Macbook Failures Poll

I've been seeing huge threads about logic board failures only a few years into buying their MBP. But with many other product complaints, the results are usually skewed, as only people with problems start a new discussion about their MBP problems. Since this is quick and easy, I'm hoping this poll will be slightly more accurate as to how many major or minor failures people are having, and maybe this can tie into a "Is Applecare Worth it" thread.
http://freeonlinesurveys.com/app/showpoll.asp?qid=134741&sid=27mwqmfg3jrh8o01347 41&new=true
If you've had some sort of failure wheter minor, major, or mixed, please comment and say what failed.
***As to what dictates "major" and "minor" failure use your own discression, but things like the logic board blowing up would obviously be a major failure.

Lets also add, macbook's 1 year or older (so out of basic manufactuer's warranty)

Similar Messages

Prime infra 2.1 : SNMP Authentication failure polling

Dear all,
I post this message because we have some trouble during SNMP V2 poll on all our switches.
We took care to deploy the good snmp credentials into the "Operate-> discovery settings" and even into the "Administration -> sys settings -> SNMP credentials".
The issue is that during the poll phase the SNMP credential "default" is sent to all switchs that is causing a lot of "authentication failure" traps (a packet capture has been done to confirm this trouble).
The correct credential is sent in parallel of this request that is ok.
The OID requested is the 1.3.6.1.2.1.1.6.0 (which seems to be the "sysLocation" value). We already tried to restart the NCS services but trouble is still present.
thank you in advance for your support,
regards,
SebastienJ

Hello Afrahmad,
we tried but unfortunately no success with RW community.
We also tested before to place bigger timeout and more retries but no more result at all.
the only thing that is seems to work for the moment is to configure on our switchs the community name "default" but it is not a viable solution for us unfortunately.
Regards,
sebastien

Serious problem with Macbook failure

This has happened twice now. Each time I try to disconnect wirelessly from my wireless printer (a Lexmark 3500-4500 series), the entire Macbook freezes. I cannot even force quit: both occasions it will not respond to anything.
The only thing I could do is remove the main power, and the battery, and restart the Macbook. I am seriously worried that this will damage the computer.
Would appreciate any help

Hi, and a warm welcome to the forums!
How are you trying to disconnect?
If you haven't done any maintenance lately, try this...
Could be many things, we should start with this...
"Try Disk Utility
1. Insert the Mac OS X Install disc that came with your computer, then restart the computer while holding the C key.
2. When your computer finishes starting up from the disc, choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu. (In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you must select your language first.)
Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from the disc again to access Disk Utility.
3. Click the First Aid tab.
4. Click the disclosure triangle to the left of the hard drive icon to display the names of your hard disk volumes and partitions.
5. Select your Mac OS X volume.
6. Click Repair. Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk."
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214
Then Safe Boot from the HD, (holding Shift key down at bootup), run Disk Utility in Applications>Utilities, then highlight your drive, click on Repair Permissions, reboot when it finishes.
The usual reason why updates fail or mess things up, or things don't load/run, is if Permissions are not fixed before & after every update, with a reboot... you may get a partial update when the installer finds it doesn't have Permissions to change one obscure little part of the OS, leaving you with a mix of OS versions.
Some people get away without Repairing Permissions for years, some for only days.
If Permissions are wrong before applying an update, you could get mixed OS versions, if Directory is the slightest messed up, who knows!
If many Permission are repaired, or any Directory errors are found, you may need to re-apply some the latest/biggest updates again, or even do an A&I if you have enough free disk space.
The combo update for PowerPC-based Macs...
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macosx10411comboupdateppc.html
The combo update for Intel-based Macs...
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macosx10411comboupdateintel.html
Repair Permissions after re-install, then reboot again.
If all the above do not resolve the problem, then it's time for an Archive & Install, which gives you a new OS, but can preserve all your files, pics, music, settings, etc., as long as you have plenty of free disk space...
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107120

Macbook failure to use Tiscali's Sagem 800 USB Modem

Dear all,
Bought Macbook yesterday, took today off to enjoy it but spent day trying unsuccessfully to connect to Tiscali broadband via Sagem 800 USB modem, including an hour on the phone to Apple helpdesk (in Greece). Not best pleased. They eventually gave up and tried to transfer me to Sagem, but all I got was an answer message saying they'd all gone home. Triffic.
Could anyone tell me (without using acronyms or abbreviations if at all possible):
1. Will this modem work with my laptop?
2a. If so, what must I do to get it to work?
2b. If not, what would you suggest (ideally, I'd keep with Tiscali and go for a modem that allows my desktop PC and the Macbook to connect to the internet at the same time)?
Many thanks in advance for any help,
Simon

Hi chaps
Thanks for all the helpful advice. I now have a Netgear DG834G and set it up with (almost) no problems. It took a little longer than 5 minutes mainly because I thought the installation would be quite complicated In the end I chose AUTOMATIC set up on the Built-in Ethernet and bingo - one iMac DV 400 surfing away with NO (as yet) dropped connections. Regarding Tiscali, I have emailed them twice via their website for advice and they have not bothered to reply - if it wasn't just a nuisance to change ISPs I would consider moving...
When my daugher got her MAcbook the other week we fired it up in the garden and it immediately saw the Netgear on wireless - internet connection in about 10 seconds I love Macs /___sbsstatic___/migration-images/migration-img-not-avail.png
Richardv9

MacBook failure to completely load, plus RAM

I installed a 1 gb stick into my MacBook, alongside one of the 256 sticks. After loading osX, a message appeared: "You must restart your computer". Behind the text was a big image of the power icon. After a few restarts, all seemed well and the RAM was recognized. However, after letting the comp go to sleep, the same problem occured. I replaced the gig stick with the old 256, but now a new problem has cropped up. The computer doesn't prompt a restart but instead keeps doing what appears to be launching the finder over and over, never letting it finish loading. Also, no icons will appear. Is this a Apple Service-needed problem, or is it something ignorant on my part? Thank you.

First, make sure that both of your 256 gig sticks are seated properly in the RAM slots. If they are, then it is definitely a software issue. Perform an archive and install. Follow these instructions: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107120
That should work.
Now as for installing the 1 gig stick along side the 256 gig, with the Intel Macs, it is not a good idea to install the RAM in unmatched pairs. You should really purchase another 1 gig stick and install that with your other 1 gig.
Hope this helps. Let me know.
Jason

Snow leopard, PPCS exclusion and macbook failure

I am annoyed to hear that Mac are excluding us PPC Macs from the Snow Leopard update, and that this means that Leopard is as far as we can go, I have remained with Tiger, but it means a stop to any further updating. Is this true I think? My G4 has been working very well for 4 years and I wish to carry on for ssome years to come, as buying new is expensive and does not always solve all problems....
(unlike my niece's Macbook which after only 8 months won't turn on and stops on a grey screen, Apple talk of warranties but they have the bank statement of purchase from the Applestore, London). I hear laptops for Mac have a short life compared to desktops?

I have remained with Tiger ... I am annoyed to hear that Mac are excluding us PPC Macs from the Snow Leopard update
DO I understand you corectly - you have NOT upgraded to Leopard which has been out quiet a while but you are upset about unsubstantiated rumors that you won't be able to do the next upgrade?
IMHO that makes NO SENSE at all
Why do you think that Leopard (which you have chosen not to use) is the end of the line for PPC?
and why do you care since you don't upgrade anyway?
LN
PS there also are rumors that PPCs will be supported - http://www.macrumors.com/2008/06/07/powerpc-support-in-mac-os-x-10-6-after-all/ - pick the rumor you want to get upset about or be happy about

Multiple Hard Drive Failures on my Macbook Pro - Entourage reminders?

Over the past 2 months I've had three hard drives fail on three different macbook pro computers.
I've retraced my steps, searched many forums, and spoken with multiple Mac Geniuses but still can't figure out what's happening. The IT guy at work is about to kill me and I really want to figure out what's going wrong so I can fix it (or change my current behaviors).
Computer #1 - Out of the box, 2-3 weeks old. I took the computer home to do some work over the weekend. I didn't turn the it off before transporting it, but I did wait for it to go to sleep completely (I've since read that it takes a few moments while things in RAM switch over to the Hard Drive to save incase of power failure). I worked on it a bit at home, mostly just internet searches and a few word documents. When I returned to work my computer was running slowly and suddenly all of the programs locked. Since I've had this problem before with my personal computer (a G4 Powerbook), I tried the force quit options to no avail so I just held down the power key to power off. When I rebooted I got the dreaded "no" symbol.
Computer 2: IT gave me a used macbook pro that they repurposed for me. I made sure to shut down before transporting this computer. A few days later, before I even got to transfer all of my files, the computer started running slowly, programs locked. I eventually got the computer to shut itself down (as IT didn't want me to do a forced reboot) but upon restarting I got an even more dreaded screen, the folder with a question mark in it.
Computer 3: It was a fairly new computer, though a bit more ram, and probably only a few months old (used by a freelancer). It worked great. I took it home several times, transfered all of my files. Set up everything perfectly. Three weeks in, after working at my desk for about 4 hours, everything began to slow down. I called IT immediately and remotely sent a force shut down message. Nothing happened for about 15 minutes so I left for a meeting. I came back a few hours later and my computer was off. When it restarted, nothing appeared. There wasn't a "no" symbol or folder with a question mark in it, just a blank screen.
I've read and thought about all of the options.
- Large Magnet somewhere - It would have affected my personal computer (if at home) or my colleagues (if at work) or everyone else in nyc (while on the subway)
- Too hot - Possible I suppose, but how does running iTunes, powerpoint, and entourage do this?
- Downloaded something/Virus - We don't have administrative privileges. I can only update some software and send/receive folders. Plus, can any single file cause this much damage?
- Moved before asleep - This might have happened on the first computer, but I doubt it could happen to three. I always shut it down now before transporting, and I was sitting at my desk for hours before I had any trouble last time.
The one common factor that I haven't mentioned.
We use Entourage as a mail client here.
Each time the computer froze, the first things to freeze were the Entourage calendar reminders. Entourage seems to run strangely with the airport, but not with our LAN. When my computer froze last time, I had the aiport on but was working off the LAN. Could Entourage cause this much trouble? Has anyone else had trouble with entourage calendar reminders or failing hard drives?
Oh, and it also always happens on a Monday. I've taken the computers home multiple times though, so I'm not sure if it's something I'm doing during the transport or not, but the computer is always off now when I move it. I also cary my personal computer with me often, same routes and bags, so I'm not sure why it's not affected.
Thanks

columbus new boy wrote:
How crap is that?
It's not crap at all.
It's not that simple. For example, I've 3500 songs on my MacBook but don't want them all on my phone, so I have to manually select each song again???
There has to be a solution.
Why not simply make a playlist with the songs you want on the iPhone?
and maintain a current backup of your computer.

Full Firewire Port Failure (three different machines : iMac Intel, iMac G5, Black Macbook)

I'm experiencing a failure of all FireWire ports on all of my three machines. I believe this problem began with a faulty external, FireWire powered hard drive from G-Tech. Here are all my specs, followed by a rundown of the order of events that has lead to this situation, followed by the various troubleshooting I have done.
Equipment :
iMac Aluminum Intel - 24" Mid 2007 - running OsX 10.5.8 - currently 1 FW400 and 1 FW800 ports disabled
iMac G5 - 20" - running OsX 10.5.8 - currently 2 FW400 ports disabled
MacBook - 13" black Early 2008 - running OsX 10.5.8 - currently 1 FW400 port disabled
2 500GB G-Drives (by G-Tech) - AC powered
1 5TB G-RAID Drive (by G-Tech) - AC powered
1 250GB G-Drive Mini (by G-Tech) - FW powered
Initial Setup :
1 500GB G-Drive connected directly to iMac Intel via FW800
1 500GB G-Drive connected to first 500GB G-Drive via FW800 (daisy chained)
1 250GB G-Drive connected to second 500GB G-Drive via FW400 (daisy chained)
1 5TB G-RAID connected directly to iMac Intel via FW800>400 adapter
Sequence of Events :
I had transferred some files to my G-Drive Mini in order to move them to my MacBook from my iMac Intel. I copied the files to the G-Drive Mini and ejected it normally and plugged it into my MacBook via FW400. The drive would not mount, and the power indication light would not go on. After experimenting with various connections and cables I was able to get the drive to power with FW400 and USB connected at the same time, but the drive would still not mount.
I then plugged the G-Drive Mini back into the 2nd 500GB G-Drive as it was previously connected via FW400. This action caused the G-Drive to immediately reboot and eject itself from my iMac Intel.
I then attempted to plug the G-Drive Mini into my older iMac G5 via FW400. Immediately upon plugging in, the computer shut down, and would not restart.
At this point I kind of started to freak out. I was unaware of the extent of the damage, but was upset that the FW powered G-Drive Mini had shutdown my iMac G5. I contacted G-Tech Support and they offered to replace the drive and instructed me how to manually reset the computer's SMC by opening up the iMac and finding the Cuda switch. This worked and the computer was able to start and function again, but the FW400 port seemed to be disabled.
I then tried to swap out configurations and drives on my iMac Intel to see if there was any cable problems, but doing so, slowly rendered all my FireWire ports useless. It's almost as if the act of plugging in the FW-powered G-Drive Mini started a kind of shortout chain reaction. I soon learned that none of my hard drives would connect to any of my three machines, with any kind of cable combination via FW400 or 800.
I am currently able to connect my 5TB G-RAID drive to any machine via USB, as well as my G-Drive Mini. I am unable to access the other two external hard drives, as one has only FW400 and 800 ports and the other's USB connection is not functional as well on any machine.
Troubleshooting Steps Taken :
I have on all machines, reset the SMC in the following methods. iMac G5 - manually, by opening the case and pressing Cuda switch. iMac Intel - unplug, hold power button, restart method. MacBook - unplug, hold power button, restart method.
I have also on all machines, reset the PRAM by the Cmnd + Opt + P + R method at startup.
I have also unplugged all cables / removed battery, from all machines and left alone for a period of at least 12 hours, then re-plugged in each device one at a time.
I have also restored my hibernate mode (through Terminal) on my iMac Intel to mode 3 and also turned on Virtual Memory in system preferences and set hibernatemode to mode 7, the restarted and attempted to plug in devices. The reason I even began to deal with the hibernate mode was because I had around the same time my ports began malfunctioning, installed the DeepSleep widget, which allows you to control your computer's hibernate mode. I thought that tweaking with this setting may have made my computer incapable of recognizing devices that were plugged in. I have since uninstalled the widget and experimented with different hibernatemodes to no avail.
I also have Repaired Disk Permissions and Repaired Disk on all my machines, from within my Admin User as well as from the OsX Install Disk.
Sometimes in my System Profiler (like right now for example on my iMac Intel) my computer is "Unable to list FireWire devices," but sometimes, no warning message comes up and it simply displays the appropriate Bus speed.
I also conducted a system restore using a backup from my 5TB G-Raid Drive via USB, to a date before these problems started, but my ports are still not working.
Summary :
I am looking at a situation where all my FW ports on all my computers appear to be disabled, and possibly also on my four external hard drives, with one possible USB port malfunction on one external drive. The only root of this seems to be a malfunctioning FW-powered external hard drive.
Is this possible? Has this happened to anyone else before? G-Tech assures me that it is impossible for my 250GB G-Drive Mini to draw enough power from a computer to permanently disable any ports, but I have tried all of the FW port problem troubleshooting steps and am at a loss.
I do not have AppleCare and would like to avoid bringing two iMacs, a MacBook and four hard drives to the Apple store and take my chances with the geniuses.
I would appreciate any help or advice you all have. Thanks for reading and for your support!

Ok. So if that was too confusing, I've re-labeled this post with letters for my hard drives and some mapping of the connectivity configurations I have attempted.
Equipment :
iMac Aluminum Intel - 24" Mid 2007 - running OsX 10.5.8 - currently 1 FW400 and 1 FW800 ports disabled
iMac G5 - 20" - running OsX 10.5.8 - currently 2 FW400 ports disabled
MacBook - 13" black Early 2008 - running OsX 10.5.8 - currently 1 FW400 port disabled
1 500GB G-Drive (by G-Tech) w/ no USB port - AC powered : A
1 500GB G-Drive (by G-Tech) w/ USB port - AC powered : B
1 5TB G-RAID Drive (by G-Tech) - AC powered : C
1 250GB G-Drive Mini (by G-Tech) - FW powered : D
Initial Setup :
C > FW400-800 adapter > iMac Intel
D > FW400 > A > FW800 > B > FW800 > iMac Intel
Sequence of Events :
D > FW400 > MacBook
I had transferred some files to my G-Drive Mini D in order to move them to my MacBook from my iMac Intel. I copied the files to the G-Drive Mini D and ejected it normally and plugged it into my MacBook via FW400. The drive would not mount, and the power indication light would not go on. After experimenting with various connections and cables I was able to get the drive to power with FW400 and USB connected at the same time, but the drive would still not mount.
D > FW400 > A > FW800 > B > FW800 > iMac Intel
I then plugged the G-Drive Mini D back into the 2nd 500GB G-Drive A as it was previously connected via FW400. This action caused the G-Drive to immediately reboot and eject itself from my iMac Intel.
D > FW400 > iMac G5
I then attempted to plug the G-Drive Mini into my older iMac G5 via FW400. Immediately upon plugging in, the computer shut down, and would not restart.
At this point I kind of started to freak out. I was unaware of the extent of the damage, but was upset that the FW powered G-Drive Mini D had shutdown my iMac G5. I contacted G-Tech Support and they offered to replace the drive and instructed me how to manually reset the computer's SMC by opening up the iMac and finding the Cuda switch. This worked and the computer was able to start and function again, but the FW400 port seemed to be disabled.
I then tried to swap out configurations and drives on my iMac Intel to see if there was any cable problems, but doing so, slowly rendered all my FireWire ports useless. It's almost as if the act of plugging in the FW-powered G-Drive Mini D started a kind of shortout chain reaction. I soon learned that none of my hard drives would connect to any of my three machines, with any kind of cable combination via FW400 or 800.
D > USB > AnyMachine
C > USB > AnyMachine
I am currently able to connect my 5TB G-RAID C drive to any machine via USB, as well as my G-Drive Mini D. I am unable to access the other two external hard drives, as one has only FW400 and 800 ports (A) and the other's USB connection is not functional as well on any machine (B).
Troubleshooting Steps Taken :
I have on all machines, reset the SMC in the following methods. iMac G5 - manually, by opening the case and pressing Cuda switch. iMac Intel - unplug, hold power button, restart method. MacBook - unplug, hold power button, restart method.
I have also on all machines, reset the PRAM by the Cmnd + Opt + P + R method at startup.
I have also unplugged all cables / removed battery, from all machines and left alone for a period of at least 12 hours, then re-plugged in each device one at a time.
I have also restored my hibernate mode (through Terminal) on my iMac Intel to mode 3 and also turned on Virtual Memory in system preferences and set hibernatemode to mode 7, the restarted and attempted to plug in devices. The reason I even began to deal with the hibernate mode was because I had around the same time my ports began malfunctioning, installed the DeepSleep widget, which allows you to control your computer's hibernate mode. I thought that tweaking with this setting may have made my computer incapable of recognizing devices that were plugged in. I have since uninstalled the widget and experimented with different hibernatemodes to no avail.
I also have Repaired Disk Permissions and Repaired Disk on all my machines, from within my Admin User as well as from the OsX Install Disk.
Sometimes in my System Profiler (like right now for example on my iMac Intel) my computer is "Unable to list FireWire devices," but sometimes, no warning message comes up and it simply displays the appropriate Bus speed.
I also conducted a system restore using a backup from my 5TB G-Raid Drive C via USB, to a date before these problems started, but my ports are still not working.
Summary :
I am looking at a situation where all my FW ports on all my computers appear to be disabled, and possibly also on my four external hard drives (A, B, C, D), with one possible USB port malfunction on one external drive (B). The only root of this seems to be a malfunctioning FW-powered external hard drive.
Is this possible? Has this happened to anyone else before? G-Tech assures me that it is impossible for my 250GB G-Drive Mini D to draw enough power from a computer to permanently disable any ports, but I have tried all of the FW port problem troubleshooting steps and am at a loss.
I do not have AppleCare and would like to avoid bringing two iMacs, a MacBook and four hard drives to the Apple store and take my chances with the geniuses.
I would appreciate any help or advice you all have. Thanks for reading and for your support!

Why is my Macbook Pro suddenly and constantly shutting down/crashing on me and giving me a blacked out or blued out screen with lines? Seems like a total system failure is happening?

Macbook Pro- shortly after upgrading to free software upgrade to Mavericks- 10.9.5-
has suddenly been freezing up, but went more directly to 'shutting down,' CRASHING on its own. Most of the time, if I'm even able to successfully get the laptop turned back on, it only stays up/on for a few moments before repeating the failure. The failure is often accompanied with the monitor going 'blank,' or most typically either 'blacking out,' or going blue/green or grey screen with lines or grids all over the monitor. All Desktop visibility, functions or applications in process disappears. This has caused repetetive 'forced shut downs,' which I never usually do, unless prompted to because I have no choice like this.... Or as I said, the computer itself will just shut down and turn off by itself.... Can anyone tell me what this issue is, and I'm pretty sure other Mac users have seen this exact thing I'm describing happening on their laptops, with their systems or on their monitors. Someone please explain or point me in the right direction... as naturally my laptop just went out of warranty as well.... And I don't know if this means the entire system is basically corrupted, dying/dead... and or if it is a monitor issue, a hardware issue, software issue or if there is anything that can be done to restore, repair it, etc.? Also another thing I have noticed ever since getting this laptop- (few years old now...) is that it runs VERY HOT... has in fact burned my lap /skin many times... and seems like the fan or internal operating systems/functions are also perhaps not functioning properly. Can this also be causing the problem? Or is it a corruption or virus of some kind? etc. Thank you.

What you describe sounds like a hardware issue. Unfortunately, you'll need to get that checked out by Apple. If you have an Apple Store near you, make an appointment with the Genius Bar and take the machine in for evaluation.

Macbook pro screen freezing/flickering peripheral failure

Hey guys
I use my Macbook Pro both at home for music production and live as an instrument. Recently I have been having problems, but for some reason these have never materialised at home - only in the live situation. I shall try to give as much info as possible, but I'm no use with Macs having been raised with windows machines.
Mac OS X 10.6.8
2.5 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
I have around 13GB free HD space
It is second hand and therefore I have no idea about warranty. I have had the machine for over a year.
I THINK it's a 2008 17" model, although I am not sure.
Peripherals at home:
Digidesign Mbox 2 - USB
USB Mouse (third party)
M audio Oxygen 8 V2 keyboard - USB
HD TV as a second screen - DVI - VGA adapter
Live:
Novation Nio 2|4 uadio interface - USB
Novation Launchpad - USB
M audio Oxygen 8 V2 - USB
(Software wise I a running ableton 8 suite with izotope stutter edit. I average about 6% cpu usage)
Recently, my audio interfaces have begun to fail, but only in the live environment. I can switch the Mbox for the Nio at home and there are no problems whatsoever. 2 shows in a row this had failed, so I made sure to test all the equipment extensively. After 2 days of using the Nio as my soundcard using a different USB cable and slot, I assumed the problem was fixed.
On friday night we were playing a show, and mid set the screen froze with glitchy sections - looked like someone had broken the matrix. The screen began flickering in and out very fast in a strobe like fashion. My peripherals were still working fine, so I continued with the show in the hope that I could just control the session from them. Moments later, the audio failed, ad the system eventually cut out. I attempted to buy time and boot up again, but the same thing happened almost instantly.
Now that i've had a chance to get home and try it out, it has been working for hours at a time until eventually doing the same thing. I have found that most the time my usb mouse will remain responsive, yet I am unable to click on anything. Again, the sound generally keeps working, but one by one the peripherals fail. The screen flickering has only been temporary in the home setting, and does not sustain throughout the failure.
I'm generally poor with electronics, but the general consensus seems to be that it may be some kind of electro magnetism/static/I don't know effecting it live? I have never had a single problem with the machine until now. These failures have occured both running on battery and from mains power.

You may be right that a part of the problem is due to external electro-magnetic interference, but could also be heat build up, and the fact that at home it runs for hours before an issue starts, heat is probably a part of the problem. If you can, stop by an Apple store genius bar and let the techs run some diagnostics, explain what is happening and see if they can isolate the issue. You may want to leave it with them for a few hours and let it sit there and run to see if heat is an issue.

Multiple Hard Drive Failures in 2 months on 2 MacBook Pros

I have a mid-2009 13" MacBook Pro with a 320GB hard drive. In early Feb. the hard drive failed suddenly and would no longer mount. My Apple Store replaced it and I restored from a Time Machine backup. A week later the hard drive failed again. It was again replaced, and they order a completely new machine. On the second restore I did not restore from Time Machine but rather moved the files I wanted, iTunes, iPhoto, documents, as to not bring along bad system files. The new computer came in and I set it up as a new machine and transferred files from the old Time Machine but did not do a full restore. I then erased Time Machine and ran a fresh backup. Two weeks later the hard drive on the new machine failed. It locked up so I powered down and upon restart got the file folder with a question mark and the hard drive was nowhere to be found. The Apple Store kindly replaced my hard drive for the third time, the second hard drive in a two week old computer. The asked me to not move any files from Time Machine for a couple of weeks.
I now have my fourth hard drive in 2 months and I do not want a fifth. In fact, the first computer may have failed three times. At this point I don't remember. The Geniuses at the Apple Store are stumped so I'd appreciate any input. What the heck is going on here?
My theories
1. Simple bad luck
2. A file in iTunes, iPhoto or an Office, iWork, pdf...... is causing the failures
3. Restoring Office from Time Machine is killing it.
4. I'm doing something to cause physical damage. I've never dropped it and I handle it fairly carefully and in the same way I've handled every other Mac laptop I've had in the past 10 years.
5. Moving the computer immediately after closing the lid to sleep. I've been told that the disk doesn't stop spinning until the sleep light pulses and moving it around too much too soon can cause damage. I've been doing this every laptop I've had and in the past much more aggressively as a grad student hurrying out of class rooms.
6. My most recent idea, not having the Put hard disk(s) to sleep when possible button checked in System Prefs. I unchecked it for better performance but maybe this is causing the hard drive to never lock when sleeping so when I move it around the heads bang on the disks.?
7. Something environmental. Using it on my lap? Setting it on the couch or ottoman while running? A power surge?
Please help. Thanks a lot.

Dunno about your hard drive issue.
However, everything you list in number seven are definite no-no's. All of them, except power surge, will cause heat related problems.
Have a nice day.
Boyd
Message was edited by: Boyd Porter

Multiple Hard Drive Failures on Macbook Pro 15inch (late 2008)

So I just lost my THIRD hard drive since July on my refurbished Macbook Pro. I was told when the first one failed it was just bad luck. That hard drives fail once in a while. Then in December when the 2nd one died I was told there was no way there was a connection but they would run test on the macbook Pro. Both times I told the genius workers that my Macbook pro runs very very hot at random times (not all the time and I have not had it happen at an Apple store) and that I have many friends with Macs and I have never had a friend macbook get as hot as mine but both times I was told that my macbook could not be getting too hot it would shut off if it got too hot. The 2nd time I was told all the test came back normal and it was just bad luck the 2nd hard drive failed. SO.....
Anyways so yesterday my hard drive is failing again!!!! Third time! since July!!!
So my question anyone else having this problem?
I am sure that there is a problem with the macbook pro that is leading these failures-- but I cannot get an apple genius to believe me. I personally think it is time for Apple to replace my macbook pro if they cannot fully determine the underlying problem. Anyone have these issues?
I am headed to an apple store tomorrow but it is a 2.5 hour drive (one way) for me and this gets really really old each time I lose a hard drive!!

A drive can be so badly corrupted that it doesn't work, but be resurrected through repartitioning and reformatting etc, TravisPaul.
On some occasions, too, I can imagine an over-pressured service department deciding to simply replace a drive rather than go to the trouble of thoroughly troubleshooting it and "not being able" to recover data from it for much the same reasons! It takes less time, though there is no evidence that this is what has happened here, of course, and I wouldn't expect it to occur in an Apple Retail Store.
The symptoms you report could just as readily involve corruption as failure. Doesn't sound like lack of free space was an issue. Did you attempt any repair processes yourself before taking them in (repairing the disk with Disk Utility or a Safe Boot, checking SMART status, reformatting the drives and re-installing your OS etc?) If three drives have really failed there is either another , undiagnosed, problem or you have been extremely unlucky, but probability being what it is, given the number of these computers in circulation, I guess it must happen every once in a while. Heck, a person I know lost their house in the Australian bushfires last year and then got caught up in the Peruvian mudslides while on a holiday trying to forget about the house! Even lightning really does strike more than once in the same spot occasionally.
Cheers
Rod

2011 Macbook Air - Multiple logic board failures - possible causes?

I have a 2011 i7 macbook air - 7 months old. About a month ago I went to use the computer after allowing it to sleep and it was totally dead. Apple authorized repair center said the logic board failed and needed to be replaced. Fast forward a month and I finally get the machine back. It works fine for 6 hours, I put it to sleep, and soon as the screen went out, I hear a pop, fizzle, then the machine is dead again. The authorized repair center wants to replace the logic board again, which should get me up and running, but its not likley that that is the root CAUSE of the problem here, since it happened twice now. I suggested to them that perhaps the power adaptor, battery, or some other component is the issue and they don't think so. I'm located overseas, and every repair attempt takes 1 month b/c of parts (total joke if you're listening apple!!). My biggest concern is that they replace the logic board again, I'm out of commission for 2 months now, and it just fails again. Does anyone have any suggestions on the possible causes of this problem?
As FYI - I'm using the same power outlet and power strip with another laptop and haven't had any similar issues. Thanks for the help!

I have logic board problems too. I have had a late 2010 mac book air for 2 and half years. Its been a great machine in general - although it did go back within the warranty period for the track pad
Now it has logic board failure - symptons are the sound going and the battery is dead and it is unable to charge which means every time you put the power lead on the computer thinks it is starting from scratche.
I have been quoted over £400 for the repair! Like the above post I do not believe that this part should fail - and if it does then it is a major design problem and Apple should be doing something for us. I just dont know where to start.
I have used macs for 14 years and owned eight along the way. Most have them have lasted many years with full functionality the record was my G3 imac which was still working after 13 years.
I really cant believe the situation I am in and rather think I have bought my last mac!
alistair

Macbook Pro 2011 extremely slow wondering if hard drive failure

Hello, I want to start off by saying I'm not a huge computer guru, so that is why I'm coming here first. My Macbook Pro worked very well for a year, and then it has slowed down drastically. I've always been a windows user so mac is kind of foreign to me, but I'm trying to learn.
Some problems I've encountered are 1. Extremely slow running whether internet related, or just an application. I have checked the activity monitor and nothing is hogging up my memory. 2. Spinning wait cursor (rainbow circle) when I try to do ANYTHING. It takes minutes to start computer once it makes it to home screen. The circle just spins for a few minutes. Even just web surfing it's there. 3. Battery drains from 100% to less than 20% in 30 minutes, which again is annoying. 4. When battery drains the fan turns on and seems to drain battery even faster. 5. I get a lot of random errors forcing shut down of programs. I have ignored this problem for two years by not using my laptop or using it very minimally, but I am going to be needing a laptop again for school and not just my iPad and phone so I was planning on taking my macbook to genius bar, but wanted to check here first since Apple is an hour away. Plus I want to be able to use the piece of equipment that I spent a decent chunk of change on. I used time machine to back up everything today. I know its not a space issue as I have 300+ free GB on hard drive. I have tried to read through similar posts, but its overwhelming so I came here to post my own question.
I ran disc utility and there were some errors, which were able to be corrected after a couple tries. Computer still slow though when trying to do anything and running rainbow circle.
In recovery mode I reinstalled OSX
I was finally able to install updates after completing the above that were not able to be installed before.
I ran etre check, this is the report that came up:
Problem description:
Extremely slow computer, possible hard drive failure
EtreCheck version: 2.0.11 (98)
Report generated November 3, 2014 9:25:29 PM EST
Hardware Information: ℹ️
MacBook Pro (13-inch, Late 2011) (Verified)
MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro8,1
1 2.4 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU: 2-core
4 GB RAM
BANK 0/DIMM0
2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok
BANK 1/DIMM0
2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok
Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported
Wireless: en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n
Video Information: ℹ️
Intel HD Graphics 3000 - VRAM: 384 MB
Color LCD 1280 x 800
System Software: ℹ️
Mac OS X 10.7.5 (11G63) - Uptime: 0:6:50
Disk Information: ℹ️
Hitachi HTS547550A9E384 disk0 : (500.11 GB)
S.M.A.R.T. Status: Verified
disk0s1 (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB
Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / [Startup]: 499.25 GB (357.49 GB free)
Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB
OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5970H
USB Information: ℹ️
Apple Inc. BRCM2070 Hub
Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad
Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)
Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver
Thunderbolt Information: ℹ️
Apple, Inc. MacBook Pro
Kernel Extensions: ℹ️
/System/Library/Extensions
[not loaded] com.Logitech.Unifying.HID Driver (1.2.0 - SDK 10.0) Support
/Users/[redacted]/Downloads/LCC Installer.app
[not loaded] com.Logitech.Control Center.HID Driver (3.5.1 - SDK 10.0) Support
Startup Items: ℹ️
HP IO: Path: /Library/StartupItems/HP IO
Startup items are obsolete and will not work in future versions of OS X
Problem System Launch Agents: ℹ️
[failed] com.apple.coreservices.appleid.authentication.plist
Launch Agents: ℹ️
[not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist Support
[loaded] com.adobe.CS5ServiceManager.plist Support
[running] com.Logitech.Control Center.Daemon.plist Support
[invalid?] com.luthresearch.savvyconnectmenu.plist Support
[loaded] com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist Support
Launch Daemons: ℹ️
[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist Support
[invalid?] com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist Support
[invalid?] com.luthresearch.scservice.plist Support
[loaded] com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist Support
User Launch Agents: ℹ️
[loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist Support
[failed] com.apple.CSConfigDotMacCert-[...]@me.com-SharedServices.Agent.plist
[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist Support
User Login Items: ℹ️
iTunesHelper Application (/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunesHelper.app)
Dropbox Application (/Applications/Dropbox.app)
SavvyConnect UNKNOWN (missing value)
Google Chrome Application (/Applications/Google Chrome.app)
HP Scheduler Application (/Library/Application Support/Hewlett-Packard/Software Update/HP Scheduler.app)
Internet Plug-ins: ℹ️
Silverlight: Version: 5.1.10411.0 - SDK 10.6 Support
FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 15.0.0.152 - SDK 10.6 Support
Flash Player: Version: 15.0.0.152 - SDK 10.6 Mismatch! Adobe recommends 15.0.0.189
QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.1
JavaAppletPlugin: Version: Java 7 Update 67 Check version
3rd Party Preference Panes: ℹ️
Flash Player Support
Growl Support
Java Support
Logitech Control Center Support
Time Machine: ℹ️
Time Machine not configured!
Top Processes by CPU: ℹ️
      11% Safari
      3% WindowServer
      0% fontd
      0% Google Chrome
      0% ps
Top Processes by Memory: ℹ️
245 MB WebProcess
206 MB System Preferences
168 MB Safari
99 MB mds
82 MB Google Chrome
Virtual Memory Information: ℹ️
1.37 GB Free RAM
1.57 GB Active RAM
318 MB Inactive RAM
1.03 GB Wired RAM
436 MB Page-ins
0 B Page-outs
Basically I'm wondering if anything sticks out in this report. I was thinking it could be a possible hard drive failure. I know my computer has been dropped on the floor at least a few times. Thoughts are appreciated. Thank you for your patience.

Eab, I feel your pain! I am replying simply to share my similar ongoing experience with my early 2011 17 inch MacBook Pro, running Mavericks with seeming ample hard drive space, [applications requiring less than 100GB, about 200GB data (total drive space of 500GB)] & 4GB RAM. (Disclaimer: I am not a wise or computer-savvy mac guru - simply a fellow traveler who has had a very similar set of problems - apps taking forever to load, rapid battery depletion & super overheated MacBook. While I am a Genius Bar groupie, getting to the Apple store is, for me, akin to an antarctic polar expedition (i.e. problematic). Having spent endless hours struggling with a similar issue, I offer you a synopsis of my struggle/experience.
STEPS TO DATE:
1.Installed several memory utility programs (Daisy Disk & MacCleanse) system
maintenance program to regularly and thoroughly empty application caches (Adobe apps & internet browsers being tremendous hogs), identify and remove language elements and other redundant space hogs, etc.   Result: Small, but real improvement when I forced myself to perform a "scan and delete" session every second major computer run (typically about 6-8 hours in length). However, this did nothing to help the problems regularly detected when I run the Disk Utility which almost invariably demonstrates disk permissions that need to be repaired and, with increasing frequency, has demonstrated actual disk errors that require restarting and walking through a disk repair protocol. I did bring it to the Genius Bar where they kindly reinstalled Mavericks which they could do in about an hour versus the several hours that doing this at home requires. This did identify that my RAM was, on fact, a limitation on the speed at which I could run certain apps.
2. My next move was to install an additional 4GB of RAM. I bought the new RAM on eBay for about $90 because, with 3 kids equipped with MacBooks & iPhones, I simply couldn't afford the official Apple RAM. I even installed it myself, with the help of a YouTube video. Result: Giant improvement in speed (starting up or switching apps. If I had realized how simple it turned out to be, I would have done it well over a year ago. Some minor improvement in the overheating problem, but persistent problems with disk permissions continually requiring repair and periodic disk repairs (using Disk Utility) required.
PLANNED FINAL INTERVENTION:
3. I am purchasing and installing a solid state drive (ssd) and simply chucking the original hard drive, after considerable discussion with my savvier mac friends. It has become clear to me that, sadly, every hard drive has a finite life affected by a variety of factors. I am, in fact, hard on my equipment - running multiple graphic apps simultaneously, transferring massive GBs of data between my laptop, time capsule and an array of hard drives. I will let you know how it goes, but can share that the decision to get a solid state drive followed many conversations with multiple Mac guru-types (in the hope of saving you similar painful tribulations). The cost varies according to the size of the drive, but $400-$500 would buy a reasonable starting size. I am waiting for Black Friday sales, myself. Amazon (where I will likely purchase the ssd) is already offering a number of pre-Black Friday deals. While I don't really feel like putting out that amount of cash, I reassure myself that a new drive will almost certainly solve the disk errors (with a solid state one offering more durability) & will help me prolong the life of my MacBook Pro by a couple of years hopefully. It beats buying a new Apple MacBook only three and a half years after investing close to $3k for this one!
I am certain that more experienced forum users could point you to software that could help defragment your drive or may be able to offer other solutions. I've simply had enough of struggling with burning thighs and head-banging behavior triggered by slow performance. I hope this is helpful to you in some small way. The war is not yet over, but I'm feeling good about the battle plan!

Macbook Problems: Hard Drive Failure or Bad Ram?

I bought a used Black Macbook several months ago. Everything was fine until recently I ran into some problems. It wouldn't boot one day at all, so I wiped the drive clean and reinstalled Snow Leopard. Once again everything was fine for a while until the same thing happened and I once again wiped and reinstalled. The first time it happened I used diskwarrior and disk utility to try and repair the drive with no luck. The weird thing is that after reinstalling I can check the disk and it verifies as ok until one day it fails.
I know that the guy I bought the laptop from upgraded the RAM and the HDD. He didn't do such a good installing the HDD since the IR port and Sleep Indicator Light don't function properly anymore. I've read that happens a lot when installing a new HDD.
So, Here are the symptoms:
Disk Failures
Erratic boot times: Sometimes only 90 seconds, sometimes as long as 13 minutes
Hang ups, beach balls in normal every day tasks
Complete system freezes during normal use
I've never had a kernel panic.
Recently when the system wouldn't boot I ran in verbose mode and it said something about error reading kernel cache Error 0x80000020
Is this definitely my HDD, or could my RAM be causing this?

Thanks for the replies!
Yeah, I think it's the HDD. I was just worried that the RAM was bad and corrupted the HDD or something, but given the symptoms I think you guys are right. Ordered a 7200RPM 320GB HDD off Amazon Prime...will be here tomorrow
I'll post how it goes after I finish installing it. I'm backing up as I type.
I wonder if I can fix the ir port and the sleep indicator light when I install the hard-drive. The sleep indicator light never turns off. It stays on as long as my computer is on, only turns off when I shut it down.

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