Early 08 - 17" MBP - Random Sleep


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Hey everyone,

Lately my MBP has been going to sleep at random moments. I could be watching a video or typing a paper it doesn't matter. Here's what happens:

1) Screen goes blank (screen power on but its black)

2) Fans go to full rpm

3) It stays like this for 20-30 seconds

4) The computer enters sleep mode

5) If I press the power button it will shut the computer down, but if i close the lid and then reopen it the computer will wake up

This issue has been going on for a few months (about 2-3 times a month) but now its happening 6-7 times a week. I completely wiped the drive and installed a fresh copy of SL to no avail. I'm thinking its a hardware issue but my laptop is no longer under warranty so i haven't taken it to apple.

MacBook Pro 17" Hi-Res LED - 2.5Ghz - 4GB RAM - 250GB 5400rpm - GeForce 8600M GT 512mb

Any ideas/help would be appreciated.

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To me that sounds like the laptop is over heating. I'd recommend downloading the OS X widget iStat Pro (from: http://islayer.com/apps/istatpro/) which allows you to see the temperatures of the various components inside your MacBook Pro. Check if any of them are high.

I'd also recommend resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM, details on to do it can be found at:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379

Chris.

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I do have istatpro installed. The temps are usually not that high (under 70) when this happens. My GPU is the one that runs hotter than the rest.

I'll try the PRAM and NVRAM reset and let you know if it solves anything.

Thanks :)

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So today i was using my computer and i only had about 12 mins of power left. I plugged in the power cable and then my computer shutdown. I would hit the power button but it would not power on. The light on the front will come on for about 2 seconds and the computer will shutdown again. The only way i could get it to start up was to clear the SMC. After clearing the SMC it starts up just fine. :|

Any ideas?

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I know you said it wasn't covered under warranty any more, however I'd still suggest taking it to your local Genius Bar or contacting Apple as it sounds like there could be an issue with the logic board or the power adapter, although I'm betting on an issue with the logic board (apparent by the fact the machine wouldn't boot until you reset the SMC).

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This may be unrelated, but I had an issue with my 2008 15" Macbook Pro where it would constantly overheat when running CPU intensive programs.

I tried all the SMC, PRAM, etc resets, but nothing seemed to make it go away.

Anyway, I was able to solve the problem by just using a can of compressed air and blowing out all the dust from open vents where the screen meets the body (at the hinge). Keep your face away when you do this, if you don't want to breathe in all that dust.

Anyhow, good luck with your issue.

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I know you said it wasn't covered under warranty any more, however I'd still suggest taking it to your local Genius Bar or contacting Apple as it sounds like there could be an issue with the logic board or the power adapter, although I'm betting on an issue with the logic board (apparent by the fact the machine wouldn't boot until you reset the SMC).

Nighthawk... I took it to Apple today and they checked the battery for free but to run any sort of diagnostics they will charge me $90. I'm not really prepared to pay that fee yet...

The battery was in good condition even with 350+ charge cycles.

This may be unrelated, but I had an issue with my 2008 15" Macbook Pro where it would constantly overheat when running CPU intensive programs.

I tried all the SMC, PRAM, etc resets, but nothing seemed to make it go away.

Anyway, I was able to solve the problem by just using a can of compressed air and blowing out all the dust from open vents where the screen meets the body (at the hinge). Keep your face away when you do this, if you don't want to breathe in all that dust.

Anyhow, good luck with your issue.

Thanks SOOPAH, I'll give it a go but am not feeling too confident about it. It seems to sound more and more like a logic board issue. :(

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Nighthawk... I took it to Apple today and they checked the battery for free but to run any sort of diagnostics they will charge me $90. I'm not really prepared to pay that fee yet...

Are there any Apple Authorized Service Providers in your area by chance? (These are typically third party service technicians who are authorized to work on Macs). I'm thinking if there are you might be able to contact them, run the situation by them and see if they could steer you in the right direction as to what it may be without a charge -- some of the ones I've gone to here in Canada do that, but I'm not sure about in the USA).

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Are there any Apple Authorized Service Providers in your area by chance? (These are typically third party service technicians who are authorized to work on Macs). I'm thinking if there are you might be able to contact them, run the situation by them and see if they could steer you in the right direction as to what it may be without a charge -- some of the ones I've gone to here in Canada do that, but I'm not sure about in the USA).

Thanks! There are a few in my area... I'm going to go by there tomorrow and see if they can offer me any assistance. I'll keep you updated. :)

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Just remembered something. I bought the laptop on my Amex card and they will extend the warranty by 1 year. I'll go by the authorized center tomorrow and see what they have to say but I'm too worried now. I'm pretty sure Amex has my back. Awesome! :D

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So today i was using my computer and i only had about 12 mins of power left. I plugged in the power cable and then my computer shutdown. I would hit the power button but it would not power on. The light on the front will come on for about 2 seconds and the computer will shutdown again. The only way i could get it to start up was to clear the SMC. After clearing the SMC it starts up just fine. :|

Any ideas?

Yep. The SMC manages how much power gets to the components to your system. If its settings get corrupted (through miscalibration or other weird factors), things like that can happen. It's likely that nothing's wrong with your system, only that the settings in your SMC were corrupted.

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i calibrate the battery about 1-2 times per month. Apple also checked the battery and it was in good condition.

Do you think the SMC is causing the sleep issues? Its still been happening even after resetting the SMC.

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Update: I took it to Apple and they ran their diagnostics on it. They didn't find any issues. The funny part is that the issue happened 20 minutes before I took to the Apple store. I might try an Apple authorized repair center and see what they have to say. Going to re-install SL before I do that. Does anyone have another idea?

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