MacBook Randomly Shuts Down?

Recently I've been having a problem where my MacBook (purchased last week) unexpectedly shuts down. I would simply be typing or on the Internet and BAM! the thing is off in a split second. Has anyone else been having this problem? Perhaps it's something I can do about it? I wanted to check here first before getting it looked at professionally. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Oh, in case it helps to diagnose: I installed 2GB of memory on the thing last week. I had it done at the Apple Store and everything seems to be running fine says the "About This Mac" screen.

Because you just purchased your system. I would take it back to the Apple store and have them look at it.

Run the Diagnostic CD that you should have received with the machine and see if that comes up with anything.

As rman stays it's not really your problem if it's a new machine. Just take it back. Could be the ram they installed.

Just had it looked at today. The guy says it's probably the logic board. He's seen it quite often before. The thing gets shipped back to Apple today and I have to wait ovwer a week to get it back. neye:

Sorry to hear that, but glad to hear that it's getting sorted out for free. Wouldn't want to pay for a new Logic board so it's good that it's not happened just outside the guarantee.

My iMac had a bad power pack and took a few weeks to repair, never had any problems since and never have with any of the other Macs that I have bought over the years. Hope it all gets worked out soon for you.

I am having the same problem.

After taking to Apple support it seems like it might be the battery. They are sending me one next week -

It seems to power back up if I hold the power button for about 3 sec - it beeps and then it starts - if I just push the power button (normal) to turn it on, It won't start when the battery is in the laptop -

Metzli said:

I am having the same problem.

After taking to Apple support it seems like it might be the battery. They are sending me one next week -

It seems to power back up if I hold the power button for about 3 sec - it beeps and then it starts - if I just push the power button (normal) to turn it on, It won't start when the battery is in the laptop -

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Dang! I'm having this problem too. It wont restart unless I hold the power button down BUT only if it unexpectedly quit. If I get it to boot up (i use windows) and then shut it down properly, I can start it again without holding it down.

On phone with Applecare now.. I've just done some PRAM things and some power things..nothing has helped. I'm going to try that battery thing when it happens again.

I've just dropped my macbook off at the apple store this evening with this exact problem. I found that resetting the NVRAM cured it for a short while, but it came back. They said it's either the battery or the logic board. As soon as I find out I'll let you know

(incidentally, I'm using my thinkpad at the moment while the macbook is 'in the shop'. it's been on all of 15 minutes and burning my left leg. I think the heat problems of the macbook are exaggerated!)

off topic whining:

I knew I should've kept my g4 powerbook, problems and all...but after 2 logic boards, one top, new HD, new burner,....can't remember what else went wrong but when I was finished I suppose it was pretty much brand new, lol. Plus I miss the keyboard, esp. backlighting...these scrabble keys mess me up a lot

....it really sucks that the nearest Mac places are two hour drive one way!this doesn't bode well for me leaving WITH my Macbook on tuesday for a two week vacation...

on topic point of my post: (LOL)

I found the forum by dogpiling for macbook powerpack problems.

Mine (powerpack) sounds as a stereo speaker might sound if left on after the receiver is shut down... when the cord is plugged in.

screen went dead today out of the blue, wasn't sleeping/hibernating, the indicator light next to the remote receiver on the front of the case was lit solid; had to push on/off button to get any kind of a screen back & plug connector back IN.

it has said 98% charged for who knows how long, but indicator is obviously not working because if I unplug it for awhile, the screen ends up going dead....all the while, plugged or unplugged, no matter for a few minutes or over an hour - the charge is stuck at 98%...

just pulled the battery out and it is showing TWO green lights...yeah sure 98% charged....NOT :miner:

Well, I got my macbook back from the apple store with no changes made. They've had it for 3 days running a variety of hardware tests, load tests and just-sitting-there tests and nothing has made it behave oddly. The only difference between my house and the apple store are that the apple store is air conditioned to a constant 17 C, whereas on the days it went screwy, my house was a constant 32 C - looks like it may be a temperature issue.

The apple store guy was really cool though - he's ordered me a new top case because he noticed slight yellowing, and he says he'll let me know when Rev B logic boards are available so I can have one of those fitted. Sweet!

The moral of this story is: be nice to your apple store geniuses, and they'll be nice to you. Kinda like Santa, but shinier

This seems to be a large scale problem occuring, looking at the many videos on youtube, the processors are running VERY hot, if reported correctly, most vidoe show 70+ Celcisu.

i know mobile CPU's cna handle more heat, but i am sure this has to do with poor cooling.


i want to buy a Macbook 13" next week, but now that i have come across this growing shut down issue, i am becoming very iffy.

I say this also as i will buying it in canada then coming back down to costa rica.

Mathiau said:

This seems to be a large scale problem occuring, looking at the many videos on youtube, the processors are running VERY hot, if reported correctly, most vidoe show 70+ Celcisu.

i know mobile CPU's cna handle more heat, but i am sure this has to do with poor cooling.


i want to buy a Macbook 13" next week, but now that i have come across this growing shut down issue, i am becoming very iffy.

I say this also as i will buying it in canada then coming back down to costa rica.

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right now my cpu is running at 85 degrees, and not once have I gotten a restart

My local apple store have taken my macbook in to have the logic board and hard disk replaced (and the keyboard to prevent yellowing, but that's a handy, yet unrelated, fix). It doesn't appear to be temperature related at all. I've had mine shut down within a minute of turning on or coming out of sleep.

I'll post back to this thread to tell you if the problem is fixed.

taseal said:

right now my cpu is running at 85 degrees, and not once have I gotten a restart

Click to expand...

wow, those mobile chipset take alot, iam so used to desktop chips that you should keep at 60C or lower.

i think the mobile's are tested upto 100'c, but like any electronic component, the cooler it is kept, the better for it.

if you have had no issues then i guess it is a random mobo problem then, iam real hard set on getting the macbook next week, now my issue is to dish out the extra $200 for the black one :9

macbook shutsdown for no apparent reason.

My MacBook is less than 2 months old. Several days ago I was using it for about an hour when it unexpectedly shutdown. It just switched off with no pause or shutdown sequence, just off.

I took the battery out and the problem seemed to go away. I went to the apple store and they swapped the battery for me. That evening the same thing happened with the new battery. I don't believe the problem is related to the battery.

It has happened after the computer is on for only 5 minutes and is running cold. So I do not believe it is heat either.

It has also happened without the battery in it.

I was running Bootcamp. and have uninstalled this recently, this is my current suspect. I have just done a file backup and a full restore. So far so good and it has lasted longer than before with the same battery as before.

Anyway Apple guys were great with the battery swap.

Well it looks like it is not related to Bootcamp, as I have just done a full re install and put my battery back in and it happened again.

So my MacBook is off to the Apple Store.

I am also experiencing this issue with my wifes Macbook. We took it to the apple store and they reset the PRAM settings and did some other tests but as soon as we brought it back home it started doing the same thing.

Yeah, I've been having the same issues. I've had to get my logic board replaced twice because of random shutdowns and I can't even remember how many times I've had to reset the PRAM, even after the new heat sync part was installed. This is my first mac and I have to say I'm pretty disappointed. My eMachines has been more reliable than this! I'm going to call Apple this week and ask for a new machine or my money back.

Macbook keeps shutting down

I switched from being a Pc user and bought the macbook. Unfortunately, it has been shutting down unexpectedly. Apple care couldn't diagnose it and so I had to send it to my local authorised Apple service centre- Cancom. It has been more than 2 weeks and they have now diagnosed that it needs a new motherboard, which they don't have. neye: So they are waiting for it from Apple! They say it will take another week at least and he cannot do anything about it. 3 weeks for a motherboard. Surely Apple needs to pull up its socks as far as customer service is concerned

It is so frustrating to be let down like this! I was so excited to have purchased the Mac but now regret it. I wish I had stuck with the PC.

The reason that there is a 3 week delay is because they have just (as of last week) released new hardware that fixes this issue. There are a HUGE number of macbooks going in for repair, and there is a large backlog. They are getting fixed in about 2-3 weeks at the moment.