Screen turns black when gaming?

I beg to differ! Read this one on the "bad bumps" in the Nvidia-chips:

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/921/1049921/inquirer-confirms-apple-mac book-pros-have-nvidia-bad-bump-material

Ordered my MBP last weekend but am thinking about canceling the deal... 😟

I'd posted here a couple of times and was generally discouraged.

However, Apple called me today on my cell phone and was investigating this particular issue. The rep asked if I'd be willing to send in my computer so the engineers could chop it up and see what's what inside. I'll get a new one from a local Apple store tomorrow. Hopefully it'll be good.

Looks like there is some movement in the Apple ranks. If it's an nVidia issue, I'm sure they're going to want to clear the Apple name as soon as possible.

Bummer for nVidia, considering they just got busted for bad chips in the prior Macbook Pros.

I took mine in to a local Apple certified repair shop and they filled out some tickets concerning the issue. That, and the fact that this is my sixth mac might have put me on someone's call list. Maybe it was just dumb luck.

Regardless, I was definitely not expecting them to call me. Restored a good bit of my enthusiasm for the company.

Mine wasn't quite build to order but I got iWork and an Apple remote with mine. There was 1 week turnaround: called them on monday, they picked my old one up friday and my new one was delivered on monday. So I was only without my laptop for a couple of days. Easy 😀

To those saying that it is a software issue. You should read my earlier post but I'll try to put it another way.

Two absolutely identical MacBook Pro. One getting BSoD most of the time. The second running absolutely perfectly.

Cloned the Hard Drive on MBP 1 to MBP 2.

MBP 2 still running perfectly, no problems at all.

If it were a Software Issue, MBP 2 would be experiencing the BSoD after the hard drive cloning. This did not happen.

Therefore, it can be concluded that it is a Hardware Problem, NOT a Software issue.

Hi tom_1st,

thanks for your kind clarifications and for your point of view.

I was just getting confused partly because of style and partly because it felt like the earlier article (talking much about material and the fixes not being appropriate) seemed to contradict some of the statements in the later article (pretty much blaming only bumps for the problem). And also I found it very strange that the I. started criticizing both the chipset and the 9600M GT:

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/670/1049670/nvidia-heat-causing-macbook s-to-fail

And also.. this Forum has some members stating: "Charlie (from the I.) has zero credibility ... unless somebody else backs up the findings":

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=613940

Although said too: "The Inq. is rarely wrong".



But I guess we are moving in a grey area of rumors so that's fine.

But I totally agree one should continue to observe and maybe that is another 90% case for the Inquirer.

regards

null

So maybe I should return the new MBP once it arrives or test it out and see what happens...? I think I will explore the return option. My old PB G4 is working just fine and after reading all the forums on the new MBP I would rather have my over $2,000 bucks credited to my account.

I wish Apple could provide some direction on this 😟 I really don't want a Windows machine.

Message was edited by: Juan Alcantar

I have access to another MBP, with the exact specs to mine. It was purchased on the same day, even, so I wonder if it would have these same problems.

Perhaps, when I get a chance, I'll clone my XP partition to the second computer and give it a whirl to see if the games are still crashing.

Okay - current MBP having the BSoD issue matches Kevenly's first MBP exactly.

Hardware Overview:
Boot ROM Version: MBP51.0074.B00
SMC Version: 1.33f6

NVIDIA GeForce 9400M:
ROM Revision: 3327

NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT:
ROM Revision: 3327

My 14 days (since purchase date) ends this Friday so I'm probably going to have it swapped out tomorrow. I'll post the info from the new one when I get it.

Ran Software Update right after this post and got the first update only. Installed, rebooted, and it updated the firmware.

After a reboot, the system verified that it updated properly.

Ran Software Update again, and was presented with the SMC update. Installed it, rebooted, and the fans spun up full speed and the firmware was updated.

Will try running a few games that would crash consistently under XP in BootCamp to see if it made any difference.

Quoting KevRev:

"
Boot ROM Version: MBP51.0074.B00
SMC Version: 1.33f6

NVIDIA GeForce 9400M:
ROM Revision: 3327

NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT:
ROM Revision: 3327
"

Boot Rom version is now MBP51.0074.B01
SMC version is 1.33F8

NVidia 9400M is 3343

NVidia 9600M GT is 3343

Message was edited by: DLC_UT

Painkiller and Half-Life 2 are still crashing on me (XP in BootCamp)

I'm using the 180.42 drivers, after having the same issues with the original BootCamp and the newest 180.84 drivers.

Disappointed.

Can some in this forum confirm that there is a new MacBook Pro with a new boot ROM? User by the name of "Kevenly" claims that he has a new system with a new boot ROM and it has a Seagate drive in it. I went to the Apple store this morning and had my MacBook Pro 2.53Ghz swap out. Right after I left the store, Apple called me on my cell phone and wanted to capture the machine that I just returned for dissection. This is similar to another user who has reported similar thing that happened to him. I told them to call the store and capture the laptop from the store. The new machine I got still has boot ROM version MPB51.0074.B00. And it still has NVidia 3327 ROM in it. So far the machine runs fine without BSOD. I will keep you guys informed if anything changes. I am having some doubt about Kevenly's post. My machine has a fairly new serial number, so I assume this is a recent built. Can someone confirm that Apple did in fact change the Boot ROM and the NVidia ROM?

BTW, the tech told me a very small percentage of people are having BSOD problem. Hopefully, it's just NIvidia mixing good chips with bad chips and they can slowly weed out the bad ones. I praying that my new machine will not experience BSOD again. I know the genius is sick of seeing me at the store. =)

Ignore my question. I just updated to the new EFI firmware and now my system is showing MBP51.0074.B01 and it has NVidia 3343 ROM update. I guess this confirms the fact that Apple is tweaking the graphic driver. Still no BSOD =) My finger is crossed!

Again, I have a 2.4Ghz MB, not MBP but am experiencing a similar issue. Walked into a local apple store this evening and got some info I wanted to pass on. First, the 'genius' knew about the issue and was sympathetic to the problem. He presumed Apple corp was working on it but was careful to say he had not heard (or been authorized to say) anything specifically from them but to be sure to keep posting on the forums or writing letters to them. Second, he said they don't recommend boosting fan speed (damages CPU, he said); rather, to stop playing WoW or using other apps that crash the machine/increase the heat...

He also recommended installing Windows in bootcamp and trying it that way: different OS, different drivers, different software.

He seemed to hope for a firmware update, though I told him I was very disappointed if all that update did was gimp the GPU.

I see a new firmware update (1.3 for MB tonight), so will give that a try. Hard to say what fix will be, but as a fairly recent switcher this is very concerning.

I will write a snail mail letter to Apple corporate and others should maybe do the same.

I have a 2.8 Pro (late 2008, 5,1)

mine came with the most recent EFI and SMC firmware, the recent update reported that it was unneeded, and I confirmed i have version;
Boot ROM Version: MBP51.0074.B01
SMC Version: 1.33f8
and Nvidia
ROM Revision: 3343

I have been having Black screen /looping audio crashes since day one, in Vista 32, Vista 64, and OSX games.
at first I thought drivers were the issue, but of course later discovered that these are simply more of Nvidia's faulty chips.

here's a good site for everyone to read
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/921/1049921/inquirer-confirms-apple-mac book-pros-have-nvidia-bad-bump-material


Anyway
I have a G-Bar appointment tomorrow and will get a better idea of what my options are.

considering that most likely ALL the 9600's in these machines are defective, I doubt a repair/replacement will cure my woes, but I'll of course test and report back with my experiences on that.


all I want to do is play Fallout3 in peace!