11.6" Freezing and Black Screen Problem

[bb147]

Anyone else noticing their new macbook air freezing randomly and the screen just turns completely black? The back light is still on but nothing is on the screen.

None of the buttons work, can't force quit anything, i have to hold power button to turn it off then back on.


It has happened to me twice already, first time when i was installing the adobe suite, second time is when I was working on a school assignment with a simulation app (not cpu or memory intensive AT ALL).

Console Viewer doesn't show anything. Just wanted to see if anyone else is having this problem or if it's just me. I'm going to try and use it a bit more to see if I can get it to happen again.

 

[UniPro]

Yeah same thing just happened to me a few hours ago. Kind of worrisome... Mine happened to me after closing the computer and opening it back up 10 minutes later.

 

[nickelanddime]

Yeah same thing has been happening to me since day 1 (last tuesday). If I close the lid, and leave it for more than 10 minutes, it doesn't turn back on. I have to force shut down, and boot it up again. Im glad Im not the only one dealing with this issue. Its doesn't happen all the time, but i would say it does 1 out of 3 times. Any suggestions? I bought it from best buy, should I take it back?

 

[UniPro]

I'm going to wait it out and see how often it happens and how common it is with other users. I'm also glad I'm not the only one with this problem.

 

[bcaslis]

I haven't seen this on a 13" MBA. Have you run software update? There was a graphics update released for the new MBA.

 

[UniPro]

Did not know there was an update out already. LOL. I'm downloading and installing now. Hopefully it'll fix the problem...

Edit: I noticed the Graphics update resolves two problems that causes unresponsiveness in the system, however none of the causes are related to anything I was doing at the time the system became unresponsive. Hopefully the update will fix it regardless.

 

[nickelanddime]

Yeah I installed the updates when I got the computer. I hope its not a hardware issue and can be fixed through an update

 

[HardLuckStories]

me too, only once, i shut screen again, then opened and it jumped back to life.

 

[NiceAndTerse]

Curious if any of you have performed fresh install (wipe machine, install, completely update)?

 

[Bluemeanie1976]

Is that something you'd recommend? I haven't done that with with my other 2 Macbooks. What would the benefit be?

 

[bb147]

Wow!

Didn't expect so many posts overnight.


Guess this is a common issue.. another annoying yet common one.. I've done all the software updates and I have nothing else installed except what it came with..

FireFox, Adobe Design Suite CS5, office 2011 and drop box.

It can happen on a fresh boot, it can happen after waking up from deep sleep, it can happen while I don't do anything, and it also happens while I am using the computer (typing) and it just suddenly goes blank. I am now just so worried it's going to happen as I'm working on something in adobe or word and haven't saved yet!!

Please post back here if you've figured out a pattern of some type or if you experience the reported issues as well!!

 

[theryanburke]

I see similar problems on my 13" MBA 4GB.

Whenever I try to write 500+ MB to the hard drive, there is a 90% chance that system will hard lock and require hard reset. Took me 3 times to download StarCraft 2 and three times to complete the installation because of this. I also have to transfer some tv shows one file at a time because if I do a group copy/paste from my server, the system locks up around the time it has written 500 MB. This has happened when downloading large files from HTTP, copying files via samba, and copying files via USB drive.

A couple times I have been unable to recover from a black screen, but it seems unrelated to flash memory write actions and has NEVER occurred when opening/closing the lid.

 

[tommasomac]

Anyone else noticing their new macbook air freezing randomly and the screen just turns completely black? The back light is still on but nothing is on the screen.

None of the buttons work, can't force quit anything, i have to hold power button to turn it off then back on.


It has happened to me twice already, first time when i was installing the adobe suite, second time is when I was working on a school assignment with a simulation app (not cpu or memory intensive AT ALL).

Console Viewer doesn't show anything. Just wanted to see if anyone else is having this problem or if it's just me. I'm going to try and use it a bit more to see if I can get it to happen again.

Same issue here, twice in ten days with my 11,6" air…
first time screen went gray, and machine unresponsive, backlight on; had to hard reboot.
Last night screen went black, machine unresponsive, backlight on; had to hard reset. Don't know if this is the same issue as the flickering screen ppl is talking about and apple is going to fix by a firmware update…
it seems more serious and more hardware related…

 

[ImperialX]

13.3" and no problems here.

 

[wirelessmacuser]

Welcome to the club...

I just got the replacement for my first one (13).

We'll see how this one does.

As a seasoned Apple laptop enthusiast, I've developed my own approach. I always have at least two or more various new models on hand. That way when one fails, it's not my only machine. I always have another to fall back on. This practice is becoming even more valuable as we experience the downturn in Apple's quality control and reliability.

 

[Craiglorocks]

I was at the Higuera Street Apple store tonight and the Apple workers were having problems with the Macbook Air display models. A 13" model kept going to this light blue screen while locking up. The Apple employee tried bringing in back with Command, Option, Esc, but nothing would happen. He held power down to kill them and completely reboot to get anything to work. Not good.

 

[wirelessmacuser]

I was at the Higuera Street Apple store tonight and the Apple workers were having problems with the Macbook Air display models. A 13" model kept going to this light blue screen while locking up. The Apple employee tried bringing in back with Command, Option, Esc, but nothing would happen. He held power down to kill them and completely reboot to get anything to work. Not good.

Following this closely over the last few days since mine died, it seems this is more widespread than most care to admit.

 

[nickelanddime]

Yeah this issue is getting very annoying. It happens 8/10 times now. What should I do? I bought it at best buy, not the apple store. I want to purchase a best buy warranty with accidental care, should I go to them, or the apple store to get it replaced?

Also, do you guys think I can get a 4GB model if they have it in stock? Or would they just swap it out with another 2 gb like mine?

 

[tommasomac]

called apple care finally…
explained the issue and the guy processed a replacement.
new macbook air 11 is on his way

 

[tommasomac]

Anyone else noticing their new macbook air freezing randomly and the screen just turns completely black? The back light is still on but nothing is on the screen.

None of the buttons work, can't force quit anything, i have to hold power button to turn it off then back on.


It has happened to me twice already, first time when i was installing the adobe suite, second time is when I was working on a school assignment with a simulation app (not cpu or memory intensive AT ALL).

Console Viewer doesn't show anything. Just wanted to see if anyone else is having this problem or if it's just me. I'm going to try and use it a bit more to see if I can get it to happen again.

Can I ask if your model is a 2 or 4 Gb ram as mine?

 

[nickelanddime]

Is no one else having this problem? I wonder how it feels to not worry about your computer not starting up each time I open the lid.

 

[rtimhunt]

Unexpected random freezes

My very new 11" MacBook Air has 4GB memory and a 1.6 GHz processor and has twice gone unresponsive on me, the first time while giving a Keynote presentation at the Royal Society (embarrassing to have to reboot in public) and the second time while doing my email (in Mail). Software update says everything is up-to-date, and we'll just have to see if this continues, in which case it's best to get a replacement, I suppose. Very unusual, but not unprecedented.

 

[KnightWRX]

I'm going to try and use it a bit more to see if I can get it to happen again.

I'm going to wait it out

I wonder how it feels to not worry about your computer not starting up each time I open the lid.

we'll just have to see if this continues

Is it me or are all you guys gluttons for punishement ? You bought a very expensive piece of equipement, if it's not functionning as it should, don't "wait it out", call and get your money's worth.

The sooner you report any issues to the vendor, the most likely you are to get quick and painless resolution and a working product.

My MBA has been flawless since day 1. There is just no widespread hardware issue, there are defective units out there, as should be expected of every lot of electronic equipement.

 

[KPOM]

Is no one else having this problem? I wonder how it feels to not worry about your computer not starting up each time I open the lid.

A lot of us had this or similar issues. Note my poll thread. I suggest setting up an appointment at the Genius Bar and having it checked out. I had my original 13" MacBook Air replaced and so far it's been OK.