Level 1

0 points

No "Low Battery" warning on new (November 07) MacBook - Kernel Panic

Hello,

I'm not sure is this is the right forum for this, but since the problem occurs during a specific battery state, I'm going to post it here.

I just got one of the new November 07 MacBooks. The machine is great, and screams with the pre-installed Leopard.

First thing I did was plug it in to charge as I started configuring software. Once it was fully charged, I pulled the plug, and began using it on battery. My plan was to calibrate the battery, by running it all the way until it forced a sleep, then shutting down and plugging it in again, as Apple recommends.

Problem is, I never got the "Low Battery" warning, or even the sleep warning. At around 10 minutes of power left, I simply got a kernel panic. A few seconds later, the laptop just switched off.

I plugged in again for a few minutes, then ran it down again to see if I could reproduce the error, and I did get the low battery warning.

The next time the battery ran down, it gave me the kernel panic.

Is this happening to anyone else? Is it a new MacBook problem, or a leopard power management problem? I'm having no other issues at all with the MacBook or Leopard. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

MacBook (November 07), Mac OS X (10.5)

Posted on Nov 4, 2007 6:57 PM

162 replies

rsmac

Level 1

8 points

Jan 25, 2008 12:34 PM in response to J-a-x

With the new battery, mine is still showing the 'correct value'.
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 5198
Fully charged: Yes
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 5198

I hope it will stay like this...I will keep my MB charged for about 1 more hr and then will unplug the charger to begin the battery callibration...'keep fingers crossed'

Will let you know...

Message was edited by: rsmac

Jan 25, 2008 2:57 PM in response to qantas30

Hi

I posted a similar message. The SMC is very optimistically set to go to sleep at 0%. As soon as your battery is not calibrated your macbook will die.
Draining the battery at every use is not healthy so if you are doing that to make the point, don't!

J-a-x

Level 3

745 points

Jan 25, 2008 4:53 PM in response to rsmac

rsmac wrote:

I hope it will stay like this...I will keep my MB charged for about 1 more hr and then will unplug the charger to begin the battery callibration...'keep fingers crossed'

Will let you know...

So.. did it work!?!?!

rsmac

Level 1

8 points

Jan 26, 2008 5:34 AM in response to J-a-x

No...it didn't I dont know why but I guess OS now automatically recognize the battery with max capacity of 5528...

I guess I'll just wait for a new software update...

rsmac

Level 1

8 points

Jan 26, 2008 9:52 AM in response to markdem

I wonder...should I return this MacBook because of this problem? is this really a software issue? or a hardware issue?

I'm pretty sure that this is a software issue. My battery updater is version 1.3

Still have a week to be able to return it...

Please advice...

J-a-x

Level 3

745 points

Jan 26, 2008 4:00 PM in response to rsmac

Sounds like maybe you should if the battery did not solve the problem.

The Apple tech told me that if this battery doesn't work, I shouldn't hesitate to return it and get a brand new machine. New machines aren't supposed to crash every time the battery gets low, and it's not like this happens with all new MacBooks, just a few of us.

I got my new battery in the mail from Apple today. It is currently charging with about 10 minutes to go, then I will discharge and let everybody in here know what happens.

You might want to wait until you hear my results before returning your machine.

My new battery shows up in system profiler as:

Manufacturer: DP
Device name: ASMB016
Pack Lot Code: 0002
PCB Lot Code: 0000
Firmware Version: 0110
Hardware Revision: 0500
Cell Revision: 0102

Full charge capacity (mAh): 5162

Jan 26, 2008 8:54 PM in response to J-a-x

i returned my first machine for a second one because of a dead pixel on the screen and i'm still having the panic problem. it's happened twice so far on my new machine and i've heard that 3rd time's the trick. i'm hoping that it is. i'll keep you updated on the situation.

Jan 26, 2008 9:13 PM in response to hughjass1731

awesome! i drained the battery a third time and it went to sleep with 1% left!!!

NOTE TO EVERYONE WITH THIS PROBLEM: charge the battery to 100% then drain it, charge it to 15% and drain it, then charge to 15% again and it should go to sleep.

J-a-x

Level 3

745 points

Jan 26, 2008 9:23 PM in response to hughjass1731

I charged mine with a NEW battery, left it for a few hours, and have been draining it all night. I am down to 5%, just got the low battery warning, and I am about to find out whether it sleeps for real or crashes. I will be back with an update in 5-10 minutes...

J-a-x

Level 3

745 points

Jan 26, 2008 9:42 PM in response to J-a-x

Yay!!!
I just tested let the NEW battery run down and it worked PERFECTLY - it went to sleep ust like it is supposed to !!!

Rather than letting it sleep overnight before charging it like Apple recommends for a proper calibration, I just plugged it in again because I was so excited and I wanted to report it here. I guess I'll have to do the calibration again another day. Anyways, I'm totally excited that it worked. So I guess that is the solution - get a new battery!

I was impressed that Apple sent the new battery overnight on Friday and I got it Saturday afternoon!

rsmac

Level 1

8 points

Jan 27, 2008 4:01 AM in response to J-a-x

Yes good for you I hope it'll stay like that!

Could you check what is your battery updater version? is it 1.3?

You can check it in:
Macintosh HD/System/Library/SystemConfiguration/BatteryUpdater.bundle (and then get info)

Do you also tried to shut down/restart and then checked that max full capacity is still <5200 mAh?

Because that what I do to make sure that everything works as it should.

rsmac

Level 1

8 points

Jan 27, 2008 4:10 AM in response to J-a-x

I dont think returning the Mac is a solution...I found this thread and Its the same with a new macbook that this user get.

http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=6438336#6438336

I always saw a low battery warning though before it crashed/shutdown...but now I stil dont have a gut to try it again. Yesterday I tried calibrating the battery:
1. Put the computer to sleep at 3%
2. wait 5 hours
3. I goes to "safe sleep" the LED stop blinking...
4. charge untill full
5. turned it on and I can see its loading from "safe sleep" I saw the "horizontal loading bar"
6. And it is now callibrated...

J-a-x

Level 3

745 points

Jan 27, 2008 5:51 AM in response to rsmac

Could you check what is your battery updater version? is it 1.3?

Yes, it is 1.3. All machines with Leopard have 1.3 by default, according to the Apple guy.

Do you also tried to shut down/restart and then checked that max full capacity is still <5200 >mAh?

Nope, just popped in the new battery when I got it, charged it up (it came fully discharged), then let it run down and it went to sleep with no crashes. Just like it should.
I just checked and max capacity is currently 5375.

1. Put the computer to sleep at 3%
2. wait 5 hours
3. I goes to "safe sleep" the LED stop blinking...
4. charge untill full
5. turned it on and I can see its loading from "safe sleep" I saw the "horizontal loading bar"
6. And it is now callibrated...

I didn't have to do any of that. I just put in the new battery and it worked.

I might try the old battery once more before sending it back to Apple, just out of curiosity about whether that old battery will still cause my system to crash.

One thought - I had an old powerbook G4 that used to have a very similar behavior. It would not have a kernel panic, but it would shut itself down rather than sleeping when the battery got low (a hard shutdown not a soft shutdown). Anyways, somebody suggested I try a different battery and my backup battery worked fine, so it turned out there was something faulty with the battery that was causing the strange behavior. That's why I am pretty sure it is the battery in this case.

Message was edited by: J-a-x

rsmac

Level 1

8 points

Jan 27, 2008 8:16 AM in response to J-a-x

Hi J-a-x thanks for the update. With my old battery there is time when the "max full capcity <5200 mAh" and my MB didnt crash. It happened after the "kernel panic"...

After panicked, I charged the battery again and system profiler showed around 5400 mAh.

J-a-x I really hope that your problem is already fixed...but this is exactly the same situation as what I have.

1. With fresh new battery out of the box system profiler showed 5195 max full capacity.(this is the right value)
2. After charging/re-charging(normal use) the max full capacity went up to around 5400 mAh.

I guess after step 2 the shut down/kernel panic issue instead of "sleep" start happening.

Thanks for the update though...really appreciate it

J-a-x

Level 3

745 points

Jan 27, 2008 8:58 AM in response to rsmac

That *****.. that's not very good to hear. My first battery behaved totally differently though. From the very first discharge it crashed. It didn't sleep properly on low battery, not even once, so that's why I am so excited that this one slept properly on the first try.

I guess I won't know if it is really fixed until I try discharging it again. I could do it now, but since I will probably follow the proper Apple calibration procedure and that means leaving it for 5 hours discharged before re-charging ( http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.4/en/mh2339.html). I don't really want to be without my computer for 5 hours, so I guess I have to do that at night or some time when I can be without for that long...

By the way, does anybody understand step 5 in the calibration procedure?
"5. Turn off the computer or allow it to sleep for five hours or longer."
Does that mean if I turn the computer off, I don't have to wait for it to sleep for five hours? How do I turn it off when the battery is dead and it is sleeping anyways? Hold down the power button?

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

No "Low Battery" warning on new (November 07) MacBook - Kernel Panic