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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

Feb 20, 2008 2:57 PM in response to claucojo

Mine shuts off at 0% rather than going to sleep--no safe sleep, just "off".

Called AppleCare and told them what was happening, they are sending me a new battery. I did some 'testing' w/ my girlfriend's white Macbook (last gen, 2.16) and it does not do it w/ her battery or on her machine (we both run leopard).

This will be my third battery--the first was replaced b/c it didn't sit flush w/ the case...swapped out at the Genius Bar w/ new battery that did sit flush, but now shuts the machine off. Third time is a charm...hopefully 🙂

Applecare was really nice on the phone.

claucojo

Level 1

0 points

Feb 20, 2008 3:02 PM in response to JohnBradshaw

I don't think though it is a battery problem.
A lot of people changed the battery but the problem stayed.
It looks more like a software problem.

So, no Apple general solution for this hugely spread problem?

J-a-x

Level 3

745 points

Feb 20, 2008 3:09 PM in response to claucojo

claucojo wrote:
I don't think though it is a battery problem.
A lot of people changed the battery but the problem stayed.
It looks more like a software problem.

So, no Apple general solution for this hugely spread problem?

I changed my battery, and it has worked fine ever since....

claucojo

Level 1

0 points

Feb 20, 2008 3:16 PM in response to J-a-x

You were lucky. 🙂

But what about the others?

Feb 20, 2008 7:00 PM in response to claucojo

claucojo wrote:
I don't think though it is a battery problem.
A lot of people changed the battery but the problem stayed.
It looks more like a software problem.

So, no Apple general solution for this hugely spread problem?

Not trying to disagree w/ you, but in my case the issue disappeared when I swapped batteries w/ my g/f's Macbook.

claucojo

Level 1

0 points

Feb 20, 2008 7:12 PM in response to JohnBradshaw

Thanks, that's a great suggestion.

I will try to swap batteries with a friend and see what happens,
is the battery or not.

Feb 21, 2008 11:09 AM in response to claucojo

FYI. I just got the replacement battery last night. I charged it up all the way last night and haven't yet calibrated it yet. Only time will tell if it is isolated to just a few batteries or a lot of the newer ones.

I did notice, however, that it sat more flush w/ the bottom of my MB. Go figure.

Feb 22, 2008 8:09 AM in response to claucojo

claucojo wrote:
I don't think though it is a battery problem.
A lot of people changed the battery but the problem stayed.
It looks more like a software problem.

So, no Apple general solution for this hugely spread problem?

Ok, update...

Either I'm wrong and you're right, or we're both wrong. Apple sent me a new battery, issue persisted. Called up AppleCare and they wanted to "get their hands" on the computer. So, while I wait for my cardboard coffin, it appears that either the batteries are to blame, or the machine. Either way, it's going back to Apple for repair 😟

claucojo

Level 1

0 points

Feb 22, 2008 9:33 AM in response to JohnBradshaw

Hi,

Ok. So getting a new battery does not always solves the problem
(which is what previously some people reported on this forum).

I am really interested to see what Apple says after analyzing your MacBook.
Please keep us posted if they find a solution for you.

Clearly, there is a number of sad Mac users on this forum affected by this
"shut off with no warning" problem.

Thanks.

Feb 22, 2008 11:55 AM in response to claucojo

claucojo wrote:
I am really interested to see what Apple says after analyzing your MacBook.
Please keep us posted if they find a solution for you.

Clearly, there is a number of sad Mac users on this forum affected by this
"shut off with no warning" problem.

Will do. It is not happening in the slightest on my g/f's 2.16Ghz White MB, and we're both running Leopard w/ all updates.

Here's a guess.... if it's hardware, it's gotta be the logic board or a really bad batch of batteries.

Any news if this is/isn't limited to the Santa Rosa (2.2Ghz) models?

In the meantime, I'll be here....patiently waiting for the cardboard coffin to come.

J-a-x

Level 3

745 points

Feb 22, 2008 11:59 AM in response to JohnBradshaw

I have decided to run my battery down today and do a test on my 2.2 ghz MacBook. I've already done 3 tests but with all this talk I thought I better test it again before my warranty is up. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

J-a-x

Level 3

745 points

Feb 22, 2008 2:32 PM in response to J-a-x

Okay the results of today's battery test are good. I ran the battery down while using heavy processor power (playing the iTunes visualizer), and it behaved exactly as expected. I got the warning 10 minute before sleep, and at 0% my Mac went to sleep normally.

This further convinces me that it's a bad batch of batteries. Once I swapped my original battery with Apple, I never had this kernel panic issue again.

Feb 24, 2008 7:06 AM in response to markdem

Hi,

Since we do not know whether this problem is due to hardware or software, I am wondering if people still have problem of "No safe-sleep on low battery" with Leopard 10.5.2, which has been updated recently February 13, 2008. I checked people's post here with their Mac OS X version, and I doubt that Leopard 10.5.2 fixes the "No safe-sleep on low battery" problem. Maybe people did not update their software information profile. So, if that is the case, my question may be relevant. I hope that this problem will be fixed if it is due to software problem. Is anybody who has tested it? Could you please post any message if anyone tests it?

Thank you,

Message was edited by: Beautiful Sky

J-a-x

Level 3

745 points

Feb 24, 2008 7:04 AM in response to Beautiful Sky

If you read through the thread (I know it's long), you'll see that 10.5.2 didn't seem to make a difference. Those that have the problem by swapping batteries seem to still have it under 10.5.2. And those that solved the problem (like me) don't have it anymore. Unfortunately, swapping batteries doesn't seem to work for some people, unless there is just a really huge batch of bad batteries out there.

Feb 24, 2008 7:11 AM in response to J-a-x

Thank you for the quick response. I guess you're right. Just curious. Anyway, now I have to order a macbook, that was returned twice due to this problem. I guess if this problem still hit me, I will try to ask a new battery. Or, maybe ... is it possible to ask Apple to test this problem by sending the whole message of this thread?

Thank you,

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