bgrinblatt
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: macbook pro crashing

Hello everyone.

 

I have been experiencing on and off some problems with the performance on my Macbook Pro. Here are the specs:

 

Macbook Pro 6,2 (Mid-2010) w/ Yosemite

2.66 GHz i7

500GB SATA

8 GB RAM

nVIDIA 330m 512MB

 

I am an architecture student and use a lot of AutoCAD, Rhinocerous, Illustrator, & Photoshop so obviously performance is much needed. From time to time (when using any of these program) my computer will just shut down and restart. I suspected the issue was caused by the graphics switching from Intel to NVIDIA and I downloaded gfxcardreader so I can run the computer solely in Discrete Mode when I'm using these programs, which has worked somewhat but hasn't solved the problem completely. Anyone have any suggestions to help solve this issue?

 

Would upgrading the graphics card help solve this problem?


Finally, would it be worth upgrading to El Capitan or is my computer pushing the limits?

Posted on Oct 24, 2015 8:01 PM

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bgrinblatt

Q: macbook pro crashing

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  • Helpful answers

  • by kaz-k,

    kaz-k kaz-k Oct 24, 2015 8:51 PM in response to bgrinblatt
    Level 5 (5,975 points)
    Desktops
    Oct 24, 2015 8:51 PM in response to bgrinblatt

    Seems it's common problem. You'd better make Genius Bar appointment to show them the circumstances you face with now.

  • by OGELTHORPE,

    OGELTHORPE OGELTHORPE Oct 25, 2015 5:03 AM in response to bgrinblatt
    Level 9 (52,776 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 25, 2015 5:03 AM in response to bgrinblatt

    You cannot 'upgrade' the GPU, just replace it by installing a new logic board.

     

    A new OSX will not solve your problem.

     

    Ciao.

  • by howarduns,

    howarduns howarduns Oct 25, 2015 8:42 AM in response to bgrinblatt
    Level 1 (106 points)
    Oct 25, 2015 8:42 AM in response to bgrinblatt

    Do you experience these issues with all 4 of these apps?

    Have you run Disk Utility to check for permissions or hard drive issues?

    Do you have a significant amount of space free on your hard drive? A full hard drive will impact performance.

     

    Use Activity Monitor to see if you are maxing out your RAM. A free utility such as "Memory Clean" [available in the App store] can be used to monitor RAM and free it up when needed. If you are maxing out RAM when using your apps, you may have to close 1 or more before opening another 1.

     

    According to the MacTracker database, the 13" mid 2010 MacBook Pro supports up to 16 Gb of RAM. I would max out the RAM if you have this model.

     

    Photoshop enables you to choose how much RAM it uses. Photoshop allows you to use a 2nd hard drive as a scratch disk. I would recommend connecting an external FireWire hard drive and using it your primary scratch disk for Photoshop. Check the memory and scratch disk options for your other apps.

     

    Howard

  • by bgrinblatt,

    bgrinblatt bgrinblatt Oct 26, 2015 8:31 PM in response to howarduns
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 26, 2015 8:31 PM in response to howarduns

    While I've experienced it with all four programs, it does seem to be somewhat random. I could be editing a simple line drawing in Illustrator and it will crash but not while doing complex modeling or rendering in Rhino/AutoCAD. Gfxcardstatus has seemed to make a pretty significant improvement, but the problem isn't entirely solved.

     

    Dist Utility seems to think everything is fine. I have about 125/500 GB free (including a 100 GB Windows partition). My MacBook is the 15" and I maxed it out to 8 GB RAM from it's standard 4 GB.

     

    I have Rhino on my Windows partition as well and that also gives me a RAM reading. It tends to only use a few gigs and doesn't seem to dip below 1 GB available (and thus doesn't lag or hang or anything). It just randomly shuts off my computer, just like on my OSX side.

     

    Thanks or your help.

  • by howarduns,

    howarduns howarduns Oct 26, 2015 8:34 PM in response to bgrinblatt
    Level 1 (106 points)
    Oct 26, 2015 8:34 PM in response to bgrinblatt

    Try using OnyX (free utility) to run the daily, weekly and monthly Mac maintenance scripts.

    Download it at http://www.titanium.free.fr/onyx.html.

     

    Use OnyX to delete cache files and run the Mac's (daily, weekly and monthly maintenance scripts. Look at the screen snapshots at the url below.

     

    https://discussions.apple.com/message/29068598?ac_cid=sa123456#29068598

     

    Howard

  • by OGELTHORPE,

    OGELTHORPE OGELTHORPE Oct 27, 2015 2:49 AM in response to bgrinblatt
    Level 9 (52,776 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 27, 2015 2:49 AM in response to bgrinblatt

    Are you aware that 15" MPSs have a history of GPU problems and that is probably what is the problem.  Check to see if you have kernel panic log and if so post it:

     

    https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201753

     

    Ciao.