impromtu shut downs. this is affecting both my Intel macs

[cadmium]

If this doesnt get solved I am going to switch to PC's

Last spring (I had some extra cash) and bought a Macbook (for travel use) and a Macbook Pro (for family desktop replacement)

My Macbook started switching itself off unexpectedly. I have done a "archive and reinstall", I have sent it into Apple for repairs twice and now i am sending it in a third time after they told me to reseat the memory and that didnt work. They have replace the logic board and some power component. It shuts off frequently and makes it unusable except to turn on briefly. I cant work without saving everything every 5 minutes or so.

Anyway they are going take it back for another attempted repair. 6 months and the problem is unsovable. If this doesn;'t work they said they would replace the machine.

In the meantime my Macbook pro started doing the same thing. It switches itself off randomly and I am limping along with it.

Very frustrating since shelled out a pretty penny for these two new laptops.

Any experience with this kind of problem?

I ran the same software on a powerbook 12 and it always worked smoothly and never crashed.

I really would like some advice on what could be doing this. I dont think it is software. They shut themselves compleetely off. I was wondering if it was power. It can happen plugged in or on battery. It doesnt seem to matter what applications are running.

[jgraz]

1. I just started seeing the too -- apparently it's a pervasive problem

Mine only happens when not plugged in. I'm hoping it's just a bad battery.

[onehandle]

2. Fix for MacBook:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304308

There is also a fix for the MacBook Pro, but I cannot find a direct link at Apple.
I did find this: http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/29858

It is my understanding that just going through Mac OSX Update will fix these problems.

[jgraz]

3. I've already updated to Firmware - first thing I tried.

Using version 1.5f10, which supposedly has the fix. But no luck.

[mrgorth]

4. Fuck Intel

What the hell happened to the G5 chip?

[jgraz]

5. Couldn't get the manufacturing tolerances we needed

I was at Apple when the Intel decision was made. It had been clear for a couple years that the PPC roadmap was a dead end. The manufacturers just could not deliver the chips at the clockspeed or transistor density we were going to need.

The shutdown issue has nothing to do with the Intel chip. It's a bad connection between the battery thermal sensor and the logic board. The logic board thinks that the battery is about to burst into flames and turns off the machine.

[jgraz]

6. My battery replacement fixed the problem

The battery was telling the logic board that it was about to burst into flames. The machine shuts down immediately to avoid the lawsuit.

[cadmium]

7. Heat sync?

This sounds like a thermostat. This is the defective part that appears to cause the problem. I had it replaced for a 2nd time on my Macbook. Now (5days) it is running OK without impromptu shut downs. I am going to give it a few more days before I send in my MacbookPro. Even if this is the fix it is annoying because of all the fixes and hoops they put people through (archive and install, firm ware, reseating the memory) -- leaving you without a computer that lasted long enough to depend on for months.

[cadmium]

8. Follow-Up on this problem

Both my macbook and my macbook pro are working ok now. It took home software trouble-shooting 3 trips for one and 2 trips for the other to be fixed. The macbook had a logic board and heatsync (X2) replaced and I can't tell what fixed it. The MB-pro had new battery (not successful) and both logic board and heatsync replaced. Now both are working fine but it is not 100% certain what the core problem was.

I am telling people who are thinking about buying new Intel laptops to ask the sales person or supervisor if the know about this problem. I wouldn't buy one unless someone could tell me that they have the bugs worked out. The time involved getting them fixed is too much.

[Nomad559]

9. Apple Sued for Defective iBooks

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x254517

[eyesroll]

10. This problem concerns MacBooks, not iBooks, Nomad.

Isn't a DU group supposed to be a place where people who like something can congregate?

[Nomad559]

11. DU Groups Are For Discussions

I posted that link because I thought that Cadmium may be Interested In knowing that the iBooks also have a problem with the logic boards.

:)

[cadmium]

12. I am an intensely loyal Mac User

I have an HP-Pavillion (provided by my workplace) but it is not at all as pleasant to use as the macs. I'm not a computer maven and I wish I never had to know what a logic board is. This problem has been grueling--and time consuming. These are expensive machines -- hopefully the bugs are worked out.

I think that it is a fair question to ask by people purchasing new machines if the logic board problem &/or the heat sync problems have been addressed.