MacBook Pro (2010) Freeze

You are lucky
In SPAIN Apple doesnt change any part.
They only say: Is a software problem.
NIce Apple Care ...

I bought mine a few days ago.
Freezes constantly, until now typing this mail took me 25 minutes.
Did a fresh intall 4 times.

Model Identifier: MacBookPro6,2
Processor Name: Intel Core i7
Processor Speed: 2.66 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache (per core): 256 KB
L3 Cache: 4 MB
Memory: 4 GB
Processor Interconnect Speed: 4.8 GT/s
Boot ROM Version: MBP61.0057.B0C
SMC Version (system): 1.58f16


I didn't see a solution yet, anyone?

Spoke too soon... Now with the NEW MacBook Pro they gave me just yesterday, I just experienced my first frozen screen.

roog,
take your MBP in to an Apple Store and show them the freezing constantly and then demand a new one or your money back.
you just bought it so now is the time to return it

17" MBP here. Just experienced my first freeze since the HDD was replaced by Apple two weeks ago in an attempt to fix the freezing problem. They did mention that memory tests did not find any problems.

This is becoming a real pain in the ***...

Model Name: MacBook Pro
Model Identifier: MacBookPro6,1
Processor Name: Intel Core i5
Processor Speed: 2.53 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache (per core): 256 KB
L3 Cache: 3 MB
Memory: 4 GB
Processor Interconnect Speed: 4.8 GT/s
Boot ROM Version: MBP61.0057.B0C
SMC Version (system): 1.57f16
Sudden Motion Sensor:
State: Enabled

I have had this happen on TWO computers now!! The first MB they sent me did the kernel panic about 2 hours out of the box. I called apple care they had no idea what it was, thought it was a hardware issue. Returned the comp... they sent me a replacement... finally... New comp is doing the same thing 1 HOUR out of the box. Called apple care again... we wiped the drive and reinstalled Mac OS... luckily iI had only installed a few things on both these comps so I was able to narrow down what is causing this. I figured out what is causing the kernel panic.... it's adobe flash player... like I said i had only installed 3 things when this started.... will update when they find a fix or recommendation.

Trainey
thanks for the advice. I wish others would do what you did and trash Flash ( library - internet plug ins) from their MBP's and see if it fixes their problem as well. I guarantee you can survive without Flash installed on your computer, really I promise.

If you buy music in beatport.com for example..(best digital music shop for djs) is flash based website..
I have then download in other computer and then pass all to MBP?
What a fix!
I still think is a hardware problem..
thousend and thousend are affected...others not...

I cloned the disk using carbon copy cloner.
I booted from the external disk, problem solved!!!
So these internal disk or their datatransfer are the problem...

I have a 13" MacBook Pro that will freeze the keyboard and trackpad, but if I plug in an external keyboard and mouse those external devices will work just fine and the computer is operable with them Can someone else verify that an external keyboard and mouse will do the same thing for them after a "freeze"?

I don't want to feel alone over here. I can put the computer to sleep and wake it with the keyboard and mouse and the computers trackpad an keyboard start working again.....for a while at least.

I was curious about the theory that something bad was migrated over from a previous Mac install (I had a pre Snow Leopard 15" MBP), so I bit the bullet and did a complete reinstall last night - NO MIGRATION ASSISTANT, NO TIME CAPSULE.

Sadly, 4 hours into using my freshly formatted and installed MBP, I just experienced yet another freeze. This time I lost an hours worth of report I was working on.

Apple's hard drive replacement (from Seagate to Toshiba) did nothing to remedy the problem.

A format/reinstall did nothing to remedy the problem.

This is now costing me time and money which is unacceptable. If the same problem is being reported on 15" and 17" MBPs, I guess that leaves no option other than downgrading to a Core2 or jumping the Apple ship altogether.

This is the solution that has worked for me *WITHOUT HAVING TO CHANGE ANY HARDWARE.*

First, as there have been so many symptoms posted on this thread, there are clearly going to be conflicting causes and so it's best I clarify exactly what was wrong with my machine.

Unit:

Purchased November 2010 - standard issue 15" MacBook Pro i5 4Gb Nvidia GeForce GT 330M

*Initial Symptoms:*

After purchase I used migration assistant during the installation process to restore from of my old MBP's time machine USB backup. I subsequently suffered from:

*1. Spinning wheel freezes* - maybe only lasted 5-8 seconds but there were many of them

*2. Distorted graphics* - when viewing the safari preview page, or waking from sleep, would often get "pixelated" graphics. People on other threads have referred to this as either scrambled/distorted images.

*3. Kernel Panics* - Maybe 2/3 times a day while watching online [flash] movies or again when waking from sleep would get a kernel panic (a.k.a Black/Grey Screen Of Death). Would have to do a hard reboot. Kernel panic log showed WebKitPluginHost or Safari was the culprit.

So after reading hundreds and hundreds of forum posts, i did the following:

*1. Complete re-install.* When you put the install disks in and boot from them, wait until the first screen appears (i think its the 'select language' screen), go into Disk Utility, *delete the existing partition and create and new one with a new name*. This is the ONLY way to guarantee the machine is thinking it's installing on a new drive.

*2. DO NOT USE MIGRATION ASSISTANT OR ANY OTHER 'RESTORE' OPTION DURING INSTALLATION.* Just create a new, clean machine. Follow the installation process all the way through to the end until you have a fully working unit.

*3. Software update* - connect to the internet and update all OS X software

*4. Restore* - If you want to restore files/applications, plug in USB drive/Time Machine, navigate to your user folder and then DRAG AND DROP Documents/Music/Pictures from the backup into your new machine.

*5. For Applications*, some will drag and drop ok, but others will need re-installing from scratch (eg MS Office, Adobe Photoshop etc).
I recommend installing all again

_*6. IMPORTANT: DO NOT INSTALL CURRENT ADOBE ISSUE FLASH PLAYER 10.1*_

_*Instead Install FLASH PLAYER 10.2 beta from:*_

Website: http://labs.adobe.com/downloads/flashplayer10.html

Direct link to .dmg: http://download.macromedia.com/pub/labs/flashplayer10/flashplayer102_p2_32bit_mac111710.dmg

7. Download and Install firefox web browser from www.getfirefox.com - Do not use safari.

Done.

Above is exactly what i did a week ago and have not had any problems (graphics issues/kernel panics or freezes) since doing so.

I think the root of the original problem lies somewhere in flash player, safari and the graphics card. I also think migration assistant causes its own unrelated problems and should not be used.

I know some of the above is more of a workaround rather than a direct fix, but it does the job. Im sure safari would work ok but firefox is just so much more stable.

Anyway, I hope this all helps, let me know if you want any of the above clarifying.

GOOD LUCK!

Message was edited by: TH2011 for clarity

I think it's a hardware problem on Apple's side that is having an issue with Adobe Flash Player. We have a 2009 MacBook Pro (15"), and a 2010 MacBook Pro (15"). The 2009 has never had one single problem. It is the newer ones that looks just like the 2010.

I am NOT willing to spend over $2000 on a machine that can't work with a large part of the internet, when I could go get something far cheaper in the form of a PC laptop that may not be as fun, sleek, whatever - but will at least browse the sites I need/want to browse.

It is not only with websites or flash
Also happened to me with TRAKTOR(professional software for DJ performance)
Very risk to a live prefomance....
Beware djs and producers...
😉

*I may have found a solution.* (Well, not me, but someone else). Not sure if it has been mentioned before but I'm going to try it and see what happens. Here's the original link: http://www.displaylink.org/forum/archive/index.php/t-508.html

And here's a summary of what the author says must always be true for the display issues/freezing to occur:

-15 and 17 inch 2010 model MBPs — Intel i5 or i7 processors
-Mac OS X 10.6 — Snow Leopard
-DisplayLink driver is installed — any 1.6 beta version (probably 1.5 too)
-Nothing is plugged into the MBP's Mini DisplayPort (MDP) — even an adapter with no monitor attached will stop the bug from occurring
-System Preferences > Energy Saver > Automatic graphics switching is on — this is turned on by default in OS X
-OS X booted in normal mode — not safe mode (shift) or single-user mode (command+s)
-No applications are using advanced graphics rendering — iMovie, iPhoto, Adobe Flash player, many third party apps
-(Possibly also; When using external monitors the MacBook Pro's screen is not the primary monitor — the monitor with the menu bar)

So to fix it, do one of the following:

-Turn off System Preferences > Energy Saver > Automatic graphics switching
-Plug something (anything) into the Mini DisplayPort (MDP) — just an adapter will fix it, it doesn't need to be attached to a monitor
-Install gfxCardStatus ( http://codykrieger.com/gfxCardStatus/) and configure it to only use NVIDIA — this may not fix the issue when booting
-Uninstall the DisplayLink driver

The author claims that the issue is that in order to preserve battery life, there are two GPUs - a lightweight and a regular one. It will use the lightweight one unless there is something more taxing - external display, iPhoto, etc. Then it will use the heavy duty one. It is the lightweight one that is causing the issues, if I am reading the article correctly (I only skimmed it...). So any of the above "fixes" will force the computer to use the heavier duty GPU.

You should read the entire post by the author in the link above. It has some really good info about the different processors in these machines.

Hope this helps - I'll report back later and see if it helps my machine or not.

Message was edited by: Kippie