4SNS/1/40000000: 'TmOP' HARDWARE ERROR

Heat related for sure. As per my earlier message in this thread, they made me go through all the trouble shooting steps, had me generate the error for them and then sent out a box to capture my Macbook for repair. Here's what the confirmation email said:

"Re: MACBOOK PRO Serial Number W86XXXXXXXX
Problem Description: Customer sensory issues - Temperature perception: CPU/Unit"

The "laser crossing" sound is normal, it's coming from the Sudden Motion Sensor (SMS). You'll hear the same noise if you move your video iPod while the hard drive is spinning.

Interesting. I think you're on to something radian23. I tried heating up my Macbook by running iTunes with the visualizer on (turned off the 30 fps cap) and got it nice and hot. I still can't get the error message to come back though. I'm headed out to a client's site tomorrow and I'll try running it after several hours of use. It got super hot when I was there on friday.

I've noticed that these things get much hotter (at least in my case) when plugged in. Mine gets toasty when on battery, but practically glows red when it's plugged in.

I stopped by the Apple store today to see what their demo machines were like. they had three 2.0GHz models on display. The first one I looked at was super hot, almost as hot as the hottest I've noticed mine and it was sitting there mostly idle. The second one was hot, but not as hot. The last one was surprisingly warm, but not terribly hot. I then noticed it wasn't plugged in, so I plugged it in and checked on it a few minutes later and it was pretty hot. By comparison, the 12-inch and 17-inch G4 PowerBooks on display were pretty cool. Maybe 40% as hot.

So, if the units in the Apple store are representative of how hot this thing normally runs, I guess we're just going to have to get used to the heat. At least I'll save on heating bills (not like I need it in San Diego :P).

I'm hopping to find a way to monitor the CPU temps and the fans. I usually use Temperature Monitor and although it's been updated to a Universal app, it doesn't read the sensors on my MBP. Hopefully an update will be out soon.

I'll report back if I can reproduce the error after a hard day's use.

BTW, 2 of the 3 units at the Apple store had the CPU whine.

Would you try running the hardware test in varying light conditions? Since one of the issues has been identified as the backlight inverter board, I think some of us ought to try running the test in the dark... this is when my machine would make the most noise - regardless of CPU temp. Maybe we can pin down which noise is identified by: 4SNS/1/40000000: 'TmOP'

Scott

I'll try tonight in the dark and in the light to see if there is a difference. Also when I did the test on my MBP after using handbrake I had it pluged in. I wonder if the error will occur when I have it unpluged. Also I would like to let people know that there are many different types of whines that come out of the MBPs. I've noticed the CPU whine has different characteristics when compared to other machines. I traded in my 1.83 because of this error to get a 2.0 at a local apple store. I noticed that the cpu whine on this computer is much fainter and I can actually consentrate when i type. On the other computer the whine would be constant and very loud to the point that i had to listen to itunes to make it work. Sorry if this is not error code related but I figured I would let people know while they are reading this. Oh and I love my MBP. 512 mem is for sure inadaquate. Much happier with my 1GB 🙂

Well, no matter what I do I can't seem to get the error to come back. No matter how hot it gets, the error doesn't come back, but the fans never really seem to ramp up either. I'd expect them to spin up after an hour of 100% CPU usage, charging the battery, and in a warm room, but nada. The area just above the keyboard gets almost too hot to touch, but still just the left fan is spinning at a very low level.

BTW, Encabler, was going to try the AHT in various lighting, but realized that the AHT doesn't allow you to adjust the brightness at all, so it wouldn't matter what the lighting conditions are.

Any word?

try running Cinebench ( latest version is optimized for Intel Macs) i get both right and left fans to kick in everytime during the final render....

i get the chirping sounds in external speakers that are connected via a mixer...but this is calssic problem ( it was the same for my G5 2.7 and 2.0 ) ... analog audio inside a computer is always noisy ! thats why they have digital in/out now...

Well, scratch that. I put my MBP in my bag and headed home. When I got home I heard a strange noise and discovered that my MBP had woken up from sleep and was super hot. Fans were blasting, but it wouldn't fully wake up from sleep (black display). I pulled the battery to shut it down and then booted the AHT disc. Sure enough, the TmOP error was back. I tried and PRAM and NVRAM reset but I still got the error every time.

I've logged at call to the Tier 2 rep I've been working with. Looks like it's time for an exchange or repair. :\ Hopefully the new Logic Board (likely cause of the error according to the Apple Tech) will also fix the CPU whine.

try running Cinebench ( latest version is optimized
for Intel Macs) i get both right and left fans to
kick in everytime during the final render....

Interesting. Well, that also points to something being wrong with mine. Even when running Cinebench my fans would never ramp up. The left would just constantly run very slowly. The only times I've heard them come on is during the AHT or recently when it locked up while sleeping in my bag. :P

Felix, do you notice your MBP running really hot, or does it seem rather cool? I'd imagine that with the fans running as you describe (and I'd expect) that it'd run considerably cooler.

i would not say its too hot but its hot..... its hot where you dont put your hands....on top of keyboard along the display and mostly "cool" passed the speakers...

The bottom of the macboock ( top middle ) seems to me is the hotter... if im right processors ( Intel and ATI ) are facing bottom so that would be the reason...but again its mostly cool passed the Exprescard slot...

Mine's on the way to the Apple service center as of today. I'll let you all know what happens with the repair. I don't have any problems with noise of any kind, just fans that never kick in and a pretty **** hot Macbook. The AHT reports the error sporadically but it did it while I was on the phone with AppleCare so back it went.

Sorry I kinda gave up. I'm listening to James Brown get on the Good Foot with frontrow. Just finished up Lies by Elton John. ROFL. Lighten up guys the thing works doesn't it. Has anyone actually noticed any problems because of the TmOP error. Sure you computer might buzz like a Banshe. Just pumpup some James Brown and dance 🙂

Well, you can take a cavalier attitude towards the error and suggest that we "lighten up" but I for one am not going to take any chances with a machine that set me back 2.5k. Hardware problems are serious issues and shouldn't be ignored. In Apple's opinion, if you're getting the TmOP error you need to send the machine back and have it fixed. That's what I'm doing. I spent a lot of money on that box and I have a right to expect Apple to make sure that it functions 100% correctly. The last thing I want is to have the internals get fried because the heat sensor was faulty and I was too lazy or indifferent to make Apple fix the problem. Lighten up? More like protect my investment.

I think they all have this error. This is my second MBP and they honestly have no idea what is causing it. I can run all the hardware tests I want and exchange all the computers I posible can and I would still be at square one. I'm going to wait until they figure out what is going on and then i'll get it fixed. I don't see why we should do apples work and try to figure out what this error means. I called them and the hardware specialist didn't even know what this hardware error meant. If the apple specialist can't figure it out then how could I figure it out. Oh and if your so proactive how about you go to OWCs website for the talkdown video and take apart your computer to find what the problems are. This would make me happy 🙂