12-21-2009, 10:25 AM

I have an older Macbook Pro (circa 2006?), and recently installed 2gb of RAM in it and upgraded the OS to Snow Leopard. Everything is running smoothly, however, my computer will randomly turn off by itself in the middle of something. I've noticed that it usually happens when I'm streaming video or burning a cd, but it's also happened simply when I'm doing my work. Could this be due to the upgrade? And what can I do to fix this issue?

12-21-2009, 10:27 AM

Does this happen on battery, AC, or both?

12-21-2009, 10:46 AM

Both!! But the battery is so drained that I usually keep in plugged into the AC all the time -- the battery literally only lasts 30 minutes max now.

12-21-2009, 10:54 AM

It might be bad RAM even thought it's new.
Take out the 2 GB RAM and install the old RAM you had in it last just to verify the same problem exists.

12-21-2009, 11:41 AM

OK, that sounds like a bad battery problem to me. The first thing I'd do is replace the battery. Needs it anyway. I bet that will solve the problem. Incidentally, when the battery/charge system gets wonky, you can sometimes fix it by following these directions:

PowerBook G4 (15-inch Double-Layer SD), MacBook (all models), MacBook Pro (all models), MacBook Pro (17-inch) (all models) and*MacBook Air
The battery calibration for the PowerBook G4 (15-inch Double-Layer SD) and any model of MacBook or MacBook Pro has been updated because of a new battery released with this computer. With these computers, follow these steps to calibrate your battery:
1. Plug in the power adapter and fully charge your PowerBook's battery until the light ring or LED on the power adapter plug changes to green and the onscreen meter in the menu bar indicates that the battery is fully charged.
2. Allow the battery to rest in the fully charged state for at least two hours. You may use your computer during this time as long as the adapter is plugged in.
3. Disconnect the power adapter while the computer still on and start running the computer off battery power. You may use your computer during this time. When your battery gets low, the low battery warning dialog appears on the screen.
4. At this point, save your work.* Continue to use your computer; when the battery gets very low, the computer will automatically go to sleep.
5. Turn off the computer or allow it to sleep for five hours or more.
6. Connect the power adapter and leave it connected until the battery is fully charged again.


Resetting the SMC for Mac Pro, Intel-based iMac, Intel-based Mac mini, or Intel-based Xserve
1. Shut down the computer.
2. Unplug the computer's power cord.
3. Press and hold the power button for 5 seconds.
4. Release the power button.
5. Attach the computers power cable.
6. Press the power button to turn on the computer.

12-21-2009, 03:24 PM

3. Disconnect the power adapter while the computer still on and start running the computer off battery power. You may use your computer during this time. When your battery gets low, the low battery warning dialog appears on the screen.
4. At this point, save your work.* Continue to use your computer; when the battery gets very low, the computer will automatically go to sleep.
5. Turn off the computer or allow it to sleep for five hours or more.
6. Connect the power adapter and leave it connected until the battery is fully charged again.
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This would be excellent advice... if my battery lasted longer than 30 minutes. after it's drained, the computer turns itself off instead of going to sleep. Or did you mean to follow these steps after purchasing the new battery?

12-21-2009, 03:51 PM

Doing the SMC here may give u a bit more than 30 mins - when u get the new battery read this and be nice to it.

12-22-2009, 01:20 AM

this happened to me and is a common problem. check in energy saver preferences if it says anything weird about your battery. it might say "Service required" or something.

lucky, battery replacements are FREE even out of warranty, because they are made my sony which has a life time guarantee on their batteries. bring it in and get an instant replacement if it is the problem.