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Grrr · Nov 21, 2006, 08:47 AM

Hi folks,
I had a quick scan through the forums for similar problems but didn't find anything. And it is not the same as the random shutdown issue.
When picked up/moved, the Macbook (1stgen 1.83ghz btw) appears to shut down. Well, it certainly seems to go completely lifeless, but if I put my ear to it, I can still hear the fan whirring a bit yet the screen is black. No amount of button pushing will bring it back to life. Unless I hold down the powerbutton which forces it to shut down properly.
Pressing the powerbutton again, it will usually try to start back up, but more often than not, not a lot happens. The power light comes on, the screen will flash as if its about to boot, but then nothing, it stays black. I can try this several times, and eventually it boots and runs fine.

The macbook is fully up to date software wise, including all firmware updates. And it only started to do this in the past couple of days, but then it generally doesn't get moved around much either.

Any ideas? Thanks in advance..

Hi I'm Ben · Nov 21, 2006, 10:09 AM

My first thought is that your logic board is going bad. When the board in my iBook went bad it only worked when I titled the computer at a certain angle.

Grrr · Nov 22, 2006, 03:15 PM

Hmm, thanks.. Seems this isn't a particularly known issue then for macbooks.
New logic board would be a pain....

Hi I'm Ben · Nov 22, 2006, 06:25 PM

Originally Posted by Grrr

Hmm, thanks.. Seems this isn't a particularly known issue then for macbooks.
New logic board would be a pain....

Is there an Apple Store near you? It's not a pain under warranty. I'm having my logic board replaced as we speak.

stefanicotine · Nov 25, 2006, 04:45 AM

I'm with Ben. It definitely sounds like your logic board. I'd still reset the PMU though.

If the computer is on, turn it off.
Disconnect the AC Adapter and remove the computer's battery.
Press and hold down the power button for 5 seconds and then release the button.
Reconnect the battery and AC Adapter.
Press the Power button to restart the computer.

EDIT: Pardon me, I guess it's called an SMC now.

Grrr · Nov 27, 2006, 12:00 PM

Thanks, i'll give that a go shortly..
I have to agree though, to me its showing symptoms of a hardware fault

It doesn't do it when moved so much, more when picked up, which inevitably squeezes the case slightly. It happens almost every time now when picked up from the left side.
Of course I could prevent it by not picking it up from the left side

But that isn't the point of course. It shouldn't cut out like that.
Anyway, i'll let you know how I get on..

stefanicotine · Nov 27, 2006, 02:27 PM

Left side only, huh? That sounds more like a loose connection...

rajat · Dec 7, 2006, 09:15 PM

Hey,
I am having the same issue (and in the middle of writing my dissertation...). Please let me know if you resolved your issue and give me some ideas. Your help is very much appreciated. Thanks.
Raj.

Originally Posted by Grrr

Thanks, i'll give that a go shortly..
I have to agree though, to me its showing symptoms of a hardware fault

It doesn't do it when moved so much, more when picked up, which inevitably squeezes the case slightly. It happens almost every time now when picked up from the left side.
Of course I could prevent it by not picking it up from the left side

But that isn't the point of course. It shouldn't cut out like that.
Anyway, i'll let you know how I get on..

frankthetank966 · Dec 8, 2006, 09:09 AM

When I moved my macbook a few times yesterday it shut off. It was so annoying. My suggestion is to quickly backup your data with a USB Jump Drvie, External Hard Drive or check out xdrive.com

Grrr · Dec 8, 2006, 11:29 AM

Aha.. so it isn't just mine that is doing this after all.

Unfortunately, the issue isn't resolved for me yet. I'll get Apple to look at it after Christmas.

It doesn't get moved much, so therefor it doesn't cut out much either. Making it a non essential problem. But still one that definitely needs to be sorted out for sure, as this is not good enough from Apple.

micklb · Dec 10, 2006, 04:38 PM

You have a bad accelerometer.

Grrr · Dec 10, 2006, 07:30 PM

Originally Posted by micklb

You have a bad accelerometer.

I take it you mean the sensor thing that takes the heads off the HD when moved to prevent damage and protect data?

If so, I did wonder about this. But its not supposed to semi shut off the mac is it? Particularly as I mentioned above, it doesn't do it when moved so much, but it appears to be more when the left side is squeezed, which you inevitably do to pick it up. I need to check that more though, as I don't have that mac with me at the moment.
Could that still be the problem you think? Either way, Apple needs to take a look at it, which i'll arrange shortly.

yticolev · Dec 11, 2006, 01:18 AM

If the hard drive is not accessible because the heads are parked, for all practical purposes your Mac will be non functional.

Macpilot · Dec 11, 2006, 03:54 AM

Sounds like the battery connector that sometimes comes loose from the MLB. Take it in.

kevyang · Dec 11, 2006, 10:56 PM

I have the same problem with my Macbook2.
It reboots itself after I move it around with the lid closed.
It seems to be fine when it is not moved.
I wonder if it will overheat if it happens when I'm carrying it around in a bag..

Macpilot · Dec 12, 2006, 03:14 AM

Originally Posted by kevyang

I have the same problem with my Macbook2.
It reboots itself after I move it around with the lid closed.
It seems to be fine when it is not moved.
I wonder if it will overheat if it happens when I'm carrying it around in a bag..

Make sure you have performed the latest EFI and SMC updates. Do not interrupt the updates. If it still behaves this way, take it in. They will fix it. In the mean time do not use the sleep function.

kevyang · Dec 12, 2006, 09:32 PM

Thanks for the reply Macpilot.
It's a C2D Macbook, so none of the EFI or SMC updates applies.
But I've done a reset on the SMC.
I will post again if it is still a problem.

frankthetank966 · Dec 14, 2006, 12:50 PM

Dude, this happened to me just a few minutes ago. The the screen dimmed for a while. This is getting extremely annoying. Has anyone called Apple about this?

Grrr · May 8, 2007, 12:00 PM

My macbook finally went in for repair today, as it developed much more serious problems, plus the warranty has nearly expired, so i had to hurry.
The CD drive was making an awful racket with many disks. But on top of that, it also crashed, then it could not see the HD any more (Great

) So it would only boot from a Mac OS CD. Not much use..
Then it got even worse and would not boot at all.. Just a black screen, and the white light on front would blink on and off quite quickly. It stayed like this for several days, and then today it would boot from the CD again, but the HD was still seemingly dead. Disk warrior could not see the HD either..

With problems like that, i'd hope for a new replacement!? We shall see..