Q: Lion randomly crashes - black screen

Well sharing again, i don't think its the OS as i thought it was before cause it works flawlessly on the new mac i received courtesy of Apple, i reported my problem and with persistence i had my computer changed. Be persistent. Its a hardware issue prolly but can't be sure. I know it doesn't happen to my computer and i've had it for like 3 weeks or more now, before i'd have a black screen on the previous mid 2010 version everyday just doing anything, i had calls after calls and saw reviews on here that stated i should threaten apple and i did showed the technician this thread and he ignored of course but something must have happened at the store during the time i left my computer cause they soon after 2 days of replacement of my logic board and keyboard and such, called to say i would be getting a new computer, and asked me when i could come in and pick it up, i went the same day and got it no problems everything went pretty smooth actually. Brand new computer no bugs, moves very fast doesn't slug, i have no issue with this new computer none whatsoever. Be persistent.

Don't settle for less that you paid for, i didn't

Apple has stated clearly it is a firmware problem with some mid 2010 MBPs that Lion makes worse. The bad news, they have no estimate on when a fix is coming.

I can confirm occasional crashes under snow leopard and almost hourly crashes under Lion doing almost anything at any time - including on login screen.

If you install gfxCardStatus from codykrieger.com, and set graphics mode to integrated only, the problem seems to disappear while you are logged in. However it can't fix the login sceen since the gfxCardStatus only forces graphic mode while logged in.  :-(  I also discovered tonight that gfxCardStatus doesn't help with external monitors because you have to be running in discrete mode -- which is where the crashes apparently occur.

At least I have some stability now.  It seems that other than waiting indefinitely for a firmware update form apple, the only other recourse is to demand a recent model MBP.  It's clear from this list that new logic boards won't fix the problem.

One final tip. If your computer continues to freeze, aside from having an emergency repair disk at the ready, go into preferences panel and select energy saver. You can turn on "Restart automatically if the computer freezes". This is somewhat helpful since the BSOD doesn't let you know if it is the screen saver or in fact a freeze.  At least you get auto-reboot from that.

Fingers crossed, apple engineers come up with a fix quickly!

Guys, my understanding is that the problem is 64 bit processing. Snow Leopard was capable of 64 bit, but apple defaulted most of their machines to 32 bit, until one of the last releases. That's when people started experiencing these issues.That's also why people running windows 64 bit within bootcamp have same random shutdown issues. 

All you need to do is force Lion to boot into 32 bit mode by holding "32" at bootup.You can verify you are in 32 bit mode by going to about this mac --> more info --> system report --> software --> 64-bit Kernel and Extensions: the value should be "no" if you forced it into 32 bit mode. When apple releases a fix, you can go back to 64 bit mode by holding "64" at startup.

My macbook pro mid-2010 was experiencing same issues and spent 4 days at the apple store for diagnostics. Since I forced it into 32 bit mode, all symptoms dissapeared and all applications seem to be perfectly happy in 32 bit mode. You also don't have sacrifice performance by forcing your computer to use integrated graphics. If I wanted integrated graphics, I would have bought macbook air instead.

I did purchase applecare. Those of you who try 32 bit mode, if that doesn't help, please post here, especially how you got the error again so that I try as well. Reliability is a huge issue for me and if 32 bit doesn't fix it, I will be more forceful with Apple for resolution.

Hope this helps...

Boot into 32 bits and use it under 32 bits mode is *not* counted a solution at all. I mean, working or not, the time is for 64 bits, not 32. fewer and fewer applications will suport 32 bits

That's interesting, perhaps a short-term solution until Apple fixes this problem. SL claimed 64bit improvements, and Lion is supposed to be all 64bit. Running in 32bit mode is running the product as advertised, at reduced functionality, not something the paying customer should be reduced to.

Interesting indeed nonetheless.

I started having the BSOD a few weeks ago, just after installing Lion. (This was no easy task as Lion appears to be a jealous operating system: it would not even install until I got rid of rEFIt. But this is a separate issue, I think.)

Anyway, the BSOD inconsistently appears after clicking some of the spiffy icons tied to eye candy: Safari's Show Downloads button was mostly how I triggered it, but I also got a BSOD after clicking Downloads on the dock. Strangely, graphics-intensive activities, like playing 3D games or using an external monitor NEVER causes a BSOD for my 2010 mbp 2.4 GHz i5 nvidia 330.  Nor does sleep/wake.

So I stopped using Safari to download stuff (not the greatest browser anyway),  got gfxCardStatus, and upgraded to 10.7.2. I mostly run with integrated only, but I have been using an external monitor for netflix and a few games which forces me to use the NVIDIA card.  No BSOD... I have extensively tested sleep/wake, even being mean and pulling USB and monitor cables while the macbook was sleeping and got no BSOD?!

I have not had a single BSOD in over a week now and all I've done configuration/installation-wise is:

0. installed 10.7.2

1. Removed eye-candy buttons/Launchpad/Mission ctrl from dock. (useless and silly, no great loss)

2. Installed Firefox just to better avoid Safari.

3. Use gfxcard status i whenever not using an external display.

4. Learned to love the Terminal. (LOL)

5. Installed iTunes 10.5

6. Updated macports. (very likely has nothing to do with it)

7. Repaired permissions and verified disk.

I know other people are having different, mostly worse, problems. I don't mean to defend Apple's incompetance.  Just adding my experiences to the heap of anecdotal crap some Apple technician is going to have to wade through on the path to the ultimate cause(s) of this problem.

Hi there,

If someone can't boot into system and always get black screen when trying to log in - just shutdown and delete PRAM by pressing standard key combination. It will help. This occurs if gfxCardStatus is set to nVidia graphics card. Deleting PRAM helps.

As I found this also clear NVRAM which is memory used for nVidia graphics card.

The key combination is "Command-Option-P-R".

After booting system report message shows that CPU can't read from NVRAM. I guess this is the main issue....some mistake in driver or kernel..badly accesing NVRAM.

Hi,

Try to delete PRAM by standard key combination after shutdown.

Command-Option-P-R keys.

It clears also NVRAM which is as I guess the issue - memory used for nVidia graphics.

UPDATE on my situation in Germany. I finally got a reseller to exchange the logic board after all his fruitless attempts to solve the problem via new lion install, software check, p-ram reset and so on. while I know this has not been the needed solution for everyone, it was the only one that worked permanently for at least some. 

Is you MacBook still under warranty?

Yes, it was still under warranty.

At first these guys also sounded like they had no clue what was going on, but today on the phone he said "the logic board #had# to be replaced" which in my eyes means they've found something. Will ask on minday what it was.

Switching to 32 does not solve anything for me. 5 bsod per 15 minutes while I tried make videocall in skype. My $2500 macbook pro now is useless a piece of s**t... Sad to understand it.

Hi everyone,

I started having this BSOD issue some weeks ago, while still running Snow Leopard on my 15" MBP 2,66 GHz i7, with 4GB RAM early 2011. Like say once a week or so, but it became more and more frequent. I upgraded on Lion last week, and it became completely crazy, I had to force shut the computer every hour, usually losing my work... However, thanks to some of you here I installed gfxCardStatus, which seems to work for now. Apparently the Apple reseller I got the computer from is aware of the problem, let's see what happens in the next few days...

Again, thanks to the community!

Same here. While 32-bit mode sounded plausible, it hasn't stopped the BSOD for me. Rebooted into 32-bit mode (holding down "3" and "2" keys, and confirmed in "System Report"), switched gfxCardStatus to Dynamic, opened up PhotoBooth -> Effects -> 2nd page, instant BSOD. I had Mail, Safari, iTunes, Skype, iChat, Address Book, iCal and a few Finder windows all open. Back to 64-bit with integrated only graphics which hasn't BSOD'd on me in a month.

My Macbook was not under warranty here in the UK but they still replaced my logic board for free and so far so good, so for me this seems to fix the problem.

Cheers Mike