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noskcaj · Sep 26, 2007, 06:20 PM

I've had my MBP C2D for about 10 months now, its performed spectacularly, with a few recent issues. I use it very frequently, probably 12-16 hours-a-day. I'm a college student, and it gets toted to class with me daily. I run Photoshop CS3 and Adobe Lightroom on it, along with office, and some gaming (WoW).

Anyway, my first and major issue is that of crashes. Its happened to me a few times, usually in class after I've been using it for an extended period on battery. My battery is usually at about 35-40% when the whole notebook just blacks out, as if all power has been disconnected. If I try to reboot the thing, it goes to the primary loading screen (the one with the apple and the little rotating circle icon), loads for 2-3 seconds, then blanks out again. Once back home, and reconnected to my power brick it works fine. My notebook has never been dropped, spilled on, etc (anything that i can think of that would cause an odd short). I take pretty good care of it, though it gets used pretty extensively.

I was looking into a new battery, as this original doesn't seem to hold charge like it used to (a problem that I dont think is uncommon for MBP batteries, judging from other forum entries). My battery health (according to istatPro is reading 47%, and 71 cycles.
Could some problem with my battery be the issue?

My other problem, and hardly one, is that of some slight pitting/corrosion on the handguards. I've looked into something to cover it now that I notice its happenning, but all I can seem to locate are clear guards. The pitting, though not major, is a bit unseemly, and I would like something that would cover it. I dont mind if i have to pick a color, etc, just something thats not clear.
(other than the Marware bit (Protection Pack Plus for MacBook™ Pro) "Soft, cushioned PVC leather" sounds cheap-ish and weird to me)
If I missed something in my search for such a product that anyone knows about, it'd be much appreciated.

Apologies for the wall-of-text.

Big Mac · Sep 26, 2007, 06:56 PM

A battery issue could be very well be the cause, but I cannot guarantee it based on the symptoms you've presented. Since your MBP is only 10 months old, there's the possibility your battery could fall within a warranty replacement. If not (or if you don't care to try your luck) I have not trouble recommending a solid third party battery - I had a good experience with batterysavings.com.

ginoledesma · Sep 26, 2007, 11:02 PM

Regarding your battery, try calibrating the battery and/or zapping the PRAM to see if it persists. I've seen an iBook G4 behave similarly (sudden cut-off of power without warning) but that was with a 4-year old battery. Thankfully, Apple replaced it due to the battery recall. :-)

noskcaj · Sep 27, 2007, 01:41 AM

try calibrating the battery and/or zapping the PRAM to see if it persists.

i dont know what that means...

ginoledesma · Sep 27, 2007, 11:58 PM

Originally Posted by noskcaj

i dont know what that means...

The batteries used in those laptops have a microprocessor that measures the amount of charge throughout use. Calibrating it helps to ensure its accuracy. This is a process that involves fully draining your laptop's battery and then charging it to a full level. Detailed instructions can be found in this Apple support document.

Resetting the PRAM, on the other hand, is a troubleshooting technique that restores some configuration settings stored in the Mac's battery/memory.

noskcaj · Sep 30, 2007, 04:19 PM

thanks!

noskcaj · Oct 3, 2007, 10:16 AM

I both calibrated the battery and reset the PRAM.
after the problem persisted, I took it into the apple store.
I explained the problem to the tech, he took a quick look, told me I needed a new battery, got one from the back, popped it in, handed it back to me, told me I was good to go.

hooray warranty and good customer service.