Macbook Problems

[AirCanada 0]

Wondering if anyone else is experiencing problems with their Intel- Mac... (according to the Mac discussion boards, there seems to be quite a few...)

I picked up my custom configured Macbook (2Ghz, White, 120G HD, added 2GB of RAM in-store) on July 13. This was round 2, as the first one I had gotten was DOA.

About a week later, I got around to using it, and bringing all my files over from windows land, and I found it... well... SLOW.

Only standard software loaded, plus Office for Mac, Adobe lightroom, Acrobat, limewire, skype, and a few plug-ins.

Specifically:

Slow & jerky to scroll around graphic pdf's.
slow and jerky to scroll around RAW's in preview, iphoto, or lightroom.
typing lags in word and occasionally mail.
lags and jerky with photobooth.
lags, jerky, poor playback, slow to load (essentially unusable) with .wmv files and the new universal version of flip for mac.
slow and jerky transistions in expose with multiple windows, if any of them are grapic intensive... ie. iphoto.

Don't forget, I have 2GB of ram in there.

Made an appointment to have it looked at, then, while trying some troubleshooting with apple over the phone, I safe-booted it, and...

It was gone. Black screen only on boot. Hard drive started, keyboard active (caps-lock light would go on / off), start up sound, but nothing on the screen, and the little led on-off light was off.

Tried resetting the PMU, starttig into the start- up manger... nothing.

Told to bring it in.

Eventually brought it back by resetting the PRAM, but now, if it is turned off... same thing, black screen on re-boot. Re-set PRAM, turns on, works ok, althought still "slow".

On the "bright" side, I never found that it got to hot, the fan never "mooed" at me, and the case didn't dis-color.

Any similar issues? Other, unique and strange issues?

Sadly, I have owned it long enough to fall in love with the UI, the nice design, and the easily accessible code for little "hacks" of the system (such as getting isync to work with my un-supported phone)... but I can't work with a computer than is this tempermental.

By contrast, my 4 year old Dell, while experiencing all of the standard windows bugs and crashes, is still chugging along with nary a call to tech support... ever.

[MB38 0]

Bring it in, get it fixed or replaced.

Also, uninstall [not just delete but uninstall] LimeWire as soon as possible. In my time at the Genius Bar, I saw LimeWire kill more machines than any other singular failure. I'm serious, that application causes problems ranging from loss of data to hardware damage. Ask the Mac Genius while you're at the store about it.

You will likely get a replacement machine. You have to remember that this is the first time Apple has ever used Intel processors in that form factor. Until the 2nd revision of the new Intel machines surface... this is effectively a company-wide learning experience.

That's not to say that it's a bad machine. Just remember that it's probably experiencing first-generation growing pains. To put it in perspective, I've had >20 Macs in the last 10 years [4 or 5 of those personally, the rest administrated through work or family] and only one has ever gone in for service [broken hard drive - a non-Apple component]. One of my machines has been on for 18-24 hours every day for the last 6 years... it still gets used daily.

I really don't know what I'm talking about.

[AirCanada 0]

Ok. I wasn't sure what you meant by "uninstall", as there was no "un-installer" in the limewire package, and didn't seem to be any in OS X.

So, I googled, and found instructions for using terminal... a sudo command line.

That appeared to get rid of it.

I then changed the finder (through terminal) to show all hidden files, searched for anything with the word lime, and deleted all limewire related files the regular way, emptied the trash, and then switched the finder back to the normal view.

I trust that will take care of it?

Thanks for the reply... very informative.

Josh.

[MB38 0]

Wow, impressive work. Most people throw a fit after they hear that.

If the app has done any damage, the damage is still there. Generally it's simple stuff... software errors, directory structure errors, etc.

If you have a few minutes to troubleshoot, go ahead and pop the first DVD that came with your computer into the drive and restart the computer holding the "C" key [press the "C" key as soon as you hear the startup chime and hold it until you see something different than usual]. Once it's all fired up [it will be a Mac OS X Installer app], go to the "Utilities" menu and select "Disk Utility". Select your hard drive and run disk first aid as well as repairing permissions. That should shake out any easy demons.

That said, there could be hardware problems. I still recommend that you take it in.

I really don't know what I'm talking about.

[Miami 0]

My wife made me upgrade her iBook that we just got her a few months ago to a MacBook, citing the need for more power for her garageband work. She loaded Office for Mac, Skype, and a few script/screen writing programs on it and has had no problems with it at all...quite happy with it in fact!

On my MacBook Pro, however, the battery has completely died...lasts maybe 5 minutes off of the charger. Found the exchange program on the apple website and my battery fell under the ones being recalled, so I have a brand spankin new battery on it's way to me.

Miami

[AirCanada 0]

Thanks for all the good info.

I gather from you previous posts that you work for apple. It's nice to get suggestions from someone who doesn't pre- assume that one is an idiot (as some tech support people seem to... or, they just don't know the anwsers themselves).

Unfortunately, I don't have the boot disks with me, nor the original RAM, so I can't RAM test or disk repair.

However, I already repaired the permissions, and verified the boot volume (from the HD itself, not the CD).

Then re-booted... same problem. Black screen, HD running, key board working, machine appears "on"... no screen, no respone.

Re-setting PRAM fixes it... but only until the next shut down.

So, yes, it's definately going to the doctor.

It appears to be the same problem that this guy experienced:

http://forums.appleinsider.com/showthread.php?s=4e75a5b9f4fb6df81f7db3855c38b8e4&threadid=65237

'Cept he fixed his with the PRAM re-set.

Similar genesis, tho... It all started with me booting in safe mode, and holding down the shift key for a while...

Anyway, thanks for the suggestions.

[AirCanada 0]

Good to know of some good experiences!

[MB38 0]

Yeah, I could bore you all day with the success I've had with my machines and all of the terrific stories I could tell you about doing the right thing for customers at the Genius Bar. I could pull out failure rates and compare it to the industry standards and I could tell you that Apple's issues tend to get brought into the limelight while other generic computer company's issues disappear... even though Apple undoubtedly has the smaller market-share. But that's not helpful. As far as you're concerned... you have a bunk computer that needs work. It's your first Mac experience and I'm sorry it's been such a bugger. I promise you, it's better than this.

Definitely get the machine repaired or replaced... something is wrong. The solutions I've sent your way are more minor than anything else... they might make life easier but they won't fix whatever the real issue is.

Good luck!

I really don't know what I'm talking about.

[Base733 0]

Wow, this is a great example of cool folks helping each other out at dz.com! Makes me feel good about this comunity.

MB38, I was about to buy my wife a MacBook Pro next month for her birthday but your comment about the Intel processor may make me wait until the second generation of machines is available. Does that sound like the best thing to do or is the current MacBook Pro 'stable' enough to buy at this point.

Thanks for the advice.

Baxter.

[MB38 0]

It's interesting to note that the current MacBook Pro is actually on its third subrevision. Apple updated the machines - and occasionally the performance - along the way. That said, this coming monday marks the start of the World Wide Developer's Conference. The WWDC is a common event for Apple to update their professional line of computers. Since Apple will undoubtedly replace the PowerMac G5 with the "Mac Pro" line of professional desktop computers, I would not be surprised if they upgrade the MacBook Pro to the newer 64-bit processors that Intel has recently released.

So it's worth waiting until after the WWDC just to see if new machines are released. In my personal and professional opinions, both the MacBook and MacBook Pro are terrific products. I don't work for Apple anymore - that's not the kool-aid talking.

If the machine wasn't ready, they wouldn't have released it. They're just experiencing a few growing pains. With that in mind, the MacBook Pro has been around longer than the MacBook... issues have been sorted out.

I say go for it... just wait until monday to see if there's an update before you do it.

I really don't know what I'm talking about.