[petertruong]

hey, I've had my macbook pro 1.83 for a little over a week and everythings been running pretty fine but just yesterday I closed the lid to put it to sleep and I could hear it still on then the fans kick on extra high so I open it and the backlight is shut off but I make out on the screen a message in three languages that said I would have to reset the computer or hold the power button to shut it down. I did that and it was fine. Today, the same message came up when I tried to open iMovie HD and another time when I tried to open an attachment in Entourage. Is this likely a software problem or a hardware problem? Should re-installing OSX do the trick or has anyone else received this error? Thanks for any help I can get. I haven't installed any addiotional ram or installed anything recently that I think would be causing this, so I'm pretty stumped.

[Tuoder]

That is weird. I would give Apple a call or bring it in for a warranty service, as it is still under warranty.

[petertruong]

Would you think the B&M Apple store would do an exchange? What if I can't duplicate the error at the genius bar?

[JKT]

That error message is due to a kernel panic. It could be either software or hardware, but generally they are due to hardware problems and it is the easiest thing to check. Do you have any USB devices attached? If so disconnect them and see if the problem ceases (if you have a hub, start by removing that from the equation). Insert your install disk and run the hardware test - this may tell you if you have a problem somewhere. If you have installed any additional RAM, remove it - you could have a bad RAM stick which will definitely cause this problem. Even if you haven't installed any third party RAM, try removing one stick at a time to see if the problem goes away (obviously, this only applies if you have two sticks inserted - if it is just one, you will have to rely on the hardware test to check it for you).

Launch Font Book and verify your fonts (from under the File menu) to see if you have any problem fonts installed.

Did you use Migration Assistant to transfer from an old PPC Mac? If so, try clearing your caches and looking for potential troublesome software or preferences that got transferred over. What software have you installed yourself? Is it possible that you are using some that is not yet Intel compatible? Make sure you are using the latest updates. If you are using any system hacks or third party plug-ins, disable them. Make sure they are the latest versions. If they are not intel compatible yet, disable them permanently.

If none of that helps, get in touch with Apple.