some sr mbp issues - please advise

[a1dipship]

ive had my high end 15" sr mbp for about a week now and ive experienced the following:

1, had battery replaced after 3 days as it was losing health and i had erratic consumption rates.

2, with new healthy battery ive noticed no battery life improvement. my usuage is pretty steady and so i know i get min 3.5 hours on my macbook. i was expecting to beat that with the pro with "led" technology. i know why apple havent promoted the led tech - because it adds little in terms of performance. and i think the bottom of the screen is not well lit at low brightness levels compared to the macbook. i can have the macbook on very low brighness and its still brighter than my pro at the same level.

3, i never experienced a kernel panic in 3-4 years of using mac's and within 1-2 days of macbook pro i have had 3. i knew of kernal panics but never knew what they were until the message came up on my screen.

my previous laptop was a rock solid macbook (could be again) - absolutely no issues whatsoever. if it had had a backlit keyboard i wouldnt have even considered moving back to a pro spec.

question
i have genuis appointment today for the kernal panics. im thinking they are going to advise me to do a reinstall and see how it goes - but my current install is an exact but more streamlined/cleaner version of that on my c2d macbook which has had no problems ever - its been totally reliable "does what it says on the box" ....

if im going to have to do a reinstall i might as well do it on a new laptop?
so, as im within the 14 days so im thinking that if they advise a reinstall that ill just ask for a refund and buy a new one on the spot to avoid further visits to the apple store.

is it a real possibility that a reinstall could solve the problem? what else can they check or fix?
i dont want to deal with daily kernal panics now or in the future. and i could be living abroad for awhile and i dont want to have issues that have been identified now in a foreign country.

any views?

i like the pro (prev had a powerbook and loved it) and just want it to work without fault - continuing my mac experience of the last few years. if i want to deal with problems ill move back to windows!

kernel panic details
the last two ive noticed whilst using safari.
1, normal web page (bbc) and right clicked an image to 'save to download folder' - kernel panic
2, clicked on a download link for software - kernal panic.
the computer was not performing any heavy duty tasks / i had no other significant apps running. maybe 20% of ram was being used (ipulse info).

one more thing.
when im streaming radio via real player and the display turns offs to save power i get a split second glitch in the stream then it continues .... why would that be? it never happened on my macbook.

 

[aaronw1986]

You won't get a refund and then just be able to buy a new one...unless you pay the 10$ restocking fee...thought they may just give you a replacement. I doubt the battery would be longer then a macbook, it's a more power hungry computer. Larger display, and faster components uses more power.

 

[a1dipship]

You won't get a refund and then just be able to buy a new one...unless you pay the 10$ restocking fee...thought they may just give you a replacement. I doubt the battery would be longer then a macbook, it's a more power hungry computer. Larger display, and faster components uses more power.

in im london and they dont have restocking fees from past experience - its a no quibble 14 day return period (have until 23 june according to receipt). regardless of reason they will accept it back as long as its not smashed to bits i guess.

 

[aaronw1986]

Sorry, no experience with kernel panics...can't really help you there.

 

[otispunkmeyer]

well your 2nd point is a bit moot

macbook = intel integrated graphics
mac book pro = faster CPU's and an 8600GT

so really what ever saving you get from using LED backlighting, you pretty much spend it all again powering faster cpus and a more power hungry graphics device

 

[Sopranino]

This forum has another thread dealing with kernel panics. It would appear that Apple is replacing those computers that are having panic attacks.

Sopranino

 

[4np]

Regarding the battery I would advise you to calibrate it.

Calibrating your computer's battery for best performance
You can calibrate your iBook, PowerBook, MacBook or MacBook Pro computer's lithium ion battery for best performance.

The battery has an internal microprocessor that provides an estimate of the amount of energy in the battery as it charges and discharges. The battery needs to be recalibrated from time to time to keep the onscreen battery time and percent display accurate. With all iBooks and PowerBook G4 computers except the aluminum PowerBook G4 (15-inch Double-Layer SD), you should perform this procedure when you first use your computer and then every few months thereafter.

PowerBook G4 (15-inch Double-Layer SD), MacBook (all models), MacBook Pro (all models), and MacBook Pro (17-inch) (all models)

The battery calibration for the PowerBook G4 (15-inch Double-Layer SD) and any model of MacBook or MacBook Pro has been updated because of a new battery released with this computer. With these computers, follow these steps to calibrate your battery:

1. Plug in the power adapter and fully charge your PowerBook's battery until the light ring or LED on the power adapter plug changes to green and the onscreen meter in the menu bar indicates that the battery is fully charged.
2. Allow the battery to rest in the fully charged state for at least two hours. You may use your computer during this time as long as the adapter is plugged in.
3. Disconnect the power adapter with the computer still on and start running the computer off battery power. You may use your computer during this time. When your battery gets low, you will see the low battery warning dialog on the screen.
4. Continue to keep your computer on until it goes to sleep. Save all your work and close all applications when the battery gets very low, before the computer goes to sleep.
5. Turn off the computer or allow it to sleep for five hours or more.
6. Connect the power adapter and leave it connected until the battery is fully charged again.

Tip: When the battery reaches "empty", the computer is forced into sleep mode. The battery actually keeps back a reserve beyond "empty", to maintain the computer in sleep for a period of time. Once the battery is truly exhausted, the computer is forced to shut down. At this point, with the safe sleep function introduced in the PowerBook G4 (15-inch Double-Layer SD) computers, the computer's memory contents have been saved to the hard drive. When power is restored, the computer returns itself to its pre-sleep state using the safe sleep image on the hard drive.

source: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86284

 

[4np]

Regarding the battery I would advise you to calibrate it.



source: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86284

Regarding the kernel panics; it depends on what kind of kernel panics you are getting but generally speaking: kernel panics are not a good thing. Did you (re)install OSX after you received the MBP? Did you install third party applications / scripts?

 

[a1dipship]

i did calibration before phoning apple and the power drain reset thing. anyway - the battery was outside of there tolerances when they checked it so they replaced it.

when i got the macbookpro it was brand new sealed so i didnt reinstall the osx. i have installed third party apps and scripts, but nothing other than was on my macbook and it never complained.

i have installed 'saft' and speed download 4 - the last two kernels were via safari - so assumming nothing in the background is causing the problems it could be these safari plugs? if so, why no issues on macbook?

i am about to do a fresh install in readiness for taking it back to apple store.

will be doing a fresh install mean they are limited to hardware checks?

gonna start cloning data now so any advice would be helpful ... quick

anyway...

 

[Igantius]

when i got the macbookpro it was brand new sealed so i didnt reinstall the osx. i have installed third party apps and scripts, but nothing other than was on my macbook and it never complained.

I could be wrong about this, but I've a strong feeling that it used to be the case that the OS X that shipped with a Mac was optimised for that particular model (i.e. the one was iMacs was meant to be used only be used with iMacs and only iMacs).

Now this might not be the case currently (and I could be wrong as I freely admit!), but if after the fresh install you have no problem, that might be the reason why.

 

[dcv]

Yes the UK stores have a 14-day return policy, they will give you a full refund or exchange it for another item so that might be easier than the hassle of a "genius" appointment.

BTW John Lewis give a 2-year warranty as standard so you might want to consider that if you go with the refund option. I'm not sure if they have them in stock yet though; they haven't updated their website yet. I called them this morning to enquire and waiting for someone to call me back...

 

[dcv]

^Re: John Lewis - they've just called me back - they don't have stock of the new models yet and couldn't actually give me a date for when they might have, so sorry, ignore that advice unless you don't mind a bit of a wait to get an extra year's free warranty.

 

[a1dipship]

Yes the UK stores have a 14-day return policy, they will give you a full refund or exchange it for another item so that might be easier than the hassle of a "genius" appointment.

BTW John Lewis give a 2-year warranty as standard so you might want to consider that if you go with the refund option. I'm not sure if they have them in stock yet though; they haven't updated their website yet. I called them this morning to enquire and waiting for someone to call me back...

i brought from j lewis before and for the second year of the warranty they outsource to a bunch of monkeys that attempt to fix problems. my hard drive went on my powerbook sometime ago and it came back with the case dented and they hadnt installed something properly so it didnt have startup chime etc. it had to go back to have the case refitted. and i wrote 2 big notes and stuck them on the computer asing them to be careful - idiots. wont buy from j lewis again. but thanks for advice. and i think i can get the apple care with student discount = 50 quid i think

 

[dcv]

i brought from j lewis before and for the second year of the warranty they outsource to a bunch of monkeys that attempt to fix problems. my hard drive went on my powerbook sometime ago and it came back with the case dented and they hadnt installed something properly so it didnt have startup chime etc. it had to go back to have the case refitted. and i wrote 2 big notes and stuck them on the computer asing them to be careful - idiots. wont buy from j lewis again. but thanks for advice. and i think i can get the apple care with student discount = 50 quid i think

Ohhhh... thanks for the advice on that then. Maybe I shouldn't bother waiting for JL in that case.

Hope you get the problems with your MBP resolved!

 

[a1dipship]

update

took it to apple and they agreed to just swap it. so now im cloning the old setup back onto the drive as i write this.

HOPEFULLY, the error is gone with the old macbook pro and the install is clean.

If not, then i have another faulty macbook pro or the installation was corrupt after all... or both

ah well.... lets hope that was a one off in my mac experience....

 

[thefoo]

i brought from j lewis before and for the second year of the warranty they outsource to a bunch of monkeys that attempt to fix problems. my hard drive went on my powerbook sometime ago and it came back with the case dented and they hadnt installed something properly so it didnt have startup chime etc. it had to go back to have the case refitted. and i wrote 2 big notes and stuck them on the computer asing them to be careful - idiots. wont buy from j lewis again. but thanks for advice. and i think i can get the apple care with student discount = 50 quid i think

That is to be expected. John Lewis are primarily a homeware retailer in the high street so aftersales care on computers is unlikely to be handled in-house at all. I was going to buy from them for the second year warrantee but I've been thinking that on a £2,000 investment a three-year Apple deal may be wiser. Your experience reinforces that belief.

To be fair, the Applecare agreement states clearly that Apple may outsource its responsibilities where it needs to. For example, on-site support where no Apple stores are nearby. Worst-case scenario is a courier to pick the unit up and deliver it back again.

 

[thefoo]

update

took it to apple and they agreed to just swap it. so now im cloning the old setup back onto the drive as i write this.

HOPEFULLY, the error is gone with the old macbook pro and the install is clean.

If not, then i have another faulty macbook pro or the installation was corrupt after all... or both

ah well.... lets hope that was a one off in my mac experience....

Hope this one goes better. Kernel panics are usually associated with new drivers and experimental code or faulty/dodgy hardware. Could quite easily be bad RAM of course.

 

[dcv]

Bought mine from the Apple Store a few hours ago and also having the kernel panics. They appear to be Airport related and there are several other posts here and on the Apple discussion boards which say the same thing.

Seems to happen when running on battery power, Airport on, on an encrypted (WEP/WPA etc) network.

Does that sound familiar? Let us know how you get on with the new one.

I'm gonna be returning this one over the weekend...

 

[a1dipship]

my replacement mbp just started having kernal panics..... :-(

i took it to the store and everytime the genuis tried to boot from the external drive to check the problem it kernel paniced!!!! he said i can have refund or exchange..... im considering a refund....

seems alot of people are having panics on sr mbp judging by the threads....

all of my panics have been either when i started watching eyetv, disconnected eyetv or just surfing the net on safari - all completely normal 'basic' usage. i had nothing else running on the computer... this is unacceptable....

i think there is a fundamental problem with the sr mbp because my macbook is rock solid (touch wood) with the same setup and usage patterns.

i hate this. because i want to keep it but its no use if i cant trust it.

will it be 3rd time lucky? or wait a few months or 6 and wait for the next upgrade?

back to my super trusty macbook for now...the thing is because of the problems with the mbp ive started to get paraniod and im contstanty backing up my macbook even though i havent ever experienced a kernal panic in 7 months...... :-(

 

[dcv]

my replacement mbp just started having kernal panics..... :-(

Ohhh I feel for you. My first MBP had the yellowing and kernel panics issue. Took it back to Regent St yesterday and swapped it for another one. So far this one hasn't crashed but it's got a dead pixel which I'm not too pleased about. It's not as yellow as the first so I'm not sure whether to keep it even though I'm not totally satisfied, or to get another (which may have more issues), to try the 17" (which shouldn't have the yellowing) or to just get a refund and live with my slow PowerBook for a while longer...

My kernel panics were the same as yours... just "normal" usage i.e. surfing the net, nothing else running, so yes, totally unacceptable. It needs to be returned but I'm afraid I can't advise you on exchange/refund & wait. I'm way too indecisive!