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Screen freezes on brand new Mac Studio

Hello,

I'm a happy owner of a brand new Mac Studio. I have a weird issue that has happened to me a few times.

I have a dual screen setup. While doing CPU/Gpu intensive tasks or while gaming, I had the screen I was working on just freeze, but I could still hear the app I was working on still respond. Like in a game I could hear my character or whatever happened in the game or in premiere pro, I could just play/stop the footage I was editing. It happened 5 or 6 times already and it can happen on either screen.

At first i rebooted the system to make it work again until I noticed that I could just unplug the hdmi cable of my monitor and plug it back to get everything working again. I got no error message or anything. It happened a few times on both my monitors (not the same brand / model and they have different resolutions if that's helpful)

Anyone have a clue of what's happening, or how to fix it? I know it's a new system and I expected some glitches but it's a pretty bothersome bug especially while gaming..

FYI the system is up do date.

Thank you

Mac Studio, macOS 12.3

Posted on Mar 27, 2022 9:17 AM

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scoof Author

Level 1

20 points

Posted on Apr 1, 2022 4:02 PM

Ok well, I tested it with my dell hub with displaylink and the problem was gone but since displaylink wasn't really reliable I got a cheap USB C to display port adapter on amazon and it now works as it should. So apparently, my issue was caused by the adapter for one of my displays and for the other, 1440p through hdmi didn't go well either because both screens had the issue.

So for reference, if anyone encounters anything similar, my current working setup is 1080p through hdmi on the Mac Studio's hdmi 2.0 port and 1440p through a display port cable on a usb C adapter.

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50 replies

Jul 15, 2022 7:45 PM in response to scoof

I have a similar problem. Just received Mac Studio M1 Ultra 64GB, two LG 32UN880-B 32" UltraFine displays. Both displays are connected via USB - C. An older MacPro 2013 and Mac Pro 2010 are each connected to alternative inputs on the two displays. It is always the right monitor that freezes. I am able to get it back by simply switching inputs on the monitor and then switching back. If an update helps I'll be looking for an official release.

Apr 26, 2022 6:59 AM in response to scoof

You should NOT be having to resort to DisplayLink to connect your displays -- Mac Studio supports up to FOUR 6K displays at full speed.

DisplayLink technology creates a "fake" display buffer in RAM, sends the data out over a slower interface to a stunt box with DisplayLink custom chips that put that data back onto a "legacy" interface. It is not a true "accelerated" display, and it can suffer from lagging. Just adding the DisplayLink Driver is not adequate to get a picture -- you need a DisplayLink "stunt-box" or a Dock that includes DisplayLink chips.

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It may be acceptable for a second display showing slow-to-change data such as computer program listings, stock quotes, or spreadsheets, but NOT for full motion Video, not for Video editing, and absolutely not for gaming. Mouse-tracking on that display can lag, and can make you feel queasy.

In a pinch, it may even play Internet videos (as one user put it) “without too many dropped frames".

This is in stark contrast to the Apple standard for its built-in hardware-accelerated displays, which are suitable for production/display of cinema-quality video with NO dropped frames, and NO dropouts or partial-blank scan lines due to memory under-runs or other issues.

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It is really nice to know that you can use a DisplayLink display if you MUST have an additional display for some of the types of data I mentioned. But that is NOT the same as the computer supporting a second, built-in, Hardware-accelerated display.

These displays depend on DisplayLink software, and are at the whim of Apple when they make MacOS changes. There have been cases where MacOS changes completely disabled DisplayLink software, and it took some time for them to recover.

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I think the Big Surprise for a lot of Hub/Dock buyers is that they thought they were getting a "real" display, but actually got a DisplayLink "fake" Display. If you got what you expected in every case, I would not use such pejorative terms to describe DisplayLink.

Apr 26, 2022 8:38 AM in response to scoof

You have overused the 32GB installed in your Mac by over 66 Mbytes in under 3 hours of uptime, generating a swapfile of that size at some point.

You are running too many things at once, which dramatically slows your Mac (but still should not cause your screen-blanking issues)

Microsoft Edge is a major contributor. With so many top performing web Browsers available including FireFox and Safari, I suggest you re-consider your choice of Edge. N.B. I have not suggested Chrome, the worst resource hog on the planet.

ighub appear to have crashed. This may be a Logitech driver. Be certain you have the absolute latest version, as users are reporting it needs to be updated for the latest Monterey.

scoof Author

Level 1

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Jul 12, 2022 9:19 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

This problem doesn't have anything to do with third party softwares. It happened to me day one after I bought the Mac Studio and even after a clean macOS install.

The problem being fixed as soon as I installed the update that should not be named is proof that it's a MacOS issue and nothing to do with what you call questionnable software... It also means that apple silently listened to us for this problem since the problem is now gone.

Also, for the record, he should be able to install any software he wants, MacOs is supposed to be a secure OS, if something in the system breaks when you install a software, it IS a MacOs issue because it's not supposed to happen on a secure environment... Also what do you call a bit torrent? A bit torrent client? Server? I download totally legit stuff using bit torrent clients. As for clean my mac he probably downloaded it trying to fix the problems he had with his mac...

Mar 27, 2022 10:19 AM in response to scoof

what make & model display?

what interface?

what cables and adapters, EXACTLY -- please mention EVERY device, cable, dock

PerlaWim

Level 1

18 points

Jul 12, 2022 3:53 AM in response to scoof

Would this be 12.5 beta? Cause you are a little too vage.

scoof Author

Level 1

20 points

Mar 27, 2022 10:27 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Hi, thanks for the reply.

Once screen is connected directly to the hdmi port of the mac studio. The other one is connected to a generic usb C hub with an hdmi port. I thought of it as a potential culprit but that wouldn't explain why both screens are affected.

One screen is a Samsung S27D850T (1440p display) and the other is a Lenovo L27i-28 (1080p)

I did connect those same screens to my macbook air (one at a time of course) with the same adapter with no issue whatsoever.

I will receive a dell thunderbolt dock in a couple days to try and see if it happens too.

scoof Author

Level 1

20 points

Mar 27, 2022 11:44 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Thanks for this info, I guess I'll wait for my dell dock so I can use my display port on my main Samsung screen and see if this could be the cause. Maybe the hdmi connection from mac is more sensitive than my other devices (PCs/ game consoles)

If the problem persists I'll try to dig further. Thanks again !

scoof Author

Level 1

20 points

Apr 22, 2022 5:19 PM in response to scoof

Ok well, I spoke too soon, the problem is still there, and happening a lot lately... As soon as I have 2 monitors plugged in, it randomly freezes when I play any game. I have to unplug the monitor cable and plug it back and everything's working again (without crashing the game at all)

Apr 26, 2022 6:38 AM in response to scoof

Caution on those CPU numbers: if they come from Activity Monitor, they are telling you how much of ONE CPU you are using. You have a total of what, Ten CPUs?

Using 40 percent of one CPU is not 'maxed out'. On the contrary, it is not much at all.

scoof Author

Level 1

20 points

Apr 26, 2022 6:50 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

I know that but I was using cpu usage as an example what I do know is that when I turn displaylink on, my framerate drops from 130fps to 40fps in game and, along with the fact that I can't stream from popular streaming services properly, so as I said, the displaylink solution is a crutch and I need my mac to work as it should.

scoof Author

Level 1

20 points

Apr 26, 2022 7:05 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

I do use a Dell Displaylink certified dock so my performance issues doesn't originate from that.

The etrecheck report doesn't give me any issue related to this problem, and the hardware selfcheck either.

Apr 26, 2022 7:13 AM in response to scoof

DisplayLink uses a lot of computer resources just to produce its "fake" display. Everything will be slower.

There is no reason you should have to resort to a "fake" DisplaLink display -- your computer can support FOUR 6K displays at full acceleration without slowing down in the slightest.

Apr 26, 2022 8:12 AM in response to scoof

You have somehow disabled the ordinary protections against virus attack provide by MacOS. That is not good idea.

There are very simple ways to allow software from unidentified developers to be installed that do not leave your Mac undefended.

You have CleanMyMac installed. That garbage has no place on your usually well-protected Macintosh. It has a reputation for tossing out portion of system resources and parts of other (formerly) working applications as it "cleans"

Effective defenses against malware and ot… - Apple Community

Apr 26, 2022 8:17 AM in response to scoof

You have BOTH Parallels system extensions and crossover running. Usually one or the other is sufficient.

Are these for the game you are running? Readers genuinely want to know:

¿ are you getting any games to run fast enough to be engaging, and if so, HOW?

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Screen freezes on brand new Mac Studio