2010 MacBook Pro keeps randomly shutting down

I have a Mid 2010 Macbook Pro, whenever i close the laptop and leave it for about 2-5 minutes, it will not turn back on without me holding the power buttong for a good amount of time. I recently just replaced the hard drive and RAM, and today I just replaced the thermal paste. I have already done an SMC reset, and have reset the PRAM. And have tried the hardware test, but when I try it I am given a message saying my laptop can not use it. Does anyone have any suggestions on what could be the problem?

Where did you get the ram from?

Also...replacing the thermal paste is not something many folks attempt. Hopefully everything went well...and is not a contributing factor to the current problem.

- Nick

Best Buy, the problem was occurring before I replaced the RAM too.

Ok...good to know that the problem happened before the ram upgrade.

What about the thermal paste replacement...did that go ok...no problems...didn't make any mistakes?

I guess what I'm asking is...is the computer behaving the same before & after the ram upgrade, the new HD, and the thermal paste replacement?

Did you have this problem before the HD replacement?

- Nick

Yeah it's acting exactly the same as it was before the new thermal paste was applied, and I was extremely careful while replacing it and felt that it went well. The frequent shutdowns had been recurring really frequently before the hard drive and RAM was replaced, but the issue when it shuts down after the laptop being closed started after the switch. The shutdowns don't happen all that often anymore since the switch also.

Ok...thanks again for all that info.

When you installed the new HD:

A. Did you install everything on the new HD from the old HD via a Time Machine backup/restore or some other backup program?
B. Or...Did you format the HD, do a fresh install of the OS, and did not do any sort of restore of files & apps from the old HD?

- Nick

It was all from a time machine back up. Do you think re-installing the OS could possibly stop the issue? Cause before I replaced the hard drive and RAM i reinstalled the OS and the problem was still occurring. I'm running OSX 10.9.1 btw.

Gnomey said:

It was all from a time machine back up. Do you think re-installing the OS could possibly stop the issue? Cause before I replaced the hard drive and RAM i reinstalled the OS and the problem was still occurring. I'm running OSX 10.9.1 btw.

Click to expand...

Here's what I'm thinking. You may have had some sort of software issue on the old HD (application conflicts, little customization programs that launched on booting, conflicts with external device software, etc.).

When you restored everything to the new HD from the Time Machine backup...you may have "carried-forward" all of the potential software problems from the old HD to the new HD.

What I would do is:

- reformat the new HD
- do a fresh OS install
- don't install anything else
- then see if the problem is gone

If it is...then my theory above may be correct. Then unless you can isolate what the software problem was from the old HD...you may have to reinstall all of your apps., documents, music, videos, and photos manually (not from the Time Machine backup).

If after doing this the problem remains...then there might be some sort of hardware issue.

- Nick

I'll try that tonight then. Any idea what the possible hardware problem could be if its still occurring?

Gnomey said:

I'll try that tonight then. Any idea what the possible hardware problem could be if its still occurring?

Click to expand...

Let's hope that it's a software issue. It's probably/hopefully not a hardware issue.

99% software issue...1% hardware issue!

- Nick

Awesome! Thank you so much for the help!

Good luck. Please let us know how things turn out either way.

- Nick

So I reformatted the hard drive and have done a completely new reinstall of the OS, and the problem is still happening when I shut my laptop

Darn…sorry to hear about that. What about the battery…what sort of shape is it in (how many cycles)?

- Nick

So here's a screenshot of my laptop's battery information. (btw thanks for all your help!)

The battery cycle count is pretty high (984). The battery is supposed to be good for 1000 cycles. This doesn't mean you still can't use it for a good long while…you'll just start seeing less & less total runtime from a single charge.

Anyway…I had a problem one time with a newer Unibody MacBook Pro where an SMC reset didn't help. But when I opened the computer up & actually unplugged the the battery…waited a couple minutes…then plugged it back in…that helped.

This may or may not help in your situation…we may be running out of ideas.

By the way…how long have you owned this computer (long time…or is it "new to you")? And if it's new to you…has it ever worked properly?

- Nick