Apple Hardware Test result code meaning 4SNS/1/40000000: VD0R - 18.616

[theMouthPiece]

Hi All

So I managed to get the Apple Hardware Test running on my MacBookPro prior to taking it to my local Apple store for an appointment at the Apple genius bar tomorrow, but I wonder can someone help me interpret the reported results from the test please?

The error code reported is: 4SNS/1/40000000: VD0R- 18.616

Please Note: I am not 100% clear looking at the screen where the error code is reported, if the character following the VD is actually the number zero or the letter O.

As far my interpretation of this error code goes, this suggests the following...

4SNS = System Sensor issue
VD = Voltage on DC device
O (or 0) = Optical drive

So, a Voltage sensor issue on my Optical Drive.

However, I don't have an Optical Drive in my Mac, as 4 years ago I replaced this with a 750GB HDD and have had no trouble with it at all, even now I am able to read/write to this HDD without issue, and all files on it are 100% accessible.

This may indeed be the cause of the system wide issues I am experiencing of course (constant throttling, CPU maxed out regularly on simplest task, fans always on, temp always high, some keys not working), but nonetheless, I am experiencing no issues with the HDD at all. And, how could an apparant voltage sensor issue on the optical drive cause all these system wide issues? I am perplexed at these results.

Any suggestions from the experts please?

 

[treekram]

I'm glad you got the AHT working because contrary to what I said in the other post, in your case, the AHT did come up with something useful.

My reading of the error code is different than yours. For "VDOR", "V" (not "VD") is for voltage, and "D" is for "DC" (direct current). At least, that's what the following article says:
https://www.cnet.com/news/how-to-invoke-and-interpret-the-apple-hardware-tests/

I looked at a few of the articles where people had this error and the symptoms match what you're getting. None of articles pointed to a HDD issue, but it is something that will need to be looked at by the Apple folks so it's good that you have your appointment with the Genius Bar.

 

[theMouthPiece]

I'm glad you got the AHT working because contrary to what I said in the other post, in your case, the AHT did come up with something useful.

My reading of the error code is different than yours. For "VDOR", "V" (not "VD") is for voltage, and "D" is for "DC" (direct current). At least, that's what the following article says:
https://www.cnet.com/news/how-to-invoke-and-interpret-the-apple-hardware-tests/

I looked at a few of the articles where people had this error and the symptoms match what you're getting. None of articles pointed to a HDD issue, but it is something that will need to be looked at by the Apple folks so it's good that you have your appointment with the Genius Bar.

Thanks for the reply, treekram, much appreciated again. I have read the articles you allude to, and several of them refer to a bettery temperature sensor and suggest a replacement battery. Now, my battery is old, and does not last very long, but why would this cause the CPU core indicated temperatures to also be very high, and remain so despite the fan running at 6200 pretty much constantly?

This symptom suggests there may be additional issues because if the fan is running a full speed, surely this would cause the CPU core temps to drop to normal operating temperature range... wouldn't it?

I guess taking it to the Apple genius tomorrow should provide the answers, it's just that I don't wish to spend £300+ for a new/replacement logic board when all I may need is a new battery!!

 

[theMouthPiece]

So a little bit of an update for anyone interested.

I took my MBP to the Apple store, they ran some tests, advised the error code was related to the original battery, and that the logic board was, in fact, working fine. They suggested a rogue app installed at some point in the last 6 years might be causing the issue with throttling and said a clean install would bring things back to life. So, I agreed for them to do this in store, and indeed my Mac started functioning amazingly well.

The issue I have now though, is that i need to determine which app is the one that seemed to have caused the issues I've been experiencing. To prove this is the case, the advisor suggested (if I wanted to), to restore my apps using Migration Assistant, and see if the problem returned. I did this when I returned and yes, the problem returned. Not quite as badly, but nonetheless it returned. So I then did a clean install of El Capitan (which took me a lot longer than when the folk in the Apple store did it!!) and it is once again working fine. So I now have to reinstall my apps one-by-one as I need them.

I do have another question arising from this which i will post in a new thread.

 

[theMouthPiece]

Hi All

So I have recently had some issues on my MacBook Pro that have thankfully been resolved (almost!), and I now am faced with another slight issue that I need some expert advice on please.

I have had to do a fresh clean install of El Capitan onto a newly installed 500GB SSD which has replaced the original 350GB HDD supplied with the machine. Both drives work and boot, though the HDD takes a ridiculous amount of time to boot, whereas the SSD takes a fraction of this time - hence the reason for my deciding to upgrade.

However, for various reasons outlined in separate thread posted over the last week or so, I haven't been able to migrate my applications across to the new SSD, and am wondering as because both drives are bootable and contain working copies of OSx El Capitan, if it is possible to simply copy the applications I need from the HDD/El Cap/ Apps folder across to the SSD/El Cap/Apps folder inside the machine.

The SSD is of course the main boot drive inside my MacBookPro, and I am able to connect the HDD using a USB->SATA cable (recommended and purchase following advice from a fantastic member on here) - which I can also still boot successfully from using the Option key on start-up.

So, can someone advise me if this is possible please? It would save me a lot of time if it were.

Many thanks.

 

[treekram]

That's interesting - the error code seemed related to you throttling but wasn't. I appreciate your follow-up because your error code and the Apple explanation of it being a battery issue will now show up in a search and could be helpful to somebody else in the future.

 

[treekram]

Some apps only use their own folder in the Applications folder to run. Others use folders outside the Applications folder (most notably the "/Library/Application Support" and the "Library/Application Support" folder in your home folder. Some apps may use other folders in addition to these. You also have some apps which may have complicated file links and I haven't done the research to know if a copy using the Finder transfers these links correctly. So it is kind of iffy to try to copy apps manually.

I know from your other post that it appears that an application(s) is causing problems. So if you can identify the app(s) causing the problem you could either copy over all your apps using the Migration Assistant and then delete the problem app(s) from your new computer or delete the problem app(s) from your old HDD and then migrate.

How do you find out which app(s) is (are) causing the problem(s)? Obviously, the suspect app can be found if you run it - you get the problem - exit it - and it stops. But apps also can have background processes which start without the user explicitly starting it. So if you're having this type of issue, you should boot from your old HDD using safe mode and see if these problems recur. If they do, then there is at least one app causing the issue.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201262
In order to use safe mode in this situation, you should use System Preferences to specify the HDD as the startup and then press the Shift key at startup. There is a "Safe boot" (I think that was the term) which would appear in the upper right in red on the login screen.

So if the problem doesn't occur in Safe Mode, then you'd have to identify which programs either have a script that runs on startup, runs on user login, has a plugin or has a kernel extension. You can use EtreCheck. (Run EtreCheck in regular mode.)
https://etrecheck.com/

The way EtreCheck works has changed - it's not totally free - they allow a certain number of free reports. EtreCheck will identify the apps which have these background programs which run.

You can also use Activity Monitor to see which apps are taking a lot of the computer's resources. So you would run your computer in regular mode, wait for the problem to occur, look at your resources (likely the CPU), sort it by CPU usage. The issue there is that their identifying process name be different than the app name and you'd have to do some research to see which app it is that is causing the problem.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201464