Randomly Turns Off

What did you say to get a replacment? Mine has every issue under the sun and they wont replace it, well they say there fixing it.

I just got off the phone with a product specialist at Apple. He was the third person that I've talked to so far about this problem.

He seemed to be generally unaware of the problem and said that he was going to let the engineers know what was going on.

I told him about this thread and he actually asked me to email him a link to it in the email I sent him back with system information.

So far they've had me try the following:

1.) Reset the PRAM

2.) Run the extended hardware test multiple times on the 2 gigs of ram I received from new egg

3.) Replace the added ram with the original 512 that shipped with the computer (they said that they cannot support third-party RAM so I had to do this to prove it wasn't my RAM causing the problem)

4.) Run the extended hardware test a couple of times on the original RAM.

The hardware test reported "no trouble found" on every test that I put it through, and the MacBook actually started to reboot while sitting idle in the hardware test as well! This pretty much proves that the problem has nothing to do with the software update! (though I am on .47)

The most frustrating part of it all is that the problem is so sporatic. Sometimes you can use the computer for a couple of hours before it starts rebooting itself, sometimes less than an hour...

I made sure that the tech put in the notes to leave it running until it started rebooting itself, because I do not want them to send this thing back to me until the problem has been fixed!

This really kills me since I've had the logic board replaced on two different ibooks, the powerbook I had before this, and now my brand new macbook! I'm half a month away from finishing my college degree too! Not to mention that all of my files from my full-time job are on there as well!

Oh well! The box is on the way...I can only hope that I don't have to go without for too long....

man, i'm so bummed out right now. i took my mackbook in to the apple store friday (july 7) and still havent got it back. i even called everyday since monday to check the status, and i'm getting "still working on it"... either they are SUPER busy, or its harder than ever for them to replace a logic board... whats going on here? this is crazy, i spent over a grand for my computer, i wanna use it!! *****..

I would not bank on a software fix. For starters, the problem would potentially affect everyone with a Macbook, if it were indeed a software issue. Also, it is not 10.4.7. My first Macbook (week 21) did it and I never updated anything. My week 24 has been solid for the entire week I've had it. No shutoffs, perfect sleep/deep sleep. No issues at all. I'm still holding my breath though. I won't feel safe until it has been running for a month.

All indications are this is a logic board problem. The machine is either losing power or the CPU's are losing power. My guess - bad traces on a bad batch of logic boards.

I had no problems getting a new machine at 5 week+ past purchase date. BUT, I went to the same Apple Store where I purchased my machine. If you purchased your machine from a reseller, online, or a custom build from Apple, you will have to send it in.

The shutdowns are not random. I have been able to reproduce the shutdowns consistently by paying attention to one single factor. The cpu temperature.

Using CoreDuoTemp I can consistently reproduce the problem every time. Just open GarageBand and play it in loop. Start CoreDuoTemp. Observe the temperature. My computer shuts down everytime it reaches 172F without fail. Running a program with high CPU utilization seems to help reach this temperature faster.

Run this simple test and take note of what temperature your computer reaches before it shuts down.

Hey guys, somebody please do this, see if we can narrow down a way of reproducing this problem.

I've been able to reproduce it consistely by paying attention to the CPU temperature.

Download CoreDuoTemp and run it.
Open GarageBand and play some song in a loop.
Pay attention to the CPU Temperature.

My MacBook shutdowns consistently everytime it reaches 172F. Running a program with high CPU utilization (ie. GarageBand) seems to really help get the computer warmer quickly.

Using this method i've been able to show the Genius Bar guys how the computer shuts down, so it definitely seems to be a thermal problem.

The actual issue is that the computer should be able to run way hotter than that without a problem, but for some reason our batch of computers (weeks 21-22) seem to have trouble doing that. The logic board definitely seems to be related.

MacBook Mac OS X (10.4.6)

I have experienced the same problem, it has nothing to do with the heat. The machine was cold when it happened. It has happed 3 times since I upgraded to 10.4.7..... I hope it is just a software issue and not a hardware issue. This the the first Mac that I have owned in 15 years. It would be very sad if my new MB had hardware problems out of the box.

I had the same problem. I bought my macbook 6 weeks ago in London. I took it into genius bar and they replaced it immediately. The next macbook I got made grinding noises. It needed to be replaced as well. I am on my 3rd macbook in 6 weeks. I love it, but am holding my breath til something goes wrong with this one. Must get apple care.

I can get my CPU core temps up to 197.6F/92C with no shutdown testing with this method.

http://www.macosg.com/group/viewtopic.php?t=10409

- Bmer
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Allow me to be off-topic a second here.

Is there a log file on the macbook anywhere that documents the unexpected shutdown?

Thanks.

Hi all ive had my macbook since may 16th its been pretty good, it moos though i was working on my macbook yesterday just listening to music and on firefox and it just turned off, the same thing has now happened twice today. my temp at the moment with firefox and azureus running is currently at 59c the temp when it shutdowns is at 72c, i live in the uk and have been sent a box by apple to return the macbook because of discolouration and the mooing hopefully they will fix the shutdown problem

Hi all. I am having the same random shutdown problems. I called Apple and explained the situation. The representative mentioned they haven't really heard of this problem so he had me do some of the same resets already posted here. They told me these should fix the problem. I mentioned this post and I'm sure it helped because I had to call about ten minutes later after the computer shutdown again. The other rep was also very helpful and after the computer shutdown during the hardware test, he said he would send a box next day for me to return it to them to have it fixed. He did mention it might the logic board.

Prior to calling, I completely re-installed the system, including 10.4.6. This did not help. Also did the hardware test and reset the pram with no effect.

I would like to thank everyone who posted their experience on this site. It definitely made me more knowledgeable, and gave me "power in numbers". I feel that by mentioning this site and some details of its' posts, they handled things a little bit differently than if I had not.

Mine is getting replaced too, I just explained the situation no differently than the first post of this thread. Level 1 transfered me to level 2 support and I told him the same thing, no tests or diag needed, he just asked if I wanted to send it in for repair or have it replaced. (It's also 2 months old) No long wait times and everyone was a pleasure to deal with. Apple = A+