Please help - random shutdowns...

[alwaysaangel]

I'm seriously about to cry. I've only had this 2.2 SR Macbook Pro for 10 days. And yesterday it started having random shutdowns.

So far it seems to only be when I'm on battery. The screen will suddenly go grey and a window will say "your computer needs to be shutdown, please hold down the power key" (or something to that effect). So its done it three times so far, and when it does it takes like 10-15 minutes to restart (just has the circle thing for a REALLY long time).

Its really frustrating because the only reason I spent 2k on this damn thing is because I thought macs didn't do this. And if its going to do the same ****ing thing as a PC then I'm just going to spend half as much on a PC which I can troubleshoot myself.

So anyone have any suggestions on what could be causing this? If this is going to be a frequent occurrence then this is going back tommorow. But I <3 it so much I'd really rather not.

 

[dartzorichalcos]

It's most likely a kernel panic and the most common cause of a lot of kernel panics is faulty ram. Did you add any 3rd party ram? If so, put the original back and see if it will work fine? If not, get your MacBook Pro replaced.

 

[alwaysaangel]

It's most likely a kernel panic and the most common cause of a lot of kernel panics is faulty ram. Did you add any 3rd party ram? If so, put the original back and see if it will work fine? If not, get your MacBook Pro replaced.

Thats it!

No, I have it as is with the original 2GB of ram. So does that mean I have to take my computer back to the apple store? And if I do - am I gonna have to stand there and use my computer until it happens to show them?

 

[alwaysaangel]

Also, is there any reason people can think of that this would happen only when its unplugged and on the battery?

 

[TilJ]

Also, is there any reason people can think of that this would happen only when its unplugged and on the battery?

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=986785&tstart=15

I'm experiencing them too , but so far only with a friend's 802.11g access pont running WPA. It only seems to affect me when I'm on battery power.

Some folks have had success with re-seating the RAM modules. I haven't tried it yet so I can't comment on whether or not it works.

 

[xpovos]

Also, is there any reason people can think of that this would happen only when its unplugged and on the battery?

Since it just started yesterday, it's possible that it DOESN'T only do it on battery power, and you just haven't noticed yet. Kernel panics can seem extremely random. I have a 15" last-gen that went through a weird spell for a few days last year where it would kernel panic about twice a day. I never figured out why, but a fresh install of OS X fixed it.

Previous post is correct: faulty RAM is often the culprit; but my preceding paragraph indicates hardware isn't always to blame. Recent reports of higher frequency of kernel panics on the new SR models may even underscore that fact rather than pointing to widespread hardware defects. As another example, my new 17" SR had a kernel panic one day after purchase, right after the new version of Parallels had stopped responding. It hasn't had one since (owned for 8 days total now) and seems to have been an isolated incident.

And don't worry: you came from the PC world for good reason, and no, Macs generally DON'T do the same thing your PC always did. Kernel panics are rare. If you return your MBP to the Apple store and describe what it's doing (be sure to use the words "kernel panic" and underscore the frequency), my bet is that they will replace it on the spot.

 

[xpovos]

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=986785&tstart=15

I'm experiencing them too , but so far only with a friend's 802.11g access pont running WPA. It only seems to affect me when I'm on battery power.

In my opinion, this is another indication that faulty hardware may not be to blame in these cases.

 

[alwaysaangel]

Since it just started yesterday, it's possible that it DOESN'T only do it on battery power, and you just haven't noticed yet.

Yesterday was pretty much the first time I used it on battery except when I calibrated the battery by just letting it run all night when I first go it.

I dunno I guess I'm having the same problem as that thread - happens when I'm on my wifi (right after wifi fails) when I'm on battery. If I turn the wifi off it doesn't happen.

And don't worry: you came from the PC world for good reason, and no, Macs generally DON'T do the same thing your PC always did. Kernel panics are rare. If you return your MBP to the Apple store and describe what it's doing (be sure to use the words "kernel panic" and underscore the frequency), my bet is that they will replace it on the spot.

Ok, thats good to hear. Thanks.

So I should copy all my files over and I'll have to reset all my settings if they replace it right?