Random Freezing

i Have the same problem i was very scared at first then it happen another 20 times and then i re-installed OS X and still from time to time it will freeze but alot less and sometimes it will un-freeze if i close the lid and open it, but that only works half of the time.

Freezing issue here as well with my new MacBook Pro 15-inch bought from Apple online. I ran hardware check and it found nothing. It seems to freeze more so under Windows Vista SP2 (boot camp).

So it is a RAM issue?

I really believe it's a heat issue with some machines. It happened to me more often when I hooked up an external display and run the machine with the lid closed. I don't believe it's the RAM because I use the same RAM in the exchanged MBP. I also doubt the software issue too, since I use the same drive with the same software.

Could you guys please try out smcFanControl and post back with your results. You can download it here it's a free utility: http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/23049/smcfancontrol
It really helps to run the machine cooler and I haven't had any freezes all weekend.

Hi all,

I also experience random freezes with my new MacBook Pro (4GB). It happens about twice a day.

I realized that the CPU gets quite hot at times (usually 75°C but sometimes up to 95°C while running TimeMachine), but I can't relate it to the freezes as they also happen when the CPU is quite cool (<65°C). I rather have the impression that it is related to the graphics usage - most freezes occured while watching a video on youtube.com or with Quicktime.

Although I migrated my old MacOS X installation to the new Mac I don't think that it's related to that since I never installed any special hardware drivers. And from the symptoms it really looks like a hardware issue as the system (including mouse) freezes completely without warning. If sound was playing before the freeze, it keeps running in a loop of 1 second or so.

I had the same problem after installing 2 x 2gb Ram Modules from OWC. Freezing all the time. Apple support did know what problem was and sent me replacement computer. While waiting for replacement I installed original 1 x 2GB modules and no more crashes. Could be the 2gb Ram modules. What brands are you guys using?

Sorry, should be 2 x 1gb modules, not 1 x 2gb modules above.

I'm not saying it couldn't be the RAM in your case, but I had the same problems with 3 different sets of memory... the original from Apple, with 4GB from OWC, and with 4GB from Crucial. Only after I exchanged the MBP for a new one the freezing stopped.

Again, I put the drive from the first MBP into the new MBP, no changes to the software on it. So in my opinion it has to be a hardware related issue.

I have freezing also. I am on my second one as of now. I thought it was my ram because I did an upgrade. however this is not the case becase mt second macbook has apple ram.

I don't know if it's a heating issue.

Though all of my freezes have happened while I was out and about, with the computer in my lap, as opposed to at home with my display setup. When I use the computer with a display, I set it up on one of those laptop cooling plates with fans, and leave the lid open, so it runs cooler then when it's sitting on my lap in my girlfriend's bed.

Has anyone noticed whether their freeze-ups tend to happen wile using the discrete video or the integrated? I would think that the discrete video runs hotter.

The reason I'm not sure if it's a heating issue is that any other computers I've encountered with heating issues just turned off suddenly. This is more of a driver freeze or issue. I use iStat pro to monitor my system, and I don't notice the MBP running any warmer than my MB did. If anything, it tends to run slightly cooler.

Also, did anyone notice a "sound loop" when their machine froze? If I was watching a video or listening to music, the sound would loop over and over again, like a CD skipping.

This is very interesting, I'll try running on the integrated GPU to see if that makes a difference. My freezing ONLY occurs in Windows Vista (bootcamp) however I should mention the machine runs much warmer than if I were in OS X.

If this many people are facing freezing issues, it sounds like a hardware issue and not software.

For all of you with freezing problems:

I have serious freezing problems, 6-7 times a day it would just freeze up and I would have to reset with powerbutton 5seconds to get back to work.

Before returning it, I decided to reinstall OSX with the restore DVD, and wouldn´t you know.. It´s working 100% now.

Please try this and give feedback to the thread, in my case a simple restore fixed all my problems with my MBP 2.53GHz.


Good luck

Hi NinerRider,

Did the 2nd MacBook Pro face any freezing issues or are you set? Thanks!

Hi Thai-Tan,

the new machine froze only once in the last 6 days. I can live with that. The first one froze several times a day.

Interesting. My system froze and Vista detected the culprit to be the Nvidia drivers. I checked Nvidia's website and there is no new driver yet for the GeForce M 9 series. Hopefully Apple will release an updated one for Bootcamp.

I'm not seeing nearly that level of freeze-ups. Once every other day, maybe. And I don't use this machine lightly: all day at work, and then all night at home.