Q: MacBook Pro (2010) Freeze

Well I guess that explains it! Had not heard that, but a suppose the extra juice is required.

I wonder if the Intel graphics are so underpowered compared to my what I would have had in my Macbook Pro 6 yrs ago which ran an external no problem. Does anyone know how much RAM they have?

If the sesor is broken the freezes would be continuosly i think
IT happnens once a week..or each 3 days,knobody knows,nobody can trust in this laptop
I use it for long time working in my performances at home and all is ok..but sometimes freezes..
So sensor i think not....

after more than 10 years troubleshooting computers, I've learned on thing for sure: try everything. Sometimes solution comes from the oddest fixes. Depengin on the way the sensor may be broken, it can happen without any clear pattern. There's a message on this thread from a user (si mbo) who found out that "maybe" the accelerometer in the MBP is not working properly.

http://discussions.info.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2420192&start=840&tstart= 60

Liquidmac tested.
All seems to be right accelerometer..

And the MB Pro has the HM55 set...

This could be the reason... If I run on normal harddisk, no freezes at all....

http://forum.notebookreview.com/hardware-components-aftermarket-upgrades/513313- laptops-w-intel-pm55-hm55-chipsets-show-capped-ssd-performance.html

Apple please, find a work around, it drives me crazy.... and my iphone 3G with IOS4 as well....

After installing the firmware update, I had an one hour nightmare of stalls. After this, I there are occasional short stalls. I did tried liquidmac, but that would only make sense if you'd be looking at it when the stall happens, to see if there is some relation. Disabling the Sudden Motion Sensor will be my next try if the stalls keep happening. I'll come back to tell if there is any positive effect.

The firmware update came through the software update for me. Updated, switched gfxCardStatus to dynamic switching. As soon as I did something that required nvidia (launched Parallels) it froze.

This might have fixed the beachball issues people have been having but this certainly does not (at least in my case) fix the nvidia graphics problem.

Actually I checked Apple's specs and both cards are meant to support external monitors.... Not that I mind running NVIDIA when I am plugged in

could you point to where in the specs apple mentions that the intel graphics can drive an external monitor?

You are right. There's nothing published stating that Intel graphics can't drive an external monitor -- nevertheless it apparently can't.

If you think about it logically, (and it's buried somewhere further up this thread too) While each graphics processor (the discrete Nvidia and the integrated Intel) supports two video outputs only the one for the internal LCD panel is switched between the two GPU's. The external mini Display Port is hardwired to the Nvidia. Presumably there were some good cost trade-off reasons for doing that. (Cost in the engineering sense of space, power, heat, reliability, driver effort and etc. not just $$$)

I must also point out that the whole ability to switch live (and mostly seamlessly) between an Integrated and Discrete GPU from different manufacturers is still a "Dancing Bear" for me: I'm amazed that it's possible at all, let alone as well as good as it is.

James

Both myself and my fiancee own the 2009 model of the Macbook pro, and yes I know this thread is for the 2010 model, but her macbook pro is experiencing some strange crashes and slow downs.

With no discernable pattern - it can take anywhere from 10 minutes to half an hour to turn on, and for no apparent reason it will freeze and "beachball" as if it is loading - but then get stuck "loading" and the only way to break this process is to turn off the macbook and turn it back on again.

Is there any form of fix for this issue similar to the EFI 1.9 patch for 2010 macbook pro's listed earlier in this thread?

Sorry guys if i didn't introduced myself yet, but i just wanted to tell you that even after updating the firmware on my MBP 17" i5, the random system crashes & kernel panics are still present. And i've been experiencing all these issues since the day i bought it. I even called Apple about this, and all they could tell me is that it might be a software/kext problem.
I've been trying everything i could: from a complete OS reinstall to reset my SMC, and from clean my user cache every 2 weeks to manually switch the GPU's with gfxCardStatus. All with the same problem: random kernel panics while minimizing window's apps and at the same time browsing Youtube. It really is a pain in "that place", considering the price we paid for these machines and considering that some, if not ALL of us, need to work with these machines.
Anyway, on my kernel panic log, i always see a reference to an IntelHD kext. I was thinking if it could be the Intel HD GPU that has to be replaced or something. Any tips for this?

could you try to disable the Sudden Motion Sensor?

read this:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1934

Hello,

I recently migrated from a PC to Macbook. My Macbook Pro used to Freeze randomly.
On running the H/W check, there was a temperature problem on the logic board. I took it to the Genius bar, and there they told me that the Logic Board has burned. (Probably nVidia at its best).

I bought it like 20 days back and was using it only for browsing as of now. The worst part is, they are neither replacing the Macbook nor refunding me the money . The only thing I could do was get it repaired and get stuck with it.

Not liking it one bit !!