MBPr random shutdowns after display/mobo replacement

I don't expect to receive help here for this issue. I'd just like to share what extreme problems I have with my 15" MBPr Late 2013 bought in early 2014. It's a 2.6 Core I7 with 16GB RAM and the 1TB SSD, to be precise.
From the start I've had random wake-from-sleep-issues that I couldn't track down. I learned to live with it, blaming it on carrying over older installations from Mac to Mac.
Around February, my display started to dissolve from the edges. So I asked my dealer what I should do. He told me to hand in the machine to our local Mac repair service (Apple authorized). Service had a cost free replacement of the display and the mainboard for me (some connection was dead and Apple replaced it). They showed me that the system was running fine at their offices for a couple of hours.
Coming home, I started to use the computer as usually – and it would shut down completeley randomly; during startup, during light usage. Rather when being on WiFi and battery than while being connected to Ethernet networking and on power. There is no warning whatsoever.
Since I still suspected, that the problem may partly be connected to my vintage base installation, I decided to install Yosemite on an external drive, boot from that, and wipe out the MBPr SSD for good. I did a zeroing of the entire SSD and started a clean install of Yosemite on the MBPr. Up to the first reboot from the internal SSD everything looked fine. But the initial boot wouldn't work. The fans came on and after about ten minutes the machine turned itself of. I turned it on again and it would show the same behavior two times and finally boot to the installation wizard.
Then I created an admin account, opened the updates panel – and the machine turned off again. This is what happens every single time now – on a fresh, empty machine.
I am writing this on this very machine while being safe booted. At the moment, this is the only way to have the MBPr usable. On monday, I'll take the machine back to service.

Hardware test states “no problems found”.
Etrecheck (booted in safe mode):
Problem description:
MBPr shuts down after a couple of seconds if booted normally. Does not, if booted in safe mode.
EtreCheck version: 2.1.8 (121)
Report generated 19. April 2015 15:49:54 MESZ
Download EtreCheck from http://etresoft.com/etrecheck
Click the [Click for support] links for help with non-Apple products.
Click the [Click for details] links for more information about that line.
Hardware Information: ℹ️
    MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013) (Technical Specifications)
    MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro11,3
    1 2.6 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU: 4-core
    16 GB RAM Not upgradeable
        BANK 0/DIMM0
            8 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok
        BANK 1/DIMM0
            8 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok
    Bluetooth: Good - Handoff/Airdrop2 supported
    Wireless: en0: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
    Battery Health: Normal - Cycle count 152
Video Information: ℹ️
    Intel Iris Pro
    NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M - VRAM: 2048 MB
System Software: ℹ️
    OS X 10.10.3 (14D136) - Time since boot: 0:3:32
Disk Information: ℹ️
    APPLE SSD SM1024F disk0 : (1 TB)
        EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB
        Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB
        Oldschool (disk1) / : 999.32 GB (988.27 GB free)
            Core Storage: disk0s2 999.70 GB Online
USB Information: ℹ️
    Apple Internal Memory Card Reader
    Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad
    Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub
        Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
Thunderbolt Information: ℹ️
    Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus
Gatekeeper: ℹ️
    Mac App Store and identified developers
Problem System Launch Daemons: ℹ️
    [failed]    com.apple.mtrecorder.plist
    [failed]    com.apple.watchdogd.plist [Click for details]
User Login Items: ℹ️
    None
Internet Plug-ins: ℹ️
    Default Browser: Version: 600 - SDK 10.10
    QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3
3rd Party Preference Panes: ℹ️
    None
Time Machine: ℹ️
    Time Machine not configured!
Top Processes by CPU: ℹ️
         4%    WindowServer
         1%    fontd
         0%    AppleSpell
         0%    taskgated
         0%    notifyd
Top Processes by Memory: ℹ️
    155 MB    com.apple.WebKit.WebContent
    137 MB    WindowServer
    120 MB    Safari
    86 MB    Dock
    52 MB    Finder
Virtual Memory Information: ℹ️
    14.38 GB    Free RAM
    1.33 GB    Active RAM
    493 MB    Inactive RAM
    964 MB    Wired RAM
    780 MB    Page-ins
    0 B    Page-outs
Diagnostics Information: ℹ️
    Apr 19, 2015, 03:46:18 PM    Self test - passed
    Apr 19, 2015, 01:54:14 PM    /Users/[redacted]/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/fontd_2015-04-19-135414_[redac ted].crash

Similar Messages

Problems with random shutdown after replacing a swollen battery

Hello all,
Perhaps one of you can help with this issue.
I'm using a Macbook Pro 17" mid-2007 model. A few months ago, the power disconnected from the machine when the battery had already run down and the machine did a hard shutdown. When I booted it back up there were serious problems with the display. Eventually it stopped working altogether. I took it for service and it was determined to by the NVIDIA graphics processor problem, so Apple replaced my motherboard.
When I got the machine back from servicing, there was a rattle in the right fan that gradually got worse. After a while the touchpad button stopped depressing in the center. I also experienced several random shutdowns while operating on battery power. I learned about the swelling battery issue with macbooks and ordered a replacement. By the time the replacement battery arrived my original battery was quite swollen. I'm concerned that the swelling battery may have warped the case a bit, leading to the fan noise.
I have now replaced the battery, but I'm still experiencing random shutdowns after 20+ minutes of use on battery power. I have done the RSS tests that were recommended in other forums and there doesn't seem to be any random shutdown problems when I'm plugged in -- only under battery power. My understanding is that a swelling battery can sometimes cause the battery to disengage from the electrical contacts on the MB, causing a sudden shutdown. I'm wondering why the problem is persisting now with a new battery? After one random shutdown, I tried to power up again using the battery, while pushing the battery into place at various angles, but I couldn't find any angle that would give power to the machine. The fan noise is also still present.
Can anyone offer an explanation or advise on any methods to overcome these random shutdowns? I have checked the console and the machine isn't registering any error when it shuts down, although when it restarts it says "DirectoryService[35] Improper shutdown detected"

Yep, it is video (or: or audio for video) so unless you're sure you need it (because you work or will work with the DVC Pro HD video/audio codec), you can remove the plug from its' folder and put it in your documents folder (don't trash it, I have no idea if it is necessary for non-DVC Pro HD users to have it installed too).
The WWW is littered with posts from people encountering bugs and crashreports with DVCPROHDAudio.plugin as the main suspect. Most of those posts seem to be from video people rather than audio folks.
http://www.google.nl/search?q=DVCPROHDAudio.plugin&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=or g.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
But, if you get crashes and you see this one mentioned in the report, disable it, restart, and see if the problem's gone.

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.

Random shutdowns after 2.2 update

Ever since the 2.2 update I have had random shut downs of my X. I will pick the phone up, try and turn the screen on and realise it is off. I have to pull the battery before it will even boot back up.
Is this a common issue?

Just thought I'd post my 2 cents here on this topic. I have had my X for a month now ... Love it. I've had like 2 or 3 on-its-own reboots. The only thing I can put my finger on is it has to do with when I have GPS turned on and doing "location/place" type of information gathering. I installed an app over the weekend (My Location Widget) so that I cold post my location for friends at a fair I attended. I also had the FaceBook "places" thing active ... I had Twitter up and live, all this GPS stuff going in the background, etc. and in the middle of the street fair it rebooted. So I'm not sure, but it SEEMS like either GPS type of activity caused it; or just maybe I was running way too much applications for it to handle. (I do NOT run ATK.)
Anyway, there just seems to be some limits with how much and WHAT can run on this device... Otherwise it's been rock steady and it stays up all day long until I shut it down at bedtime. YMMV.

Random shutdowns after upgrade to xorg7

nevermind, reinstalled after nothing at all worked.

I have the same problem, only the kicker here is that I have had it on two phones now. I noticed the problem on my original iPhone after the update to 3.0.1 and called apple to try and get a solution. They worked me through the whole process of turning radios on and off and then finally restoring the phone to factory settings, all to no avail. They shipped me out a new phone on Saturday and it arrived Monday. Switched out the SIM and went about my business. 2nd call in after the switch, the same thing. The person I'm calling can hear me, but I can't hear them. So, this says to me that this is not a "debris in the headphone jack" problem. Also, several others that I have spoken with have this exact same problem and it all started after 3.0.1. So, here's to hoping that Apple will get a fix out soon. Sounds like they have a problem on their hands.

New heatsink yet random shutdown!!

Hi y'all,
So my MB was repaired 2nd time with the new heatsink part and this was on Oct. 3rd.
Today on Oct 13th the random shutdown has reappeared yet AGAIN.
I have just about had it this macbook.
Did any of yours had random shutdown after the reparation with the new heatsink part??
And do anyone know if I will be eligible for a refund and/or replacement since I have had to deal with this problem three times now?? (still in waranty period)
Thanks

jhawk - three possibilities. First, are you sure you got the newly designed heatsink? Oct 3 would be right about on the cusp between new heatsink and the old replace the logic board 'fix'. Second, assuming you did get the new heatsink your computer should then have been retested on diagnostics and a new logic board installed if it failed and if it passed it would be sent back without a new logic board. But it is posible that in some cases RSD is masking (and maybe even causing) logic board issues that don't show up on the diagnostics then but show up later. This could be your problem and if so after getting a new logic board your MacBook problems would be over. Third, and I hope this isn't it, Apple hasn't found all the causes of RSD yet.
It is still a little too soon to know about this either way. Based on past RSD repair experiences, if the redesigned heatsink does fix the problem we can expect to continue seeing RSD me too messages through October and probably into the first part of November but the frequency should begin to die down in November.

After a year, another chain of random shutdowns

can anybody tell what's going on with my computer from a remote desktop? by now that should be easy.
i had random shutdowns problems last year, one month after buying my macbook pro, but they seemed over after the download of the oct.2006 firmware. now they're back. as random as they were. could it be possible that the new battery update clashed with something? the appearance seem to have occurred just after that update. maybe a coincidence. but i had started to have battery failures - computer shutdowns at 95% of battery charge, with 28 cycles count - and was about to go replace it (the sick battery).
just i cant stand abandoning my computer in a dark room with many others, so i didn't turn it in and kept it on ACDC.
anybody may guess what i should do to avoid a premature death?

There's nothing anyone here can do about this. We're all just users like you. Was the phone still covered by warranty? Was there an explanation from Apple?

Random Shutdowns Started Again After Fix - Some Questions for Others

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

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

Random Shutdown MacBook - accept replacement or moneyback?

After 4 months of attempted and failed repairs on my young brother's MacBook, Apple has finally accepted defeat and agreed to replace his MacBook or give him his money back.
They assure us that the current crop of MacBook's (post-October) do not suffer from the random shutdown problem - but I cannot trust their word given how many times they have falsely assured us the problem had been fixed over the last few months.
My question to the Apple community is simple - do the recent crop of MacBooks still suffer from the Random Shutdown problem? Should my brother just get his money back and shop elsewhere?

This isn't much of a reply to the topic. I am new to Macs. My wife and I shelled out what is a good deal of money to us on two of the new mac books. We brought them with us to Thailand. Her computer has the random shut down thing. She loses work all the time. Safe to say she is not happy with my decision to make the switch to Apple. Sometimes she will be typing an e-mail or a word document and a half hour of work will just vanish. She has had to re-set her desktop settings two or three times as they keep resetting back to the origional factory settings.
My computer has a few problems of it's own. The hole in the case for the tracpad and button wasn't cut right so The whole cover needs t be replaced. This was diagnosed by a Genious at one of the Apple stores. I also seem to get electric shocks sometimes from the right side of the computer were my wrist rests when I type. My computer also freezes all the time. Just fozen like a PC with no way out (force quit won't work). The computer also opts to erase my computer and desk top settings from time to time.
The problem is we are stuck. We can't sent them out to America for repair or the government of Thailand will make us pay 1000 dollars each for import tax. You can carry them on your person, but they get heavily taxed when shipped.
I want to be happy with my investment but these computers were very expensive and they really shouldn't be breaking down all the time and freezing. In fact I suggested we get them because we didn't want computers that broke down and froze all the time. My wife is pretty unhappy with my decision here.
Joe

MacBook RSD persist AFTER Mobo replacement.

So I got this RSD thing from June, sent to Apple Hong Kong for repair in mid July and just got my book back last week (you can see how long it took to service your mac in descriminated asia market).
they replace the mobo... and everything look good until just know... I starte my machine, opened firefox and start to read the 2nd tab... Boom... RSD... restart... before the Apple Logo shows up ... Boom.. again ... RSD....
so basically the new Mobo do nothing..
I'm going back to London this weekend, and will ask for a replacement (man i bought this darn thing brand new and just used for 1 month so far??? the new macbook is coming out and i didnt really have a chance to use the old one i paid for !) or start a new site www.macsucks.com lol... i dun mean 2 b a hater but...
anyway.. jst to let u guys no... mobo replacement doesnt necessary fix ur crappy macbook.

Yeah, I'm not getting it. I had my MacBook for 4 months, then last Tuesday got two RSDs, each shortly after sleep when the machine was, first time, stone cold, second, still cool but warmer after having operated a little longer after sleep. I was assured by people who had the RSD problem that it could turn up any time, even after 4 months, and that once it started it would accelerate quickly, within a few days becoming quite common and maybe unbootable without holding down the power button to start it into safe mode. It's been a full week, and... nothing. Not another RSD, under the same usage conditions.
I didn't take it in because it was going to be impossible to reproduce for the technician at the Apple Store, and because, frankly, it's just not that much of a problem at this time. Now I'm reading yet again that the revised parts are not fixing the problem.
Then this guy Takeshi has been experimenting via OS X with how and when his MacBook turns on and speeds up the fans, and he's got his formerly RSDing MacBook running stable, full processor speed, at normal temperatures. And most people here call him an idiot. But his experiment tends to indicate the RSD is a problem with the way the MacBook handles the expected heating up of the computer. There has already been one firmware update from Apple acknowledging that there is a problem with the way the software in firmware responds to heat detection. Yet we are so sure this is still not a firmware issue, code in the firmware that was not revised by the first update?
Yes I know a lot of people are saying, 5 days with revised parts and no RSD! Yay! But as I recall people receiving repair with the old parts would get their MacBooks back and have 5 days, 10 days, 20 days with no RSD -- until it returned.

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.

Are the replacement Heatsinks fixing people's Random Shutdown problems?

Is the replacement heatsink (the shorter one) still the method of choice from Apple for fixing Random Shutdown problems?
Is it working for people who've had it done recently?

Does this max out the CPU?
Yes. People who advocate this are testing to see if it's possible to induce a "random" shut down.
Why would anyone want to do that?
Good question. I've seen two reasons put forward: (a) It's better to make it happen now yourself rather let it strike out of the blue at some later date (and if running this test doesn't induce RSDs you can feel confident that your computer is probably immune); (b) If you take your MacBook to an Apple Store it could be useful for demonstrating to an Apple "genius" that your computer has the problem, especially if your shutdowns are infrequent.
(personally, I don't agree with (a))
MacBook (OS 10.4.8) iMac G4 (OS 10.3.9)

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

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

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

Random shutdown then fixed?

well like alot of other users i got the random shutdown on my macbook the other night. i've been a long time windows user and finally got around to getting myself one of these nice new macbooks just last friday. (my pervious mac being a powerbook 190cs about 9yrs ago now) anyways all was going well till it randomly shut down on me. so i unplugged it and turned it on again this time it took alot less time to just shut itself down without my input. after this it wouldn't even make mac OS so i held the power button for 15 secs and it booted and didn't shut down for the rest of the night (except for when i reset it).
i had had boot camp installed and while i was in the city today i went into next byte and talked to the guy in there who said that some people had solved it with a software fix. i had a look through these forums and saw that bootcamp didn't seem to play a part in most cases of this happening.
i ended up deleting bootcamp off the hard drive as i was no longer using it after finding replacements for all bar VS 2005 and Access and was using them in parallels. after deleting bootcamp i haven't had a problem however in trying to work out what it was i noticed that instead of displaying the apple logo first up when i booted the machine it held the folder with ? on it for a minute. after getting rid of bootcamp this no longer happened.
i dunno how or why but it no longer seems to be randomly resetting and not turning on. i'm hoping that its fixed becuase i really don't wanna have to send it in to apple for some of the fixes other people have had to do.
anyways i just thought i'd post it incase it helps someone.

Anybody have any ideas?
I shut it down for a couple days. Just tried starting it up last night and it only made it to the login screen before it shut down again. This time it didn't try to turn back on.

Random Shutdowns on a MBP Core Duo, Suggestions/Help would be great

I've had two random shutdowns of my mac since purchasing it back in August. The first happened on January 11th, when it said it was at 11-12% power. The second happened about two weeks later, at 23% power. I've been looking around these forums and other pages, and haven't really found anything that has helped so far.
Details of the first crash:
Open apps- Firefox (5 windows, two had about 20+ tabs open, the rest were single page, and yes, I know it crashes often with that many), Camino (1 window with 5 tabs), and Word 2004, as well as Quicktime open to the iPhone stream.
I had an USB key plugged in, to which I was saving my Word document.
So I was working in Word while in front of the TV and during an interesting bit, didn't do anything for a minute. So, like the many times earlier, it slept the display to conserve power (in "Better Energy Savings" mode). I moved my finger on the trackpad to wake it back up, and it turned back on the backlighting, and then stopped. I thought it had just went back to sleep, but after a few key presses and a check of the light that usually pulsates when it's sleeping (plus the USB key , I found out that the computer had turned off. I let it sit for a while, and when I plugged it back into AC power and turned it on, with my USB key still plugged in, and although it booted to my desktop, the Finder never started (so no desktop icons for anything), unplugging the USB key fixed this and everything returned to normal. I then installed the only update I was missing, one for iChat, restarted, and continued working.
In the second incident, I only had my browsers open, nothing external plugged in, and my displayed was dimmed to the third darkest level. When it was at about 23% power, it once again randomly shut down. This time, I attempted to turn it back on, and nothing happened. After plugging it into AC power, it turned on and once logged in showed a very low (2-6%) power, so I guess it was reporting the power incorrectly?
Anyways, went back to look at the battery exchange on Apple's website. I had checked before when they started it, and was pretty sure mine wasn't covered, and a second check confirmed that. My Mac's serial is W8618091VWX, which isn't covered by the recall.
So, I have a few questions:
1. Is there a toll-free number I can phone Apple (Canada) at? The only number I've found seems to be only free for those who bought their computer in the last 90 days, which I'm no longer covered by, and haven't been for a while. Talking to someone at Apple would be good.
2. Otherwise, if I took my computer to an Authorized Service Provider, would they be able to take a look at it and answer some questions? I bought my MBP at a London Drugs and they aren't service providers, so how much would it cost to do this?
3. Is there a definite cause for these random shutdowns? It seems to vary among other people, so it would be helpful if I could try something to eliminate one of the causes.
4. Does Tiger report battery levels pretty accurately? In the past when I reached 6% I got a warning and was able to plug it into AC power and had no problems.
Thanks for any help you can provide.
Macbook Pro 2.16 GHZ Core Duo, 15.4", 1GB RAM Mac OS X (10.4.8)

I had this problem of RSD fixed for a while after having had the battery replaced by Apple, till yesterday, when the MBP suddenly experienced a shutdown during a meeting presentation, while it was connected to the AC power. At the first restart, as coming back from a stop-mode, for a while appeared a warning of low-battery level, with battery level indicator flashing red and showing the empty icon but with a 86% of charge level and a new shut-down definitely put the MBP out of service, no way to have it functioning again. Obviously, AC power was OK, no problem with the microphone or the projector ( I was at the podium of an international meeting) and a lucky precaution ( double save of the same presentation on a friend's twin MBP, that worked correctly) saved the job.
Then, a couple of hour later, my MBP started up normally and everything works fine, with or without MAGsafe connected to AC power, almost up to now.
I've read the post with a link to the procedure for resetting the power controller chip on the mainboard, I'll do it in a minute, hoping that this will help.
Any further suggestion?
ambabu, Italy

MBPr random shutdowns after display/mobo replacement

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