08-01-2007, 06:41 PM

Hello,
I am new to the mac community and just got a brand new macbook pro last friday. My experience with it has been mediocre at the very best. The only satisfaction I have had so far has been with programs that my macbook pro came with, such as garage band, dashboard, photobooth, and basically anything that highlights the macbook pro's amazing graphics and RAM capabilities. Aside from this I have have been feeling extremely dissatisfied with various issues that include a horrible wireless connection and kernel panics.
With the wireless connection it has been causing me problems ever since day one (about 6 days ago). I can locate my network--which runs on a linksys wrt54g router--just fine, but I am only able to actually surf the internet for anywhere from 2 to 10 minutes. I'll know that my internet connection was lost because an untitled page will just keep loading until if finally goes to a page that says, "Safari can't open the page because the server stopped responding." Or it will say that I'm not connected to the internet and insist that i check Network Diagnostics...(which has never helped at all, another reason why my macbook pro has only been fueling my rage.) The most frusterating part about this whole thing is that my macbook has a connection with my router, which only makes me think that there must be some settings to switch on my routers home page, or there are airport drivers that need to be updated. I just can't stand the fact that I could potentially only be able to surf the internet for X amount of minutes. My old computer before this new macbook pro was an old Dell inspiron 4000 from the time where people were using windows millenium. I ran Linux (Ubuntu) on that dinosaur of a computer and was never have to leave my ability to connect to the internet to chance. I need to know that I have access to the internet all the time. And so far the machine which I spent almost $3,000 on has not met any of those standards.

The second problem that I have had is plain and simple: In the past 6 days that I've had this macbook pro I have had 4 kernel panics. Brand new macbook pro, having frequent kernel panics? I just don't know how to respond to that one. My only reaction is to get angrier. Is there any way that I can find out what's causing these kernel panics (panic.log files or any other .log files)???

Will the faith and respect I used to have in Steve Jobbs ever be restored?
Any help at all would be most appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

MC

08-01-2007, 06:48 PM

I understand your fustration, I would take it back if I was you. 4 KP's in 1 week doesn't sound normal. I've had 2 in almost a year.

08-01-2007, 06:49 PM

Anecdotal evidence seems to indicate that there is an issue with the latest update to OS X, 10.4.10 that revolves around the AirPort card (in my case, it only occurs when you're using it on battery power alone). Many people have reported this issue and are eagerly awaiting an update from Apple.

08-01-2007, 06:51 PM

If you are having internet connections and kernel panics there is a very good chance you either have a bad airport card or the connection isn't seated completely. If you find the guide for installing the airport card you can try to open up you laptop and reseat the connection, or you can just have apple fix it since it is under warranty

08-01-2007, 06:52 PM

Originally Posted by cwa107

Anecdotal evidence seems to indicate that there is an issue with the latest update to OS X, 10.4.10 that revolves around the AirPort card (in my case, it only occurs when you're using it on battery power alone). Many people have reported this issue and are eagerly awaiting an update from Apple.

http://www.apple.com/downloads/macos...te2007004.html


just released yseterday

08-01-2007, 06:52 PM

In reverse order:

The kernel panics are not normal. I have had zero kernel panics on any Mac in my household (2 Macbooks and an iBook, running Tiger and Jaguar respectively). A kernel panic is (usually) and indication of hardware issues, or a bad install. You could try and do a new clean install of Tiger (since Apple will ask you to try that anyway) and see if it fixes things. No you should not have to do it, but occasionally the factory install goes wrong, and it's worth the try.

As for the wireless router issue, I had the same issue with the same router at home, and binned it and bought a $30 Belkin that has been perfect ever since - this was WAY before 10.4.10... a bit extreme I know, but I hated the router anyway.

A cafe up the road has the same router, which also causes me issues if I ever go there to chill out and browse. It's the router, IMO, it's a pile of garbage. The issue is around the IP lease period and for some reason this router hates Macs. Yes it drives you crazy when an old dell running Ubuntu of all things, has no issue with it. Oddly enough my last PC laptop spent its final days running Ubuntu, too.

Sorry your 1st experience hasn't been great... you have a wonderful machine, but had a bit of bad luck. I hope it works out for you.

08-01-2007, 07:00 PM

Originally Posted by trpnmonkey41

http://www.apple.com/downloads/macos...te2007004.html


just released yseterday

Outstanding, thank you.

To the OP - although I agree with Zoolook on the kernal panics being abnormal, I have read a number of threads where people that were experiencing the intermittent connectivity issues were also experiencing kernal panics that seemed related to the AirPort drivers (based on system logs). I would try the update that trpnmonkey posted, it may correct your issues.

I've also been using a Linksys WRT54G (the 'L' version in my case) and prior to 10.4.10, have not had issues.

08-01-2007, 07:07 PM

Thanks for the quick replies everyone.

Originally Posted by cwa107

Anecdotal evidence seems to indicate that there is an issue with the latest update to OS X, 10.4.10 that revolves around the AirPort card (in my case, it only occurs when you're using it on battery power alone). Many people have reported this issue and are eagerly awaiting an update from Apple.

Interesting. So the only time you go on the internet is when you have the power cord in? Also, how recent is this issue?

Originally Posted by Zoolook

In reverse order:

The kernel panics are not normal. I have had zero kernel panics on any Mac in my household (2 Macbooks and an iBook, running Tiger and Jaguar respectively). A kernel panic is (usually) and indication of hardware issues, or a bad install. You could try and do a new clean install of Tiger (since Apple will ask you to try that anyway) and see if it fixes things. No you should not have to do it, but occasionally the factory install goes wrong, and it's worth the try.

As for the wireless router issue, I had the same issue with the same router at home, and binned it and bought a $30 Belkin that has been perfect ever since - this was WAY before 10.4.10... a bit extreme I know, but I hated the router anyway.

A cafe up the road has the same router, which also causes me issues if I ever go there to chill out and browse. It's the router, IMO, it's a pile of garbage. The issue is around the IP lease period and for some reason this router hates Macs. Yes it drives you crazy when an old dell running Ubuntu of all things, has no issue with it. Oddly enough my last PC laptop spent its final days running Ubuntu, too.

Sorry your 1st experience hasn't been great... you have a wonderful machine, but had a bit of bad luck. I hope it works out for you.

Thanks,
Are you saying that the "factory install" that went wrong has to do the the installation of the hardware in my computer such as drivers? Secondly, I hope the bit of bad luck I'm expiriencing isnt irreprable. Do you think it's fixable? And yes, that's sick that you ran Ubuntu. Since I have about 75% more RAM on the macbook pro than I did on my Dell I'm thinking of putting it to good use and Installing Ubuntu on my macbook pro so I can have dual OS'. You think It's doable?

08-01-2007, 07:10 PM

Originally Posted by mconway0003

Thanks for the quick replies everyone.



Interesting. So the only time you go on the internet is when you have the power cord in? Also, how recent is this issue?

No, but much of the time I do. I had only experienced the issue on battery power. However, this latest update may correct the problem for you. It should be delivered via Software Updates, which you can force by clicking the Apple menu and selecting Software Update. Try it and let us know if that does the trick.

08-01-2007, 07:19 PM

Originally Posted by cwa107

Outstanding, thank you.

To the OP - although I agree with Zoolook on the kernal panics being abnormal, I have read a number of threads where people that were experiencing the intermittent connectivity issues were also experiencing kernal panics that seemed related to the AirPort drivers (based on system logs). I would try the update that trpnmonkey posted, it may correct your issues.

I've also been using a Linksys WRT54G (the 'L' version in my case) and prior to 10.4.10, have not had issues.

Originally Posted by cwa107

No, but much of the time I do. I had only experienced the issue on battery power. However, this latest update may correct the problem for you. It should be delivered via Software Updates, which you can force by clicking the Apple menu and selecting Software Update. Try it and let us know if that does the trick.

So should I just install everything that software update has to offer, which will include the upddate that trpnmonkey posted?

08-01-2007, 07:21 PM

Originally Posted by mconway0003

So should I just install everything that software update has to offer, which will include the upddate that trpnmonkey posted?

Yes, it should automatically include that update (at least it did for me).

08-01-2007, 07:29 PM

Originally Posted by mconway0003

Thanks,
Are you saying that the "factory install" that went wrong has to do the the installation of the hardware in my computer such as drivers? Secondly, I hope the bit of bad luck I'm expiriencing isnt irreprable. Do you think it's fixable? And yes, that's sick that you ran Ubuntu. Since I have about 75% more RAM on the macbook pro than I did on my Dell I'm thinking of putting it to good use and Installing Ubuntu on my macbook pro so I can have dual OS'. You think It's doable?

My Macbook runs WinXP and SuSE Linux in Parallels. In fact I can have both running at once, along with OS X, which is great! Ubuntu will run on any Mac, AFAIK.

The other posters seem to understand this Kernel Panic/Airport card thing a little better than I, so give the update a try.

08-03-2007, 08:11 AM

i have a wrrt45g at my home. i had problems in the begining when i brought my iBook home. i found that the encryptioin i was using was causing the problem. i changed it to WAP and have not had any problems since. my wireless network consistes of our iMac G5, iBook G4, and a MacBook.

08-03-2007, 08:58 AM

Like was suggested, do try that update. I checked the Apple Support Forums and so far it's solved the issue for the users there.

08-03-2007, 04:14 PM

Originally Posted by Zoolook

My Macbook runs WinXP and SuSE Linux in Parallels. In fact I can have both running at once, along with OS X, which is great! Ubuntu will run on any Mac, AFAIK.

The other posters seem to understand this Kernel Panic/Airport card thing a little better than I, so give the update a try.

Originally Posted by fearlessfreap24

i have a wrrt45g at my home. i had problems in the begining when i brought my iBook home. i found that the encryptioin i was using was causing the problem. i changed it to WAP and have not had any problems since. my wireless network consistes of our iMac G5, iBook G4, and a MacBook.

Originally Posted by dtravis7

Like was suggested, do try that update. I checked the Apple Support Forums and so far it's solved the issue for the users there.

Thanks for all your help. I just updated and so far nothing has gone wrong. Hopefully I'll try using my macbook with just the battery very soon. I'm still too nervous to try pulling the power chord out because I dont want to ruin my 3 day streak of not have a kernel panic of wireless failure.