Vista Audio crackling and hard freeze issue with MacBook Pro Late 2008

[imtriggerhappy]

Okay, I just bought a new MBP and install Vista on it.

It's horrible, the trackpad is simply not usable, this problem can be solved by using wireless mouse.

The audio pops noise every 30 secs, turnning wireless off or use Vista Anti Lag will solve it.

Now the most annoying part, the computer hard freezes about twice day, this is unacceptable, I have not seen a computer hard freeze for many years. I meant blue screen of death is kinda okay, but my compputer just freeze Ctrl Alt Fn Del won't work, tried re installing, no help. Anyone had their computer crash with the new MBP?

I am going to try few more days, if this problem is still there, I am going to return it :-mad:

 

[tracy657]

Hi, imtriggerhappy:

I have the same problem, it just freezes there instead of BSOD on the previous Macbook pro. I really loved the laptop, but it's really annoying. I hope I can figure out a way to fix it.

 

[TBi]

Funnily enough most of my problems with windows have been down to third party (nVidia/VIA) chipsets. I'm not surprised you are seeing issues yourselves.

nVidia could never get their drivers right while i had their motherboards. One thing that you might do is try and get the newest GeForce(nForce) drivers for your motherboard from nVidia website. This might solve your issue.

Right now i think i'll stay away from the new MBP's until they return to tried and trusted intel

 

[The Flashing Fi]

nVidia could never get their drivers right while i had their motherboards. One thing that you might do is try and get the newest GeForce(nForce) drivers for your motherboard from nVidia website. This might solve your issue.

You're right about that. I have an nForce 570 SLi chipset in my desktop and their ethernet drivers are just horrible. I've had the driver fail to start a few times, and sometimes one port on start-up won't work, so I switch. Then when I restart, the ports switch. Oddly enough, the chipset drivers that shipped with Vista worked flawlessly for about a year and a half, until one day I had a BSOD (my first and only BSOD since moving to SP1, which I started using when it was in beta stage). The diagnostic tool told me to update, which I did, and it was just one hassle after another.

I'm considering uninstalling and using Vista's default driver. One BSOD in once a year and a half isn't too bad.

I think part of the problem on the new MBPs with the chipset is that it's so new, that Nvidia hasn't worked out the bugs on. I guess its part of the trade off of being a guinea pig for a new product.

 

[MVApple]

I have the same problem! I don't know if this is Apple's problem or what but I just someone would step up to the plate and get this solved. The trackpad is definately Apple's problem.

Turning off my wireless isn't a very elegant solution. I'll have to try vista anti lag, thanks for th heads up.

Ok so I installed vista anti-lag and that solved the problem. What a headache, I wish these things just worked "out of the box" though.

 

[ryannazaretian]

I'm having the same issue with everyone else. The freezing is the one that bothers me the most. I'm a college student going into Electrial Engineering, and I have to learn programming. I use OSX a lot, but also use Windows. I've only had my computer for two days and it has frozen twice.

The sound is horrible too. This is a problem the old MBP's had as well, and Apple still hasn't fixed it. This is Apple's responsibility to provide good, working drivers. All my other computers I have had are provided with drivers that will work fine out of the box. Whats up with Apple's drivers? Also, no one can point the blame with the sound at Vista. This is the only machine (and my previous MBP) that has had sound issues like this. Even with wireless off it crackles and pops. (By the way, where can I get Vista Anti Lag? I searched it up on google and didn't find any good links.)

The trackpad also annoys me. But, I'm still in the learning phase.

EDIT: After some good searching I found it. Here's a link to the website you can download it from:
http://www.codecase.de/en/downloads/folder/2-vista-anti-lag

 

[ryannazaretian]

I think the problem may be heat related.
Start Rant...
Remember the bad fan control in the previous generation Macbook Pro's or Macbook that would make the computer run really hot in Windows? I think that is catching up with Apple with this more powerful laptop.
Well... my computer froze again today, and I immediately tried restarting and it would not start. I started in OSX, and as soon as the login window came up, the fans started whining bad and iStat was showing 171 degrees Fahrenheit for the CPU (This was after starting Windows again for it to freeze again, and then starting OSX up... Who knows that the temperature was when it actually froze... Possibly 190?). While this shouldn't be hot enough to freeze the computer, it is still pretty hot for my laptop (I use Fan Control with the sliders all the way to the left and my temps usually range from 100F to 115F).

Apple... you cannot be serious with this right? I have been in the middle of some homework that I had to use Windows on twice and it has frozen. When I say freeze, I mean, audio repeats, keyboard and trackpad don't respond, screen and time remain the same. A hard freeze... No BSOD or anything.

Acknowledge this freezing problem or you can take this laptop back.

As for the audio, I found something on this forum where you can disable the A band for the wireless card. I did this and the popping happens must less frequently. But still, this is an issue that I know has been an issue since June... Apple cannot expect us to be happy with a $2600 laptop that cannot run Windows well at all, right? OSX runs good, but there's a reason I bought this laptop. To run OSX and Windows. They enable the function too... it's called bootcamp... They supply the drivers on their OSX reinstallation disk... It's their branded laptop... They should support their products!

End of my rant.


EDIT: I can almost say that it has to be heat. I let it cool down for a while in OSX, and then restarted into Vista with no problem at all. I'm thinking it may be the fan driver freezing the computer? When it gets so hot that it needs to kick the fans it, it is instead freezing the computer. I think Apple got the type of freezing wrong that we all want...

 

[Stridder44]

Holy crap Boot Camp must have some serious problems with the late 2008 MBPs; I've seen so many Boot Camp problems with people with the new MBPs.

 

[ryannazaretian]

I can confirm that the system is running pretty warm.
GPU is running 78C
CPU is running 78C
Chipset is running 77C

These temperatures were taken in Windows using NVIDIA System Monitor, which apparently works with the new Macbooks (Pros).

Also, I cannot hear the fans making any noise, and the system is just sitting idle right now at 78C!

I've installed the Bootcamp drivers twice now as well...

EDIT:
Now the fans seem to be kicking in... Now that I installed NVIDIA System Monitor... I was running Spybot and the fans weren't running fast at all (their default speed). Now they are audible.

 

[Demigod Mac]

The drivers Apple provides with Boot Camp are garbage. Install these nVidia drivers:

for Vista 64-bit
http://laptopvideo2go.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=21839

for Vista 32-bit
http://laptopvideo2go.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=21838

Download the driver and the modded INF file.
Extract the driver into a folder.
Copy and replace the existing INF file with the modded INF.
Install these drivers using the "Have Disk" method. You will get a few warnings about digital signatures and compatibility. Install Anyway. It may take several minutes and your screen will go blank for a few seconds, but this is normal. Restart.

Next, go to http://www.realtek.com.tw/
Click on HD Audio Codec Driver. Accept. Download the Vista Driver (ZIP file). Extract and install with the Have Disk method. Restart.

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

Quit whining, Apple is not the one causing the trouble. It's nVidia and their crappy drivers.

 

[ryannazaretian]

Quit whining, Apple is not the one causing the trouble. It's nVidia and their crappy drivers.

Oh yea... I forgot that nVidia made Apple products...
Like the fans... the trackpad... the internal sensors... the drivers to run all of that... it is not just graphics... and the sound issue is with Broadcom and Realtek not playing nice and had problems with the previous generation Macs as well.

All nVidia has in the Macbooks now are the graphics, chipset, and the ethernet.

I'm not disagreeing with you that nVidia's drivers suck, because they do, but that is not all that is wrong, and some things need the magic touch from Apple to fix.

Oops... my fault, Apple is perfect...


As for Demigod Mac, thanks for the links. I installed the latest drivers from nVidia earlier (version 180.60) which I believe are beta, but they seem to be as stable as the one provided with the Bootcamp disk.

I am also downloading the audio driver, but man... is the download slow (13kB/s) and I'm on very fast internet speeds:



EDIT:
Just got done downloading the new audio driver, installed, restarted, and the driver didn't install right using the normal install method. I was able to get it working using the "Have Disk" method. I've only heard one pop so far, which is much better than before. Thanks!

EDIT AGAIN:
Okay... sound drivers didn't fix it. I'm messing with some of my wireless networking stuff and it's popping just as bad.

 

[Demigod Mac]

Disable the Broadcom Wireless in the Device Manager. Should solve the audio pops. An updated driver is around somewhere but I'm not sure which it is.

 

[ryannazaretian]

Disable the Broadcom Wireless in the Device Manager. Should solve the audio pops. An updated driver is around somewhere but I'm not sure which it is.

Yea, I know shutting down the wireless card fixes the issue, but it is still not a fix. I'll look for a driver.

By the way, is 195F idling pretty hot in Vista? The fan wasn't even spinning up... I really think this is why I keep on freezing.

 

[The Flashing Fi]

Yea, I know shutting down the wireless card fixes the issue, but it is still not a fix. I'll look for a driver.

By the way, is 195F idling pretty hot in Vista? The fan wasn't even spinning up... I really think this is why I keep on freezing.

195F is pretty hot. That's 90 C, so I would say that's a reason why its overheating.

 

[ryannazaretian]

I think Apple wrote the driver for Vista to go off of CPU usage instead of temperature. Can anyone confirm this? Whenever it freezes, it is basically idling and normal web surfing, nothing crazy like playing a game. Now, it has never frozen while playing a game because the fan actually spins up during game play.

It appears this way, but I don't have a way to confirm this.

Any ideas?

 

[toebs]

I think Apple wrote the driver for Vista to go off of CPU usage instead of temperature. Can anyone confirm this? Whenever it freezes, it is basically idling and normal web surfing, nothing crazy like playing a game. Now, it has never frozen while playing a game because the fan actually spins up during game play.

It appears this way, but I don't have a way to confirm this.

Any ideas?

Mine allso only freezes when the CPU is kinda idling. Never during gaming or anything intense.
But it doesnt freeze because of temperature, nor voltage. I am sure about this

 

[Stridder44]

Quit whining, Apple is not the one causing the trouble. It's nVidia and their crappy drivers.

Oh yeah, of course, it's NEVER Apple's fault. That's why the keyboard backlight works so well Windows.

Want some more kool-aid with that smugness?

 

[ryannazaretian]

If anyone has any useful or helpful tips, I'm very open to them. I've tried everything so far. Sound is still popping, this thing still gets very hot (although the fans seem to be working better and keeping it below 190F), and I'm still experiencing the random freezing, which I have not seen since Windows 98.

EDIT: I'm going to try to research the problem a bit. I need to know what version of Windows Vista everyone is using. I'm using Vista Ultimate 32bit.

 

[Demigod Mac]

Download SMCFanControl and set both fans on 6000 rpm (maximum). Restart into Vista (they should keep on running).
http://homepage.mac.com/holtmann/eidac/software/smcfancontrol2/index.html

Buy a standalone miniature wire shelf at a hardware store and set the computer on top of it. 360 degrees of air flow will help keep it cool. Much cheaper than the $40 most peripheral makers charge for a laptop stand.

Somewhere on this forum people have linked to Dell and HP driver downloads for the Broadcom Wireless that supposedly fix the audio popping while allowing you to use the wireless. I'm not sure which ones to use, though.

 

[toebs]

If anyone has any useful or helpful tips, I'm very open to them. I've tried everything so far. Sound is still popping, this thing still gets very hot (although the fans seem to be working better and keeping it below 190F), and I'm still experiencing the random freezing, which I have not seen since Windows 98.

EDIT: I'm going to try to research the problem a bit. I need to know what version of Windows Vista everyone is using. I'm using Vista Ultimate 32bit.

Im pretty sure it has nothing to do with the windows version. I tried both XP32bit pro, Vista ultimate 32bit, and Vista Ultimate 64bit

 

[Demigod Mac]

Just saw this posted over at Laptopvideo2Go

http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=14644&st=20

Apparently new Broadcom drivers are out (as of Nov. 21, 2008 - see the post by Guest_Broadcom). I'm not sure if these will work on a Macbook Pro or not.

Might as well try them out tomorrow, since I never use wireless on Windows anyway.

 

[cg165]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5G77 Safari/525.20)

Download SMCFanControl and set both fans on 6000 rpm (maximum). Restart into Vista (they should keep on running).
http://homepage.mac.com/holtmann/eidac/software/smcfancontrol2/index.html

Buy a standalone miniature wire shelf at a hardware store and set the computer on top of it. 360 degrees of air flow will help keep it cool. Much cheaper than the $40 most peripheral makers charge for a laptop stand.

Somewhere on this forum people have linked to Dell and HP driver downloads for the Broadcom Wireless that supposedly fix the audio popping while allowing you to use the wireless. I'm not sure which ones to use, though.

Does smc fan control work with the new unibody mbp's? I'll try that out if it does. I'm noticing sometimes the fans will rev up when I'm at the opening screen for a game and other times they won't kick in until I'm already in the game. Maybe this is an overheating issue due to the fans not kicking in properly. Hopefully it is because that's generally an easy fix.

 

[toebs]

SMC does work.
Put it to 2000 in OSX, it will stick in windows.

Install RMClock, i put a guide somewhere here in the forum. And configure it.

Im running idle at 53C* and gaming at 68-70C*

 

[mcbane999]

Another way?

If you must run a legacy OS, have you considered XP instead of Vista? XP has far fewer driver issues and far fewer wedges and BSOD experiences.