Q: MacBook Pro 2011 17" hard freeze

Try change your mbp to run in 32 bit mode

Early 2011 mbp kernal run in 64 bit mode by default, try hold 3 and 2 key when you turn on your mbp.

I have found in another thread this sometimes solve the problem. To back to 64bit mode, just reboot your mbp.

So friends, I have mid 2010 with i7 and nVidia. My laptop freezes and I checked some things:

- replace memory - does not help

- replace HDD and reinstall - does not help

- try to use only integrated GPU - does not help

- try to use only dedicated GPU - does not help

- it is not depending on fun or hard usage, it freeze if I use only Safari same as if I make graphics benchmark with full load.

- PING from other computer shows me that computer is unavailable after freez.

- it can freez after five minutes after startup same as after few hours of usage.

- new FW does not help me

Some other stuff:

- it is not software related , my notebook freezes twice when I try to install OS X from DVD (when I wanna choose language). It also freeze when I shutdown once time.

- I have feeling but ONLY feeling that if I use external HDD or flash disk and try to erase it with 7x0 it freeze more often.

- My logic board i new after some error with LCD backlight. Previous logic board worked without this freezes.

When I run memtest86 4.20 it shows a lot of errors but memory is for 100% good. If I tested it in 13" mid 2010 everything is fine.

If I use memory from this 13" mid 2010 in my 15" it shows same errors. Does anybody tried this memtest86?

Finally I can reproduce freez :-) , so I can go to service.

If I run Disk Utility and put flash disk into USB and run 7-pass erase it definitely freez. Sometimes it takes 10 minutes sometimes more but it freez! I did it 4xtimes and get 4xtimes freez.

Well I am buying a new 15 inch Mac Book Pro! This is my second go and I am soooo nervous!

My first experience on  31 March was a disaster as it froze out of box and kept on freezing for a week. I spent hours on phone to Applecare. Nobody had heard of the problem! Then I came here and found that this issue had been known since release in February. I asked and got a refund. I live in NZ and here if a product is not fit for service it is money back at once.

I was disappointed because surely the problem should have been reconized at once? The result was that now my distributor doesn't want to sell me another as I am too much trouble. It appears I am the only one here in NZ that has experienced this problem. I practically had to force him to sell me one.

Well I have been assured by Applecare this morning that this is not a known problem in fact 'Adam' of Applecare had never heard of it! I suggested he read this discussion! This is not surprising because one cannot report it officially as one never gest the report to Apple Box as one has had to turn off. So it seems I am safe to buy a new one.

I can no longer wait as my old Apple is on its last legs and will not handle the type of editing I do. So fingers crossed. As I have said I have been assured that 'freezing' is not a known issue but I am not sure that is very reassuring.

I'll let you know how I get on. It will take a fortnight as mine is specially configured. Oh I do hope it works!

And now of course there is Lion! AHHHHHHHHH!

I am a fresh mac user (after 25 years of windows based systems) willing to do different things on my spare time instead of watching blue screen on a laptop. I changed my win station for a mbp 17 early 2011 with 8 gbs of ram and hd @7200rpm and bla bla bla, thinking of finding a new world. Unluckly i didn't! Same hard freezes but new swear words (at lest now i am addressing my lovely wishes to another company).

I lost the count of the times i had to restart my laptop. It even freezes when i leaves it turned on at night. Can it be possessed? Did i waste 30 hundred euros for nothing?

I even paid for extra care and one day i needed to reformat and reinstall the os (in his first month of life...); when i discovered that the hard disks attached to my laptop where belonging to the 'previous' me i called them back asking for a solution. The answer was: we only care of what is inside the laptop, not the stuff you attached to (even if i bought them on the apple store)...they even ignored there was a simple unix command to get my ownership back (chmod).

Is there any light?

Janette - your experience i almost exactly like mine!

My second MBP arrived about two weeks ago and so far - it's been running fine. It's done everything thus far without a hitch, and its battery is averaging around seven hours, waay better than the previous duff one.

So, courage!

If these tech guys ever tell us they've 'never heard of this problem' again then our response should be 'well check your own **** help forum then'. It's just not right they continue to claim it's not an issue.

Personally I'm seriously thinking to buy a MBP, but with all these complains I'm not sure anymore.

A scientific proof of the problem is good. Now I'd like to hear the official Apple's position on the issue.

I've been monitoring this thread since day 1.  I've been wanting a new MBP and have been waiting this out since I know with my luck, I'll probably have the same problems.

I completey agree with those on this forum that are having problems.  I believe they are real problems and I also agree with them that Apple hasn't provided a reasonble response for those of you still impacted after 10.6.7 and the subsequent firmware update.   This is reality.

However, the other reality is that Apple has sold tens of thousands of these machines (at least) since they were launched early this year.  From casual observation, the percentage of those impacted is very, very small, well below standards for typical defects in manufacturing quantity.  No manufacturing run of electronic products is 100% defect free.

Before anyone attacks me for not being in compliance with the purpose of this thread, try and understand that there are many of us who have not bought a new machine yet and are monitoring this forum, trying to consider ALL of the factors before we plunk down the dough for a new machine.

The problem is that when it happens everyone at Apple has never heard of it!  I am just keepng my fingers crossed. Now we have Lion to contend with as well. Again it looks as  if I shall be a reluctant early adopter.

I am still waiting so I shall keep in touch.  Why me? I ask myself. What have I done except to be one of Apple's greatest fans. It is quite horrible when it happens as it is blamed on the soft ware but even with everything our and reinstalled it still froze solid.

Still I reckon they must have sorted it out by now and I really really need a new Mac. Wish me luck!

same problem here. mbp 15". had it for a week, was pretty stoked at the time.

probably the worst experience I've had with a brand new laptop. taking it to the service centre today for a replacement. hopefully, the 2nd won't have the same issues

would love to hear from apple re the source of the problem. as a techie, I'm more interested in the source of the problem and resolution options.

Well, did anyone see something like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYCkvXvBbbQ ?

Or tried a demo like http://webglsamples.googlecode.com/hg/aquarium/aquarium.html?

I think that this would answer to many of the questions asked in this thread.

How much is the maximum temperature reached by your mac? 85 degrees seems a lot to me.

OK, I pulled the trigger and picked up a new MBP 2.2 15" from our local Apple Store today.  While I was in the store, I asked the staff and the genius guys if the knew anything about this problem, none did.

I explained to them that I wanted to make sure that the new machine had the latest hardware update as referred to in MacMedic's post, they didn't know what I was talking about.  The machines on display all had the older hardware configuration with the slower (3G) Link Speed on the DVD port as pointed out by MacMedic.  So, I was worried that my new machine would be the same, so after I bought it, I sat in the store, opened it up and sure enough, it has the LATEST hardware configuration with the 6G Link Speed on the DVD port.  The OS and the Firmware were already updated.

The staff didn't believe me, but when I showed them the two machines side by side and the obvious difference in the Serial-ATA configuration, they were surprised.

Hats off to MacMedic for bringing this to the forefront, I am actually surprised there are no other comments about this.  But it is pretty solid proof that a hardware change was made sometime in April and that the problem seems to be rooted in the Intel Sandy Bridge chipset.  My machine was built around May 10 and has the latest configuration, OS and firmware and seems to be very stable so far.  This machine flies in comparison to my old 2008 MacBook Pro.

Yes, this should be the answer to all freezes. But all people in Apple said never heard about this, I have go to the services centre, spend weeks for this problem. Tried 3 different logic boards, all with 3Gbs SATA port, and all suffered from the problem.

I have search through the web and found that all Intel Sandy Bridge i7 models suffered from this problem.

My 15' MacBook Pro 2011 version heats up even thought the screen and keyboard lights are at a minimum. The CPU Freezes up with only ITunes and 3 browser windows open. I performed a hard power off and turned it back on, it took 20 minutes to get back to the home screen

When will apple come out with a fix for all of this. this is the 2nd Macbook pro 2011 version that has been doing the same thing.

I find it awesome that when a mac freezes it's such a big deal. because in windows it happens all the time. still new to mac and i'm loving it. just sayin'