Common Mac Problems

With the whole "Buy a Mac" ads that Apple is promoting, there's been a lot of vibe going around saying Macs are perfect. Well, they're not. I am not trying to stab at Apple's reputation, but trying to give you a non-biased view.

Despite the heat problems a lot of new intel-based Macs are having, Macbook's are having common problem with their motherboards aka logic boards.

1. There has been many and I say many cases where Macbooks randomly shutdown or blackout with no response. I, too, have had this problem a few times with my Macbook, but it doesn't seem as serious as others who have their logic boards replaced.

If you call Applecare for this problem, they'll just instruct you in resetting your PRAM or manually resetting your RAM.

If you're having similar problems and the random shutdowns are still occuring frequently even after resets of RAM and PRAM, you should take your computer to Apple for further inspection. Remember to find a local retail store and make a reservation through Apple Genius. This issue is covered by your one year warranty or your extended Applecare.

2. Another common problem that I have witnessed is the Macbook failing to restart. Specifically, a different colored vertical lines fill up the screen and the computer itself does not respond. This has been around for awhile and even with the new firmware update, the problem still exists.

Here's a video of it,



Some pictures,



(sorry for the poor quality, pictures are still shots of the video)


When I encountered this problem, I tried multiple things.

• restarting my computer a few times more - no fix.
  
• manually resetting my rams - no fix.
• resetting PRAMS - fixed.

I have heard that resetting the PRAM have worked for a lot of people including myself, but some unfortunate numbers are still suffering from this problem.

To reset your PRAM, go to Resetting your Mac's PRAM and VRAM.

For any other help, you can email me or check for help at www.macrumors.com.