Kernal panics, boot loops, freezing and overheating Macbook.

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Cwmalburn Author

Level 1

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Kernal panics, boot loops, freezing and overheating Macbook.

Within the last week, my Macbook has been acting strangely. Here's a list of what has been happening, intermittently:

Turning itself off a couple of times (as if I've pressed and held the power button)
When turning on, looping the startup bong until I force a shutdown.
Frozen a few of times for more than 15 minutes (until I force shutdown).
Running warmer more than normal (the vent is warm to the touch).

When it's not suffering from this, the computer seems to run at normal speeds, and I haven't noticed any other issues.

I ran a RAM diagnostic program to check 3rd party RAM and all seemed to be fine.

Would be great to pinpoint the problem. I'm a bit of a noob though! Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks!

General info:

Model ID: Macbook2,1 (White, 2007)
3rd party HDD (upgraded 12+ months ago, no issues)
3rd party RAM upgrade to 4GB (upgraded 3+ months ago, no issues)
OS X 10.5.8

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on Jul 30, 2012 11:47 AM

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Answer 1

BGreg

Level 6

17,552 points

Jul 30, 2012 1:39 PM in response to Cwmalburn

Reset your SMC.

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Answer 2

Cwmalburn Author

Level 1

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Aug 1, 2012 9:03 AM in response to BGreg

Thanks for your quick reply, but this doesn't seem to have helped. If anything, it's crashing more often now! 😢

As far as I'm aware, I followed the instructions to the letter. When it crashed again, I reset the SMC again, just to make sure. 😕 Any more ideas?

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Answer 3

Aug 1, 2012 9:27 AM in response to Cwmalburn

Put your install DVD into the optical drive (CD/DVD drive) and reboot. Be sure to either use the disc that came with your Mac, or, if you installed a later Mac OS X version from disc, use the newer disc. As soon as you hear the boot chime, hold down the "c" key on your keyboard (or the Option Key until the Install Disk shows up) until the apple shows up. That will force your MacBook to boot from the install DVD in the optical drive.

When it does start up, you'll see a panel asking you to choose your language. Choose your language and press the Return key on your keyboard once. It will then present you with an Installation window. Completely ignore this window and click on Utilities in the top menu and scroll down to Disk Utility and click it. When it comes up is your Hard Drive in the list on the left?

If it is, then click on the Mac OS partition of your hard drive in the left hand list. Then select the First Aid Tab and run Repair Disk. The Repair Disk button won't be available until you've clicked on the Mac OS partition on your hard drive. If that repairs any problems run it again until the green OK appears and then run Repair Permissions. After repairing use Startup Disk from the same menu to choose your hard drive for restarting from your hard drive.

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Answer 4

Cwmalburn Author

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Aug 1, 2012 10:24 AM in response to frederic1943

Thanks for your quick reply too!

Sadly, because my computer had its hard drive replaced and OS 10.5 installed by Apple (after a HD failure), I don't have a 10.5 Install disc, but I do have the original 10.4 discs. Can I perform the same function with these? Alternatively, do you know if I can get a free install disc from Apple?

Cheers.

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Answer 5

BGreg

Level 6

17,552 points

Aug 1, 2012 3:27 PM in response to Cwmalburn

You can use the 10.4 disk for a Disk Utility repair. 10.5 disks are not available from Apple, and are pricey on the open market. If you decide you want a set, hardcoremac.com is one place that, last I looked, still has stock.

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Answer 6

Cwmalburn Author

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Aug 1, 2012 3:43 PM in response to BGreg

Excellent. Thank you, I'll give it a go!

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Answer 7

Cwmalburn Author

Level 1

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Aug 5, 2012 10:09 AM in response to Cwmalburn

Hi, I've done what you suggested. I ran Repair Disk, and got a green OK, but when I went Repair Disk Permissions, I got "Repairing Disk Permissions for 'Mac HD' -- Error: No valid packages." Is this because there's nothing to repair, because it can't be repaired, or for some other reason? What should I do in response to this?

Thanks for all of your help so far!

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Answer 8

Cwmalburn Author

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Sep 4, 2012 4:44 AM in response to Cwmalburn

I am sadly still having the same issues. It still takes around 3 attempts to boot my Macbook... If anyone has any more ideas, I'd really appreciate it!

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Answer 9

BGreg

Level 6

17,552 points

Sep 4, 2012 5:03 AM in response to Cwmalburn

Have you run the Apple hardware test? You'll need your original OS X disks that came with the system to run it. When prompted, choose the extended test, which will take awhile to complete (possibly over an hour).

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