MacBook Pro :: Sata Causing Freezing Beachballing?
Sep 5, 2009
To cut a long story short, I'n on my 4th June '09 MBP. Those darn SATA issues have caused freezing and beachballing on each of the MBPs.
I'm taking it back to Apple today for a full refund. I'm convinced this generation of MPS are all affected and I'm staying well clear.
I've been looking on the Refrub Store and this seems to fit my needs but will it also have the SATA issues?
Also, is there anything about this notebook/generation that I should be aware of? I want this to be the last MBP! (well, at least for a couple of years).
Before anyone says anything: Yes, I did do my research with MRGoogle before creating this thread. Most of the questions people had ever never answered (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=791337) or the posts where from 2+ years ago and not that relevant to the newer releases of iTunes.
Anyway, I decided to do a bit of song searching on iTunes today. I have a bunch of songs from the DDR series that I wanted to find the original, full versions of. So I opened up iTunes (which took about 30 seconds to load, mouse cursor pinwheeling the entire time) and opened up a playlist of said songs in a separate window. In the main window I opened up the iTunes store and started my search. To pass the time, I played the playlist in the background while switch between the two windows to check song tiles, artist names, and the like. While searching for songs, iTunes would randomly start pinwheeling for ~5 seconds, music still playing in the background. The same thing happened when I tired to change to a different song in the playlist. I tried to open TextEdit so I could copy down the songs I couldn't find in the iTunes store and the system pinwheeled yet again. It 5+ seconds to open TextEdit. Even when I'm running Firefox with multiple tabs and windows open, it opens instantly.
I know my machine is a bit old (Early 2008 MBP 2.4 C2D) but its not ancient. I'm running 4GB for crying out loud. I've had similar issues in the past that got so bad I stopped using iTunes all together for awhile. I've tried installing iTunes, uninstalling iTunes, even going so far as to remove most of the iTunes-related fumes from my Library. Nothing seems to help.
I'm at a loss to why this is happening. Originally I thought it was a corrupt library or something, but I've rebuilt my library and it was a temporary fix. Anyone here have ideas about what I can do?
For the past few days my MBP has been slow. Ridiculously slow. Beachballing to open safari etc. I have just noticed that as it tries to load things it makes a weird sound. A short burring sounds followed by a long one then a short one. Don't know if that is relevant. Earlier today it froze so i had to do a hard shutdown (hold down the power button) and then it wouldn't boot. I ended up booting it off the snow leopard disc. This problem seemed to start when i started playing wow again but i had it installed for a long time. Could this be heat related?
I have a 13" MacBook Pro 2011, 2.3gHz, 320GB. What connector does it have? And would SATA still work with my laptop? One more question, what are the exact dimensions of the hard disk drive bay in my laptop, the manual only says 2.5".Â
Im considering purchasing a higher capacity internal hardrive around the 750Gb/1Tb mark. However my macbook is the early 2008 model, and it seems the majority of hardrives are SATA II, having speeds of 3Gbt, which my mother board may not be capable of (apparently only 1.5Gbt)Â From researching and reading some reviews of others who have purchased internal drives on Amazon UK, some have had difficulty due to this problem, but have been able to fix the issue with a firmware update reducing SATA II drive speeds to 1.5Gbt.Â
Questions I have: Do all SATA / SATA II internal hardrives need a firmware update if replacing on to a new computer?(If so, would I need to look for a specific firmware update for the specific drive I intend on buying? And if you're in the knowledge would you mind posting links to these updates?)What is the process of updating the firmware i.e. would I need to put firmware on external usb hardrive 1st, then upload it to macbook after installing new internal drive (if it boots up my OS that is) etc.    Would a 'hybrid' (disk+solid state) drive be compatible with a macbook as old as mine?Do I need to update my operating system to OS X Lion first, or can it be done after installing the drive? Â
my current laptop hardware:Â
Macbook Pro 15.4" (Early 2008 Model) Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4Ghz ProcessorGeForce 256Mb 8600M GT Graphical Processor Intel ICH8_M AHCI 1.5 Gbt MotherboardToshiba MK1655GSXF 160Gb 2.5" Hard DriveOperating System: OS X Leopard 10.5.8
Info: MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.5.8), 15.4" 2.4Ghz (Early 2008 Model)
I just got my copy of Windows 7 Ultimate x64 yesterday and installed it on my Macbook Pro unibody with no problems. Windows 7 runs great. The problem occurs when I boot back up into Snow Leopard. My computer will randomly start beachballing, especially more often in Firefox (version 3.5.3).
I'm looking for a new HD to replace the original, now failing Maxtor drive in my G5 tower (1.8 Ghz dual processor, purchased in Aug. 2004), and have just about settled on the Western Digital Caviar SE16 series. It seems there are two types -- SATA and SATA II -- and I'm not sure about how to make a decision on which particular WD model to buy.
Will either type work in my machine? Or would the SATA II have potential compatibility problems? I read somewhere in these forums that someone with a G5 had bought an SATA II drive, and it wouldn't run with his system. (He said he had to reset some jumper switches to reduce the transfer rate of the drive ??, but now I'm told elsewhere that SATA drives don't have jumper switches.
Information: 1.8 DP G5, 1.5 GB RAM w/ Superdrive Mac OS X (10.3.x)
I am now shopping for a new internal HD of MAC G5; previous HD died. I have decided on a Western Digital and was about to order one when I became alarmed by the SATA II listings. Is there a difference between SATA and SATAII that I should be concerned about the comptability? Don't want to get it and find out it doesn't work!
When I plug an externally powered device (printer, external HD etc.) into my MBP via USB, there are small sparks around the plug and the plugged in speaker makes sounds. I think that this also caused my external HD to die.
Twice recently, when I empty the Trash on my mid-2010 MacBook Pro with OS X Lion (current update), the Trash empties but the CPU goes to 100% utilization, the fans come on high, the CPU temperature as measured by an app exceeds 200 degrees Fahrenheit, and of course any commands produce a long beachball. The computer will only shut down by force via the power button.
Is it harmful for the CPU to max-out like this? The power-on self-test on startup reported "passed" so there doesn't appear to be any damage but I am not sure how much these tests really test. The Apple Hardware Test will not run in Lion. I ran one with my old Snow Leopard startup disk and it reported pass but recorded the test date as in the year 4012.
Every time i open itunes on my Mac, the whole computer freezes. It unfreezes for about 2 seconds every minute and once i eventually quit out of itunes again the computer regains normal function. Â
Recently I purchased 8GB of G Skill ram from newegg for $90. After installing it in my computer, i thought everything was working fine until I noticed apps crashing more frequently. Is it possible that the ram is causing this to happen? Also, my computer kernel panicked once since installation.
I had been moving files back and forth between my WD mybook USB External HD when I pulled it from the imac without ejecting and plugged it into my air. The Air's screen dimmed and this popup came up. Now everytime I plug something in to my USB port, i.e. USB jump drive, External HD, even my External Air DVD drive, the same thing happens, screen dims and this message pops up. THe only item that it has not frozen up on is my Iphone, that connected fine without crashing.
I just installed Snow Leopard on a white MacBook. Everything was fine until I went to Update the rest of the software on the computer. I hit "Install 11 Updates", it started installing, and then it just turned off. I powered up, hit the update button again, it began downloading and then powered off again. I plugged in power and powered up and now im stuck on a blue screen with the black spinning showing up and hiding repeatedly for 5-7 seconds at a time.
I recently purchased a 17 inch MBP with 3.06ghz processor and 7200rpm 500gb HD ticked and fancied playing Dragon Age as i'm giving my old desktop computer away.I installed windows 7 Ultimate (lost my XP CD), cranked the settings on Dragon Age to max, turned x4 AA on and set about from where I left off.After about 30 minutes of playing I noticed my MBP was getting quite hot - not enough to burn me (though getting there) - just enough to cause concern and make me want to stop. I've had the temperature of this up to 90 degrees while doing other things and never felt it this hot before or had the fans going this much. I expected it to heat up and the fans to go somewhat crazy but not this much.
I'd like this laptop to last me at least a good few years so i'm wondering if daily prolong use of doing this could cause damage to the laptop?
i have a question. i have installed windows xp through bootcamp on the mbp 2009, 2 GB RAM, 2.26 ghz, nvidia 9400m. the thing is the computer gets extremely hot when playing 'guild wars' on LOWEST setting. it is not a very graphics or cpu intensive game, i mean my old toshiba 900mhz celeron processor, 2gb ram vista laptop can run it without heat issues. is there any way to fix this? i have tried the smcfancontrol method, but with that it doesn't work for me because i have to shut off bootcamp.exe in windows and put the computer to sleep and then turn it back on in order for the keyboard backlight to turn off.
My year old MBP is at the stage where it starts to slow down [most of the time in Safari/Firefox], the beachball appears [and doesn't go away], and then I have to forcefully restart the computer (no other apps will work after this). Only things I do/downloaded for my MBP are internet, MS office, Skype, and the apps that came with the MBP. So if Flash is causing the problems, what can I do? Reinstall it? I've never seen two browsers crash consistently, I would imagine it has to be Flash. Thoughts [as to what it could be if it isn't Flash]?
It happens about once a day now with Safari. Sometimes it causes my MBP to crash. I know all the controversy about Apple and Flash, but is it this common? I do have the latest versions of Flash and Safari, but is the problem this ubiquitous or is there probably something I'm doing wrong with my 1 year old 13" MBP (4 GB RAM, 2.26 Ghz, 250GB)
MacBook 2.1 Intel Core 2 Duo OSx 10.6.8 Snow Leopard
I've had my MacBook for almost 5 years, first Mac I ever purchased, and have told everybody since then how I've never had one single problem with it, virus, or anything. My desktop PC would crash about every 6 months prior to getting my MacBook & the employee at Best Buy talked me into getting a Mac. I've been extremely satisfied in every way with it until now.
I finally bought a mini-dvi to hdmi cord to hook up my 70' Sony Bravia as a secondary display, but ever since hooking it up I'm getting constant kernel panics where I'm forced to restart my computer. This happens atleast 10 times a day and sometimes as much as every 10 minutes. It's not the TV as I have the same problem connecting to my 44' Philips TV. Am I just constrained to only using the Macbook screen connected to my laptop?
I have a 2012 15" macbook pro and one 27" thunderbolt display. Intermittently while I am connected to the thunderbolt display I am forced to shut down my computer and restart.
I think I got infected when downloading a torrent ap--now deleted, but the problem persists. Basically every time I click on anything (even on reputable sites, I get ridiculous popups and ads that should not be there. The internet tells me that my MacBook pro has been infected with malware.
When I watch a flash video on my MacBook it causes Firefox (and Safari) to crash probably 70% of the time.
I noticed today that it started right when I upgraded my hard drive to a 320gb Samsung model in January. What made me notice that is because I am taking the MacBook to get its case fixed tomorrow so I put the original hard drive back in. Ever since the original hard drive has been reinserted flash videos have played with no problems.
Can a hard drive cause a problem like this?
btw I have 4gb of memory so I should have plenty of resources.
Over the past month or so I've noticed my Macbook has slowed down greatly. I am using a blackbook, 2.2 GHZ, 4GB ram, santa rosa. Many of my programs are failing to close completely causing me to force quit. I'm having several troubles with iWeb(uploading). I've tried to repair permissions several times, and executed batch tasks with Main menu and still it's buggy, freezing, and slow. I have about 30GB of HD space left, don't know if that could be an issue.
I have been using the OWC mercury 200GB SSD for 4 months now and I am experiencing a lot of freezing and lags on my 2010 15" i7 MBP. I tried restoring to original MAC OS Snow Leopard but it still froze. I dont know the exact problem.
Freezing occurs mostly when I perform major task/ heavy duties on the MacBook Pro, for example, when doing some video calling on Skype, Playing starcraft 2 and some heavy games.
Anyone having the same issues? Does anyone know any problem solving solutions?
one of my Al Powerbooks decided to kernel panic twice in the past two days and both times fail to start up afterwards. The symptoms would be that when I pushed the power button, I wouldn't hear the Apple startup sound and it would just sit there.
Well, after a few tries and some sadness, I decided to remove the PRAM battery card and voila, computer boots up perfectly! This has actually happened twice (removed PRAM card, booted up, then put PRAM card back in, then eventually exact same situation occurred again), does anyone know if a PRAM battery card can possibly wreak suck havok on a G4 running Leopard.
