MacBook Pro Red Screen on Restart After Crash

[GC_Mac]

My system constantly crashes, especially when I attempt to do a Time Machine backup to an external hard drive. I have found that if I plug my external hard drive into a multiport adapter that is then plugged into one of the two ports on the right side of my machine, the backup fails. I've also noticed that the backup fails due to a screen saver/energy management. I haven't yet determined if only one of these two issues is the culprit, but I'm more than a little annoyed that this started happening about two months after my one-year warranty expired.I expect better performance from Apple than this, but I must say my last two MacBook purchases leave me wondering. I had to spend an addition $400 for adapters for this thing, on top of the $4,200 I spent for the system. For that kind of money, this **** thing should work like a champ every. single. time.

Has anyone else encountered this issue, and if so, were you able to resolve it? I hope it's only a software or setting issue, but if it's hardware, I hope Apple stands behind their product.

 

[MacInWin]

Welcome to the forum. Note the two threads in my sig about the fact that this website could disappear at any time.

What MBP, what version of macOS and what do you mean "crashes?" Does the external drive require power from the USB port? What have you tried? How did you come to suspect screensaver/energy? Have you made any changes in the settings there to help with the situation? How are you using TM? Do you do a new backup every time, or are you simply turning TM back on with the drive attached? Is TM running when the drive is NOT attached? What has the red screen have to do with anything?

 

[GC_Mac]

MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016); Processor 2.7GHz Intel Core i7; Memory 16 GB 2133 MHz LPDDR3; Radeon Pro 255 2 GB; Intel HD Graphics 530 1536 MB

Mac OS High Sierra v. 10.13.3

Crashes = spontaneously shuts down. The external drive has its own power. I suspect the screen saver because I back up at night and when I return to the system in the morning, I get the dialog box that asks me if I want to Reinstall OS and there's no backup. I have found that if I instead just shut down the machine, I can start it up again. But it shouldn't be crashing. I just successfully completed a backup about 20 minutes ago, with the screen saver disabled and with the multiport adapter plugged into a port on the left side of the machine. I'm turning TM back on with the drive attached. I manually start the backups, so it's never running when the drive is not attached, because I never attempt a backup without the drive being attached. I have no idea what the red screen has to do with anything, other than I never saw it until today, and today I've seen it twice, and both times after crashes. It's gotten to the point where a Restart does not work. I have to do a complete shutdown and then startup in order to have the system completely boot up.

I've had similar issues since I purchased this machine, such as Excel crashing while I'm working, for no apparent reason. I'm not a technical IT guy, but I can normally isolate issues down to one or two things. I haven't tried to figure out the Excel issue. All I've noticed there is that I see the beach ball spinning, and then a crash occurs. It normally happens when I have five or six Excel files open, and tends to happen more frequently if any of those opened files are linked to one another. This isn't rocket science, but given the price paid for this equipment, these things shouldn't happen, especially only two months after the one-year warranty expired.

 

[chscag]

It sounds like there may be a problem with the graphics although your machine should be using the Intel HD Graphics adapter most of the time. The Radeon Pro would only take over when doing graphic intensive work or playing games. Why the use of the screen saver? You should be able to black out the display after a certain time that you can setup in the display settings.

And if you had issues with the machine from when you purchased it, did you take it to Apple and let them look at it? (While it was under warranty) Your MacBook Pro was top of the line in 2016 and should have plenty of power to run Excel or most anything else. Something is amiss if it's crashing and shutting down as you say. If you're near an Apple Store make an appointment with them and let them run diagnostics. The diagnostics are free at an Apple Store but of course any repairs would be at your expense.

 

[MacInWin]

If you take chscag's advice, when you visit the Apple store, try to avoid being overly aggressive. I have found that being nice and polite gets more than being harsh. Your factual position is the the machine is out of warranty, which means that you are liable for repairs unless you bought AppleCare+ when you bought the machine (additional 2 years warranty). So, assuming no AppleCare+, you are kind of at the mercy of the Apple folks. Be nice, explain that you had problems from the get-go with the machine occasionally crashing, you attributed it to Excel, but now it seems to have gotten worse. If they do diagnostics and find a hardware problem they MAY decide to go ahead and repair it for you either at no cost or at a reduced cost. But I will guarantee that if you go in demanding something (a repair) to which you are not entitled you won't get it.

 

[GC_Mac]

I'm generally not aggressive in these situations. I listen to what they tell me, and decide if it sounds reasonable. I've had good experiences there so far, but I have noticed that the traditional reliability of Apple devices is not what it once was. I didn't say I was going to demand a repair, but it seems to me that their equipment should be more reliable than this. I've owned Macs for 15 years, and have only had serious issues like this in the past couple of years, first with a 2015 MacBook Pro and now this one. The people who walk into a place like the Apple store or any other place of business and demand immediate satisfaction are idiots. All that does is make the people there far less willing to help you. They may even make it a point to screw you without you even knowing it.

 

[MacInWin]

It's just too bad the Excel problems didn't give a bigger hint of a possible hardware issue. Apple is great at standing behind the equipment under warranty, and usually pretty good if it's close or if the issue is so out of the ordinary (I'm thinking the defective GPU chips in the 2011 MBPs, for example) that they extend the warranty. Apple is, like any other manufacturer, vulnerable to the occasional lemon, but the quality of components does reduce the likelihood of failure. Doesn't absolutely guarantee zero defects, but much better than others. You just happened to get one with a problem. That's unfortunate. But let them test it and see what they say. It could still end up well.

Good luck with it! Let us know how it turns out.

 

[pm-r]

I have no idea what the red screen has to do with anything,

Possibly something to do with the screen saver you were changing, if not the GPU???

And have you tried booting into Safe Boot Mode just to check there isn't some third party software acting up??




- Patrick
======

 

[GC_Mac]

Possibly something to do with the screen saver you were changing, if not the GPU???

And have you tried booting into Safe Boot Mode just to check there isn't some third party software acting up??




- Patrick
======

I didn't change the screen saver until AFTER I started getting the red screen on startup. I had other crashes prior to what I'm experiencing now, but the red screen is new.

 

[rixsurfer]

I didn't change the screen saver until AFTER I started getting the red screen on startup. I had other crashes prior to what I'm experiencing now, but the red screen is new.

Just wondering if you found out what the issue was..I'm having the same problem with my Mac Pro.

thanks

 

[MacInWin]

rixsurfer, welcome to the forum.

What Mac? What version of the OS? What symptoms? What have you tried? What has changed recently? We need more information before we can start to suggest things.