Macbook Pro freezing after updates

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Level 1

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Macbook Pro freezing after updates

I've noticed a peculiar action my computer has been doing lately. It happened about two weeks ago. My computer received an update on Friday, but I didn't install it until Saturday. At that point I had my computer in sleep mode overnight. Then on Saturday evening, I updated it. It went to the background screen of the account login, but that's where it ended. There was just a simple background, no log in, nothing but a starry background. I could still move the cursor around, but other than that, I had to do turn it off manually. My computer still worked fine the next day, and as a test I redid the updates, only this time I updated and restarted right away. When I did that, it went right to the log in screen and I was able to resume my usual activities. Things were fine for a week, and then yesterday it did the same thing. Only difference was that I got the update in the afternoon (I was home from work with a stomach flu), and I installed at night. Still I had to manually turn it off like before. Now I went to a computer repair shop and the guy there said it sounds normal. But I was coming here to get a second opinion. I was thinking next time I have an update, I will just install it and not restart right away. You know? Turn it off once I am done. Least that is what I will try.

So does this sound like a problem? Or will my idea work?

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8), Connection timeout.

Posted on Feb 28, 2015 2:38 PM

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Answer 1

tjk

Level 9

51,116 points

Feb 28, 2015 2:53 PM in response to noratcat

Hi noratcat,

Yes, this definitely sounds like a problem; it's not supposed to happen and it's not "normal." Try running Repair Permissions and Verify Disk. Also, how much free space do you have available on your HDD? What OS are you running? (your machine info states 10.6.8)

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Answer 2

noratcat Author

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Feb 28, 2015 3:06 PM in response to tjk

How do I do that?

I'm also not sure what you mean by OS?

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Answer 3

tjk

Level 9

51,116 points

Feb 28, 2015 3:05 PM in response to noratcat

Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility > select your HDD on the left > click on Repair Permissions. Repeat process, but choose Verify Disk. Click on Apple menu > About This Mac to find out what OS you're running.

EDIT: also, to see how much free space you have available, click once on your HDD icon to select it, then hold down the Command key and press and release the i key > look to see what it says next to Capacity and Available.

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Answer 4

noratcat Author

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Feb 28, 2015 3:11 PM in response to tjk

I'm a little nervous about doing this. To be honest I have never encountered a problem like this and I'm worried I will mess up my computer. I found the Disk Utility, but do I just repair everything? Also what is the HDD icon you speak of?

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Answer 5

tjk

Level 9

51,116 points

Feb 28, 2015 3:20 PM in response to noratcat

None of this will "mess up" your computer. Click on Repair Permissions and let it finish running. At that point run Verify Disk and see if it reports any errors. The hard disk drive icon on your Desktop.

EDIT: if your HDD does not show up on your Desktop, go up to the Finder menu > Preferences > General > Show these items on the desktop > click on the checkbox for Hard disks.

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Answer 6

noratcat Author

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Feb 28, 2015 3:29 PM in response to tjk

So this will fix something? Sorry for the questions, I've just never had this sort of issue before. I see a lot of "group differs" and "Permissions differ". So I just repair them all and then do a Verify?

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Answer 7

tjk

Level 9

51,116 points

Feb 28, 2015 3:41 PM in response to noratcat

Correct, it will repair any bad permissions. Don't worry, it won't hurt anything. EDIT: if you're seeing those messages, you must have already run RP. There's no need to run it again, but if you did, it still won't hurt anything.

Yes, do the repair. Even after this, there will be some that do not appear to have been repaired. This is normal (don't ask me why).

Then do the Verify, wait for it to finish and post back with results.

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Answer 8

noratcat Author

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Feb 28, 2015 3:56 PM in response to tjk

Ah alright. I see now. I did the repair permissions first and then Verify Disk. So far it has reported no errors and says the volume Macintosh HD appears to be okay.

Silly question but that means there are no problems right?

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Answer 9

tjk

Level 9

51,116 points

Feb 28, 2015 4:00 PM in response to noratcat

Once it says Appears OK, it finished. You can quit out of DU.

"Appears OK" means DU couldn't find anything, it doesn't necessarily mean there are no issues, just none that it could detect.

What about HDD space Capacity and Available?

Also, is this the original RAM the MBP shipped with or has it been replaced/upgraded?

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Answer 10

noratcat Author

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Feb 28, 2015 4:21 PM in response to tjk

Okay I finally found the capacity. It says my total capacity is 499.76 GB (499,763,888,128 bytes), and available is 443.04 GB (443,042,234,368 bytes)

And as far as I know this is the original RAM.

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Answer 11

tjk

Level 9

51,116 points

Feb 28, 2015 4:35 PM in response to noratcat

That's plenty of free space available, so that's not an issue.

Sometimes third party RAM can cause issues, but it sounds like there's no reason to believe the RAM has been changed, so that shouldn't be an issue.

I don't remember you stating which OS you're on (sorry if you did and I don't remember); see my earlier post on how to determine that (Apple menu > About This Mac).

Also, do you know which MBP you have? Apple Menu > About This Mac > More Info > System Report or System Profiler (depending on your OS) > Hardware > Model Identifier and Processor Speed.

I would leave things as they are for now and see if the issue has been resolved.

One suggestion: errors are more likely when using wireless; if you can use ethernet when downloading updates, I would do so from now on, especially if you ever have internet issues via wireless.

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Answer 12

noratcat Author

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5 points

Feb 28, 2015 5:02 PM in response to tjk

Well like I said, next time I get an update, I will install but not restart. By the time I update I tend to be done with the computer anyway. It's strange that it would be doing this now. Well in any case here are the things you asked for Model Identifier: MacBookPro8,2 and Processor Speed: 2 GHz

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Answer 13

tjk

Level 9

51,116 points

Feb 28, 2015 5:32 PM in response to noratcat

noratcat wrote:

Well like I said, next time I get an update, I will install but not restart.

I would do just the opposite, to see if there is still an issue. The behavior is not normal/shouldn't happen. Shutting down later vs restarting right away should not have any bearing on this issue.

If it continues, you could also run Apple Hardware Test, which is on a disc which shipped with your MBP. I would try to find that at some point in case the issue continues. It can sometimes identify a hardware issue.

At some point you may also want to consider reinstalling the OS.

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Answer 14

noratcat Author

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Feb 28, 2015 6:14 PM in response to tjk

Thing is I don't know how to do any of those. The only discs I got were the Mac OS X Install DVD and the Applications install DVD. I wouldn't know where to look and I just worry I might break my computer if I do anything drastic. The computer works fine pretty much but I just wonder if it's broken now? Makes me wonder if I should scrap it?

EDIT: Okay I found the HArdware test you spoke of. Still nervous aobut doing it though. Will I be able to exit out after it is done? Also can I do it while my computer is charging?

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Answer 15

tjk

Level 9

51,116 points

Feb 28, 2015 6:18 PM in response to noratcat

Nothing we've discussed is going to "break" your Mac. I would just wait and see if we've resolved the issue, and if not, come back here and go from there. I certainly wouldn't "scrap" it.

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