what is RSD?

RSD is short for random shutdown, in which the macbook will randomly, and without warning, suddenly power down. in most instances the machine will not be able to reboot unless you press the power button for five seconds to load into "throttled" mode, in which the processor is locked at half speed. its been attributed to a bad thermal sensor cable that melts and short circuits once it comes into contact with the heatsink. so far this is the best theory weve got running, and hopefully its not some mysterious macplague :/

from the laptops ive own and friends have had that ive used, the heat isnt really different

every laptop is hot, i just bought a bamboo cutting board from the grocery store ($10.99) that fits my macbook perfectly with a little room to spare in the back (so as to allow the vents not to get blocked by clothing or fabric when im sitting) and its perfect for using the laptop on my lap

i thought id read about it on Pros too, but not as frequently (frequently is a relative term, the stats being thrown around are 10% on macbooks, although i think its less than that-especially since apple laptop sales are topping 1 million for the year as of the latest wall street journal-and the macrandomshutdowns.com is only logging around 150-250 registered with the problem)

im crossing the 4 week point and hoping im not going to be a victim, but if i am i hope apple will be able to fix it properly with the new heatsink/lb combo

since i first came on the board to get some help, checking back in has become a habbit, and has actually made me more paranoid looking for problems. but at this point im just gonna sit back and enjoy this wonderful machine (first mac ive owned since the apple IIc) if something does happen i have faith that by then applecare will be able to take care of it

i barely remember the IIc except for the hotdog and lemonade stand games. i used to be scared of macs cuse i didnt know how to use them at all (especially when they required that case to use cds) started to use friends during college and once they came out with an intel based system i knew it was time to go back. took a little bit to get used to the OS, but at this point, as ive said before, i hope to never have to buy a PC again. and im thankful i wont be part of the upgrade to Vista

id think so too, but from what i hear from loyal mac users its been like this for years. vista is basically a copy of mac's OS as have most of the significant past windows upgrades. my friends and i at school were introduced to macs and all of us prefer them now, but people who ive encountered recently are really apprehensive to switching. kids (i mean young adults in their early to mid 20s) are more favorable to the switch, but older people are stuborn about it, focusing on the software issue and that the software they need isnt on a mac. some cases i understand where people have their whole business system based on windows software and the burden of the switching would be too much. but others are just finally getting used to computers in general and to switch it too intimidating (like my parents) although i think ive got my dad convinced for his next computer.

but my mom's IT guy who set up her whole system will quit if she wants to switch cuse he knows nothing about macs and doesnt want to learn

RSD is the result of poor product testing and research on the part of Apple.

I think they don't do it in order to **** of their customers, but what do I know?

2 Months now and the problem still hasn't been solved.
Replacing logic boards hasn't proved to be the solution, and still that's what they do.

Great job, Apple!

You know, I'll be the first to say that I couldn't imagine using a PC. Apple's OS is great and their products look great. I've been a customer and a fan of Apple since I went to work in the media in 1999. However lately Apple has continued to disappoint me.

I have a week 25 MacBook and it has the discoloring trackpad case and as of now has the RSD issue. Luckily my fan doesn't moo and since installing the firmware update my heat issue is nonexistent.

I just can't believe Apple as of recently. I replaced my poor dead iBook G4 with this MacBook and it has turned out to be a crappier computer than the iBook. I don't know what Apple's problem is. Their proudcts are continuing to get lower and lower in quality issues. I understand that the MacBook is new and there are those on here that argue that all new products will suffer some issues... Well why is it that people are complaining Apple can't fix their RSD problems? Why did it take Apple so long to address the logic board problem on the iBook? Why does nothing that Apple makes seem to work right the first time?

I've now had it with Apple. I'd say I'll never buy another one of their products again, but I will. As bad as Apple is in quality I can't imagine a Dell or an HP. I guess for those of us that want an OS that works we have to put up with crappy hardware that doesn't work right. I guess that's the trade off. You either get a bad OS and good hardware (Dell) or good OS and bad hardware (Mac).

I really expected more out of Apple. I really did.

If dell had a discussion board as comprehensive as this one, i wonder what the percentage of soured users would be, because given my(and others) experiences with dell computers im sure id see just as many complaints. gateways? forget about it. this RSD issue seems to be isolated to the apple laptops only, as ive never once seen any thread, or report for that matter regarding RSD in any of apples desktop models. some get bad drives, some get bad logicboards. some get overheating issues. some are DOA. but i think perhaps part of our frustration, aside from the money spent on a defective unit, is the(occasional) unrealistic expectations on computer systems. we want apple computers to work flawlessly, and in many cases they do. but when they break or are determined to be defective, wwe are too quick to turn on apple. my friend's HP laptop died months after he got it. it didnt get RSD, but it simply dropped dead, with nary a response from the power switch. a toshiba a friend's roommate owned began crashing RSD style. yes it was RSD. my dell dimension turned into a paperweight. my friend's alienware area 51 laptop turned into the worlds most expensive coaster. ive seen emachines turn into toasters, ive seen sony's turn into junk piles. all the examples ive seen were about in the same price bracket (or higher than) as a few macs for sale to this day. i believe that apple's products are still very high quality, and that when people get glitches, they suddenly go ape, as i would. but my faith in apple wont faulter, because they do treat people well, even if some have had bad cases, you will find this(and possibly more) with other service reps of other companies.

i truly feel bad that people out there have bad apples, as my experience with my macbook has been anything but rosey lately, but if my imac can still run after six years of being my DVD player/web browser, im sure i can squeeze a good few years out of my laptop when i get it back, and when i get my desktop, i have confidence that it will last too.

Random Shut Down

its when your computer keeps shutting down with no rhyme or reason

people have been reporting some instantly within the first couple days, most are saying 2-3 months in.

the latest out of apple is that its a combo logic board/heatsink replacement