The previous thread - [Random Freezing|http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1767718] was too long and was causing browsers to time out. It is now locked and continued in this thread.
PM G5, MacBook Pro 17", iMac 24", iPods,
Mac OS X (10.5.6)
Apple is "building" me a new MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2.93 Ghz, 4GB Ram, 320 GB-7200) right now to replace my defective old MacBook Pro (purchased Jan. 2008) that they couldn't fix. It's supposed to ship from China tomorrow, Mon. April 6. Should I anticipate all the problems voiced in this very long thread? If yes, then how should I test for the problems and then if problems are found, what exactly should I do? Thanks.
Allan
I just don't understand how can Apple do nothing about this, i sent my mac to repair and they said they couldn't reproduce it and send it back.
It just works? not really... this is the worst computer i've ever had, it's useless, i never know when it's gonna crash... i can't do anything important on it because of it.
If apple cannot even handle a long thread, I guess it is too much to ask from them to solve such a serious problem. It's obvious that we are left alone to find a solution by ourselves or leave with our problematic laptops.
As I mentioned in the other thread, I have opened a bug with Apple Engineering about this issue. I mentioned the resolution that worked for me, which unfortunately has not worked with everyone. The details of the bug report are under NDA. I completely agree that it is incredibly frustrating to experience this issue. My MacBook Pro is closing in on 6 months old and it just has not worked reliably when all 4 GB is exposed to OS X.
As frustrating as it is, I'm willing to let Apple sort this out. What would be unacceptable is if they simply ignored the issue. But technology is complicated. I'm a software developer and trying to reproduce issues in the software I create, which is a fraction as complicated as OS X, or hardware firmware, is difficult enough. I can't imagine how difficult it is for Apple Engineering to try to isolate this random bug.
One thing I'd advise others to do is use this discussion board as the last level of support. You're entitled to telephone support from AppleCare if you have an issue like this on the unibody MacBook Pro. Take advantage of that first. If the problem cannot be resolved over the phone, bring it into an Apple service centre and let a technician look at it. If it still isn't resolved, then perhaps post about your problems on here.
While I don't know for sure, I'm pretty confident Apple can more reliably track these sort of issues (and fix them) when people phone them or visit service centres. It's a lot more difficult to collect reliable information from Internet discussion boards. Reliable information is gold to engineers trying to resolve these problems. So as frustrating as it is to vent on these discussion boards, it is much more effective to do so after you've let Apple know about the problem you're experiencing 🙂
I tried setting maxmem=3456, and while running only Activity Monitor, Firefox, Yahoo messenger, and Parallels, I got a freeze. Mouse frozen, keyboard unresponsive, and (Parallels was the active app) sound looping. This was with the 9400M in use (and using an external mouse).
So this maxmem trick didn't work in my specific case. And since the freeze is "random" it is hard to say whether reducing the memory reduced the chance of it happening.
I just want to chime in too. I had 14 days of trouble-free computing but got a system freeze while running with the maxmem=3456 trick. So it appears that it is not a cure for this ailment, although it might reduce problems.
For what it's worth, the new MacBook Pro 15s have a newer firmware version. With that firmware version, they can reliably run with 8 GB of RAM. That said, the jury is out on if it's just a firmware issue because Apple silently updated the Nvidia chipset with one that is less buggy than the ones in the original unibody MacBook Pros. I wonder if that firmware also addresses this problem, and if Apple will come out with an update any time soon.
When I bought my first UMBP 2.53Ghz last December (2008) I had the same Freeze issues, without any explanation, I just returned to PC Connection.
I juts bought 1 week ago a new UMBP 2.93 (2009) and installed 8GB (2 x 4GB) Hynix RAM modules, after almost 5 days no issues, everything is working fine. I also installed the new Samsung 256GB SSD. It's SUPER fast now !!!!
logicito wrote:
When I bought my first UMBP 2.53Ghz last December (2008) I had the same Freeze issues, without any explanation, I just returned to PC Connection.
I juts bought 1 week ago a new UMBP 2.93 (2009) and installed 8GB (2 x 4GB) Hynix RAM modules, after almost 5 days no issues, everything is working fine. I also installed the new Samsung 256GB SSD. It's SUPER fast now !!!!
Thanks, would you mind posting whether you have or do not have any random freeze issues after a couple more weeks? My 2.53 GHz can go up to a week without having a freeze, then freeze up. Since this is my work computer, I'm thinking of getting rid of it as I can no longer rely on it. But I don't know where I can go to. Almost every recent Mac I've purchased has had major problems (2004 iMac G5 with leaking capacitors, 2006 MacBook with random shutdown, 2006 MacBook Pro with bad batteries, and now this 2008 MacBook Pro with random freezes). I'm really disheartened, I just want a computer that I can rely on at this point. The only Mac that never gave me a problem was the cheapest one, my Mac Mini.
I was told by a certified-apple-service-person the other day that they are aware of this problem and that changing the logic board seems to fix things! They took a look at this new logic board and thought it was structurally identical, but it got rid of the freezing issue anyway... So as soon as I can spare my machine, I will give it to them and 3-5 days later, it'll hopefully be over with.
Although I have to say I haven't had a freeze in several days... with or without the 9600. But that's how it gets you, lulling you into a false sense of security and then BAM! You never saw it coming 🙂 But I have to be strong and give it away. Better now than after warranty expires and it starts freezing again.
Do I have to do something to simulate or create the problem ?, I am just browsing the internet, running Parallels and iWork, I am using NVIDIA 9400 mode, I do not need the fater and more powerful 9600 mode, please give me some hints to try to re-create the problem, thanks
No, I did not use migration assistant. I purchased from ClubMac, pre-configured with parallels. I never reinstalled the OS myself. I have no idea how ClubMac did its install though, I suppose they could have done something with Migration Assistant.
I can't reliably say "when I do this he WILL freeze"... There's no appearant trigger or a combination of apps that will force a freeze. All I can try is to run as many graphic-intense apps as possible. However, I've had a few freezes just surfing with firefox, no real workload at all apart from that.
Also, it seems to me that freezes are more frequent in day-to-day operation with the 9400 only and in games and other demanding apps with the 9600... Although firstly, this isn't based on empirical data but merely on a "hunch", and secondly the causality could very well be reversed, as I tend to use more GPU-heavy apps when making use of the 9600, thus increasing the chance of a freeze while doing so.
If your service people are as understanding as mine, they will recognize the difficulty to recreate the problem and just exchange your logic-board for a "new" one.
I'm sorry if this is an obvious question, but can you guys clarify what kind of Freeze you all are speaking of ?
My random freezing is with intensive aps but it does not require a restart. Its a temporary freeze of the app, the cursor mouse etc, for 4-10secs and then it continues. For some applications such as Protools audio or Logic, it triggers the cpu error. Am i in the right thread ?
this was discussed in an earlier thread: Appearantly there are several kinds of different problems around. One is yours, demanding apps remaining unresponsive for a certain amount of time, usually a few seconds. No reboot, no system crash as such.
The other is different from that as it does require a hard reboot and that it affects not only the running application (althogh it probably caused the memory/chipset bug or whatever it is to go off) but the whole system, which would crash completely.
