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Mac Pro shuts down spontaneously

S

splendidwarrior

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 6, 2008
4
0
Singapore
Hi,a
are there any gurus out there who can provide any insights or solution to the problem I'm having with my Mac? Its getting real frustrating with no light at the end of the tunnel in sight. I've even brought the Mac back to Apple Singapore for a thorough check but they can't find any problems. But the problems are obviously there.

Here is a summary of all the problems I have and they are all related to the computer shutting down spontaneously.

1. Mac shuts down spontaneously and try to turn itself back on. Sometimes the start up will go all the way to my desktop screen and shuts down again; sometimes it will just shut itself down after the 'start tone'. After a few starts and restarts, it will be working ok again.

2. Mac will also shut down when entering 'Sleep Mode' set in 'Energy Saver'. (Nobody else touches my Mac, I live alone.)

2. Noticed that 'Energy Saver' in 'System Preferences' will unlock itself after a restart.

3. Aperture is the most affected (shut down) application followed by Safari.

I've posted my problem in the official Apple Discussion Forum and a few of the guys are saying that the graphics card is the cause of the problem. What do you guys think? And is there a way to check if the graphics card is faulty? Doing an Apple Hardware Test does not review anything.

Thanks a million,
Mike
 
Spikeanator6982 said:
sounds i bit like my problem..

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/473092/

but i didnt have the restart after thing on..
Click to expand...

Wow, they had to replace so many parts! Good thing yours is still under warranty. I've had mine for more than 18 months with no Apple Care. If I have to replace so many parts to get my Mac working right again, I'd rather buy a new one. This is really scary :(
 
they only replaced the PS and logic board..I guess they replaced the graphic card first then the processors, then the logic board, then the ps. They said that was Apples steps to get it fixed but the only thing that i believe stayed new is the PS and logic board. but i am pretty sure that wouldnt be cheap either....
 
Could this be related to overheating? Have you checked your temperatures? It's the only reason why a machine would shut down I can think of, except hardware failure.

--Erwin
 
Erwin-Br said:
Could this be related to overheating? Have you checked your temperatures? It's the only reason why a machine would shut down I can think of, except hardware failure.

--Erwin
Click to expand...

Hi Erwin,
how do I know if my Mac is overheating? But I really doubt heat is the cause because I have problem turning it on after a long night as well.

Mike
 
Have you tried running the Hardware test disc that came with your computer?

If that does not reveal your problem you can step up to the next level of hardware diagnostics software with Techtool Pro. Though it costs $99 it is cheaper than bringing it to multiple technicians and purchasing several parts until the problem disappears they will fix the problem.

Also don't the technicians offer any guarantee that if they replace a part and it does not solve the specific problem you paid to have rectified that they will refund your money?
 
velocityg4 said:
Have you tried running the Hardware test disc that came with your computer?

If that does not reveal your problem you can step up to the next level of hardware diagnostics software with Techtool Pro. Though it costs $99 it is cheaper than bringing it to multiple technicians and purchasing several parts until the problem disappears they will fix the problem.

Also don't the technicians offer any guarantee that if they replace a part and it does not solve the specific problem you paid to have rectified that they will refund your money?
Click to expand...

Apple Hardware Tests was negative. I do have TechTool Pro but its the older 4.1 version which doesn't work on Intel Macs. I'm still considering buying the $25 upgrade due to imminent release of TechTool Pro 5.
 
Similar problem ....any answers?

I have a Mac Pro 2.66 quad, 160 gb hdd, 2gb ram. I have tried everything. reset SMC, PRAM, switched out RAM 1GB at a time to see if it was a set going bad, new hard drive in place of orig 160 GB, cleaned out the case of all dust and gunk, reinstalled Leopard. When first hooked back up, the computer seemed to work fine and it was running great. I left for a few hrs came back to it shut down. This has been going on for only about a week or so. out of warranty, apple cares response was it was the HDD (tried that one) or the logic board. I couldnt hear the fans running til i installed a fan control util. the fans started running at 1500 rpm and everything stayed low 20 degrees except for orig HDD switched out and was installing Leopard and it shut down at 60 percent of install on new HDD. Took it to best buy's famed geek squad and they wanted 70 bucks just for a software diagnostic. Do I try and find a logic board online and hope thats all it is? or could it be the processors overheating at some point? or should i just chuck the thing in the garbage?
 
splendidwarrior said:
...Mac shuts down spontaneously and try to turn itself back on. Sometimes the start up will go all the way to my desktop screen and shuts down again; sometimes it will just shut itself down after the 'start tone'. After a few starts and restarts, it will be working ok again...
Click to expand...

Worrying...
This sounds pretty much like the problem I'm having, although I have a Mac Pro 2x2.8GHz, 2GB (factory ram), Nvidia 8800GT, one 300GB HD (Leopard 10.5.5), one 500GB HD (Vista x64 Business Edition).

I've been experiencing these problems since 2 Nov. The machine was bought the end of Jan. 2008. It even crashed while I was in Hardware Test, after selecting what language I wanted to use for the Hardware Test-menu. Even crashed in Vista.
I realise I need to backup as much as I can, so I decided to give it one last try by emptying PRAM (Cmd + Opt + P + R) and low and behold -- The machine seemed stable. I managed to have it running for an hour without it crashing, before having to go to bed. I did a successful shutdown from <apple> + shutdown. This morning I had it running for 30 min with no problems, before I had to go to work... I'll keep you posted...
 
splendidwarrior said:
Hi Erwin,
how do I know if my Mac is overheating? But I really doubt heat is the cause because I have problem turning it on after a long night as well.

Mike
Click to expand...

Install Temperature Monitor or Hardware Monitor. I believe Temperature Monitor is free. Hardware Monitor does more than Temperature Monitor as it monitors more sensors and provides more information.

http://www.bresink.de/osx/TemperatureMonitor.html
 
Istatpro for the dashboard is quite useful, thats what I use. If you have a temp problem, it doesnt matter how long you have the machine running, it can sky rocket it no time at all if something goes wrong.

Good luck!
 
mac pro shuts down

My mac pro shuts down as well. It seems to do this when it is not plugged in to an outlet. Anyone know what's going on?
 
Are any of you guys with this shutdown problem using a UPS? I seem to recall others having similar issues when using certain UPS products..
 
mo3 said:
My mac pro shuts down as well. It seems to do this when it is not plugged in to an outlet. Anyone know what's going on?
Click to expand...

smacman said:
Are any of you guys with this shutdown problem using a UPS? I seem to recall others having similar issues when using certain UPS products..
Click to expand...
Assuming a UPS is used, have you checked the software settings?
Is the UPS large enough to provide any time?

The load presented to the unit and it's ability to deliver (i.e. ratings and condition of batteries). It will shut down if it's not able to maintain the load as well.

Sorry for little information, but there's nothing else to really go on. :confused:
 
mperkins37 said:
How big a UPS unit should I have if running a couple HDs A scanner , Printer, & 30' ACD.
Click to expand...

You dont need a printer and scanner on a UPS, just a surge protector.

I have a 8 core MP, 30 ACD, and 8 drive RAID array on a 1500VA UPS. I get 3 min to shut down. I would suggest 1250VA.
 
cutterman said:
You dont need a printer and scanner on a UPS, just a surge protector.
Click to expand...
Usually not necessary at all, and in fact wasteful. But as I wasn't certain as to whether or not these items were shared with the system on a single UPS or not, I wanted clarification.

cutterman said:
I have a 8 core MP, 30 ACD, and 8 drive RAID array on a 1500VA UPS. I get 3 min to shut down. I would suggest 1250VA.
Click to expand...
Awfully short. I've a similar setup (Quad core Nehalem, 24" IPS monitor, 16 drives and 2x cards), and typically get 17 min of battery life (personal RAID system is all internal though, so no separate enclosure for drives).

A separate enclosure, particularly the E8 wouldn't change matters that much though. How old are the batteries?
 
I'm having a similar problem with my Core 8. The computer doesn't shut down but both monitors shut off spontaneously. Usually when I'm doing certain things like using Google Earth, Cubase, YouTube... or when I'm using Time Machine. If I'm just checking my mail or using a browser to look at forums, it could stay on for days but as soon as I try using one of the above... poof, both monitors shut down and can't be turned on again until I do a complete shut down and restart. Even then it takes several attempts before they'll work again.
I was thinking it might be my ATY,RadeonX1900 graphics card so I ordered a new one. Hopefully that'll fix it. If not, then it's a more serious problem.
 
Is there nothing in the system logs about all this? An over temperature restart should generate an entry in the log as it should be initiated by the system rather than a complete fallover. If you catch it doing a restart cycle you might also try and see if any errors are logged on the motherboard fault indicators
 
mac pro shuts down randomly

hi

my computer has been doing this right after i installed my flat screen as a second monitor. I was wondering if this had anything to do with it.

I've had my computer for over 2 years now and was wondering if i had to replace anything.?

PLease get back..

Thanks!
 
Back to first principles --

Unplug all USB peripherals other than the Kbd and mouse. And/or try a different kbd and mouse. Does it still shut down? (Misbehaving USB peripherals can cause crashes and restarts)

Shut the machine down, unplug, open it up. Clean out any dust, unplug both memory riser cards, remove and reinstall all RAM, reinstall risers. Unplug and reinstall the video card. Start up again - does it still misbehave?

Boot from OSX on another hard drive than your main drive (you DO have a backup drive, correct?), does it still misbehave?
 
problem with shutting down

Schmange said:
I'm having a similar problem with my Core 8. The computer doesn't shut down but both monitors shut off spontaneously. Usually when I'm doing certain things like using Google Earth, Cubase, YouTube... or when I'm using Time Machine. If I'm just checking my mail or using a browser to look at forums, it could stay on for days but as soon as I try using one of the above... poof, both monitors shut down and can't be turned on again until I do a complete shut down and restart. Even then it takes several attempts before they'll work again.
I was thinking it might be my ATY,RadeonX1900 graphics card so I ordered a new one. Hopefully that'll fix it. If not, then it's a more serious problem.
Click to expand...

Hi there,

I have exact problem as you have, did changing graphic card fixed your problem?

Thanks for reply
 
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