MacBook Pro (2007) 3,1 & 10.8.5 freezing

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MacBook Pro (2007) 3,1 & 10.8.5 freezing

While it goes without saying, firstly if you possess one of these MacBooks (I believe the unofficial model description of these MacBooks is the "Santa Rosa" model), do yourself a HUGE favor and make a back-up before attempting to upgrade to OS X 10.8.5.

Regarding my expereinces thus far attemtping to update:

At the onset, I can attest to the fact that my MacBook Pro runs OS X 10.8.4 flawlessly. Furthermore, the Apple Service Diagnostic disc for my 2007 MacBook Pro 15'' 3,1 Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2GHz A1226 MA895LL/A reports absolutely NO Hardware issues whatsoever including the memory check. I have tried EVERYTHING in performing ALL the obvious troubleshooting (i.e. permissions repair, SMC & PRAM rest, subtracting/adding memory modules etc.).

I have also installed OS X 10.8.5 in all three (3) possible configurations (software update, combo update and the full/clean Mountain Lion OS X 10.8.5 .app install) and all have produced the same result with the system freezing. The vast majority of times after a successful install, it will freeze right at boot up (i.e. white screen, grey apple, and spinning wheel) though several times I have actually gotten to both the login stage as well as in the desktop itself before it freezes. I have tried installing it both on internal and external hard drives yet it makes no difference. I am at a complete and utter loss as to what the heck to do. I have owned a mac of some sort since 1998 and I have never experienced a situation regarding an incremental OS update like this ever before.

MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.4), 2007 MacBook Pro 15'' 3,1 Intel Cor

Posted on Sep 19, 2013 9:22 AM

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Answer 1

blubb1

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Sep 19, 2013 2:37 PM in response to tj_andersen

hey there,

same for me! also tried everything you described (although the extended testing of the diagnostic tool is still running as I'm writing...), and noticed the same behavior of osx! in my case, it takes variable time until it freezes completely...the console didn't give any valuable information, as there is no kernel exception or whatsover described. guess the only way is going back to 10.8.4 or wait for 10.9 😟

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Answer 2

Eric Root

Level 10

684,597 points

Sep 19, 2013 2:47 PM in response to tj_andersen

Startup - Gray, Blue or White screen at boot, w/spinner/progress bar

Startup Issues - Resolve

Startup Issues - Resolve (2)

Startup Issues - Resolve (3)

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Answer 3

blubb1

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Sep 19, 2013 2:54 PM in response to Eric Root

hey eric,

thanks for your links, but unfortunately I (and in this case we) tried these methods already. as pointed out, you actually can get to the desktop, and with an unpredictable pattern it will freeze at some point 😟

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Answer 4

tj_andersen Author

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Sep 19, 2013 3:31 PM in response to tj_andersen

As this issue has completely stumped me in every way shape and form (which I might add is rare as through pure necessity (i.e. school of hard knocks) I have acquired sufficient knowledge to perform/troubleshoot any software and/or hardware repair that I have been faced with on all of our households Macs for many years), I have been combing mac forums/threads all afternoon and it appears as though as I might have been on the cusp of this issue as I am finding more and more reports that are surfacing describing this very same phenomenon verbatim and it appears ito be spreading like wildfire.

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Answer 5

kellzone

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Sep 19, 2013 4:24 PM in response to tj_andersen

I'd been having the problem of freezing up after updating to 10.8.5. My iMac would start up fine and work perfectly for about 5 minutes and then completely freeze up. This happened multiple times today and I wasn't able to get any work done (obviously).

I went and brought up the Software Update window hoping there was maybe an update that fixed the problem that had been released. Alas, the only update available was to iTunes 11.1. I went ahead and just did it.

Since that time (about 30 minutes ago), my iMac hasn't frozen up.

Frankly, I don't know if this is just apples and oranges, or if 10.8.5 and iTunes 11.0 weren't getting along and that was causing it to freeze.

It might be worth giving it a shot if your computer is starting up and then freezing after a little while.

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Answer 6

Barney-15E

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Sep 19, 2013 4:44 PM in response to tj_andersen

Can you boot into Safe Mode?

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Answer 7

tj_andersen Author

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Sep 19, 2013 5:29 PM in response to Barney-15E

No the freezing ocurrs both in attempting to boot into safe and single user mode also.

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Answer 8

Barney-15E

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Sep 19, 2013 6:12 PM in response to tj_andersen

tj_andersen wrote:

No the freezing ocurrs both in attempting to boot into safe and single user mode also.

Then there is something incompatible in your Mac. Have you ever changed the RAM? The AHT tests are all but useless for RAM, and most other stuff. Rember, which uses memtest, is about the only thing you can do to test it.

10.8.5 may just be too much for that old of a Mac.

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Answer 9

tj_andersen Author

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Sep 19, 2013 6:45 PM in response to Barney-15E

Ran Rember and every single mb/gb of RAM passed with flying colors. The overwhelming sentiment that I am begining to derive/interpret after reading the feedback people are getting from Apple regarding this issue is that in mid-stream a mountain lion compatible computer that runs OS X 10.8.4 perfectly is no longer capable of running the next updated version of the very same issue operating system. That would be completely absurd and never done before in the history of computing as far as I know of.

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Answer 10

Sep 20, 2013 6:03 AM in response to tj_andersen

Same thing here. Is there a single 15 inches Sata Rosa MBP working correctly with 10.8.5, anyone?

For information, a 17 inches MBP (3,1, almost same hardware) works perfectly.

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Answer 11

tj_andersen Author

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Sep 20, 2013 8:02 AM in response to april_may

As a follow up to my stated understanding of this issue...does anyone know what the responsibility is of Apple to provide a working operating system for all that both own a mountain lion compatible computer and an OS X 10.8 license ? Specifically, isn't Apple obligated to provide a working/functional version of OS X 10.8.5 for all computers supported and capable of running Mountain Lion OS X 10.8 or can they arbitrarily decide to discontinue support on an incremental update at there discretion ?

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Answer 12

tj_andersen Author

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Sep 20, 2013 8:19 AM in response to april_may

RE: your hardware spefications

I find your assessment to be of particular interest as in looking over your MacBook Pro 17" model, I believe it to also possess the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT inboard graphics card which has been singled out and blamed as the culprit for this freezing issue when folks have had there MacBook Pro 15" models evaluated in person by Apple geniuses

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Answer 13

blubb1

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Sep 20, 2013 8:18 AM in response to tj_andersen

I had one of the bad Geforces which led to graphic failure 3 years ago. so I have now a replaced, correct version of the chip and still have issues with 10.8.5 😟

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Answer 14

tj_andersen Author

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Sep 20, 2013 8:20 AM in response to blubb1

EXCELLENT reply !!!

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Answer 15

tj_andersen Author

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Sep 20, 2013 8:26 AM in response to blubb1

Oh and just to add more disconcerning information to this discussion, guess what an external drive with Mavericks version 7 installed did when I attempted to boot from an external via firewire 800...do I even need to bother with stating it outright ?

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