Randomly Turns Off

I like how I conveniently found out about "not buying version 1.0 Apple products" after buying one. 😟 The thing is, my old laptop is on the outs, so I had to buy a MacBook now or never. And I chose now.

When is "the next version" expected? How long does that take?

My white MacBook (4H625...) started exhibiting the random shutdowns a few weeks after it arrived. But first it started throwing up Kernel Panics like crazy. I finally bit the bullet and called AppleCare and after three calls (all very helpful, but alas, not solving the issue) I received my box from DHL today and shipped it out to have the logic board replaced (Tier 2 support specifically said that it sounded like a logic board problem). Hopefully that will take care of the issue. I'm also hoping that this isn't as widespread a problem as this thread makes it seem. I just recommended a MacBook to a client's daughter and my step-grandfather. I'm crossing my fingers that their machines will be fault-free.

I'll post the success/failure of the logic board replacement as soon as I've had the machine back for a little while.

For what it's worth, the problem is clearly not software related. For kicks, I re-installed the OS last night to see if 10.4.6 would exhibit the same problems. It did. I didn't bother even installing any apps on it. Oh, and I'd say that about 99% of the time the problem occurs while I'm not doing anything at all on the system. It's just sitting there looking pretty. And I installed the CoreDuo Temp thing thinking it might be heat related (I'm an IT consultant and that was my first thought in the troubleshooting process), but it happens at idle temps as well as any other temp.

My machine is a 4H625... as well. I received it on June 26th.

I sent it out for repairs last week after it stopped working on July 15. It has been sitting in TN ever since waiting on the Logic Board replacement. No word on when It will be done - I'm on day 10 (business day 7) of no computer.

I'm really not happy about it - at this point, all i want is my money back. Really, this is ridiculous. If they want us to test their machines they should give them out for free - not $1600 (unrealistic, I know, but you see my point). At this rate, I am scheduled to get (for all intents and purposes) a refurbished machine that I paid full price for.

-n.

Look above - earlier in the posts its been said that running

"yes > /dev/null & yes > /dev/null"

in the command line should cause your computer to shutdown within a minute.

I sent it out for repairs last week after it stopped
working on July 15. It has been sitting in TN ever
since waiting on the Logic Board replacement.

Mine was waiting for two weeks and I called today; apparently the logic board has been replaced and I should be receiving it soon. Call in if you're considered.

I'm really not happy about it - at this point, all i
want is my money back. Really, this is ridiculous. If
they want us to test their machines they should give
them out for free - not $1600 (unrealistic, I know,
but you see my point). At this rate, I am scheduled
to get (for all intents and purposes) a refurbished
machine that I paid full price for.

Completely true. I agree.

I decided to go ahead and stress the replacement MacBook running yes. Eventually, I'd have to let the machine really heat up and better it be sooner under warranty than later.

Encouragingly the new machine does better under high CPU load. The old one would routinely report high 90's Celsius. The new one is only reporting mid 80's and stays running at 2.0 GHz the majority of time rather than throttling down like the old one.

The new one is a week 4H625E0 series machine.

Well this is fun! My MacBook is sitting in a service center with the repair on hold awaiting parts which appear to be back ordered. I don't have the time to wait for this due to Apple's poor design and bad quality. I have to go buy a new computer by tomorrow. This is totally unacceptable. Anyone wanna buy a MacBook? I am done with it. Years of loyal Apple purchases and tens of thousands of dollars later I am going elsewhere. When it really mattered Apple let me down.

unfortunately this procedure does not replicate a shutdown for me.. It stresses the fan and heats it up to 82 f, but no crash..

My MacBook shut itself off TWICE today while using battery.
Haven't experience random shut down while on AC Power.
Will keep you all updated.

You better send it in. My theory is that this issue is going to become a huge problem for Apple and the delays for repairs will become crazy. I am also going to guess that the fix will be temporary unless they have switched to a new logic board. If it's the same thing they built them with whats to say it's not going to flake out again in a few weeks. Since the TiBook Apple's quality is heading downhill steadily. I am pretty much done with them. I love the designs and am the first to say the software absolutely rocks. It's just the hardware that is sub-par. Pretty sad when a beat up Dell is more reliable. Oh and Apple's response to my repair on hold due to parts is that there is no eta on the repair and it will get done when it gets done. I WANT MY MONEY BACK! If it's not here by Friday I have to take time off from work or buy another machine. I guarantee it won't be a Mac.

Well, the problem is that my macbook shuts down
before it can finish burning. When I eject the discs
they all appear to have gouges in them so there is no
hope of salvaging much anyway..

Perhaps you can convince your local store to move your hard drive into a working MacBook so that you can back up your data. Then, since your hard drive is already in it, suggest that they just let you take the working model home (at least until you can get yours repaired). Might be worth a shot anyhow.

Yeah good luck with that. I am amazed that Apple has not learned from past mistakes. And their customer service reps are useless. They don't know when the parts will arrive or when the repair will be done.

Week 25, randomly turns off with power cord in and just on batteries. Saw a genius yesterday and he just reset the pmu, will make an official call to applecare tonight. Really ****** me off that they are jerking me through these mundane techniques like resetting the battery when there is clearly a bigger problem. I've had a dell laptop for 5 years and never had problems like I'm having with my 1 month old apple

I have a week 20 machine with the same problem if you want to keep logging names. It started about 6 weeks after delivery. They have agreed to ship me a replacement machine, so I hope this is an intermittent problem, not one that is waiting to happen in all the Macbooks.

Oh jeez, I just ordered my Macbook a few days ago...hasn't shipped yet. I'm wondering if mine will have this crappy problem!!!

This thread is soooo long and that really worries me. Are there any Macbook owners who DO NOT have this problem???? That's the main thing for me, it gives me hope that I could still get a healthy machine delivered to me next week.

Regards,

Alex