MacBook Pro (2010) Freeze

Hey there.

I have a 17" Macbook Pro i7 yada yada yada.... and it is going for it's THIRD repair. First, the screen was replaced, and then the mother board.

It constantly freezes upon simple tasks like using Aperture or iTunes. 😟

I got it for college because I am studying Graphic Design, but so far, it has been really counterproductive!

any suggestions? Approaching 3rd repair.

I've had this mbp for over 6 months now. It ran just fine on 10.6-10.6.4 until the other day I updated to 10.6.6. I've been having issues since. W7F....



22/01/2011 19:32:45 kernel NVDA(OpenGL): Channel exception! exception type = 0xd = GR: SW Notify Error
22/01/2011 19:33:05 kernel NVDA(OpenGL): Channel timeout!
22/01/2011 19:33:05 kernel 0000006e
22/01/2011 19:33:05 kernel 00200000 00005039 00000476 00000002
22/01/2011 19:33:05 kernel 0000047c 00000100 00000000 0000002c
22/01/2011 19:33:05 kernel 00000000 00000000 00000043
22/01/2011 19:33:05 kernel 00000002 00000000
22/01/2011 19:33:06 kernel NVDA(OpenGL): Channel exception! exception type = 0xd = GR: SW Notify Error
22/01/2011 19:33:26 kernel NVDA(OpenGL): Channel timeout!
22/01/2011 19:33:26 kernel 0000006e
22/01/2011 19:33:26 kernel 00200000 00008597 00000474 00000010
22/01/2011 19:33:26 kernel 0000047e 00001408 00000001 0000002c
22/01/2011 19:33:26 kernel 00000000 00000000 00000403
22/01/2011 19:33:26 kernel 00000010 00000000
+

22/01/2011 19:35:10 kernel NVDA(OpenGL): Channel timeout!
22/01/2011 19:35:30 kernel NVDA(OpenGL): Channel timeout!
22/01/2011 19:35:50 kernel NVDA(OpenGL): Channel timeout!
22/01/2011 19:36:11 kernel NVDA(OpenGL): Channel timeout!
22/01/2011 19:36:32 kernel NVDA(OpenGL): Channel timeout!
22/01/2011 19:36:52 kernel NVDA(OpenGL): Channel timeout!
22/01/2011 19:37:13 kernel NVDA(OpenGL): Channel timeout!
22/01/2011 19:37:33 kernel NVDA(OpenGL): Channel timeout!

I'd happily beat myself for updating only if I knew how to go back without reinstalling the system.

p.s. I too suspect Flash. Recently updated and it has become noticeably worse. Off to grab the 10.x beta.

p.p.s there's a lot of misleading information in this thread.

I don't understand much of the Kernel speak, but I get the picture.


Mine tends to freeze periodically. One week it is fine, and then the next it has issues? And I also noticed, that it gets really hot (I mean hot) and the fans don't kick in or go any faster than probably 2000 RPM..

I have a Genius Bar Appointment next Saturday, so I would be hoping they would just give me another machine since it is heading towards a third 'fix'...

I completely wiped my machine yesterday and reinstalled OS 10.6.3 from scratch. I let the updates run and it took my to OS 10.6.6. I received my first panic this morning while using Finder. Perhaps I should have left my OS at 10.6.3 longer to see if that resolves the issue, but alas, too late now.

This most certainly seems like a bug in the operating system which I expect Apple to resolve. I don't think replacing machines will do anything unless they give you a new unaffected model!

I'm testing a theory that there's a problem with the dynamic graphics card switching, so I'm using gfxCardStatus to force my system to only use the Intel card for now. If I don't panic, then I'll try in NVIDIA mode only for a while. If I can stop the panicking that way, then I'll have a decent workaround until Apple can fix the real problem.

I'll post my findings.....*fingers crossed*

Since nobody gets back to my question of my workaround worked for somebody else, here I post two photos of my screen after the freeze.

Does your's look the same? Mouse won't move, system appears frozen and the screen occasionally flickers in possible attempts of the kernel to do something about it (but with no success). If you missed it: I posted a workaround how to recover from this state and avoid a hard reset! I am still awaiting any kind of feedback...

Screen photographs (from 1920x1280@60Hz screen resolution):

[!http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1165335984 dtzST-S.jpg!|http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1165335984dtzST-X3.jpg]

[!http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1165335585 iVqrB-S.jpg!|http://www.smugmug.com/photos/1165335585iVqrB-X3.jpg]

(click onto the images to enlarge)

Interesting...

This is why I wanted (and tried) to get a copy of 10.6.6 from Apple when they gave me back my laptop. I suspected that there was an issue with the combo update that I was getting from the Apple website, as well as the update that Software Update was downloading.

Did you install any applications after wiping out your system and before the first panic?

Again, Apple had my laptop for 2 days, and in the end they couldn't get it to even freeze, so they wiped it out and put 10.6.6 with iLife '11 on the laptop for me. When I got it it was BRAND NEW (software-wise). I had to go through the language, disk, network setup stuff like when I first took it out of the box. This doesn't happen even when you restore with your DVD and install a combo update, so Apple has a different (and probably better) way of wiping and installing the OS.

I got my laptop back on 1/11/2011 and started manually restoring data and reinstalling applications and so far no freezing. I've been able to watch full 1080p movies in VLC, watch Netflix in Safari in full screen, and watch YouTube videos in Firefox in fullscreen.

Has anyone had their machine wiped and loaded with 10.6.6 by Apple? Are you experiencing the freezing again? I want to get this figured out before 10.6.7+ comes out.

Your work-around didn't work for me. But I didn't try it with a bluetooth mouse. I just tried the mouse pad. My screen stays exactly as it was directly before the freeze - no flicker at all.

phonk64 wrote:
I'm testing a theory that there's a problem with the dynamic graphics card switching, so I'm using gfxCardStatus to force my system to only use the Intel card for now. If I don't panic, then I'll try in NVIDIA mode only for a while. If I can stop the panicking that way, then I'll have a decent workaround until Apple can fix the real problem.

@phonk64: My last freeze was not a result of graphics switching - the nVidia card was in use. gfxCardStatus revealed that Skype forces nVidia whenever it's launched and it was running at the time. This was without an external monitor plugged in.

@falconeye: None of my ~10 freezes have looked like yours. My screen has never distorted like that - it just freezes. The spinning color wheel can be moved with the mouse and I wasn't able to get Expose to do anything. I have two screen corners for sleep, one for spaces and the other to launch the screen saver.

I just finished a 7 pass bit wipe of my MacBook Pro and hope to exchange it for a something that isn't broken. Looks like a MacBook Air or the 13" MacBook Pro are my only choices at the moment. I'd rather have a reliable slower/smaller laptop than one that freezes.

Alu Apfel wrote:
@falconeye: None of my ~10 freezes have looked like yours. My screen has never distorted like that - it just freezes. The spinning color wheel can be moved with the mouse and I wasn't able to get Expose to do anything. I have two screen corners for sleep, one for spaces and the other to launch the screen saver.

Alu, I think we at least have to distinguish between the two main forms of freeze:

1. The freeze with graphics artefacts and unresponsive (frozen) mouse pointer (this thread or [http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1807105] (143k views) or [http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2587510]).

2. The freeze with spinning and moving mouse pointer (the threads about 3 Gbps SATA etc.). Supposed to have been fixed by EFI 1.9 but maybe not as you're still seeing the problem.


Your symptom belongs into thread #2. Please, post there to make everybody aware that both problems persist.

falconeye wrote:
Alu, I think we at least have to distinguish between the two main forms of freeze:

1. The freeze with graphics artefacts and unresponsive (frozen) mouse pointer (this thread or [ http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1807105 ] (143k views) or [ http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2587510 ]).

2. The freeze with spinning and moving mouse pointer (the threads about 3 Gbps SATA etc.). Supposed to have been fixed by EFI 1.9 but maybe not as you're still seeing the problem.


Your symptom belongs into thread #2. Please, post there to make everybody aware that both problems persist.

Wow. Even more problems for the MacBook Pro! That is unfortunate.

Post #1 in this thread (along with the title of "Freeze:) best describes what I've experienced with both 17" i5 MacBook Pros. It reads: "Anyone else with the new i7 MBP experiencing a hard freeze? No Grey Screen of Death, just freezing screen and input. Only remedy is to hold the power button to cycle the power." That's me, except that I have a spinning color wheel that I can move around.

I have not experienced the flickering, blinking or garbled graphics described in the two links you provided.

Anyways, good luck to you and other MBP owners.

--
Marc

Alu Apfel wrote:
That's me, except that I have a spinning color wheel that I can move around.
I have not experienced the flickering, blinking or garbled graphics described in the two links you provided.

Marc, that's not you.

If you read the thread, you'll see that a hard distinction has been made early on:

The OP has a frozen mouse pointer. This freeze turns out to be GPU related in some sort. With or without garbled screen pixels, depending on where exactly the GPU is broken. In some cases (as mine), waiting 15 minutes or until display sleep helps.

You have an unfrozen spinning mouse pointer. This isn't what this thread was created for. But it seems that a couple of people seeing this now post here anyway. The unfrozen spinning mouse pointer seems to be related to the SATA disk subsystem in some sort. Sometimes, the freezes only persist for a minute or less.

Apple addressed the latter bug in the EFI 1.9 firmware update. There is a knowledge base article about it, read here: [http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1098] . Newer MacbookPro 15" 2010 ship with EFI 1.9.

Your problem may be a sign that this EFI update didn't heal all your problems.

Please check if:
1. Your Boot ROM Version is MBP61.0057.B0C (which means EFI 1.9)
2. Your Serial-ATA Negotiated Link Speed is 3 Gigabit (mine is, Apple only ships 1.5 AFAIK).

falconeye wrote:
Apple addressed the latter bug in the EFI 1.9 firmware update. There is a knowledge base article about it, read here: [ http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1098 ] . Newer MacbookPro 15" 2010 ship with EFI 1.9.

Your problem may be a sign that this EFI update didn't heal all your problems.

Please check if:
1. Your Boot ROM Version is MBP61.0057.B0C (which means EFI 1.9)
2. Your Serial-ATA Negotiated Link Speed is 3 Gigabit (mine is, Apple only ships 1.5 AFAIK).

Yep. EFI 1.9 was on both machines already. Apple found no faults on either machine after running tests on them too. FWIW, the spinning wheel did disappear after a few minutes - everything else was frozen and unresponsive including the clock.

Perhaps the same bug manifests itself in different ways?

I wish my replacement fixed it up as it did for you Artitron. I really enjoyed this machine, my 3rd MacBook. Hope to see Apple address this bug/defect so that I can buy another. Had they at least acknowledged it, perhaps I would have waited it out.

I did tried your trick but it didn;t worked. The sleep doesn't activate when the mbp is in freezing state. Only the mouse cursor is moving and from time but not always it changed the shape to summer magic ball.

But another trick seems to work 🙂 at least for me and at least till now. Five days without freezing and I really stress my mbp.

The trick is gfxCardStatus + I activated the remote acces through ssh so in this way if it's freezing again I will try to acces remotely.