Macbook pro becomes unresponsive

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Level 1

1 points

Macbook pro becomes unresponsive

I'm reaching out to the Apple communitie for some help for the first time since I haven't been able to find my answer with Google. Here's what's happen:

I've had to force shutdown my Macbook pro about five times in the past two days become the screen goes "blank" and becomes totally unresponsive. Keyboard input is ignored and closing the lid does not do anything. There are three things that have happened; the screen will either turn white/light gray, black/dark gray, or striped (I think the light stripes are wider than the dark ones). I read that this could be from my CPU or GPU overheating but I don't think they were. Intensive processing was not needed to make this happen.

Any insight as to what's happening would be super helpful.

Thanks,

Brandon

MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.3)

Posted on May 5, 2013 7:14 AM

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Answer 1

May 5, 2013 7:54 AM in response to bzle

Which model MBP are you using?

http://support.apple.com/kb/PH11044 OS X Mountain Lion: If you see a gray screen at startup

http://support.apple.com/kb/PH10929 OS X Mountain Lion: If your computer stops or delays while starting up

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1411 Apple Portables: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379 Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM

bzle wrote:

I'm reaching out to the Apple communitie for some help for the first time since I haven't been able to find my answer with Google. Here's what's happen:

I've had to force shutdown my Macbook pro about five times in the past two days become the screen goes "blank" and becomes totally unresponsive. Keyboard input is ignored and closing the lid does not do anything. There are three things that have happened; the screen will either turn white/light gray, black/dark gray, or striped

(I think the light stripes are wider than the dark ones)

. I read that this could be from my CPU or GPU overheating but I don't think they were. Intensive processing was not needed to make this happen.

Any insight as to what's happening would be super helpful.

Thanks,

Brandon

See Article: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2377MacBook Pro: Distorted video or no video issues

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Answer 2

bzle Author

Level 1

1 points

May 5, 2013 10:30 AM in response to Baby-Boomer-USofA

Thanks for the links. I reset my SMC, PRAM, and NVRAM. Now I'll wait and see if the problem happens again.

The problem isn't related to my Macbook's start-up. I'll be working for an hour and all of a sudden the screen will go solid (or striped) and I have to force shutdown.

My Macbook Pro is a 15 inch, high resolution (not retina), late 2011 I believe. 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7. I've upgraded the RAM (post purchase) from 4GB to 8GB. Also I've upgraded the OS to Mountain Lion.

-Brandon

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Answer 3

bzle Author

Level 1

1 points

May 6, 2013 11:24 AM in response to Baby-Boomer-USofA

Turns out my problem is not solved. After working great for about five hours the screen became striped (more pin-striped this time), the music stopped... had to force shutdown.

Anyone familiar with what could be going on here??

-Brandon

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Answer 4

May 6, 2013 11:29 AM in response to bzle

If you have AppleCare, suggest that you give them a call. Otherwise, it's time to take your MBP in for repairs at your local AS or an AASP. The staff there will be able to run a few tests (FREE) to confirm exactly what is wrong w/your MBP.

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