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Amazingly Frustrated...

W

WhiskeyRunner

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 16, 2007
5
0
I am a first time Apple customer, but an old-timer with UNIX. The thing is, I purchased a MacBook Pro on Sunday but for some odd reason - I have never been so frustrated in my life.

Let me give you all a recap of my first week with a MacBook Pro.

Sunday - Spent 3100$ getting everything I needed for my first Mac Experience. On Sunday - everything was supposably working fine. I had no problems what so ever.

Monday - Monday morning I woke up and booted up my MacBook, it prompted me to update so I did. After installing the updates I got a Kernel Panic, once I rebooted I reinstalled the update and things were fine.

Tuesday - After waking up Tuesday morning I booted up the mac book but it took an unusually long amount of time to boot. But it got into OS X and I was able to do my days work for about two hours. Suddenly, a Kernel Panic - machine rebooted and I was greeted by an extraordinary long load time followed by the lovely DARWIN screen. Just a big, black screen streaming errors every few seconds with the prompt login and password.

So I reformatted after attempting to fix it, and most would assume everything was fixed.

Wednesday - After arriving at work I cracked the MacBook Pro open and began to work. All was well and suddenly boom , kernel panic. I WASN'T EVEN TYPING ALL I HAD DONE WAS OPEN WORD. And mind you, Word did open just fine. So - I rebooted and got back in. About 30 minutes later, boom - safari crashed and I went to report it and wow! Again another Kernel Panic and voila shutdown. Upon reboot - OS X didn't even boot, it threw me right into a Darwin screen with no errors and I was dumbfounded. So I completely erased the disk, did hardware checks, everything you could think of - and I was unable to pinpoint ANY sign of ANY problems. So I reinstalled OS X and clenched my teeth carrying on.

Thursday - Booted up OS X to be greeted by all my programs suddenly starting then crashing - for no reason. Programs would appear to start but then wouldn't. They'd just bounce there like a jack-russel ****ing terrier and then proceed to stare blankly back at me. So I opened up Spotlight and typed in console to see what was going wrong. Spotlight opened, but no matter what I typed it wouldn't even attempt to process it. So I forced Finder to quit and relaunch and upon doing so, it just got stuck in an endless loop of crashing and relaunching. Restarted, boom - Darwin screen. What... the... hell.

Friday - After reinstalling OS X AGAIN with an APPLE TECHNICIAN PRESENT AT MY HOME yesterday I figured things HAD to work. At this point I was tired, frustrated, and more so than I've ever been before - dying to go back to my PC, (Which by the way is running Vista and is twice the performance of my OS X machine). So, as it was - everything booted fine and I began making my user account - as I finished I hit "Finish" to go to the desktop. And as I did, boom - Kernel Panic. The whole system just died. ... I booted up into OS X again, got on the desktop and things were working Okay for the most part. I was prompted to update and did so. OS X 10.4.9 installed fine, then suddenly boom kernel Panic. This is how I've been all morning - now I am thinking this whole Mac thing isn't worth it anymore, that I might just go buy myself a cheaper and more powerful Laptop running Vista.

I've done NOTHING wrong. Oh, and I had a Kernel Panic while typing this, so I had to restart.
 
beige matchbox

beige matchbox

macrumors 6502a
Mar 16, 2005
521
0
Oxfordshire, UK
With that many problems after a full reinstall the only thing really left is the hardware itself.

I'd look into getting a replacement, and if that fails to do what you need, and you still find performance lacking (how, i don't know), then go grab a dell ;)



And don't i remember something about jack russels on a sketch based on a switcher ad :rolleyes:
 
maccam

maccam

macrumors 6502a
Feb 18, 2007
515
0
Wisconsin
Call apple-care you silly goose, they will probably replace your laptop with a new one. And also you can't expect something perfect to be shipped out every time, 1 out of 200 machines are most likely bad.
 
T

TraceyS/FL

macrumors 601
Jan 11, 2007
4,174
316
North Central Florida
I would think either a bad RAM chip, or another hardware issue.

Time to get it replaced!

I'm sorry your first experience was a bad one though, that is always hard.

Here is hoping you get a new one today!!

Tracey
 
A

aristobrat

macrumors G5
Oct 14, 2005
12,292
1,403
WhiskeyRunner said:
I am a first time Apple customer, but an old-timer with UNIX.
Click to expand...

beige matchbox said:
With that many problems after a full reinstall the only thing really left is the hardware itself.
Click to expand...
Disclaimer: since the OP is venting, I'm going to vent too.

Beige's statement should be obvious to ANYONE who claims to be an "old-timer" with any operating system.

Hopefully he gets his hardware replaced and has the typical Mac new-user experience.
 
P

PDE

macrumors 68020
Nov 16, 2005
2,484
18
aristobrat said:
Disclaimer: since the OP is venting, I'm going to vent too.

Beige's statement should be obvious to ANYONE who claims to be an "old-timer" with any operating system.

Hopefully he gets his hardware replaced and has the typical Mac new-user experience.
Click to expand...

The first thing I'd do is remove one of the ram modules and try to see if it panics again. If it doesn't, remove the other and put back the first one. Like other were saying, it sounds like a typical ram issue and should be the first step in your troubleshooting.


Better yet, just call APple and get them to replace it. Did you buy it directly from Apple? If not, return it to the store you bought it from, if possible. You shouldn't have to deal with any troubleshooting out of the box.
 
Pressure

Pressure

macrumors 603
May 30, 2006
5,182
1,546
Denmark
The solution is quite simple. Call AppleCare and arrange for a replacement.

You obviously received a lemon.
 
andiwm2003

andiwm2003

macrumors 601
Mar 29, 2004
4,401
471
Boston, MA
sounds like bad ram to me. i had a bad ram in mine and the symptoms were similar. it got worse and eventually the ram showed up as bad in hardware test although it was detected as o.k. in the beginning.

no big thing, can happen.

applecare should replace it since it's brandnew.
 
topgunn

topgunn

macrumors 68000
Nov 5, 2004
1,557
2,062
Houston
PDE said:
The first thing I'd do is remove one of the ram modules and try to see if it panics again. If it does, remove the other and put back the first one. Like other were saying, it sounds like a typical ram issue and should be the first step in your troubleshooting.
Click to expand...
I second this idea. When it comes to troubleshooting, you want to eliminate as many possible causes as you can. I believe you eliminated software as a cause (unless you installed the same buggy program imediately after reinstalling Mac OS). Now, you can eliminate what I believe to be the most likely cause...RAM.

The first thing I would do is remove the RAM and reseat it. In my opinion, the most likely cause is that the RAM did not get installed properly.

Second, it is unlikely for one stick to be bad (1 in 100) but it is much more unlikely for both sticks to be bad. Run the hardware test that came with your machine with one of the two sticks and then run it again with the other.
 
Pressure

Pressure

macrumors 603
May 30, 2006
5,182
1,546
Denmark
topgunn said:
I second this idea. When it comes to troubleshooting, you want to eliminate as many possible causes as you can. I believe you eliminated software as a cause (unless you installed the same buggy program imediately after reinstalling Mac OS). Now, you can eliminate what I believe to be the most likely cause...RAM.

The first thing I would do is remove the RAM and reseat it. In my opinion, the most likely cause is that the RAM did not get installed properly.

Second, it is unlikely for one stick to be bad (1 in 100) but it is much more unlikely for both sticks to be bad. Run the hardware test that came with your machine with one of the two sticks and then run it again with the other.
Click to expand...

I don't see the point for him to troubleshoot anything when the machine is under 2 weeks old. He should just return it for a new one and save the hassle.
 
J

JDN

macrumors 6502a
Sep 7, 2006
520
0
Lund Sweden {London England}
That really does suck, and is such a bummer with it being your first mac.

All i can say is, don't write it off before you get a chance to use it for real.

Just out of interest, what did the Apple tech say while he was watching you do all that stuff?
 
lazyboy922

lazyboy922

macrumors 6502
Dec 9, 2003
353
0
Las Vegas, NV
andiwm2003 said:
sounds like bad ram to me. i had a bad ram in mine and the symptoms were similar. it got worse and eventually the ram showed up as bad in hardware test although it was detected as o.k. in the beginning.

no big thing, can happen.

applecare should replace it since it's brandnew.
Click to expand...

Thats exactly what happend to me. Bad RAM was the issue! But I also agree with pressure. The machine is brand new, let them deal with it!
 
D

dvader

macrumors regular
Feb 17, 2007
111
0
WhiskeyRunner said:
Well, I'm taking it in to get replaced tomorrow.
Click to expand...
Hey WhiskeyRunner, keep us updated on this. If it wasn't your fault (which I believe you on) and that the problem was that you just happened to get the 1 lemon in a batch of 200, then you most likely should be getting a good one on the new replacement.

If that happens, I hope you enjoy your new MBP and conclude that you were the unfortunate victim of bad luck.
 
dadsgravy

dadsgravy

macrumors newbie
Feb 20, 2007
20
0
Boise
WhiskeyRunner said:
dying to go back to my PC, (Which by the way is running Vista and is twice the performance of my OS X machine). .
Click to expand...

Though I find it tragic that your first mac experience was bad and I hope things work out for you, let's not say mean and hateful things!:D

Never go against the one true os! I really do hope things worked out for you. Apple software on apple hardware is an amazing experience!:apple:
 
snowmoon

snowmoon

macrumors 6502a
Oct 6, 2005
900
119
Albany, NY
WhiskeyRunner said:
Well, I'm taking it in to get replaced tomorrow.
Click to expand...

Best decision you've made... the first time it kernel panicked I would have brought it back to the store. If I were to guess you got a MBP with a bad motherboard or cooling system.

My 2 week old MBP has been nothing but a dream compared to my old system. I hope your replacement is everything you expected it to be in the first place.
 
J

jtuchelt

macrumors newbie
Mar 6, 2007
5
0
WhiskeyRunner, I completely understand your frustration... But you would have thought that after a complete erase and reinstall, that it would have to be a hardware issue?(The RAM might have needed reseating or replacement, or SMC could have been reset but other than that you're looking at repair) And rather than getting extremely frustrated with Apple, and wasting all of your time erasing and reinstalling 2 MORE TIMES, it would have made sense to take it back to the store you purchased it from to get an exchange, no hassles. Most Apple resellers have a 30 day exchange policy so everything would have been fixed and you would be on your way by Wednesday with a new problem free Mac instead of building your hatred toward Apple for 2 more days... Anyway I wish you luck with your new Mac, I hope it brings you great joy and excitement as all macs should.
 
PDiPietro

PDiPietro

macrumors member
Feb 16, 2007
40
0
Agreed with a few of the other posters. It's good that you're getting it replaced, but my first guess was a RAM issue.
 
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