MBP13‘3 and External Monitor Problem (screen goes pink/ laptop hangs)

I had thought that my fairly new 15" MacBook Pro (July 2010 purchase) was randomly shutting down, but after hearing the fan continue during several of the recent "shut-downs", I now suspect I have a version of the same problem reported here. The symptoms are:

1. Happens on AC power or battery.

2. Only happens when my external 27" monitor is connected, and the MacBook screen is also active. Does not happen in clamshell mode, or when not using an external monitor.

3. Happens with no warning, at irregular intervals. Sometimes after 4-6 hours of use, sometimes much sooner.

But, my screens go black, never pink, blue or any other color. A few people here are reporting a black screen. Is that accurate? - in which case I would guess I need to add myself to your unhappy list.

Message was edited by: dpdpdp

I'm having the same issue.
When working on two screens (17" Acer in my case), they both go white or blue.

. Pulling out the MDP>VGA adapter doesn't help.
. Resetting PRAM doesn't help.
. Turning up the resolution and the refresh rate doesn't help
. Banging head agaist the wall doesn't help

Has anyone succesfully gotten rid of this problem, in any way?

Well... banging my head against the wall is the only thing that helped me for the moment (because it prevents me throwing the Mac through the window...)
But unfortunately, all of the advices given here didn't work for me, nor for many of us still posting on this forum.

I think we need Apple to figure it out first... (but when???)

I've been suffering from a similar issue for about a month. I have a MacBook Pro 15" i7 that I got in April of this year. As long as an external monitor (and I use two different ones on a regular basis) is plugged in, I've been experiencing sudden sleep, from which I can only recover via a hard restart. These have increased in frequency over the course of the last month. It's been happening three times a day lately. It has been very frustrating.

For me however, it's not been entirely random. About a month ago, I bought an HP All-In-One (model j4680), because I needed a scanner and a printer. In addition to the RANDOM crashes, I have been able to reproduce an identical crash by attempt scanning in Image Capture. After the scanner warms up, the computer just goes to sleep and the displays go dark.

I went to the Apple Store tonight (5th Ave, NYC), exasperated. After a long session of explaining the issues - the dual monitors, the scanner, the fact it hadn't happened once when I wasn't connected to an external display, the tech (Nick) was going to take it in, but since I can't really part with my computer right now, we came to the conclusion that I could essentially perform the same diagnostic Apple would - running with a clean profile and attempting to duplicate the issue. But as many people in this thread have noted, Apple doesn't seem to have similar setups to most of us - While we have Mini DisplayPort Adapters and various different monitor brands, Apple has Apple monitors and Mini DisplayPort to DVI cables. So I was less than optimistic they'd necessarily be able to duplicate the issue, even in five days of occasional diagnostic use. So armed with the knowledge of this weirdness, I went home, to try a new profile, and wait for the randomness to start again. But then Nick reminded me of my scanner - just try that out on a new profile and see what happens.

So I get home, hook up my monitor, open my computer, and boom, within seconds, lights out, crash. So I restart, and create a new profile - Colonel Panic - and log in. I try to launch Image Capture via Spotlight - boom. Crash. Restart, log in as CP. Launch Image Capture, start scan. Just as I expected - Boom. Crash.

I disconnect my monitor and restart, launch Image Capture, and begin to scan. Expecting failure - how could something as simple as plugging in an external monitor, something I've been doing to Macs for years, be so broken - I was shocked when the scan continued past the warming up stage and...scanned. For the first time ever. So I switch users, back to my original profile. Scan again - success again. And then, the moment of truth. I plug my monitor back in, and attempt to scan. Boom. Crash.

For good measure, I tried scanning with Mini DisplayPort to VGA and DVI adapters, and both failed. At this point, I'm pretty sure that something is REALLY broken as far as using an external monitor on recent MacBooks and MacBook Pros - something that I'm not sure even a logic board replacement would fix.

TL;DR My MacBook Pro crashes all the time and when I use a scanner - but only if I have an external monitor plugged in.

this does not seem to happen with HDMI displays though. haven't had any issues since i got the mini display to HDMI adapter plugged to my TV.

I have been experiencing the same issues stated here regarding my MacBook pro 13. It will sporadically crash while using an external monitor in extended mode. Without the connected monitor unit performs according to specifications. Has anyone gotten a reasonable response from apple over this matter?

-- Apple, please advise!!!
Delbert

Important to know is that they might be the same issue, but the issue with the MBP 15"/17" has been resolved.
see here: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2377

"+In July 2008, NVIDIA publicly acknowledged a higher than normal failure rate for some of their graphics processors due to a packaging defect."+

The issue with the 13" MBP has not been resolved.
So everyone who has experienced this, please do a bug report with Apple.com.

No, this is for earlier models of 15" and 17" MacBook Pro. While it's possible the current problem is similar to the old one, this is appearing in the most recent models, with a different NVIDIA card in them.

D@mn you're right!

Don't these guys ever learn how to package a chip?
I mean all they do is package chips all day!

🙂

Does anyone know how to specifically trigger this event--other than just waiting for it to happen. If i just let my macbook sit, it does [not] happen. It only happens during consistent use over a variable amount of time--it ranges from about an 1hour to as many as 4hours. It appears to happen most frequently during web use--Google Docs to be exact. Anyone else notice this issue more during web use?

you can`t trigger a freeze. and it has nothing to do with the use of web or any applications.
in my case it happened while reinstalling a new os after booting via dvd. so this should be no software issue.

Im not sure we are talking about the same issue. The issue only happens while connected to a second monitor in extended mode. If your unit is locking up during an os install--w/o using a 2nd monitor, your problem is separate from the one identified in this forum block.

My issue begins only once the following conditions have been met:

1) connected to a second monitor in extended mode.
2) light computer use (web, music playback, or document writing).
3) a variable amount of time (a few minutes to a few hours).

Below are the characteristics exhibited by the computer once it actually hangs:

1) external monitor produces a blank screen that is grayish white in color
2) the internal monitor produces a blank screen that is black in color.
3) the computer becomes completely unresponsive, and all attempts to regain normal use of unit are unsuccessful (ssh, vnc, force quit, etc.).
4) My only recourse at this point is to perform a hard reset (holding down the power button until the unit turns off).

you should read the forum entries accurately.

i connected an external screen to my 13" mbp and i`ve been testing it again and again.
apple says that if the issue appears via booting from dvd, you can be sure that this is not an software issue. means i connected my external screen in extended mode to my mbp while doing this.

Blackmade, if you have in fact proven this to be a hardware issue, why have you not gotten your unit replaced? I guess the real question is: Are we all experiencing a hardware design flaw (a problem present in each and every unit within the same model line), or do we all have defective models (an issue that does not affect all models)?

Has anyone identified the same issue in their replacement units? I'am still within my return policy, i have considered returning this unit for a different unit/model. Does this issue affect the 15inch as well?

Blackmade, thank you for sharing your experiences.

Some 15" models are experiencing it too. My Macbook Pro is a 15", and it freezes up when connecting to an external monitor with the mini-displayport to DVI adapter. After a variable amount of time, can be 10 minutes, or even up to an hour, the screen will go black, and my external monitor will just shut off like there's no signal running to it.

The genius bar guy said it's actually the computer forcing itself to sleep and refusing to wake up, which kind of makes sense. The only way to revive it is to hard restart it.

I've also found that while working in graphics programs, such as photoshop, or iphoto, certain specific actions cause my computer to lock up the same way, without the external monitor attached. One sure fire way is to zoom in using the pinch to zoom gesture. I'm not sure if this is happening to other people, would actually love for some other folks with the monitor issue to try this out. I know it seems like a different problem, but the crash reports look way similar to the external monitor crashing my macbook pro.

I'll be making a 3rd Genius Bar appointment this week, and trying to get them to actually do something this time to address the problem.