolling is a little off but still clicks and right clicks. I can drag and drop as normal, but as soon as I venture off to the middle of the trackpad it becomes unresponsive. I have pulled the battery, connecting to AC power only, even tried creating a new user account. No luck. Very odd. I've heard of pads not clicking or not scrolling or at all, but nothing along the lines of the middle not working. Any advice is much appreciated. Also I am running LIon 10.7.4

    also one posibility is the battery in your macbook is swelling. since the battery is right under the trackpad if it is swelling (say in the middle of the track pad) then that spot is dead. since you laptop is fairly older (not to old) this is may be very well what is happening, if you go and click on the battery on the top right hand corner what does it say? (cant be pluged into outlet)
    it should say if you battery needs replacing or replaced soon if every thing is going ok

  • Late 2008, Macbook Fan issues?

    Hello,
    I am curious to know if anyone has experienced problems with their fan?
    I had a power failure at my house, before the failure, the Macbook was running fine as usual, after restarting, Fan continues to run?
    Through iStat I can see that the temp is 35 degrees and the dual cpu usage is at little to none? Is this normal, will the fan return to its quiet mode?
    Thank you

    I'm not sure I understand. The fan always runs continuously. It should idle around 2000 RPM and will increase to 6000 RPM depending upon CPU and GPU activity.
    If your fan is running at high speed continuously, then open Activity Monitor in the Utilities folder. Select All Processes from the Processes drop down menu. Click twice on the CPU column to display in descending order. Look for a process consuming a large amount of CPU time. If you find one then select it and click on the Quit icon in the toolbar, then click on the Force Quit button. See if that fixes the problem. Otherwise you may have some file corruption that may have been caused by the power outage. You should try the following in this case:
    Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
    Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger and Leopard.) After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer. Now restart normally.
    If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior (4.0 for Tiger, and 4.1 for Leopard) and/or TechTool Pro (4.6.1 for Leopard) to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.

  • MacBook Pro Late 2008 Graphics Recall Issue

    Hello.  When I purchased my 15-inch Late 2008 MacBook Pro I remember something about Apple having a problem with the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M / 9600M GT Graphics Chipset, and there was a Recall or Repair Plan in place to resolve the issues. 
    Since 2008 I've been having very infrequent graphics issues with the MacBook Pro, and thought nothing of it as sometimes Mac's will freeze up or have strange issues.  Now for the last few months, the Graphics issues have been occurring on a regular/daily basis.  After reading many forum posts I have determined that the issue has been due to the Graphics Drive/Chipset all along, as everything else I've tried has not resolved the issue. 
    Can someone direct me to the appropriate Apple info so I may, hopefully, have the NVIDIA Graphics replaced or repaired.  I've been unable to locate info on the Apple Support site. 
    - Cheers

    Call  your local Apple Store and ask. I don't see that it's still active: Exchange + Repair Extension Programs - Apple Support.

  • I am using an early 2008 MacBook Pro and am having issues with it deleting text on its own (in word, emails, etc.). As I am typing it all of a sudden starts deleting and I can't stop it. What can I do?

    I am using an early 2008 MacBook Pro and am having issues with it deleting text on its own (in word, emails, etc.). As I am typing it all of a sudden starts deleting and I can't stop it. This happened once before and it was due to a buldging battery pressing on the track pad. I checked the battery and it appears to be fine. What can I do?

    Please read this whole message before doing anything.
    This procedure is a test, not a solution. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.
    Step 1
    The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account.
    Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. For instructions, launch the System Preferences application, select Help from the menu bar, and enter “Set up guest users” (without the quotes) in the search box. Don't use the Safari-only “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac.”
    While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your personal files or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.
    Test while logged in as Guest. Same problem?
    After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.
    *Note: If you’ve activated “Find My Mac” or FileVault, then you can’t enable the Guest account. The “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac” is not the same. Create a new account in which to test, and delete it, including its home folder, after testing.
    Step 2
    The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party system modifications that load automatically at startup or login.
    Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Boot in safe mode* and log in to the account with the problem. The instructions provided by Apple are as follows:
    Shut down your computer, wait 30 seconds, and then hold down the shift key while pressing the power button.
    When you see the gray Apple logo, release the shift key.
    If you are prompted to log in, type your password, and then hold down the shift key again as you click Log in.
    Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including wireless networking on certain Macs.  The next normal boot may also be somewhat slow.
    The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
    *Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the boot volume is a software RAID, you can’t boot in safe mode.
    Test while in safe mode. Same problem?
    After testing, reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of steps 1 and 2.

  • How many hours does a brand new battery last after fully charged. I have a late 2008 Macbook Pro.

    How many hours does a brand new battery last after fully charged. I have a late 2008 Macbook Pro.

    clintonfrombirmingham is right, there is no way to exactly tell. But from personal experience, a new battery on a 2008 will last for about 2 1/2 hours with a higher screen brightness and doing something taxing to the battery (like gaming or running lots of 3D programs). But if you're just listening to music with the brightness all the way down, and no programs running, you could get up to 12 hours. So for average use, it should last you a whole business day (assuming you don't use it more than 30% 0f the time). Hope this kind of gives you more of an idea of what to expect:)

  • I have a 2008 MacBook that suddenly is showing a dark screen. Would like to test this with an external screen to see if it is software or hardware issue.

    Can someone please advise on cables required to connect to PC flat screen that is over 3 years old? Standard PC flat pan

    The early 2008 MacBook has a Mini-DVI port for video output. You will need, therefore, a Mini-DVI to whatever your external display has.
    A better test to see if this is a software issue would be to start up the MacBook while holding the Option key on your keyboard down. This starts into the Startup Manager, which is not software dependent. Do you see any video if you do this?
    You may also want to try resetting the parameter RAM and if that doesn't do it, resetting the System Management Controller.
    If all of these fail, you have a hardware issue. Contact Apple using www.apple.com/support/contact if you are in a country that supports it or call the appropriate phone number on this page. Alternatively carry the MacBook in to an Apple retail store or service provider to ask for an estimate.
    Best of luck.

  • Late 2008 MacBook Pro - Bootcamp (Vista-32bit) issues

    Hey all -
    I have a couple issues with my late 2008 MacBook Pro when I use bootcamp to switch to its Vista (32 bit) side.  I've never been able to solve these issues myself, so I was hoping I could get some help here.
    When on the vista side, when I close the lid the computer display will shut off but the actualy computer will continue to run, and after some time I will no be able to wake it from its sleep.
    When I try to turn the brightness down on my screen, it will turn down but then turn back to full brightness a few seconds later.
    Scrollng with 2 fingers on the track pad is erratic (I read there was going to be a fix for this?)
    The laptop gets so hot to the touch that it is almost painful (I imagine this can't be good for the computer)
    It has also become sluggish to the point where even simple games and those on steam won't work without incredible lag.  Are there anyways to stop some processes to speed up the vista side?
    Like I said, this is all while in bootcamp, not experiencing any of the issues on the OSX side.
    Thanks for any help

    Would love some help if anyone knows

  • Macbook late 2008, re-installing issue

    Hi,
    I have a Late 2008 MacBook, 13 inch aluminum running OS X 10.9.5.
    I would like to wipe the disk clean and re-install the software before I pass it on. I have tried inserting the disk that came with it but it will not run. I'm guessing this is because the OS X software has been updated and the disks are now obsolete. Can someone confirm this is the case and how I can get around this?
    I have tried holding down the C key and the T key on separate occasions with the disk inserted and restarting.
    I get to the language choice and click English, but then a little window appears saying MAC OS X cannot be installed on this computer.
    Thanks in advance.

    You need to start the MacBook holding the C key so you boot to the DVD with the original Mac OS X installer.  Then after going through the questions and answers part, you need to go to Utilities and select Disk Utility.  Select the internal hard drive, usually named Macintosh HD.
    After highlighting the HD, select either Erase or Partition from the buttons top center of the main window pane.
    After erasing the hard drive, now you can select Install Mac OS X.

  • New Corsair ram issues - 2008 Macbook (white) 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

    Just after having a successful (though after some help from the forum) install of 8GB into my mid 2009 MBP I helped my brother install a 4GB (2x2GB) memory upgrade from OEM 2GB (2x1GB) into his 2008 macbook (white) 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo system. Checked and made sure I got the right memory speed and capacity for the 2008 macbook. Here's the memory I recieved http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0011UPBMA/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00
    So since installing even though the system seems to read the memory correctly showing in system profiler that 4GB is recognized and the status reads "OK" the system is crashing
    Below is the latest system crash report that I copied from when I had to restart the computer. Any help on what to do or if the memory is bad?
    Note: After booting into safe boot. The system is still crashing! (The report below is before the crash in safe boot)
    Interval Since Last Panic Report:  1 sec
    Panics Since Last Report:          1
    Anonymous UUID:                    1DC1B055-F26C-4DD6-AED8-A98EC448181E
    Thu Nov 15 01:30:27 2012
    panic(cpu 0 caller 0x001AB0FE): Kernel trap at 0x0017f291, type 14=page fault, registers:
    CR0: 0x8001003b, CR2: 0x00000010, CR3: 0x0114d000, CR4: 0x00000660
    EAX: 0x00000000, EBX: 0x0209134c, ECX: 0x07d576b0, EDX: 0x00000010
    CR2: 0x00000010, EBP: 0x5acff8f8, ESI: 0x0240d120, EDI: 0x0240f1f4
    EFL: 0x00010202, EIP: 0x0017f291, CS:  0x00000008, DS:  0x07d50010
    Error code: 0x00000000
    Backtrace (CPU 0), Frame : Return Address (4 potential args on stack)
    0x5acff708 : 0x12b4c6 (0x45f91c 0x5acff73c 0x13355c 0x0)
    0x5acff758 : 0x1ab0fe (0x469a98 0x17f291 0xe 0x469248)
    0x5acff838 : 0x1a1713 (0x5acff850 0x7d576b0 0x5acff8f8 0x17f291)
    0x5acff848 : 0x17f291 (0xe 0x48 0x540010 0x10)
    0x5acff8f8 : 0x180671 (0x240d120 0x5acff918 0x19d1f3 0x240f900)
    0x5acff918 : 0x1757ed (0x240d120 0x0 0x5acff938 0x1a436f)
    0x5acff958 : 0x175e2b (0x1 0x0 0x5acff9c8 0x1)
    0x5acff998 : 0x17625d (0x6b92350 0x0 0xb563000 0x0)
    0x5acff9d8 : 0x16af8b (0x6b92348 0x72bc000 0x0 0xb580000)
    0x5acffaf8 : 0x16b1f0 (0xb580000 0x0 0x0 0x0)
    0x5acffb38 : 0x16b29d (0x17ab744 0x0 0x5acffb68 0x6bf7e40)
    0x5acffb58 : 0x185eb8 (0x17ab744 0x46 0x5acffb78 0x1a436f)
    0x5acffb78 : 0x122432 (0x6b34230 0x1 0x5acffbb8 0x11dd51)
    0x5acffb98 : 0x12d381 (0x6b34230 0x7d78000 0x5acffbf8 0x46)
    0x5acffbb8 : 0x12d4ed (0x687f0a0 0x7d785a0 0x5 0x11dd27)
    0x5acffbf8 : 0x120489 (0x687f000 0x5acffc8c 0x24 0x0)
        Backtrace continues...
    BSD process name corresponding to current thread: BootCacheControl
    Mac OS version:
    9L30
    Kernel version:
    Darwin Kernel Version 9.8.0: Wed Jul 15 16:55:01 PDT 2009; root:xnu-1228.15.4~1/RELEASE_I386
    System model name: MacBook4,1 (Mac-F22788A9)
    System uptime in nanoseconds: 70340006056
    unloaded kexts:
    (none)
    loaded kexts:
    com.apple.driver.InternalModemSupport    2.4.0 - last loaded 32107513925
    com.apple.filesystems.autofs    2.0.2
    com.apple.iokit.IOBluetoothSerialManager    2.1.9f10
    com.apple.driver.AppleHDAPlatformDriver    1.7.1a2
    com.apple.driver.AppleHWSensor    1.9d0
    com.apple.driver.AppleHDAHardwareConfigDriver    1.7.1a2
    com.apple.driver.AppleHDA    1.7.1a2
    com.apple.driver.AppleUpstreamUserClient    2.7.5
    com.apple.driver.AppleGraphicsControl    2.8.15
    com.apple.driver.AppleIntelGMAX3100    5.4.8
    com.apple.Dont_Steal_Mac_OS_X    6.0.3
    com.apple.driver.AppleIntelGMAX3100FB    5.4.8
    com.apple.driver.AppleHDAController    1.7.1a2
    com.apple.iokit.IOFireWireIP    1.7.7
    com.apple.driver.AppleIRController    113
    com.apple.driver.AudioIPCDriver    1.0.6
    com.apple.driver.ACPI_SMC_PlatformPlugin    3.4.0a17
    com.apple.driver.AppleLPC    1.3.1
    com.apple.driver.AppleBacklight    1.6.0
    com.apple.driver.AppleTyMCEDriver    1.0.0d28
    com.apple.driver.SMCMotionSensor    2.1.1d2
    com.apple.driver.CSRUSBBluetoothHCIController    2.1.9f10
    com.apple.driver.CSRHIDTransitionDriver    2.1.9f10
    com.apple.driver.AppleUSBMergeNub    3.5.2
    com.apple.driver.AppleUSBTrackpad    1.7.4f1
    com.apple.driver.AppleUSBTCKeyEventDriver    1.7.4f1
    com.apple.driver.AppleUSBTCKeyboard    1.7.4f1
    com.apple.driver.USBCameraFirmwareLoader    1.0.9
    com.apple.iokit.IOSCSIMultimediaCommandsDevice    2.1.1
    com.apple.iokit.SCSITaskUserClient    2.1.1
    com.apple.driver.XsanFilter    2.7.91
    com.apple.iokit.IOATAPIProtocolTransport    1.5.3
    com.apple.driver.AppleFileSystemDriver    1.1.0
    com.apple.iokit.IOAHCIBlockStorage    1.2.2
    com.apple.driver.AppleEFINVRAM    1.2.0
    com.apple.driver.AppleUSBHub    3.4.9
    com.apple.iokit.IOUSBUserClient    3.5.2
    com.apple.driver.AirPortBrcm43xx    367.91.22
    com.apple.driver.AppleFWOHCI    3.9.7
    com.apple.driver.AppleAHCIPort    1.7.0
    com.apple.driver.AppleIntelPIIXATA    2.0.1
    com.apple.iokit.AppleYukon2    3.1.13b2
    com.apple.driver.AppleUSBEHCI    3.4.6
    com.apple.driver.AppleUSBUHCI    3.5.2
    com.apple.driver.AppleSmartBatteryManager    158.10.5
    com.apple.driver.AppleRTC    1.2.3
    com.apple.driver.AppleHPET    1.4
    com.apple.driver.AppleACPIPCI    1.2.5
    com.apple.driver.AppleACPIButtons    1.2.5
    com.apple.driver.AppleSMBIOS    1.4
    com.apple.driver.AppleACPIEC    1.2.5
    com.apple.driver.AppleAPIC    1.4
    com.apple.security.seatbelt    107.12
    com.apple.nke.applicationfirewall    1.8.77
    com.apple.security.TMSafetyNet    3
    com.apple.driver.AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement    76.2.0
    com.apple.driver.DiskImages    199
    com.apple.BootCache    30.4
    com.apple.iokit.IOSerialFamily    9.4
    com.apple.driver.DspFuncLib    1.7.1a2
    com.apple.iokit.IOHDAFamily    1.7.1a2
    com.apple.iokit.IOAudioFamily    1.6.9fc5
    com.apple.kext.OSvKernDSPLib    1.1
    com.apple.driver.IOPlatformPluginFamily    3.4.0a17
    com.apple.iokit.IONDRVSupport    1.7.3
    com.apple.iokit.IOGraphicsFamily    1.7.3
    com.apple.driver.AppleSMC    2.3.1d1
    com.apple.driver.AppleUSBBluetoothHCIController    2.1.9f10
    com.apple.iokit.IOBluetoothFamily    2.1.9f10
    com.apple.iokit.IOUSBHIDDriver    3.4.6
    com.apple.driver.AppleUSBComposite    3.2.0
    com.apple.iokit.IOSCSIBlockCommandsDevice    2.1.1
    com.apple.iokit.IOBDStorageFamily    1.5
    com.apple.iokit.IODVDStorageFamily    1.5
    com.apple.iokit.IOCDStorageFamily    1.5
    com.apple.iokit.IOSCSIArchitectureModelFamily    2.1.1
    com.apple.iokit.IO80211Family    216.1
    com.apple.iokit.IOFireWireFamily    3.4.9
    com.apple.iokit.IOAHCIFamily    1.5.0
    com.apple.iokit.IOATAFamily    2.0.1
    com.apple.iokit.IONetworkingFamily    1.6.1
    com.apple.iokit.IOUSBFamily    3.5.2
    com.apple.driver.AppleEFIRuntime    1.2.0
    com.apple.iokit.IOSMBusFamily    1.1
    com.apple.iokit.IOStorageFamily    1.5.6
    com.apple.iokit.IOHIDFamily    1.5.5
    com.apple.driver.AppleACPIPlatform    1.2.5
    com.apple.iokit.IOACPIFamily    1.2.0
    com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily    2.6

    Hmmm I'm not quite sure if I'm ready to conclude that it's not compatible. I mean vendor of ram shouldn't be why it's not working as I just got done installing Corsair ram into my mid 2009 MBP and although had trouble initially was able to figure out (with the help of this forum and a very helpful member: Kappy) that I had an incompatible (for OSX) kext installed on my sytem. The Corsair ram on my MBP is running great now.
    Wish I knew how to read the panic report. Anything pointing to something else that may be incompatible or anything pointing specifically to the memory.
    I'm not trying to ignore your advice as I'm very appreciative of it, it's just that I was pretty certain that the ram purchased should be compatible as I checked all specifications and noticed the reviews pointing to compatibility.

  • Sound Issues with early 2008 Macbook Pro

    I have an early 2008 Macbook Pro with Mavericks that has suddenly developed a static and clicking sound through the internal speakers.  The static and clicking sound does not occur when using headphones.  Is this a speaker failing or due to some other reason?

    If there is no success with a PRAM reset, make an appointment at an Apple store genius bar.  The evaluation will be FREE regardless of the age of the MBP.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/PH14222?viewlocale=en_US
    Ciao.

  • Early 2008 Macbook Pro Should I upgrade to 6gb ram and SSD?

    In the last few months, I've entered the world of 64-bit computing. I learned that this now means that my Early 2008 Macbook Pro, that has been fantastic and flawless for 6 years, needs an upgrade or replacement. I'm hard-hard stuck on whether I should upgrade it or replace it.
    My current configuration is:
    Processor  2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
    Memory  4 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
    Storage 200 GB SATA Disk
    I need to run OSX Mavericks and Windows 7 in VMWare or Bootcamp (I don't really like bootcamp).
    I am eyeing two upgrades
    1) Crucial 4GB Single DDR2 667MHz (PC2-5300) CL5 SODIMM 200-Pin Notebook Memory Module CT51264AC667
    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001RB21JY/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1& smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
    2) Crucial M500 240GB SATA 2.5-Inch 7mm (with 9.5mm adapter) Internal Solid State Drive CT240M500SSD1
    http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-2-5-Inch-adapter-Internal-CT240M500SSD1/dp/B00BQ8R M1A/ref=sr_1_10?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1392961391&sr=1-10&keywords=ssd
    My question is: Is it worth it for me max out my computer by upgrading again for $250? Will this hold me over for another 2-3 years, or should I look to replace?

    Well, I have researched and researched and researched and come to a conclusion. I've compared many brand new replacement computers, and also reviewed my options for upgrading my computer. Upgrading to a new computer altogether, I have come across a few very attractive offers, but they're all in the $800+ price range.
    I've decided that OSX Mavericks is my main issue. My early 2008 Macbook Pro was 100% perfectly sufficient for everything I needed it for when using OSX Snow Leopard. After the upgrade, VMWare Fusion runs like a sloth and everything else runs like a slug (maybe a slug that had a 5 hour energy...). Seriously. Just now, I am running Safari and MS Word while copying files to my backup drive. The beachball is all over the place, whereas the CPU is only at 15% use and RAM is at 3.97/4.00. I'm barely using the computer, and it's ridiculously hot and the fans are screaming.
    First thing I'm going to do is 'upgrade' back to Snow Leopard to recover my RAM and regain the ability to effectively run my VMWare virtual machine. Then, I'm going to opt for the $100 upgrade to total 6GB of RAM and $150 upgrade to a SSD.

  • Late 2008 MacBook Pro "blackout" screen flickering - Revised

    --NOTE: I have written this thread as a continuation of the following thread, as the solution in it is slightly different from my issue. I apologize to the community for the confusion. http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2230532&tstart=0 --
    Many of us Late 2008 MacBook Pro owners have been experiencing a moderate to significant screen flicker when using our MacBook Pros in Better Battery life mode, which uses the 9400 M chip. While I had thought that 10.6.2 had resolved this issue, I have since discovered that it has not. In fact, some believe, myself included, that it has made it worse, as, for me, it has been happening far more frequently.
    My screen flicker is like a black frame popping in randomly. This frame does not even last a second, but it does create a "flicker" effect.
    These YouTube videos show it best and are virtually identical to mine.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNQofnQKrDA
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EATI_kh6GOw
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qODFFWbiGUI
    *Does anyone think that this is indicative of a logic board problem?*
    *Has anyone resolved this by going back to 10.5.8?*
    I had never experienced this in Leopard.
    Thanks.

    Hi Luke,
    Having the logic board replaced terrifies me, as that could lead to further issues.
    I think you've rationalized out the whole situation perfectly, and I do think you're right about the logic board replacement. If the issue were a lot more frequent (or becomes more frequent) and/or is overly annoying then I would have it replaced. The chance that you'd get a bad replacement logic board would be sufficiently small in comparison to the overall pain and frustration that you'd be going through.
    What I possibly can do is try to get the issue looked at by someone at Apple. If it is, indeed, a software issue, perhaps they can engineer a fix for you. At the very least we'll know that the issue was brought to someone's attention! They probably will never contact anyone with the outcome, but at least we can say we tried. You should continue to submit the Bug Reports and encourage others to.
    --Travis

  • Slow firewire 800 speeds on early 2008 macbook pro 17"

    I've got an early 2008 macbook pro 17". I'm transferring files between a WD mybook studio II (2TB) configured as raid-1 to a sata dock with a seagate 1TB drive daisy-chained over firewire 800. both 1TB drives in the WD mybook and the 1TB seagate in the sata dock are 7.2k rpm. I'm running a block-level clone FROM the mybook TO the seagate using Carbon Copy Cloner which i would think would be the fastest real-world test i could do. I'm getting pegged speeds of 40MB/s. This is on par with other regular read/write speeds i've noticed in the past. this seems way off. to remove variables i unplugged my two firewire 400 drives (as i've heard that may slow things down, even though they're not doing anything during the clone) and it SLOWED DOWN the fw800 clone to 38MB/s ! plugging the two firewire 400 drives back in during the clone brought the speeds back up to 40MB/s. i don't have a unibody 2009 mbp that had the firewire issues.
    1) HDD's should read at 70-80MB/s and at least write at 59 MB/s, why am i not getting that using firewire 800 and two 7200 rpm drives ?? (i know the wd mybook is raid-1 but i'm reading from it...shouldn't effect read performance)
    2) (less important) why on earth would having two firewire 400 drives plugged in and inactive make the firewire 800 transfer speeds go up/down 2MB/s
    i'm willing to experiment with anyone's suggestions. huge thanks in advance.

    i have a similar problem.
    i have a new seagate freeagent 1tb drive w/FW800, FW400 and USB2.0 ports, and its connected via the FW800 port/cable to my macbook pro, and read/write speeds are really slow, particularly read speeds.
    i'm currently working on an audio project with around 15 audio tracks running at once, and it chokes the drive ('HD overload' errors), so i've done some benchmark testing using Drive Genius and Xbench. the results show that the drive is averaging around 12mb/s read speed, and around 26mb/s write speed. grim.
    i tried the drive with the FW400 connection on my missus' old imac g5, and its much faster than my mbp's FW800 connection, so i decided to try the drive back on my machine with OSX booted in Safe mode, and benchmark it again. the results are massively different; the FW800 connection is very fast (as you'd expect).
    both the tests were done with all my peripherals attached (usb hub, ethernet cable, usb2 ext. drive) so i don't think the problem is with those.
    what i'm wondering is if there are any known system extensions that can screw with the FW bus speeds? if not, any pointers as to where i should start troubleshooting?
    many thanks!

  • 2008 Macbook pro left click not working properly after upgrading to 10.6.8

    I have a 2008 Macbook pro and a few months ago after upgrading to 10.6.8 my left click has been wonky.
    Using the trackpad the left click eventually gets "stuck" or stops responding and I have to push it multiple times before it does anything.  I have tried plugging in a mouse, but when I do so the mouse also behaves the same way.  The only way I seem to be able to get the clicking to work properly is to restart the computer with the mouse attached.
    I have seen threads about trackpads being messed up by swollen batteries, but my battery is brand new and looks fine, and the clicking problem extends to an external mouse, so I believe it is something with the preferences.
    I tried deleting  com.apple.driver.AppleBluetoothMultitouchTrackpad.plist   and restarting and the problem seemed to be fixed, but then after about a half hour it returned.
    Having to keep a mouse plugged into my macbook is driving me crazy, anyone know a solution?

    I started having the same issue after update.  I'm on a MacBookpro running 10.7.2
    ICalled apple and they did a remove battery reboot, a reload lion and a option/command/R/P reboot on startup and then the computer started working.  Two days later problem was back.  I then did a reboot and the computer was back to working.  Today the computer worked fine tell it went to sleep.  I had to do a hard reboot to get the Mac up and running and now no left click.  Please help. I can not use the Mac  with the trackpad, a mouse, a Bluetooth mouse, or a digital pad. All so signs of left mouse click not working.  One other item when you go to pick your user at startup the left mouse click works.  Help!

Maybe you are looking for