Did i... overheat my macbook?

Joined
Nov 23, 2005
Messages
80
Reaction score
1
Points
8
Location
Carmel, IN
Your Mac's Specs
2.16ghz 15" MacBook Pro, black 30gb ipod video, black 2gb Nano.
So i left my new macbook pro on last night so let some things finish downloading. I know laptops get hot, so i left it on a book instead of the carpet (a fairly big book too, so at least two of the little feet would have it raised off to let it cool.) I tried to edit my options so it wouldnt sleep, but so the screen would turn off after a minute. When i woke up this morning, my book was in sleep mode... you know, with the little white light on the "open lid" button pulsating. i was afraid of that, as i wanted it to stay on all night. Well, when i pressed spacebar, it didnt come out of sleep. I pressed some more buttons, enter, power, and nothing. Held the power button for a few seconds and still nothing. I picked it up and it was really hot on the bottom, and on the book i had let it lay on... ALMOST so hot that i couldnt hold it. So i held the power button for about 10 seconds, it shut down and reastarted. It booted up really fast, and said that Mac OS X had recovered from an unexpected error.

What happened?! Ive had this laptop for just over a day. Im still breaking in the battery. It seems to be working just fine... and when i opened my downloads, its not like they got very far, so i dont think it was on for that long before it shut itself down. Any ideas? I love my macbook :(
 
Joined
Sep 30, 2004
Messages
3,378
Reaction score
61
Points
48
I have seen them get really hot then just shut off, but I don't see why it would still be hot in the morning.

Also, I wouldn't expect it to get that hot just downloading a file since the CPU usage for that would be really low.
 
OP
Mister-Twoster
Joined
Nov 23, 2005
Messages
80
Reaction score
1
Points
8
Location
Carmel, IN
Your Mac's Specs
2.16ghz 15" MacBook Pro, black 30gb ipod video, black 2gb Nano.
Well, it was plugged in. Im thinking maybe it overheated because i had it on the book or something?
 
OP
Mister-Twoster
Joined
Nov 23, 2005
Messages
80
Reaction score
1
Points
8
Location
Carmel, IN
Your Mac's Specs
2.16ghz 15" MacBook Pro, black 30gb ipod video, black 2gb Nano.
anyone else have any insight?
 
Joined
Jun 10, 2005
Messages
237
Reaction score
7
Points
18
Location
Indiana; there's more than just corn here
Your Mac's Specs
Powerbook G4 1.67 MHz
I don't know what to tell you about that, I left my PowerBook on for 2 weeks once (no updates or restarting) and I know people on this forum have left their macs on for much longer than that. Your MacBook Pro shouldn't go to sleep if its on Better Performance power mode.
 
Joined
Feb 2, 2004
Messages
12,455
Reaction score
604
Points
113
Location
PA
Your Mac's Specs
MacBook
mynameis said:
I have seen them get really hot then just shut off, but I don't see why it would still be hot in the morning.

Also, I wouldn't expect it to get that hot just downloading a file since the CPU usage for that would be really low.
Exactly. Downloading a file alone would not be enough processor usage for the thing to overheat. What else were you running at the time... like what other applications were left active?
I would also check your Energy Saver settings. After a certain time period, the computer will go to sleep mode, even if you have it plugged in.
 
N

.nathan

Guest
I would be careful and only use a desktop for all night usage, or, if you have a friend that is tech savy, he can help with the thermal paste.
 
S

sharpie05

Guest
i leave my ibook on almost nonstop(mainly becaus i always have stuff downloading). my uptime was over 3 weeks last time i checked... anyways, ive heard of this before. an apple laptop will go into sort of a half-sleep, where the os will get halfway into sleep mode, and run the processor full blast. not a happy thing, but im not sure if its true. ive never had it happen on any mac ive used... maybe theres a log you can check to see what went wrong. then post it in an apple support forum.. its a real smart crowd there(though ive found this one more helpful). good luck!
 
OP
Mister-Twoster
Joined
Nov 23, 2005
Messages
80
Reaction score
1
Points
8
Location
Carmel, IN
Your Mac's Specs
2.16ghz 15" MacBook Pro, black 30gb ipod video, black 2gb Nano.
Interesting read, devilboy. I wonder what got mine so hot? I know i only had transmission running. It couldnt have been the surface i had it on... i dont know why that would have made it as hot as it was. oh well i guess
 
M

McNewbie

Guest
I've heard of others that have either a Macbook or Macbook pro with the same overheating issue. My Macbook does get quite hot in comparison to a friend's Powerbook, but so long as it's not turning off it's not a problem, but it seems that's what yours has done. There's meant to be an update that fixed the overheating problem with the pros, maybe check that out.

Otherwise take it back to the reseller/Apple because this is VERY bad if the heat is that bad that your MBP is crashing because generally that is what is happening.
 
OP
Mister-Twoster
Joined
Nov 23, 2005
Messages
80
Reaction score
1
Points
8
Location
Carmel, IN
Your Mac's Specs
2.16ghz 15" MacBook Pro, black 30gb ipod video, black 2gb Nano.
I think it was just the surface that i had it on, really. Ive left it on the past few nights on my table and it has been fine. I may call them though and ask.
 
Joined
Jul 23, 2004
Messages
3,169
Reaction score
164
Points
63
Location
North NJ
Your Mac's Specs
i dont have no mac's
a book will collect energy aka heat and not disperse it too easily, you may have gotten your book a lil to warm and it may have just shut down as a precaution.
-chris
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top