sweet66
Level 1 (8 points)
Notebooks

Q: mid 2009 macbook pro 5.4 problems

i'm trying to keep this thing as long as possible, but i'm getting discouraged.  it's overheating, display is enlarging out of nowhere over and over again, trackpad is not moving the mouse well.  i had some additional ram installed, but that hasn't helped, though it is running a little faster.  i had a look inside, it's not dusty and the fan doesn't look dirty.  trackpad clicks down so i'm assuming the battery isn't swollen, though it probably needs to be replaced at this point.  i'm running a virus scan - OS X malcol was detected this evening - don't know how much of a problem this is.  i upgraded the operating system to el capitan.  i did buy a mouse for it and it seems to be working okay, but i don't know if that did anything to my MBP.  screen enlarges with or without the mouse connected.  display enlarging and shrinking by itself as i am typing this!  crazytown!  any ideas what might be going on here?

iPad, iOS 8.1

Posted on Jul 20, 2016 4:02 PM

by BobTheFisherman,Solvedanswer
BobTheFisherman BobTheFisherman
Level 6 (15,398 points)
A:

Start by removing Symantec, Clamxav, and MacKeeper. They are not needed and may cause problems.

Posted on Jul 20, 2016 4:58 PM

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sweet66

Q: mid 2009 macbook pro 5.4 problems

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  • by Drew Reece,

    Drew Reece Drew Reece Jul 20, 2016 5:41 PM in response to sweet66
    Level 5 (7,559 points)
    Notebooks
    Jul 20, 2016 5:41 PM in response to sweet66

    There are crash reports every 10 seconds from 'hasplmd'. I suspect that is the same pipe organ software mentioned in this thread…

    Repeated process crash every 10 seconds

     

    Look up the instructions to remove sofware or ask here if you do not recognise that software, it is important to get all the pieces of crashing processes, so consult the developer's site when clearing out these items.

     

    I suspect removing these items may not alter your trackpad, please consider a 'safe boot' as a test…

    Try safe mode if your Mac doesn't finish starting up - Apple Support

    Your Mac will perform poorly in this mode - many OS components are running in a limited mode. Please test the trackpad as much as possible - see if it stops misbehaving. Please be thorough if the issue is intermittent - give it time to appear. Once you have tested reboot to go back to a normal mode - the next boot may be slower, don't be concerned by this. Safe boot does disable all third party extensions - which can help indicate where an issue may come from.

     

     

    P.S. Your Mac may not have AHT installed on the hard disk anymore (it is often removed when clean installing new OS's). Find your 'grey original install disks' & look for the hardware test instructions printed on one of the disks.

     

    You may be able to make a USB bootable AHT but it is often simpler to find the original disks.

  • by sweet66,

    sweet66 sweet66 Jul 20, 2016 6:46 PM in response to Drew Reece
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Notebooks
    Jul 20, 2016 6:46 PM in response to Drew Reece

    interestingly, since i uninstalled symantic, the trackpad is working perfectly and the display is no longer enlarging.  so that is fixed.  it's just the overheating now.  i for the live of me cannot find the disks that came with my macbook pro.  it's been 7 years and i've moved since then.  though i'm usually really good about keeping things.  just cannot find them.  i did do a search and found a thread or two that offered a place to download the files needed to do an AHT.  i downloaded them, but it's still not working.  maybe i should just count my blessings at this point.

  • by sweet66,

    sweet66 sweet66 Jul 20, 2016 6:56 PM in response to Drew Reece
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Notebooks
    Jul 20, 2016 6:56 PM in response to Drew Reece

    OMG i just found them 

  • by sweet66,

    sweet66 sweet66 Jul 20, 2016 7:01 PM in response to Drew Reece
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Notebooks
    Jul 20, 2016 7:01 PM in response to Drew Reece

    so, i have 2 disks.  one is an OS  X install disk, the other an applications disk.  how do i find what i need on there?  i have the applications disk in there.  i see "install bundled software" but do i really want to do that?

  • by Drew Reece,

    Drew Reece Drew Reece Jul 20, 2016 8:07 PM in response to sweet66
    Level 5 (7,559 points)
    Notebooks
    Jul 20, 2016 8:07 PM in response to sweet66

    One disk normally has the instructions for booting Apple Hardware Test printed in tiny text. If you cannot see it insert each disk & try booting with D held down. One disk should eventually get you into the test OS.

     

    Run the normal & extended mode. Also try loop mode (hit cmd+L to enable it). It will repeat the tests over & over, leave overnight if you want a very thorough test.

     

    Record any error messages you see & post them here, some can be benign and Apple don't publish the code meanings so it may involve some sleuthing if errors appear.

     

    P.S. How do you know it is overheating - are there dialogs? Older Macs can run a little hot & the fan can sometimes be loud too. Try lifting the Mac on books or something to encourage airflow to see if better cooling actually helps it.

  • by sweet66,

    sweet66 sweet66 Jul 20, 2016 10:11 PM in response to Drew Reece
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Notebooks
    Jul 20, 2016 10:11 PM in response to Drew Reece

    i did the AHT.  no problems anywhere.  which is good.  no there isn't any dialogue that it's overheating.  i was going to replace the fan but it doesn't really look like it needs to be replaced.  could an old battery cause that.  i suppose that really the only thing that needs doing at this point.  drew thanks so much for your help.  i tried clicking helpful on your replies but nothing happens.  putting this thing away for the night.  i think i'm in good shape now.  thanks again!

  • by OGELTHORPE,

    OGELTHORPE OGELTHORPE Jul 21, 2016 3:58 AM in response to sweet66
    Level 9 (52,424 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 21, 2016 3:58 AM in response to sweet66

    In regards to the 'overheating', reset the SMC:

     

    https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201295

     

    If there is no change, install a temperature/fan speed application.

     

    Set Activity Monitor to ALL PROCESSES and set CPU to display values from high to low.

     

    When the MBP gets 'hot' take images of both and post them for review.

     

    That should enable to determine if there is or is not a heat problem.

     

    Ciao.

  • by sweet66,

    sweet66 sweet66 Jul 21, 2016 6:49 AM in response to OGELTHORPE
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Notebooks
    Jul 21, 2016 6:49 AM in response to OGELTHORPE

    thanks ogelthorpe.  i get up this morning and the trackpad is right back to where it was before.  wonky.  display is so magnified right now.  ****.  don't know what else to do.

  • by Drew Reece,

    Drew Reece Drew Reece Jul 21, 2016 7:17 AM in response to sweet66
    Level 5 (7,559 points)
    Notebooks
    Jul 21, 2016 7:17 AM in response to sweet66

    If you want to resolve this yourself you need to keep testing & post more info so we can understand the issue better. AHT won't always test & find every issue, which is why you need to run it repeatedly & hope it catches your specific issue. It may miss some hardware failures altogether.

     

    If you don't want to continue - take it to an Apple store. It is what they are there for. They will charge you for any repairs but the initial consult is free. That model is considered 'vintage' & getting parts may be hard, however it will only get harder the longer you leave it…

     

    It could help us to see the 'wonky or enlarged' screen. It sounds like it could simply be the accessibility zoom feature that is active but you didn't confirm this earlier. When the screen is showing the error take a screenshot (cmd+shift+3), find it on the desktop & check that the error is shown. Post it here if possible. Cover any private info if you need to do so by placing windows over it when capturing the screen.

    If it is just the accessibility zoom disable that option in system preferences > accessibility & reboot. Keyboard shortcuts & trackpad actions can be activated by faulty hardware.

     

    Also carry on with a safe boot test as I mentioned in an earlier post.

  • by sweet66,

    sweet66 sweet66 Jul 21, 2016 7:21 AM in response to Drew Reece
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Notebooks
    Jul 21, 2016 7:21 AM in response to Drew Reece

    Screen Shot 2016-07-21 at 10.20.04 AM.png

  • by sweet66,

    sweet66 sweet66 Jul 21, 2016 7:27 AM in response to sweet66
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Notebooks
    Jul 21, 2016 7:27 AM in response to sweet66

    this is not as big as it gets, but it's what just happened.  i moved my fingers upward on the trackpad to scroll up and instead the display enlarged.  i did recently introduce a mouse (screen just enlarged again as i was tying and not using trackpad), but i can't recall if the problem started before or after.  btw, it happens in safari.  i should investigate if it happens in chrome.  didn't happen with photoshop.  trackpad doesn't work correctly on desktop.  i just did an SMC reset, but nothing changed.  i press the space key just now and the display shifted to the left.  crazy town.

  • by sweet66,

    sweet66 sweet66 Jul 21, 2016 7:30 AM in response to sweet66
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Notebooks
    Jul 21, 2016 7:30 AM in response to sweet66

    and now this.  this is my full screen.

     

     

    Screen Shot 2016-07-21 at 10.28.59 AM.png

  • by sweet66,

    sweet66 sweet66 Jul 21, 2016 7:33 AM in response to sweet66
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Notebooks
    Jul 21, 2016 7:33 AM in response to sweet66

    i don't recall being asked about the accessibility zoom feature.  just did this as i was typing.

     

     

    Screen Shot 2016-07-21 at 10.32.30 AM.png

  • by Drew Reece,

    Drew Reece Drew Reece Jul 21, 2016 7:47 AM in response to sweet66
    Level 5 (7,559 points)
    Notebooks
    Jul 21, 2016 7:47 AM in response to sweet66

    It was my first post I mentioned Accessibility, you marked it as helpful so I assumed you read the links & checked it out, I wasn't totally clear explaining it I guess

     

    Investigate that Accessibilty preferences panel in System Preferences.

     

    I have the option to use…

    cmd+alt+= listed to zoom in

    cmd+alt+- listed to zoom out

    NOTE: these need to be enabled to work

     

    Also see the Keyboard shortcuts in System Preferences, e.g. cmd+alt+8 may activate zoom mode (again these need to be checked to be active).

     

    You may have different shortcuts configured. So check those settings & try the shortcuts. This seems like a 'false input' issue to me. Remove all additional mice & keyboards & retest.

     

    OS X also has 'pinch to zoom' so it could simply be that you are triggering that with your fingers or via the scroll wheel on the mouse. It can also be a failing trackpad that does that on it's own.

     

    I don't know any way to 'see' trackpad input, however the keyboard viewer does display keyboard input.

    OS X Yosemite: Use the Keyboard Viewer

    Enable that & see if keys appear to be randomly triggered. It will show key presses as you hit keys & modifiers etc. See if any of them seem to misbehave (maybe in a test Textedit document so you do not ruin your typing).

  • by sweet66,

    sweet66 sweet66 Jul 21, 2016 9:24 AM in response to Drew Reece
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Notebooks
    Jul 21, 2016 9:24 AM in response to Drew Reece

    i looked and those accessibility preferences are not enabled.  i'm working in google chrome now to see if maybe the issue is a safari one.  so far i've not had any problems, but i'll give it some time.

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