MacBook random shutdown w/10.6.7 update

I installed the 10.6.7 combo update this morning, and now I have a problem with random shutdowns. The problem persists even after a PRAM reset. When I run Apple Hardware Test, the short test reports no problem. The extended test...shuts down before completion (before the PRAM reset, it ran for about 18 minutes; afterward, it ran for about 90 minutes).
When I ran AHT, I did so with the system "stripped" (nothing but the MacBook), so it's not a peripheral problem.
As long as I'm active (that is, using the mouse or keyboard), it won't shut down. I did have this problem with 10.6.6, but that was related to EyeTV recording and was not a system-wide issue.

I spent a couple days off and on at the apple store. Had a brand new early 2011 macbook pro 8G I7 2.3... all the best.
It was randomly shutting down, sometimes 2-3 times a day.
After replacing everything, literally, including the entire machine, it was still doing the same thing.
Finally, a genius at the gilbet, az, apparently the genius boss, started looking at it.
The first thing he tried was turning off sharing.
It worked instantly.
So, here's one of the major causes of the random shutdown - Sharing
If you share any directory that contains operating system information - the main disk, your user account, etc. OSX will die, usually with a Kernal panic (or several of them).
It turns out that you should only share folders that have data, never anything that has OS or App information.
I shared everything because it was easiest for me on my MS network to get to and from the machine. It was always problematic to decide what to share, or to create multiple shares on the mac and then get to them from the PC side of my network. Now that is what I must do.
As soon as sharing was turned off on my main drive and on the user accounts, the random shutdowns ceased. I haven't had any since.
Now all I have left is an issue with the mouse not responding after I close the lid and reopen it. Everything appears to work, but the mouse just won't move.

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My macbook randomly shutdown

My macbook randomly shutdown and start up, while I am working, unexpectedly.

Interval Since Last Panic Report: 19070 sec
Panics Since Last Report:          2
Anonymous UUID:                    47166E17-45D5-09B9-9687-268C811A5F7B
Fri Mar 22 06:53:02 2013
panic(cpu 0 caller 0xffffff7f925557f2): NVRM[0/1:0:0]: Read Error 0x00000100: CFG 0xffffffff 0xffffffff 0xffffffff, BAR0 0xd2000000 0xffffff81254ba000 0x0a5480a2, D0, P3/4
Backtrace (CPU 0), Frame : Return Address
0xffffff8102462d00 : 0xffffff8011e1d626
0xffffff8102462d70 : 0xffffff7f925557f2
0xffffff8102462e30 : 0xffffff7f926523b9
0xffffff8102462e90 : 0xffffff7f9265242e
0xffffff8102462f00 : 0xffffff7f92978c82
0xffffff8102463030 : 0xffffff7f92678fe8
0xffffff8102463070 : 0xffffff7f9255d567
0xffffff8102463120 : 0xffffff7f9255b05a
0xffffff8102463320 : 0xffffff7f9255c983
0xffffff81024633f0 : 0xffffff7f9362a491
0xffffff8102463570 : 0xffffff7f93627687
0xffffff81024635f0 : 0xffffff7f936282fc
0xffffff8102463680 : 0xffffff7f93628a65
0xffffff81024637c0 : 0xffffff7f9362953e
0xffffff81024638e0 : 0xffffff7f9365c168
0xffffff8102463920 : 0xffffff7f9365cf05
0xffffff8102463940 : 0xffffff7f93656c59
0xffffff8102463ab0 : 0xffffff7f9365752d
0xffffff8102463af0 : 0xffffff7f93652de6
0xffffff8102463b20 : 0xffffff7f9364ce85
0xffffff8102463b50 : 0xffffff7f93634f24
0xffffff8102463ba0 : 0xffffff8012265ab3
0xffffff8102463bc0 : 0xffffff801226668d
0xffffff8102463c20 : 0xffffff801226408f
0xffffff8102463d70 : 0xffffff8011e984a1
0xffffff8102463e80 : 0xffffff8011e20aed
0xffffff8102463eb0 : 0xffffff8011e10448
0xffffff8102463f00 : 0xffffff8011e1961b
0xffffff8102463f70 : 0xffffff8011ea5dd6
0xffffff8102463fb0 : 0xffffff8011ecdd43
      Kernel Extensions in backtrace:
         com.apple.NVDAResman(8.1)[A26D2A3D-C06F-3A0F-BCFF-901A98C93C3D]@0xffffff7f924f8 000->0xffffff7f92805fff
            dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily(2.7.3)[1D668879-BEF8-3C58-ABFE-FAC6B3E9A292]@0xffff ff7f92466000
            dependency: com.apple.iokit.IONDRVSupport(2.3.7)[38C214C0-83C8-3594-8A4C-DC6AC3FEC163]@0xff ffff7f924e4000
            dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOGraphicsFamily(2.3.7)[74E3E50F-E50A-3073-8C96-06F854292A91]@0 xffffff7f924a1000
         com.apple.nvidia.nv50hal(8.1)[5F021999-8B18-3BD5-9B98-90617E638A63]@0xffffff7f9 2813000->0xffffff7f92b34fff
            dependency: com.apple.NVDAResman(8.1.0)[A26D2A3D-C06F-3A0F-BCFF-901A98C93C3D]@0xffffff7f924 f8000
            dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily(2.7.3)[1D668879-BEF8-3C58-ABFE-FAC6B3E9A292]@0xffff ff7f92466000
         com.apple.GeForce(8.1)[A15BB65E-3501-340F-87CB-2FD2BAD33E35]@0xffffff7f935f9000 ->0xffffff7f936c5fff
            dependency: com.apple.NVDAResman(8.1.0)[A26D2A3D-C06F-3A0F-BCFF-901A98C93C3D]@0xffffff7f924 f8000
            dependency: com.apple.iokit.IONDRVSupport(2.3.7)[38C214C0-83C8-3594-8A4C-DC6AC3FEC163]@0xff ffff7f924e4000
            dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily(2.7.3)[1D668879-BEF8-3C58-ABFE-FAC6B3E9A292]@0xffff ff7f92466000
            dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOGraphicsFamily(2.3.7)[74E3E50F-E50A-3073-8C96-06F854292A91]@0 xffffff7f924a1000
BSD process name corresponding to current thread: WindowServer
Mac OS version:
12D78
Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 12.3.0: Sun Jan 6 22:37:10 PST 2013; root:xnu-2050.22.13~1/RELEASE_X86_64
Kernel UUID: 3EB7D8A7-C2D3-32EC-80F4-AB37D61492C6
Kernel slide:     0x0000000011c00000
Kernel text base: 0xffffff8011e00000
System model name: MacBookPro6,2 (Mac-F22586C8)
System uptime in nanoseconds: 58810812487
last loaded kext at 26368556388: com.apple.driver.AppleHWSensor          1.9.5d0 (addr 0xffffff7f93e5c000, size 36864)
loaded kexts:
com.apple.driver.AppleHWSensor          1.9.5d0
com.apple.GeForce          8.1.0
com.apple.nvidia.NVDAStartup          8.1.0
com.apple.driver.AudioAUUC          1.60
com.apple.driver.IOBluetoothA2DPAudioDriver          4.1.3f3
com.apple.driver.AppleTyMCEDriver          1.0.2d2
com.apple.driver.AGPM          100.12.87
com.apple.filesystems.autofs          3.0
com.apple.driver.AppleMikeyHIDDriver          122
com.apple.driver.AppleHDAHardwareConfigDriver          2.3.7fc4
com.apple.driver.AppleUpstreamUserClient          3.5.10
com.apple.driver.AppleMikeyDriver          2.3.7fc4
com.apple.driver.AppleHDA          2.3.7fc4
com.apple.driver.AppleSMCPDRC          1.0.0
com.apple.iokit.IOBluetoothUSBDFU          4.1.3f3
com.apple.iokit.BroadcomBluetoothHCIControllerUSBTransport          4.1.3f3
com.apple.driver.AppleIntelHDGraphics          8.1.0
com.apple.driver.SMCMotionSensor          3.0.3d1
com.apple.driver.AppleBacklight          170.2.5
com.apple.driver.AppleMCCSControl          1.1.11
com.apple.driver.AppleSMCLMU          2.0.3d0
com.apple.driver.AppleMuxControl          3.3.0
com.apple.driver.AppleIntelHDGraphicsFB          8.1.0
com.apple.iokit.IOUserEthernet          1.0.0d1
com.apple.iokit.IOBluetoothSerialManager          4.1.3f3
com.apple.Dont_Steal_Mac_OS_X          7.0.0
com.apple.driver.ApplePolicyControl          3.3.0
com.apple.driver.AppleLPC          1.6.0
com.apple.driver.ACPI_SMC_PlatformPlugin          1.0.0
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBTCButtons          237.1
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBCardReader          3.1.7
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBTCKeyEventDriver          237.1
com.apple.driver.AppleIRController          320.15
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBTCKeyboard          237.1
com.apple.driver.AppleFileSystemDriver          3.0.1
com.apple.AppleFSCompression.AppleFSCompressionTypeDataless          1.0.0d1
com.apple.AppleFSCompression.AppleFSCompressionTypeZlib          1.0.0d1
com.apple.BootCache          34
com.apple.iokit.SCSITaskUserClient          3.5.5
com.apple.driver.XsanFilter          404
com.apple.iokit.IOAHCIBlockStorage          2.3.1
com.apple.driver.AppleFWOHCI          4.9.6
com.apple.driver.AirPort.Brcm4331          614.20.16
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBHub          5.5.5
com.apple.driver.AppleAHCIPort          2.5.1
com.apple.iokit.AppleBCM5701Ethernet          3.6.0b1
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBUHCI          5.2.5
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBEHCI          5.5.0
com.apple.driver.AppleEFINVRAM          1.7
com.apple.driver.AppleSmartBatteryManager          161.0.0
com.apple.driver.AppleACPIButtons          1.7
com.apple.driver.AppleRTC          1.5
com.apple.driver.AppleHPET          1.8
com.apple.driver.AppleSMBIOS          1.9
com.apple.driver.AppleACPIEC          1.7
com.apple.driver.AppleAPIC          1.6
com.apple.driver.AppleIntelCPUPowerManagementClient          196.0.0
com.apple.nke.applicationfirewall          4.0.39
com.apple.security.quarantine          2
com.apple.driver.AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement          196.0.0
com.apple.nvidia.nv50hal          8.1.0
com.apple.NVDAResman          8.1.0
com.apple.kext.triggers          1.0
com.apple.driver.DspFuncLib          2.3.7fc4
com.apple.iokit.IOAudioFamily          1.8.9fc11
com.apple.kext.OSvKernDSPLib          1.6
com.apple.iokit.AppleBluetoothHCIControllerUSBTransport          4.1.3f3
com.apple.iokit.IOFireWireIP          2.2.5
com.apple.driver.AppleSMBusController          1.0.11d0
com.apple.driver.AppleSMBusPCI          1.0.11d0
com.apple.driver.AppleBacklightExpert          1.0.4
com.apple.iokit.IOSurface          86.0.4
com.apple.iokit.IOSerialFamily          10.0.6
com.apple.iokit.IOBluetoothFamily          4.1.3f3
com.apple.driver.AppleGraphicsControl          3.3.0
com.apple.iokit.IONDRVSupport          2.3.7
com.apple.driver.AppleHDAController          2.3.7fc4
com.apple.iokit.IOGraphicsFamily          2.3.7
com.apple.iokit.IOHDAFamily          2.3.7fc4
com.apple.driver.AppleSMC          3.1.4d2
com.apple.driver.IOPlatformPluginLegacy          1.0.0
com.apple.driver.IOPlatformPluginFamily          5.3.0d51
com.apple.iokit.IOSCSIBlockCommandsDevice          3.5.5
com.apple.iokit.IOUSBMassStorageClass          3.5.1
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBMultitouch          237.3
com.apple.iokit.IOUSBHIDDriver          5.2.5
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBMergeNub          5.5.5
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBComposite          5.2.5
com.apple.iokit.IOSCSIMultimediaCommandsDevice          3.5.5
com.apple.iokit.IOBDStorageFamily          1.7
com.apple.iokit.IODVDStorageFamily          1.7.1
com.apple.iokit.IOCDStorageFamily          1.7.1
com.apple.iokit.IOAHCISerialATAPI          2.5.1
com.apple.iokit.IOSCSIArchitectureModelFamily          3.5.5
com.apple.iokit.IOFireWireFamily          4.5.5
com.apple.iokit.IO80211Family          522.4
com.apple.iokit.IOUSBUserClient          5.5.5
com.apple.iokit.IOAHCIFamily          2.3.1
com.apple.iokit.IOEthernetAVBController          1.0.2b1
com.apple.iokit.IONetworkingFamily          3.0
com.apple.iokit.IOUSBFamily          5.5.5
com.apple.driver.AppleEFIRuntime          1.7
com.apple.iokit.IOHIDFamily          1.8.1
com.apple.iokit.IOSMBusFamily          1.1
com.apple.security.sandbox          220.2
com.apple.kext.AppleMatch          1.0.0d1
com.apple.security.TMSafetyNet          7
com.apple.driver.DiskImages          345
com.apple.iokit.IOStorageFamily          1.8
com.apple.driver.AppleKeyStore          28.21
com.apple.driver.AppleACPIPlatform          1.7
com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily          2.7.3
com.apple.iokit.IOACPIFamily          1.4
com.apple.kec.corecrypto          1.0
System Profile:
Model: MacBookPro6,2, BootROM MBP61.0057.B0F, 2 processors, Intel Core i7, 2.66 GHz, 8 GB, SMC 1.58f17
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics, Intel HD Graphics, Built-In, 288 MB
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M, PCIe, 512 MB
Memory Module: BANK 0/DIMM0, 4 GB, DDR3, 1067 MHz, 0x80AD, 0x484D54333531533641465238432D47372020
Memory Module: BANK 1/DIMM0, 4 GB, DDR3, 1067 MHz, 0x80AD, 0x484D54333531533641465238432D47372020
AirPort: spairport_wireless_card_type_airport_extreme (0x14E4, 0x93), Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (5.106.98.100.16)
Bluetooth: Version 4.1.3f3 11349, 2 service, 18 devices, 1 incoming serial ports
Network Service: Wi-Fi, AirPort, en1
Serial ATA Device: ST9500420AS, 500.11 GB
Serial ATA Device: MATSHITADVD-R   UJ-898
USB Device: hub_device, 0x0424 (SMSC), 0x2514, 0xfa100000 / 2
USB Device: BRCM2070 Hub, 0x0a5c (Broadcom Corp.), 0x4500, 0xfa110000 / 5
USB Device: Bluetooth USB Host Controller, apple_vendor_id, 0x8218, 0xfa113000 / 8
USB Device: Internal Memory Card Reader, apple_vendor_id, 0x8403, 0xfa130000 / 4
USB Device: Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad, apple_vendor_id, 0x0236, 0xfa120000 / 3
USB Device: hub_device, 0x0424 (SMSC), 0x2514, 0xfd100000 / 2
USB Device: Built-in iSight, apple_vendor_id, 0x8507, 0xfd110000 / 4
USB Device: IR Receiver, apple_vendor_id, 0x8242, 0xfd120000 / 3

Macbook Random shutdown osx 10.4.7

So i've been hesitating to update since the last problem with the security update that came out in the beginning of August crashed my macbook. and the recent one with the Fan i have not updated also, but it started yesterday where i'm experiencing random shutdown of my macbook, like if i woke it up from sleep it keeps happening where it just completely shuts down no explanation. i've tried resetting power management, i believe it was option, apple, p and r. still does it.
any suggestion on what i can do? i'm beginning to really fear that i'm getting problems on my mac like a PC does.
@my

Command-Option-P-R simply resets the PRAM. The power management reset is here:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303319
And if you find that does not help, you don't have a plastic blocking the rear vent as this article describes:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303848
And you are taking care to manage its heat effectively:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=30612
and have verified the firmware update is applied:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303880
and have no third party peripherals connected when this happens and have run the hardware test:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303605
Then I'd call AppleCare and let them know the results of the hardware test.

Very upset at macbook random shutdown

does anyone have a solution to the random shutdowns that i have been having on my macbook? i will be working on it and it will just shut off. i am always scared that it will go dead and i will lose what i am working on. i am pretty mad because i have really liked apple products and always felt that they were better than pc's. but to pay $1500 on the computer, printer and apple care, im a little ticked to only have it about 3 months. help me please, i really appreciate all the people who reply to these messages.

They are a world-class company with
world-class support and have earned that over many
years. They will take care of you.
I really don't know whether to laugh or cry when reading your posting. Your reply hardly reflects reality in this particular case. My MacBook broke down in the last week of August and it has not been repaired and returned yet. They aren't even able to say when it will be repaired. People with RSD are being turned away at present, as the repair centers actually don't have the spare parts from Apple. This is not world-class in any way - it's a case of bad management, bad planning and bad logistics. I don't blame the poor person at the AppleCare doing the repair. However, persons higher up in the organisation have failed miserably and let down customers, company and colleagues!

MacBook-Random Shutdowns After Update

(Note: I posted that I had solved this problem by deleting an older version of Microsoft Office, but a day later the problem resurfaced)
1st Indication of a Problem--
While using "Software Update" to upgrade from 10.4.8 to 10.4.9, the computer screen went black about 1/2 way through the "system optimization" part of the installation. I thought it had just gone to sleep since the white sleep indicator light was glowing on and off. However, I could not wake it from sleep and the only solution I found was to hold the power button down to fully stop the computer. Then, I powered on again to have the computer try to start up, and then go black during the gray screen. I repeated the process and each time it would get a little further into the startup process, but it would never finish loading.
Troubleshooting Steps Taken-
After reading about the proper troubleshooting methods, I booted from the install disks and ran "disk utility" and repaired the disk permissions as recommended, and ran the "verify disk" part of disk utility. The permissions were corrected and the disk verification process indicated the disk was ok.
I restarted the computer and everything appeared to be fine until I opened MS Word. The screen went black again.
Concerned that maybe the update never fully loaded, I downloaded the combo intel updater and tried to reinstall it. The computer screen went black at the exact same point during the "system optimization" stage.
At this point, I decided to try to boot from the installation disk again and run disk utility. However, the computer now would not boot from CD, while holding down C. However, it would perform the Hardware Test by holding down D. So, I ran the hardware test and it indicated no problems.
After restarting computer, the same black screen crash occurred while trying to use various applications. Not all would cause the crash, some crashed it, some didn't. The error was not consistent. The same program that appeared to cause the crash one time would run fine the next. Other times I would let it sit without opening a program and it would crash after a random period of time. It is important to note the fans aren't even running when this occurs, nor does the processor seem to be running fast.
Since I could not boot from the installation CD, I decided to run disk utility while logged in normally. Again, no problems found with the disk and this time no permissions were corrected.
So, I continued the troubleshooting process:
*I verified the S.M.A.R.T. status = verified.
*I checked the build number of the OS to ensure the update was complete (build = 8P2137)
*Checked the RAM in the hardware profile, both slots indicated OK
*Turned off all non-system fonts
*re-installed Java just in case
*Downloaded Cocktail and ran:
1)all cron tasks
2)cleared the caches
3)rebuilt launch services database
4)updated locate and whatis databases
*ran FSCK
*reset the PRAM
*Reset the system Management Controller (SMC)
*tried to login in verbose mode- crashed
*tried to login to safe mode- crashed
None of this worked, so when I could get the computer to stay up and running for a few minutes, I decide to delete unnecessary programs including MS Office.
Immediately after deleting Office, I stopped having problems. I could now boot from the install cd, boot into safe mode, run without crashes so to speak. That was yesterday... Everything seemed fine so I re-ran some of the cleanup processes above to be sure that things were clean.
Today, I used the computer for over two hours without problems. Then instant crash out of nowhere. Same problems above reappeared. It took several cycles to get the computer to load. I opened iTunes to see if that might be the cause since I upgraded that yesterday after the problem ceased. Sure enough the computer crashed. So, I deleted all of itunes except my music library. Still random crashes occur.
I resorted to opening my RAM slots and resitting the RAM to be sure it was secure and it was fine, no change... still crashes.
Two Important Notes:
1)I have never experienced the black screen of death before.
2)I updated the firmware shortly after I got the MacBook because I heard of the potential problems. So, the SMC is up-to-date.
At this point, I am going to schedule an appointment with the Genius Bar for Tuesday. However, I am sure they will merely jump to an "archive and install" which I can do myself if I have to or they will try to check the RAM which I already did.
Is there anything else I can possibly do to fix this myself before handing over my baby to them?

I mention this because you have done such a thorough job of troubleshooting and documenting your problem. According to the link below, the system optimization step in Apple's software installation has a bug that can delete arbitrary file(s) from your system.
http://www.unsanity.org/archives/macos_x/shock_andawe.php
FYI.

Firmware update address macbook random shutdown syndrom

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304308

did u even check the apple site?
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macbooksmcfirmwareupdate11.html
- "The SMC Update improves the MacBook’s internal monitoring system and addresses issues with unexpected shutdowns. This update is recommended for all MacBook systems, including those that received warranty repair."

Macbook random shutdown

I have an apple macbook running mac os x version 10.6.8 and I have had this for about a yr to two at the most. It has just recently started to shut it self down, and has done so twice in the last hr alone. I have made sure to check for all software and firmware updates, and every time I try to update, a message appears saying that this computer does not need this update. I was wondering if there were any ideas or fixes I could do to solve the problem myself, or should I just try contacting apple care?

I had the same situation and this is how it got fixed.
One morning i had macbook pro late 2011 shut down on its own.
It then repeated 3 times, within first 10 minutes of being up. i booked a Genius oppointment, and visited apple store. Genius Joshua found nothing wrong, but reset the power settings, and asked me to work on my computer a little. I did, and it worked great.
When i got home, i shut down with no responce from charging cable (no green or orange led). i took it back genius took it in. When i got it back the maglite chip was replaced and i was asked to bring in my power cable so they could test it too for damage.
my bill was zero apple's internal bill was 49.23 USD/
That's how my macbook went through forced shutdown. Thanks my macbook, genius, apple warranty, apple walk in techsupport policy.
i hope its helpful.
david

IMac random shutdown w/10.6.7 update

I'm also noticing some weirdness today after installing 6.7 yesterday.
My 2006 iMac would not wake up from sleeping last night - requiring a hard reboot. I held the restart button in back down for an unusually long time before the white light in front lower right flickered many times for about 1/2 a second before giving me many beeps (I couldn't count) then shut down. Then a few minutes later, after clicking a window (browser I think) the iMac restarted. I THINK it beeped again (not positive).
Another thing is that the Parental Controls on one user is not working.
Scrolling is jerky: Mighty Mouse, Tracking 2nd to last bar on right, Scrolling all the way to right, DC 3rd from right, Scroll without inertia. I did notice bursting and stopping with scrolling.
<Relocated and Edited by Host>

Michael Dunn2 wrote:
After being convinvced that the motherboard may be bad, I saw a YouTube video of the mo/bo harness being replaced. According to this person, technicians informed him that they would replace this part before the mo/bo or power supply. *Apparently the harness was problematic for the 1st generation iMacs. Can anybody confirm this?* Or are my symptoms pointing to the mo/bo like the Apple Store person said?
Try the iMac forum area - hhttp://discussions.apple.com/category.jspa?categoryID=189

Macbook random shutdown service log

[IMG]http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/5796/macbooklk8.png[/IMG]
anyone know what "on hold, part on order" mean?

I just got my logic board replaced. MB was back in three days.
Where did you send yours? Flextronics in Tennesee?
-Bmer
Mac Owners Support Group
Join Us @ MacOSG.com
ITMS: MacOSG Podcast
 An Apple User Group 

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.

Random Shutdowns (Driving me crazy)

After owning my MacBook for about a month, just 2 days ago, my MacBook randomly shutdown right after I booted it up. Then when I went to power up again, it immediately shutdown after the ding start-up noise.
The shutdowns have gotten more frequent and sometimes I have to try about 3 power ups in order for it to stay on.
Just a note (but I don't think it's related) I installed Windows XP through Bootcamp yesterday, however the shutdowns had already been occuring a day or two BEFORE I installed it.
I am using upgraded RAM (2x512mb), however it's the RAM that Apple provided me with, and therefore I don't have the stock 512mb original RAM. It was already upgraded the day I got it.
Other than those two significant changes to my MacBook, nothing else is different.
Again, note that these shutdowns have occured after owning my MacBook for about a month. (I bought it at the end of July).

contact apple care. this is a relatively common problem. Either go to an apple store or send in your macbook and they'll fix it. It took them about two days to fix mine and I've had it back about a month now with no problems.

Macbook problems, hard drive crash, random shutdown, freezes

I bought my macbook used a few months ago, and it worked flawlessly until about 3 weeks ago. The system started freezing and not booting (getting folder icon instead of apple at startup). I ran drive setup and tried to repair the drive, but this did not fix the problem. DiskWarrior also could not fix it. I pulled the drive and installed a new hard drive, as I wanted a larger capacity anyways. All my problems appeared fixed for about two weeks, then similar problems began occurring. I backed up all the files I needed to an external firewire drive and attempted to reformat the new internal drive. Drive Setup says it can not reformat the drive - can't mount it and if it does, the drive disappears while in the process of formatting. I pulled the new drive and am having it replaced under warranty. I am using the firewire drive to run my computer, and this seemed to work fine for a day or two until the computer just started shutting down with no warning. Everything goes black, including the little light on the front of the computer. I have to hold down the power button for 10 seconds before it lets me start the computer back up. I had read this may be a memory issue, so I ran memtest and it says the memory is fine (I need to do it in single user mode still, however). I also tried pulling both sticks of ram. They are both 1GB crucial memory. I put each stick in by itself and tried it in both slots and was able to reproduce the shutdown issue with any ram configuration of either stick.
After all this, I realized the firewire drive was only running 10.5, so I updated all the software through software update, and it is now running 10.5.2. It seems to be working better as I have not experienced a random shutdown yet, but I'm anticipating it may start back up soon. Today, however I experienced a different problem - the screen froze on me and the only way to get anything to happen was to force a shutdown with them power button. It's restarted and seems to be working fine again for now.
I've run some logs and here's some things I've found:
When the latest freeze happened, I got this repeated over 100 times:
Apr 29 11:04:31 jon-turners-macbook quicklookd[536]: CGContextClosePath: no current point.
I've also seen this:
Apr 29 11:18:19 jon-turners-macbook kernel[0]: Previous Shutdown Cause: 3
Apr 29 11:18:19 jon-turners-macbook kernel[0]: GFX0: family specific matching fails
Apr 25 19:19:50 localhost kernel[0]: hi mem tramps at 0xffe00000
Should there be anything else I can check? I would run Apple Hardware Utilities, but I don't have the original disks, just the Leopard installer. I have Disk Warrior, but it seems strange this would happen with multiple systems and drives. I'd like to get Techtool Pro, but haven't had the money/time to order it yet.

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.

Macbook won't detect external display anymore - Random shutdown injury??

Hi,
my Macbook has the dreaded random shutdown thing happening, often it can't even get through the startup sequence. If I reset the PMU and PRAM and check the disk every week I can keep it running. Applecare are making not particularly helpful suggestions like "run it in safe mode" - hello people, random means it can take days to happen again... I use this computer for work so I need it at full capacity every day!!!
Anyway, enough angry ranting. The casualty of today's RS and subsequent PRAM PMU resetting is my external display (Viewsonic LCD). The macbook is no longer sending signals to it (display says "no signal"). When I ask the macbook to "detect displays" nothing happens. I have restarted the macbook several times and unplugged and replugged the display connection it doesn't help. Yes, I have the AC power cable plugged in on the Macbook (I know it doesn't like talking to the screen if I don't).
The display and macbook have always worked fine together in the past...
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to test for causes or fix this display related problem?
MacBook Mac OS X (10.4.8)
Powerbook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.2)

You don't mention ever having brought the problem to Apple's attention, or what resulted from your request for Apple's help with it. This isn't a universal or widespread problem. It may be a hardware fault in your own equipment that needs to be resolved with a repair, or it may be a software problem (corrupt file, incompatible software conflict, update needed, etc., etc.). You seem to think Apple should have fixed it for you without your lifting a finger, and you're eager to complain about Apple's lack of support. But you've offered nothing to indicate that Apple even knows you need support. You do have to ask for it. Have you done so?
We have no idea what steps you've taken to try to narrow down the possibilities, e.g., making sure the monitor is turned on; trying a different video cable as iVmichael has suggested; testing the monitor with the same cable on a different computer; testing a different monitor with the same cable and then with a diferent cable on your computer; substituting a different cable adapter, if you are using one; applying all applicable system software updates and then Repairing Permissions and Repairing Disk; starting in Safe Mode and seeing whether the monitor is recognized and activated then; seeing whether the monitor is detected in System Profiler; and so on. You may have done some of these things, but you haven't told us about them or about the results.

Macbook in repair for kernal panics and random shutdowns.....

It's been exactly one week since I sent in my macbook for random shutdowns. I called today to check on the status and they told me it was on hold because they needed more info from me as they can not replicate the problem. This thing was shutting down on me 3-4 times a day without warning. I gave them all kinds of suggestions, ie: check logic board, power management system, panic logs, etc. Don't these techs know how to troubleshoot? My biggest fear is that they won't find the problem and they'll send my defective Macbook back to me. What are my options then? It was bought for me by a friend in Denver who brought it down to Albuquerque for me (500 miles away) so returning it to a store is not an option. I know other people are having this problem so I know I'm not crazy and delusional. I don't want to be stuck with a defective computer but my 2 week grace period is over. What can I do?
MacBook Mac OS X (10.4.5)

Here's an update on my repair. It's been 2 weeks and they finally found the problem to be a bad logic board. They said it was on hold for repair to replace the board and didn't specify a return time. I expressed a concern with having a month old computer that has already been in for a major repair. After some polite but concerned dialouge between myself and a product specialist, she offered me a new one. I accepted the offer gladly. She even asked black or white? My original was white. So chalk one up for Apple customer support. They seems like they're out to make things right with their customers. You just have to remain calm and patient.

MacBook Pro Core Duo 15" Random Shutdown worsening

Have had my MBP for over 18 months now, and any glitches have been software so far.
Two nights ago, I was working on my MBP and suddenly went into an unwakeable sleep. After resetting, I could start up intermittently up to 5 minutes, but it seems to have gotten worse, to where I'm at a point where I can only manage a few seconds of startup before it blacks out again, either off or again, into an unwakeable darkness.
It's the same with just battery, battery & AC, or just AC. It wont stay on long enough for me to start from CD, neither will it stay on to let me Firewire my info/account to another Mac.
At times when I cannot start at all, I can hear a small 'electrical snap' (best description I can give) when pressing the power button, whichever combination of power source I use. I guess this is normal, but I wouldn't notice it usually.
For anyone who've had their MacBook Pro with "Random Shutdown" fixed by Apple out of warranty, could you give an example of cost?
Thanks
Sion Joyce

i dread to think how much it would cost, but i was having random shutdown problems as of last week. completely out of the blue
but, the latest Firmware update seems to have solved it! not before i went and bought another battery of course
one thing i have noticed though is the eta on the battery fullness is completely random now, it'll go from having about a minute left to having an hour and 30mins

MacBook random shutdown w/10.6.7 update

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