Q: Mac keeps randomly freezing

frankbokhorst-

If yours is a 15" MacBook Pro 6,2, there is a recall program in place for it.  It is described in this article:

MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2010): Intermittent black screen or loss of video

PRINT out a copy of the article as a hedge against "we never heard of this." and take it to your appointment at the genius bar. Do not leave until they have run the special VST test that ends in a remarkable PASSED or FAILED screen. [The typical "overnight bake" will not find this problem].

N.B.> Even if the problem is detected, the time for free replacement may have already passed.

If they refuse to accept it for free repair under the program, the store manager may have additional latitude to help you. You MUST be polite and professional at all times. Apple wants you to be a happy customer. Folks who shout and threaten to sue everyone will never be a happy customer, so all they get is to be shown the door.

If the time has expired and you are not willing to pay for the repair yourself, downgrading Mac OS X will make the problem far less likely to occur.

As you found out, nothing good has come of having Sophos Anti-Virus installed.

At least for the time being, you need to completely remove Sophos to debug further, using the company's Un-Installer.

Anything that has a habit of going to the web to check or Sync should also be removed for now, such as Spotify.

VirtualBox is usually very well behaved, but you must be certain you have the current version, and consider un-Installing it temporarily while you get to the bottom of this problem.

Are you seeing Kernel panics? If so, post a panic log.

Mac OS X: How to log a kernel panic

Hi,  I am having a similar problem with my Mac freezing up every now and during general use.  I've downloaded the EtreCheck application and ran it.  This is the information that I got below:

Hardware Information:

          MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2010)

          MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro6,2

          1 2.66 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU: 2 cores

          4 GB RAM

Video Information:

          NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M - VRAM: 512 MB

          Intel HD Graphics - VRAM: 288 MB

System Software:

          Mac OS X 10.6.8 (10K549) - Uptime: 0 days 20:54:4

Disk Information:

          TOSHIBA MK5055GSXF disk0 : (465.76 GB)

                    (null) (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 200 MB

                    Macintosh HD (disk0s2) /: 465.44 GB (194.85 GB free)

          MATSHITADVD-R   UJ-898 disk1 : (4.12 GB)

USB Information:

          Apple Internal Memory Card Reader

          Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad

          Apple Inc. BRCM2070 Hub

                    Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

          Apple Inc. Built-in iSight

          Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

FireWire Information:

Thunderbolt Information:

Kernel Extensions:

Problem System Launch Daemons:

          [not loaded] org.samba.winbindd.plist

Problem System Launch Agents:

          [failed] com.apple.Kerberos.renew.plist

Launch Daemons:

          [loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist

          [loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist

          [not loaded] com.teamviewer.teamviewer_service.plist

Launch Agents:

          [not loaded] com.teamviewer.teamviewer.plist

          [not loaded] com.teamviewer.teamviewer_desktop.plist

User Launch Agents:

          [failed] com.apple.CSConfigDotMacCert-[redacted]@me.com-SharedServices.Agent.plist

User Login Items:

          iTunesHelper

3rd Party Preference Panes:

          Flash Player

Internet Plug-ins::

          JavaAppletPlugin: Version: 13.9.8 - SDK 10.6 Outdated! Update

          FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 11.9.900.152 - SDK 10.6

          QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.6.6

          Flash Player: Version: 11.9.900.152 - SDK 10.6

          SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.3.9 - SDK 10.6

          Silverlight: Version: 4.1.10329.0

          iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0 - SDK 10.7

Bad Fonts:

          None

Old applications:

          None

Time Machine:

          Information not available

Top Processes by CPU:

               2%          nmblookup

               2%          EtreCheck

               1%          Activity Monitor

               1%          activitymonitord

               0%          WindowServer

Top Processes by Memory:

          102 MB          WebProcess

          94 MB          Mail

          61 MB          WindowServer

          53 MB          mds

          45 MB          Safari

Virtual Memory Statistics:

          2.05 GB          Free RAM

          695 MB          Active RAM

          547 MB          Inactive RAM

          627 MB          Wired RAM

          1.31 GB          Page-ins

          24 MB          Page-outs

Can someone help?

cmalaykhan-

Have you read my last writing at/near the end of this thread concerning MacBook Pro 6,2 2010 ?? you appear to have that model as well.

Hi Grant,

Thanks for the information above.  I haven't experienced that particular issue  "Intermittent black screen or lost of video".  My real issue is freezing up during normal use.  Opening/closing an application or surfing the web or multiple applications open at the same time.  Now, I have experienced this issue before and had to re-installed the OS twice from a clean state.  Installed the same programs that I've used before and having almost the same disk space left.  This is leading me to believe that I have a hardware issue.  Don't know for sure if that's the problem.  Also, Upon restart...it took me almost an hour for my Mac to load up in which I have experienced before doing the OS re-install.  Any suggestions???

If you have never had that test done, it would be worthwhile to have it done if you can.

If your Mac took an Hour to Restart with Mac OS X already installed, your Hard Drive has died. Do you have Backups?

I have done a time machine backup over the weekend since I started noticing the issue...so I am good there. My hard drive is dead even if I am able to get to access to the desktop and all of the applications installed? Not sure if I understand. It works like normal after the reboot I perfomed last night until it freezes up again. What about the EtreCheck? Could any of these be the culprit?

Problem System Launch Agents:

          [failed] com.apple.Kerberos.renew.plist

User Launch Agents:

          [failed] com.apple.CSConfigDotMacCert-[redacted]@me.com-SharedServices.Agent.plist

Internet Plug-ins::

          JavaAppletPlugin: Version: 13.9.8 - SDK 10.6 Outdated! Update

Resetting PRAM solved my issues.

Hi everybody,

I have also the same issue...

Here is my Etrecheck log:

Hardware Information:

          MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2012)

          MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro9,1

          1 2.3 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU: 4 cores

          16 GB RAM

Video Information:

          Intel HD Graphics 4000 - VRAM: 1024 MB

          NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M - VRAM: 512 MB

Audio Plug-ins:

          BluetoothAudioPlugIn: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.9

          AirPlay: Version: 1.9 - SDK 10.9

          AppleAVBAudio: Version: 2.0.0 - SDK 10.9

          iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.3 - SDK 10.9

Startup Items:

          CUDA: Path: /System/Library/StartupItems/CUDA

System Software:

          OS X 10.9 (13A603) - Uptime: 0 days 21:40:54

Disk Information:

          HGST HTS721010A9E630 disk1 : (1 TB)

                    EFI (disk1s1) <not mounted>: 209,7 MB

                    Littlebignoisyone (disk1s2) /Volumes/Littlebignoisyone: 999,86 GB (504,12 GB free)

          Crucial_CT480M500SSD1 disk0 : (480,1 GB)

                    EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 209,7 MB

                    System - Apps - SSD (disk0s2) /: 479,76 GB (168,23 GB free)

USB Information:

          Asmedia AS2105 750,16 GB

                    Seagate_unleashed (disk3s1) /Volumes/Seagate_unleashed: 750,15 GB (749,99 GB free)

          RME Babyface (23594601)

          Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

          Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad

          Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

          Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub

                    Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

FireWire Information:

Thunderbolt Information:

          Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

Kernel Extensions:

          com.nvidia.CUDA          (1.1.0)

          de.rme-audio.driver.FirefaceUSB          (1.78 - SDK 10.6)

Problem System Launch Daemons:

Problem System Launch Agents:

Launch Daemons:

          [loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist

          [loaded] com.bombich.ccc.plist

          [loaded] com.cocoatech.pathfinder.SMFHelper7.plist

          [loaded] com.macpaw.CleanMyMac2.Agent.plist

          [invalid] com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist

          [loaded] org.samba.nmbd.plist

          [failed] org.samba.smbd.plist

Launch Agents:

          [not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist

          [loaded] com.adobe.AdobeCreativeCloud.plist

          [loaded] com.nvidia.CUDASoftwareUpdate.plist

          [invalid] com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist

          [loaded] de.rme-audio.firefaceUSBAgent.plist

User Launch Agents:

          [loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist

          [loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist

          [loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist

          [loaded] com.macpaw.CleanMyMac2Helper.diskSpaceWatcher.plist

          [loaded] com.macpaw.CleanMyMac2Helper.scheduledScan.plist

          [loaded] com.macpaw.CleanMyMac2Helper.trashWatcher.plist

User Login Items:

          iTunesHelper

          Moniteur d’activité

          Dropbox

          uTorrent

3rd Party Preference Panes:

          CUDA Preferences

          Flash Player

          FUSE for OS X (OSXFUSE)

          MacFUSE

          NTFS-3G

          PlugSuit

Internet Plug-ins::

          AdobeAAMDetect: Version: AdobeAAMDetect 2.0.0.0 - SDK 10.7

          FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 11.9.900.170 - SDK 10.6

          Default Browser: Version: 537 - SDK 10.9

          AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 11.0.04 - SDK 10.6

          AdobePDFViewer: Version: 11.0.04 - SDK 10.6

          Flash Player: Version: 11.9.900.170 - SDK 10.6

          LogitechHarmony: Version: 2.0 - SDK 10.7

          QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3

          Silverlight: Version: 5.1.20513.0 - SDK 10.6

          JavaAppletPlugin: Version: 14.9.0 - SDK 10.7 Outdated! Update

Bad Fonts:

          None

Old applications:

          FontLab Studio 5:          Version: 5.1.2 - SDK 10.5

                    /Applications/FontLab Studio 5.app

          MemServerUI:          Version: 1.1 - SDK 10.5

                    /Library/Application Support/Native Instruments/Kontakt 5/kxm/MemServerUI.app

          Numbers:          Version: 2.3 - SDK 10.5

                    /Applications/iWork '09/Numbers.app

          Pages:          Version: 4.3 - SDK 10.5

                    /Applications/iWork '09/Pages.app

          SA Color Finesse 3 UI:          Version: 3.0.9(286) - SDK 10.5

                    /Applications/Adobe After Effects CC/Plug-ins/Effects/Synthetic Aperture/(CF3 Support)/SA Color Finesse 3 UI.app

          SLLauncher:          Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.5

                    /Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Silverlight/OutOfBrowser/SLLauncher.app

Time Machine:

          Time Machine not configured!

Top Processes by CPU:

               7%          Google Chrome

               2%          WindowServer

               2%          EtreCheck

               1%          Creative Cloud

               0%          mds

Top Processes by Memory:

          213 MB          Finder

          115 MB          mds_stores

          115 MB          WindowServer

          98 MB          Google Chrome

          66 MB          com.apple.IconServicesAgent

Virtual Memory Statistics:

          11.76 GB          Free RAM

          2.24 GB          Active RAM

          250 MB          Inactive RAM

          1.39 GB          Wired RAM

          2.42 GB          Page-ins

          0 B          Page-outs

Do anybody have an idea about what's going on?

Cheers,

Okinrav wrote:

 

Resetting PRAM solved my issues.

Acually it didn't. The problem came back — freeze every 1 hour. It was my Crucial M4 SSD disk which needed a firmware update. 1 week passed by — no freezes.

Hi,

My Imac has been freezing intermittently for a long time.  It does not seem to have any particular program or task when it freezes. Have to keep restarting the mac. Got the following on log:

Hardware Information:

          iMac (20-inch, Mid 2007)

          iMac - model: iMac7,1

          1 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU: 2 cores

          4 GB RAM

Video Information:

          ATI,RadeonHD2400 - VRAM: 128 MB

Audio Plug-ins:

          BluetoothAudioPlugIn: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.9

          AirPlay: Version: 1.9 - SDK 10.9

          AppleAVBAudio: Version: 2.0.0 - SDK 10.9

          iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.3 - SDK 10.9

System Software:

          OS X 10.9.1 (13B42) - Uptime: 0 days 0:14:30

Disk Information:

          WDC WD2500AAJS-40RYA0 disk0 : (250.06 GB)

                    EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB

                    Macintosh HD (disk0s2) /: 249.2 GB (150.07 GB free)

                    Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>: 650 MB

USB Information:

          Apple, Inc. Keyboard Hub

                    Primax Electronics Apple Optical USB Mouse

                    Apple, Inc Apple Keyboard

          Apple Inc. Built-in iSight

          EPSON USB2.0 MFP(Hi-Speed)

          Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

          Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

FireWire Information:

Thunderbolt Information:

Kernel Extensions:

          com.hzsystems.terminus.driver          (4)

Problem System Launch Daemons:

Problem System Launch Agents:

Launch Daemons:

          [loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist

          [loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist

          [loaded] com.leapfrog.connect.shell.plist

Launch Agents:

          [loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist

User Launch Agents:

          [loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist

          [failed] com.apple.CSConfigDotMacCert-[redacted]@me.com-SharedServices.Agent.plist

          [failed] com.zeobit.MacKeeper.Helper.plist

User Login Items:

          Monitor

          Fantastical

3rd Party Preference Panes:

          EarthDesk

          Flash Player

          Growl

Internet Plug-ins::

          FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 11.9.900.170 - SDK 10.6

          Default Browser: Version: 537 - SDK 10.9

          AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 10.1.8

          AdobePDFViewer: Version: 10.1.8

          Flash Player: Version: 11.9.900.170 - SDK 10.6

          QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3

          Google Earth Web Plug-in: Version: 6.0

          PDF Browser Plugin: Version: 2.4.4 - SDK 10.6

          iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0

Bad Fonts:

          None

Old applications:

          AU Lab:          Version: 2.2.1 - SDK 10.0

                    /Developer/Applications/Audio/AU Lab.app

          Accessibility Inspector:          Version: 3.0 - SDK 10.0

                    /Developer/Applications/Utilities/Accessibility Tools/Accessibility Inspector.app

          Accessibility Verifier:          Version: 1.3 - SDK 10.0

                    /Developer/Applications/Utilities/Accessibility Tools/Accessibility Verifier.app

          Adobe AIR Application Installer:          Version: 3.3 - SDK 10.5

                    /Applications/Utilities/Adobe AIR Application Installer.app

          Adobe AIR Application Installer:          Version: 3.3 - SDK 10.5

                    /Library/Frameworks/Adobe AIR.framework/Versions/1.0/Adobe AIR Application Installer.app

          Adobe AIR Uninstaller:          Version: 3.3 - SDK 10.5

                    /Applications/Utilities/Adobe AIR Uninstaller.app

          Adobe AIR Updater:          Version: 3.3 - SDK 10.5

                    /Library/Frameworks/Adobe AIR.framework/Versions/1.0/Resources/Adobe AIR Updater.app

          Audacity:          Version: 1.3.13.0 - SDK 10.4

                    /Applications/Audacity.app

          Clipboard Viewer:          Version: 3.0 - SDK 10.0

                    /Developer/Applications/Utilities/Clipboard Viewer.app

          Core Image Fun House:          Version: 2.1.46 - SDK 10.0

                    /Developer/Applications/Graphics Tools/Core Image Fun House.app

          CrashReporterPrefs:          Version: 10.7 - SDK 10.0

                    /Developer/Applications/Utilities/CrashReporterPrefs.app

          Epson Printer Utility 4:          Version: 9.14 - SDK 10.5

                    /Library/Printers/EPSON/InkjetPrinter2/Utility/UT4/Epson Printer Utility 4.app

          FileMerge:          Version: 2.5 - SDK 10.0

                    /Developer/Applications/Utilities/FileMerge.app

          HALLab:          Version: 1.6 - SDK 10.0

                    /Developer/Applications/Audio/HALLab.app

          Help Indexer:          Version: 4.1 - SDK 10.0

                    /Developer/Applications/Utilities/Help Indexer.app

          IORegistryExplorer:          Version: 2.1 - SDK 10.0

                    /Developer/Applications/Utilities/IORegistryExplorer.app

          Icon Composer:          Version: 2.2 - SDK 10.0

                    /Developer/Applications/Utilities/Icon Composer.app

          Instruments:          Version: 4.2 - SDK 10.0

                    /Developer/Applications/Instruments.app

          Keynote:          Version: 5.3 - SDK 10.5

                    /Applications/iWork '09/Keynote.app

          Numbers:          Version: 2.3 - SDK 10.5

                    /Applications/iWork '09/Numbers.app

          OpenGL Driver Monitor:          Version: 1.6 - SDK 10.0

                    /Developer/Applications/Graphics Tools/OpenGL Driver Monitor.app

          OpenGL ES Performance Detective:          Version: 1.1 - SDK 10.0

                    /Developer/Applications/Graphics Tools/OpenGL ES Performance Detective.app

          OpenGL Profiler:          Version: 4.5 - SDK 10.0

                    /Developer/Applications/Graphics Tools/OpenGL Profiler.app

          OpenGL Shader Builder:          Version: 2.1 - SDK 10.0

                    /Developer/Applications/Graphics Tools/OpenGL Shader Builder.app

          PackageMaker:          Version: 3.0.5 - SDK 10.0

                    /Developer/Applications/Utilities/PackageMaker.app

          Pages:          Version: 4.3 - SDK 10.5

                    /Applications/iWork '09/Pages.app

          Pixie:          Version: 2.5 - SDK 10.0

                    /Developer/Applications/Graphics Tools/Pixie.app

          Quartz Composer:          Version: 4.5 - SDK 10.0

                    /Developer/Applications/Quartz Composer.app

          Quartz Composer Visualizer:          Version: 1.3 - SDK 10.0

                    /Developer/Applications/Graphics Tools/Quartz Composer Visualizer.app

          Quartz Debug:          Version: 4.2 - SDK 10.0

                    /Developer/Applications/Performance Tools/Quartz Debug.app

          SRLanguageModeler:          Version: 1.9 - SDK 10.0

                    /Developer/Applications/Utilities/Speech/SRLanguageModeler.app

          SleepX:          Version: 3.1.1 - SDK 10.0

                    /Developer/Applications/Utilities/SleepX.app

          Spin Control:          Version: 0.9.1 - SDK 10.0

                    /Developer/Applications/Performance Tools/Spin Control.app

          Spin Doctor:          Version: 1.0.1 - SDK 10.5

                    /Applications/Toast 11 Titanium/Spin Doctor.app

          Syncrospector:          Version: 6.0 - SDK 10.0

                    /Developer/Applications/Utilities/Syncrospector.app

          Template:          Version: 3.3 - SDK 10.5

                    /Library/Frameworks/Adobe AIR.framework/Versions/1.0/Resources/Template.app

          USB Prober:          Version: 4.4.0 - SDK 10.0

                    /Developer/Applications/Utilities/USB Prober.app

          Xcode:          Version: 4.2.1 - SDK 10.0

                    /Developer/Applications/Xcode.app

          Xcode SSH Authentication Agent:          Version: 4.2.1 - SDK 10.0

                    /Developer/Library/PrivateFrameworks/IDEFoundation.framework/Versions/A/Re sources/Xcode SSH Authentication Agent.app

Time Machine:

          Mobile backups: OFF

          Auto backup: NO

          Volumes being backed up:

                    Macintosh HD: Disk size: 232.09 GB Disk used: 92.32 GB

          Destinations:

                    Lion Backup [Local] (Last used)

                    Total size: 0 B

                    Total number of backups: (null)

                    Size of backup disk: Too small

                              Backup size 0 B < (Disk used 92.32 GB X 3)

          Time Machine details may not be accurate.

          All volumes being backed up may not be listed.

          /sbin excluded from backup!

          /usr excluded from backup!

          /System excluded from backup!

          /bin excluded from backup!

          /private excluded from backup!

          /Library excluded from backup!

          /Applications excluded from backup!

Top Processes by CPU:

               1%          com.apple.WebKit.Networking

               0%          EtreCheck

               0%          Memory Clean

               0%          Safari

               0%          WindowServer

Top Processes by Memory:

          88 MB          com.apple.WebKit.WebContent

          82 MB          mds_stores

          66 MB          Dock

          53 MB          Safari

          53 MB          DashboardClient

Virtual Memory Statistics:

          1.98 GB          Free RAM

          1.37 GB          Active RAM

          171 MB          Inactive RAM

          491 MB          Wired RAM

          314 MB          Page-ins

          0 B          Page-outs

Please help. Thank you

Thanks a bunch Okinrav!!!

After a lot of struggle flashing my Crucial SSD's firmware my Mac hasen't freezed for days. Formerly it freezed every couple of minutes.

If you cannot boot your Mac either from optical drive or the USB thumbdisk containing the firmware utility (wich was my case), i suggest to anyone who has the same problem to backup all data and flash the disk from another computer. Formatting the SSD using a Master Boot Record (MBR) instead of GUID partition table might be necessary if drive not detected on a Windows machine. If you own a Crucial M500 SSD, be sure to have the U3 firmware installed.

Cheers to everybody

Yahmedjee-

You still have remnants of MacKeeper present:

SharedServices.Agent.plist

          [failed] com.zeobit.MacKeeper.Helper.plist

 

Many users on this forum consider MacKeeper to be malware.

Capitawl-

You have remnants of :

CleanMy Mac. This is not needed, and may remove system modules as well as what you intended to remove.

samba drivers (which have clashed with the built-in Mac OS X samba drivers)

Torrent drivers (which may provide copious amounts of malware)

Outdated java modules (flagged in the report)

You may have multiple NTFS drivers, and MacFuse which is a known troublemaker.

CUDA and Fireface kernel extensions which must be current, or these could be causing serious problems.

Thank you for your reply.  I have tried to look for mackeeper files in all the locations but unable to find it.  I have also checked the login items and it seems there is nothing there either.  I have never used Mackeeper so not sure how it got there.  Any suggestions?