computer will randomly enter sleep mode

Unfortunately this is another one of those threads..

I'm looking to make the switch from PC to Mac on a budget, and I managed to locate a lightly used 2.4GHz core duo 2 black macbook for the price of 950 dollars. It's one of the older versions so I thought the price was appropriate (though I'm pretty ignorant of Mac pricing) because of the processor.

Getting to the meat of the issue the seller (who's local so I'll get to check out the computer myself before purchasing) contacted me and said that there seems to be a problem with the battery/sleep mode. He said that when the computer is running off the battery the computer will randomly enter sleep mode, yet this never occurs when the computer is plugged in.

Which of course makes me suspicious, I don't want to purchase a computer only to find out it has a host of problems, so I was wondering if this is a fixable problem, or if it's tolerable for the price.

Thanks for reading,
-James

For 950? You could still get an early 2008 macbook, new for that price, with a superdrive! That could happen because it is set to "Enter sleep mode after _____ amount of inactivity" and it could have happened randomly.

The low-end MacBook, new with a more powerful GPU (although still integrated) runs $999 brand new - less with a student or corporate discount. $950 is a bit high for that machine.

Nevertheless, the first thing I would do is reset the SMC. If that doesn't work, my guess is that it just needs a new battery (about $130, possibly less depending on where you get it).

Either way, although the black MacBook commands a bit of a premium, spec-wise, you could get a brand new machine for that money, or a slightly older MacBook Pro.

takeitngo said:

For 950? You could still get an early 2008 macbook, new for that price, with a superdrive! That could happen because it is set to "Enter sleep mode after _____ amount of inactivity" and it could have happened randomly.

Click to expand...

I also believe that is the cause of the sleep problem.
If it is, it is really easy to fix with a quick preferences change...