Random Shutdown Syndrome (RSS)

Help! My 3-month-old MacBook is suffering from Random Shutdown Syndrome (RSS). It shuts off for no reason by itself, and now runs for about 5 minutes max. AppleCare said they were aware of the problem, told me to reset the PMU, zap the PRAM, and then install OS 10.4.8, which it said was specifically designed to fix this. I did it all, but that lasted half a day. Now the MacBook is shutting down again. Anyone know what to do? My computer is useless, and my work is on hold. Any help greatly appreciated! Thanks.

Unless you have something more complex that the RSD syndrome that my MacBook suffered from, and has also been reported on this board in a number of posts, you should not need a mainboard (or logic board) replacement. My RSD problem (or RSS) as you call it was on boot up only. Once the machine was running for a period of time it was always fine.
Originally, it was believed that the RSD problem was a logic board issue. However, there have been posts in this board referring to an Apple technical report that isolated it to the heatsink being faulty. I had my MacBook in for a second time a few weeks ago. They replaced the heatsink and it is working great. Start to finish from leaving my hands for shipping to Apple and being back in my hands from Apple was less than 5 business days.
I would make sure that whoever is handling your repair has read the latest technical reports coming out from Apple on the problem.

Similar Messages

  • Leopard and Random Shutdown Syndrome

    I've got a 1st gen 1.83 GHz MacBook with RSS. Has upgrading to Leopard solved RSS for anyone?
    Still trying to figure out what's causing it - hardware or software.
    Thanks,
    Matthew

    I should've been more specific. Unfortunately, RSS hasn't "left the building" for me.
    Yes, I've done all updates to EFI Firmware, Battery, SMC, etc. In fact, I've run them all again just to make sure they're there and I get "This computer does not need this update." I'm running 10.4.10. Nothing new shows up when I run "Software Update." That's out.
    The shutdowns only seem to occur when I'm on battery and when surfing graphics-heavy sites on the internet (Youtube or ABC.com with their online shows). However, that's not even a reliable cause; I was doing surfing those sites AND running Parallels while on battery the other day to try to kill it and nada.
    I can't seem to get the RSS to replicate (guess that's why it's called "Random", eh?) so I can narrow down the causes.
    Right now, I'm leaning towards the battery or RAM. I have 2GB of 3rd party RAM installed, and am swapping it out piece by piece with the original Apple RAM.
    It may be the battery, but since I can't get it to replicate with any reliability, that may be hard to prove. My battery IS recognized (no big X in the menubar), ISN'T bulging and lasts a while when I use it. So I doubt I can get a new battery.
    Oh well, just hoping something in Leopard would help. Dammit Jim!
    Thanks,
    Matthew
    ETA: It's a 1st gen Macbook, so it's out of warranty by a few months.
    Message was edited by: noclevername

  • Mac Mini w/ Random Shutdown Syndrome

    I have an original Mac Mini that has started shutting down randomly, at first when streaming video and other high load operations, lately pretty much anytime.
    I backed up and tried to re-install the OS. It spit out disk 2 of the install disks and could only load an OS with a disk utility restore from an external. I thought it might be the optical drive but a Disk Warrior scan worked no problem.
    I reset the pmu and pram, swapped out the RAM chip, removed the outer housing It always fails in the video portion of the AHT. I'm pretty much out of ideas, anybody else?

    My original Mac Mini (1.25-GHz G4) had a similar issue which lead me to purchase a new mini even though I more or less found out what was happening.
    My issue with my original mini was that during times of high CPU load (especially when streaming video) the mini would go into an automatic sleep mode, involuntary so I thought of it more as a coma. Not a shut down as I could then immediately wake-up the mini which would usually result in it immediately going to sleep again.
    Anyways, I found the problem was that the mini was getting too hot which was causing it to automatically sleep. Think of it has a safe-guard to prevent the mini from frying itself considering the aluminum sides were in fact quite hot to the touch. I unplugged my mini, cleaned out 5 years of collected dust from the vents (which I think was greatly inhibiting airflow), plugged it back in and it seemed to solve the problem (although I still ended up replacing the mini a month later figuring it was time). The aluminum sides didn't get so hot anymore after cleaning out the vents and the "comas" stopped.
    Hope this helps!

  • Random Shutdown Syndrome?

    I have a 2009 13-inch MacbookPro.
    It randomly shuts down without a command to do so.
    It doesn't seem to be related to workload or battery life.
    I have seen a discussion about the heatsink tripping a circuit, and a Firmware update.
    What is firmware and is this what will fix the problem? Or do I need to take it to a technician?

    Well firmware is simply preset instructions for the hardware. Very much like a Bios is to the PC world. It is sometimes updated to correct or improve power features and other basic hardware operations. It should come with
    any updates if you need it. If indeed you Macbook is shutting down and not just going to sleep. You need to find out what is causing your disruption.Is it a power issue or is it somehow getting a instruction to shut down. If its truly a power issue then you may have hardware problems. You can try simple things first like doing a SMC reset which addresses any issues with power management on the Macbook. Seek out how to do this at Macbook support page. If your battery is removable I believe you remove the battery hold down power button for 10 seconds then replace battery and resart holding down power button. Double check because its been a while since I had to do one. If this does not seem to help I would say you require someone to diagnose and repair it.

  • 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."

  • 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 Fix

    My 2007 Black Macbook has the Random Shutdown Syndrome, and I want it fixed. For the love of $1400 in what I thought was a fantastic investment, how do I fix RSS?

    Yes. Typically something like iMovie that requires a little more oomph, but just yesterday I tried to watch a DVD and it happened. I've noticed it actually happens more when connected to AC power, but it happens without being connected as well. Here is the system profile battery information from just now:
    Model Information:
    Manufacturer: DP
    Device name: ASMB013
    Pack Lot Code: 0000
    PCB Lot Code: 0000
    Firmware Version: a41b
    Hardware Revision: 0000
    Cell Revision: 0000
    Charge Information:
    Charge remaining (mAh): 3321
    Fully charged: No
    Charging: No
    Full charge capacity (mAh): 5017
    Health Information:
    Cycle count: 71
    Condition: Normal
    Battery Installed: Yes
    Amperage (mA): -2003
    Voltage (mV): 11475
    And why would I need to boot from my install disc to run Disc Utility? I have not done this.

  • Whats next if all else fails with random shutdowns

    Hi, having random shutdown on battery power on my 'macbook intel 1.83 core duo' no warning of low battery etc always ample battery power available.
    Have installed battery update 1.2 twice
    Have reset the SMC twice to no avail
    Next stop apple repair centre, but what's the most likely outcome has anyone had this issue resolved by repair, and if so, what was the cause.

    I am in the same situation, save that I have not yet tried re-setting the SMC. My MacBook is still under guarantee, but the local Apple shop can suggest nothing more creative than that l leave the notebook with them for a week plus. That is impossible for me -- any more than half a day, and I need to have a stand-by replacement into which I can slot my hard drive, but that is most certainly not on offer. It is the more irritating in that it is now apparent to me that Random Shutdown Syndrome been the subject of complaints literally for years, and comes as no surprise to Apple. I am beginning to wonder whether the AppleCare Protection-Plan was worth what I paid for it.

  • Random Shutdown and Mooing

    I'm curious. Of those who have MacBooks that exhibit the random shutdown syndrome, how many also have the "mooing" fans? And how many shutdowns have occured to people who don't have a fan that moos?
    My fan mooed and only turned on once at full throttle since I purchased my MacBook, and it started shutting down after about six weeks. I wonder if the problem involves the failure of the fan to cool the logic board (or some other part of the computer), which at some point fails due to the high head.
    For now, my MacBook again works perfectly, but I wonder what will happen in six weeks' time, since I still have the moo.

    I have bought a white MacBook at the Farmer's Market Apple Store in L.A. about a month and a half ago. Since last Sunday, it has been randomly shutting down on me.
    It has happened both when the computer was cool (just turned on) and when the computer was hot (not alarmingly hot, though). It has happened with the computer plugged in and with the computer not plugged in. It has happened before the computer has gone to sleep and after the computer has awaken from sleep, never with any overwhelming workload.
    It seems pretty random to me and, even though I almost never hear the fans, the temperature seems to have nothing to do with it.
    For the past two days, the only way I had to turn it on and not get a shutdown a few seconds later, was to press the on/off button for ten seconds, until the light started blinking fast and it emitted an alien beep before turning on. Even so, it usually shut down after the first time it went to sleep.
    Now that I am back in Brazil, where I live, the Apple phone service tells me they can't offer me any support (even though I bought it less than two months ago), 'cause you only get phone support for three months in the country where you bought the computer. This after two days of getting nothing but a busy signal from both numbers listed for Brazil in the AppleCare Service and Support Guide.
    Granted I haven't bought AppleCare, but this is a major defect and I am appalled that they aren't dealing with this in a more forthcoming way, especially since I am still fully covered by warranty.
    I have entered Brazil legally with my laptop, and for a simple lack of assistance and options, I have left it at an Apple Store in Rio for hardware tests. Unfortunately, my computer started up just fine in front of the tech support guy today, for the first time in nearly three days. Let's hope they can replicate the defect and SOLVE IT, godwilling.
    But I've looked at many forums and found reports of people having to get their logic boards replaced two or three times, isn't Apple at least acknowledging that there is a problem here?

  • Random Shutdown Solution!!!

    Hi all,
    as it turned out, the Random Shutdown Syndrome is caused by the Energy Saver settings.
    ;-Petra

    wow... never would have guessed that its fake... its CLEARLY a joke dude...

  • Random shutdown: mine too  :-(

    my Macbook is also suffering from the random shutdown syndrome, it just started doing that after the last firmware update.
    Can I restore it to the old firmware version?
    How?
    Has that helped anyone here?
    Some have suggested that the problem has to do with temperature. I wanted to check this, but a dashboard widget that is supposed to monitor the temperature can't read the temperature (the same widget does display other info about the machine though).
    Does anyone else have that problem?
    Now what?
    Macbook   Mac OS X (10.4.7)  

    Pressing the power button 5 sec while you are restarting the computer, will force your system run at half speed (in dual core systems??). But sometimes for me that trick is the only way to get my BlackBook booted. However, it will not reset your PMU. For resetting your PMU:
    1. If the computer is on, turn it off.
    2. Disconnect the AC Adapter and remove the computer's battery.
    3. Press and hold down the power button for 5 seconds and then release the button.
    4. Reconnect the battery and AC Adapter.
    5. Press the Power button to restart the computer.
    G5 Double 2 GHz + MacBook 2 GHz   Mac OS X (10.4.7)  

  • 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.

  • Will the console log show a history of random shutdowns?

    My macbook has suddenly started the random shutdown problem. It started a couple of days ago, I'd had no problems up until then. At one point today it was shutting down immediately on waking from sleep, and then would only stay on for about two minutes with the fans racing before, bang, off it would go. I left it alone in exasperation, then returned to try again, and this time it lasted around an hour before shutting down repeatedly again. I will need to take it home to the UK to my local Apple service centre and I am worried that if it doesn't actually shut down in front of them when they have it they will tell me there is no problem and won't repair it. I know that this macbook has the RSS issue now but it really is random, so can I prove it from the console log? I looked through this just now and of course most of it means nothing to me but I did notice that there was a line saying "cause of last shutdown -72" occuring many times since this started. Does anyone know what this refers to and will it show that the problem is definitely happening?

    What does the holding the button down trick do?
    From the Apple article I referenced in your earlier thread:
    "If your MacBook is in a state where it will not remain on long enough to install the update, wait for the issue to reproduce itself. Once the MacBook has turned itself off, turn the computer on the by holding the power button down. Keep the button down until you hear a single long tone. Once you hear the tone you can release the button, install the recommended updates, and restart as you would expect."
    Allegedly, this throttles the CPU to 1 GHz.
    And I am slightly worried that a2dox says that the
    problem returned even after the repair..!
    Different experiences for different people, during the period when Apple had not yet figured out the problem. Their contract repair facility was doing different repairs, some getting heat sink replacements, some logic board replacements, some both, and, later, some a differently designed heat sink. When one of those repairs didn't fix the problem, they would do another.

  • Damages following 'Random Shutdown'

    My MacBook has gone down with the dreaded RSS as well now. I was able to get it going again for a while by zapping the PRAM and by pressing power-on bottom for 5 secs (both needed). Until the next unsceduled shutdown...
    I notice that a number of people choose to keep their MacBook running using similar methods rather than handing it in for repair, as they have little faith in Apple knowing how to solve the issue any longer. Too many logic-boards replaced to no avail!
    My question is whether other components in the MacBook might be damaged by continued use? These cycles of irregular shutdown and forced start-up appear somewhat 'unhealthy' to me. An example: Some people have reported that the disktool find errors on the harddisc following RSS, which has even led them to postulate that 'fixing these solves the problem' (sic). In my case, it does not sound like the computer shuts the harddisc properly down during a random shutdown - also the process is much too fast.
    What's the general opinion in this forum???
    MacBook   Mac OS X (10.4.7)   Broken with RSS

    I would like you to explain excactly what you think
    the logic board is and what it does in your computer.
    Thanks!
    It's the "heart" of the computer that runs the operating system. Below is a logic board diagram.
    As far as the hard drive goes, it's true that shutting a computer off abruptly can cause severe hard drive damage, but I find it very odd that I have not heard of one person with RSD having a hard drive problem. Even more strange, after all the shutdowns I had with my MacBook, I ran Tech Tool Pro and didn't find any directory structure damage.
    Don't worry, be happy!
    -Bmer
    Mac Owners Support Group
    Join Us @ MacOSG.com
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    2.0 MacBook • New 4H630 Logic Board • 100GB HD • 2GB RAM   Mac OS X (10.4.7)   60G Photo iPod • AppleCare

  • 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.

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