Last week I went to an Apple store an played with a new MBP a bit. I closed the lid, opened it to wake the system up again and then just levelled down the display brightness to zero. Result: the screen stayed black. The slightly embarrassed shop attendand had to admit he had to reboot the system.
I bought one of the last early 2008 MBPs instead...
Well... as I posted before, yesterday I tried the machine ( 2,4 MBP CTO). I played WoW for almost 3 hours yesterday using de 9600GT and I hadn't any problem or black screens. Almost all video definitions were set to the maximum except terrain distance (I let it on the middle of the bar) and the shadows that i set to the minimum. Later today i'll try to set the shadows marker higher to see how it performs. I'm looking forward to play some more hours to see if anything happens just to do the test.
Oh! I almost forgot! I ran the game with the integrated graphics and it performed very good! I guess people with Macbooks will be able to play WoW on it smoothly if they want!
"It just works" has always been a lie. The phrase should really be: "it sucks less".
I've got a brand new MacBook Pro and so far, no serious problems.
It used to be true. My first few Mac had little to no problems whatsoever. It seemed to start to go down hill around 2003 or so. My iBook went through 4 motherboards, but when it worked it worked. Can't say the same for the iMac. The little things that Macs used to always get right are starting to break down. in addition to the design limitations, I've had problems with it shutting down, mail quitting, iChat has connection problems, iMovie and iWeb '08 are and slow and unstable, upgrading to leopard required calling tech support, and then there's the wireless issues. At the high point it could barely connect, but its been fixed to a point where there's only slow downs. Can't watch streaming video without hooking it up to a wired network. The 5-year old iBook with 802.11b and running panther has no connection problems.
hi, I would like to report to the mac community that i too have experienced the Black screen of death whilst gaming in windows XP with my new macbook pro.
This is my first mac, and so far....loving every minute of it. Having experienced `ubuntu linux on my previous PC, i feel that this is the experience i have always dreamt of.
OK enough with the praising....because all is not perfect...I have experience some finder crashes and other apps crashing..
Now back to the issue of BSOD..., I had no problems playing games for the last 2 weeks, nothing...even after a 14 hour HL2 session (Yes very sad, I know but i never completed it)lol. all was going well until I installed COD 5 about 3 days ago. I booted up, launched HL2 and after 1 min, BANG!!! BLACK SCREEN ...LOOPED SOUND...and nothing worked....Complete freeze, had to press the power button and restart...mmm so, went back to the same game, played 2 mins and same spot in the map, BANG! BLACK SCREEN, and this time...my perfectionist ideology of the mac crumbled, at which point i almost cried thinking that no system would ever be perfect....ok sorry im a bit dramatic. First time on this site, but seems like most people here are on this forum for the same reasons...lol
OK so the following time i rebooted, i played the game in a small window,(NOT ON FULL SCREEN MODE), now I dont understand why but my temporary soution which seems to be nothing but luck if you think of it logically has worked.
TodAY I HAD TO PERFORM the same opperation and was not too pleased having to play in that small window for the price of $2000
All in all I eagerly await a fix to this issue..hopefuly its the nvida drivers and not a hardware conflict or im good for another xmas without a mac...whilst i wait for the replacement.
And here's the latest article about this. I can't understand how Apple didn't notice this when testing new macbooks/pros... The way I see it there are a few possibilities to fix this with a software update. Or if not fix completely at least ease the problem a little. First they could set fans run with higher rpm when 9600GT is in use and the other thing is flash 9600GT bios / set driver to run card with lower clock frequensies or combine these two methods. I know it sucks cause people paid for the performance of 9600GT but that might be a temporary fix for this. Let's see what Apple and/or Nvidia has in their sleeves.
EDIT: And I know that the article talks about 9300/9400 series of cards but I assume that the problem is the very same one.
I have been using Windows and Linux for many years now and i ran into all types of problems with both OS (more on windows). I just got my new MBP for the first time custom configured 2.8Ghz and 320 GB 7200 RPM HD. I have to say I love my MBP and so far I don't have any of the problems. Also I don't use safari web browser. I think this is where some people have experienced some flickering problems.
Separately, owners of both the new unibody MacBooks and MacBook Pros are reporting wave-like video distortions while scrolling in web browsers of viewing HD content. They say the problem is common on most systems on display at Apple retail stores, but note the distortions do not appear while running Windows, which may suggest a Mac-specific NVIDIA driver issue.
Adding to that theory, other users note the problem also exists on NVIDIA-based iMacs, but does not show up on the MacBook Air with integrated Intel graphics or iMacs with ATI graphics cards.
Ok, I have a 24" imac 3.06Ghz with 4GB ram and nVidia 8800 gfx. What exactly are 'wave like' distortions as I dont see anything like this when I scroll. ??????
I've noticed "wave-like" distortions on my MacBook Pro (late 2008). It's a single wave toward the bottom of a browser window when I scroll up or down. I haven't installed Windows on this machine yet so I can't compare.
There is another video problem where white lines flash on the screen when there is a dark/black background. I don't know if it is caused by hardware or software but is very annoying. Sadly I don't see any acknowledgement of it by Apple.
After a week of light use, the screen of my daughter's new unibody macbook went green... then switched back-and-forth between normal and green, and within two days settled on permanent green, period. Apple store offered a board replacement. I opted for returning it to the online Amazon-affiliated vendor and getting a new one... The vendor shipped it promptly by UPS w/o signature (!) and it got apparently stolen upon delivery from my front porch. Thanks to Amazon (not the vendor), they refunded my money within a week, no questions. Main lessons: 1) one should not assume that an expensive computer would be shipped right; 2) the thief is still out there so please beware 3) the defect was quite disappointing and I am hesitant whether to make a third attempt!
After a week of light use, the screen of my daughter's new unibody macbook went green... then switched back-and-forth between normal and green, and within two days settled on permanent green, period.
I had a similar issue with my unibody MB, but my problem was with 3rd-party RAM. I thought it was from having 4GB but even having 2GB of the 3rd-party RAM triggered it, yet less often. I even had Fry's Electronics replace the RAM thinking it was bad. The RAM I bought was Patriot, which has a good track record of fast server RAM. I finally went back to an Apple Store and had them install 4GB for $150, honouring the at purchase upgrade price by telling them the store I bought the unibody MB from was out of the additional RAM at the time of purchase. Cost me $20 more than going with a 3rd-party but it works fine.
Quote:
1) one should not assume that an expensive computer would be shipped right;
[...]
3) the defect was quite disappointing and I am hesitant whether to make a third attempt!
Never assume that any consumer electronic product will be free from issues. The difference in price usually gets you better components, less likelihood of something breaking, better service when something does break, and an overall better experience. But that does mean that you won't have this problem again.
Quote:
2) the thief is still out there so please beware
Have you checked eBay and Craig's List? There isn't much someone can do with that MoBo. I have doubts they would even know what to do with it.
Comments
I bought one of the last early 2008 MBPs instead...
Oh! I almost forgot! I ran the game with the integrated graphics and it performed very good! I guess people with Macbooks will be able to play WoW on it smoothly if they want!
"It just works" has always been a lie. The phrase should really be: "it sucks less".
I've got a brand new MacBook Pro and so far, no serious problems.
It used to be true. My first few Mac had little to no problems whatsoever. It seemed to start to go down hill around 2003 or so. My iBook went through 4 motherboards, but when it worked it worked. Can't say the same for the iMac. The little things that Macs used to always get right are starting to break down. in addition to the design limitations, I've had problems with it shutting down, mail quitting, iChat has connection problems, iMovie and iWeb '08 are and slow and unstable, upgrading to leopard required calling tech support, and then there's the wireless issues. At the high point it could barely connect, but its been fixed to a point where there's only slow downs. Can't watch streaming video without hooking it up to a wired network. The 5-year old iBook with 802.11b and running panther has no connection problems.
This is my first mac, and so far....loving every minute of it. Having experienced `ubuntu linux on my previous PC, i feel that this is the experience i have always dreamt of.
OK enough with the praising....because all is not perfect...I have experience some finder crashes and other apps crashing..
Now back to the issue of BSOD..., I had no problems playing games for the last 2 weeks, nothing...even after a 14 hour HL2 session (Yes very sad, I know but i never completed it)lol. all was going well until I installed COD 5 about 3 days ago. I booted up, launched HL2 and after 1 min, BANG!!! BLACK SCREEN ...LOOPED SOUND...and nothing worked....Complete freeze, had to press the power button and restart...mmm so, went back to the same game, played 2 mins and same spot in the map, BANG! BLACK SCREEN, and this time...my perfectionist ideology of the mac crumbled, at which point i almost cried thinking that no system would ever be perfect....ok sorry im a bit dramatic. First time on this site, but seems like most people here are on this forum for the same reasons...lol
OK so the following time i rebooted, i played the game in a small window,(NOT ON FULL SCREEN MODE), now I dont understand why but my temporary soution which seems to be nothing but luck if you think of it logically has worked.
TodAY I HAD TO PERFORM the same opperation and was not too pleased having to play in that small window for the price of $2000
All in all I eagerly await a fix to this issue..hopefuly its the nvida drivers and not a hardware conflict or im good for another xmas without a mac...whilst i wait for the replacement.
And here's the latest article about this. I can't understand how Apple didn't notice this when testing new macbooks/pros... The way I see it there are a few possibilities to fix this with a software update. Or if not fix completely at least ease the problem a little. First they could set fans run with higher rpm when 9600GT is in use and the other thing is flash 9600GT bios / set driver to run card with lower clock frequensies or combine these two methods. I know it sucks cause people paid for the performance of 9600GT but that might be a temporary fix for this. Let's see what Apple and/or Nvidia has in their sleeves.
EDIT: And I know that the article talks about 9300/9400 series of cards but I assume that the problem is the very same one.
It seems to crash after a few minutes IF the cooling fan is not engaged. Sometimes the fan is engaged and I can play for a few hours with no problems.
I think it's a heat issue. But hey, I don't know much about these things!
"I have big news!
I returned my MBP last week, so I decided to call my Apple retail store today.
They said my MBP was returned, and Apple said it will be fixed in the very near future with a firmware update!
Since it's a firmware update, it will be fixed in both OS X and Windows.
Also, they don't ship any MBP's anymore with this problem. "
Here's the whole thing:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread....67221&tstart=0
Separately, owners of both the new unibody MacBooks and MacBook Pros are reporting wave-like video distortions while scrolling in web browsers of viewing HD content. They say the problem is common on most systems on display at Apple retail stores, but note the distortions do not appear while running Windows, which may suggest a Mac-specific NVIDIA driver issue.
Adding to that theory, other users note the problem also exists on NVIDIA-based iMacs, but does not show up on the MacBook Air with integrated Intel graphics or iMacs with ATI graphics cards.
Ok, I have a 24" imac 3.06Ghz with 4GB ram and nVidia 8800 gfx. What exactly are 'wave like' distortions as I dont see anything like this when I scroll. ??????
I've noticed "wave-like" distortions on my MacBook Pro (late 2008). It's a single wave toward the bottom of a browser window when I scroll up or down. I haven't installed Windows on this machine yet so I can't compare.
There is another video problem where white lines flash on the screen when there is a dark/black background. I don't know if it is caused by hardware or software but is very annoying. Sadly I don't see any acknowledgement of it by Apple.
After a week of light use, the screen of my daughter's new unibody macbook went green... then switched back-and-forth between normal and green, and within two days settled on permanent green, period. Apple store offered a board replacement. I opted for returning it to the online Amazon-affiliated vendor and getting a new one... The vendor shipped it promptly by UPS w/o signature (!) and it got apparently stolen upon delivery from my front porch. Thanks to Amazon (not the vendor), they refunded my money within a week, no questions. Main lessons: 1) one should not assume that an expensive computer would be shipped right; 2) the thief is still out there so please beware
After a week of light use, the screen of my daughter's new unibody macbook went green... then switched back-and-forth between normal and green, and within two days settled on permanent green, period.
I had a similar issue with my unibody MB, but my problem was with 3rd-party RAM. I thought it was from having 4GB but even having 2GB of the 3rd-party RAM triggered it, yet less often. I even had Fry's Electronics replace the RAM thinking it was bad. The RAM I bought was Patriot, which has a good track record of fast server RAM. I finally went back to an Apple Store and had them install 4GB for $150, honouring the at purchase upgrade price by telling them the store I bought the unibody MB from was out of the additional RAM at the time of purchase. Cost me $20 more than going with a 3rd-party but it works fine.
1) one should not assume that an expensive computer would be shipped right;
[...]
3) the defect was quite disappointing and I am hesitant whether to make a third attempt!
Never assume that any consumer electronic product will be free from issues. The difference in price usually gets you better components, less likelihood of something breaking, better service when something does break, and an overall better experience. But that does mean that you won't have this problem again.
2) the thief is still out there so please beware
Have you checked eBay and Craig's List? There isn't much someone can do with that MoBo. I have doubts they would even know what to do with it.