Why does my Mac keep freezing and applications not responding?!?

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Why does my Mac keep freezing and applications not responding?!?

Hello everyone, I have a mid 2009 MacBook Pro, 500gb HD, 4gb ram. The problem is that it keeps freezing. I am writing this on my iPhone because my laptop would probably just freeze up if I even attempted to open an application. The problem is that my laptop won't stop freezing up. As soon as I have any application open, it will stop being responsive, give me the beach ball spinning wheel thing, and I'll use command-option-escape to open the force quit menu (because at this point the mouse usually can me moved around the screen but just makes the system get worse) to force quit what ever applications I have open. Then finder will stop responding, and then nothing will work until I do a forced shut down (hold the power button down) and turn it back on again, where the same thing happens within a minute. I tried repairing permissions and doing a P RAM reset, but have had no success with either. Please help, this is ridiculous, I can barely use my laptop and I need it for school. Thanks,

-Dylan

MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2), Mid 2009 model, 500gb HD, 4gb ram

Posted on Nov 28, 2012 6:33 PM

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Answer 1

ds store

Level 7

30,715 points

Nov 28, 2012 6:40 PM in response to Dylanx300

Your issue sounds like the hard drive is failing or it was bumped or moved while it was operating and corrupted the data on the drive.

Hard to tell for sure, run through this list of fixes

Step by Step to fix your Mac

Note your signature says it's a 2009 model, that's almost 4 years old and near it's end of life stage of apx 4.5-5 years, a new drive might fix the machine, but clogged dust vents could be killing it too..

Out of AppleCare and warranty, looks like you might be doing it yourself.

Create a data recovery/undelete external boot drive

My computer is not working, is my personal data lost?

Install/upgrade RAM or storage drive in Mac's

How to erase and install Snow Leopard 10.6

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Answer 2

Dylanx300 Author

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Nov 28, 2012 7:05 PM in response to ds store

I sure hope it's not the hard drive, I just got that replaced last month after my previous one died, along with the bracket which connects it to the logic board. It cost me $250, I'm not paying that again. I've loved macs for years, but if it is a hard drive problem a month after getting it fixed, I am done with them.

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Answer 3

ds store

Level 7

30,715 points

Nov 28, 2012 7:08 PM in response to Dylanx300

Dylanx300 wrote:

If it is a hard drive problem a month after getting it fixed, I am done with them.

I don't blame you, why I keep my precious at home and take netbooks with me.

My next machine is going to be a Windows 7 3D gaming tower, will sit like a rock for the next decade.

Run through the Step by Step, it's a nightmare but it's through.

Good Luck 🙂

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Answer 4

Dylanx300 Author

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Nov 29, 2012 2:28 PM in response to ds store

Thanks for trying, but I did just about everything on that list (except I couldn't run a hardware test for some reason, even though that is pobably the thing I needed most, but I don't have the osx install cd or whatever it takes for it to start. I tried the option-d startup command as well to no avail). Now I'm just going to decide wether my next laptop should be a mac. This really stinks (apple won't let me say s u c k s), but sh*t happens, it will cost a grand or so, but there's not much I can do. I'm not going back to the crooks at the apple store, I've put $1750 into this laptop, and I'm done. Anyways I guess I'm ranting now so I'll stop. Thanks again for the help.

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Answer 5

ds store

Level 7

30,715 points

Nov 29, 2012 2:57 PM in response to Dylanx300

Well it is 4 years old and their life expectancy is about 4.5-5 years with near daily use.

Have you tried installing OS X on a external drive? At least this way you can find out if it's the internal hard drive.

Create a data recovery/undelete external boot drive

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