Skip to main content

Despite update, new Apple MacBook Pros continue to crash

Apple-MacBook-Pro-2011
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Apple’s new 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pro laptops are reportedly freezing when put under a heavy load, according to numerous reports, as well as user comments on the Apple Discussion board. The problem, which appears to be widespread, has persisted for at least some users even after an update from Apple.

The new 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pros feature Intel’s speedy new Sandy Bridge Core i7 quad-core CPUs, available up to 2.3GHz, along with AMD Radeo HD graphics processors (GPU), with up to 1GB of dedicated video memory.

The first public report of the issue appeared on an Apple.com discussion thread entitled “MacBook Pro 2011 17″ hard freeze,” started on March 1, less than a week after Apple unveiled their new MacBook Pro lineup on February 24.

Get your weekly teardown of the tech behind PC gaming
Check your inbox!

User Rensoom, who started the thread, says that he “wasn’t doing anything unusual,” but admits that he “had 7 apps open and was amid an auto-backup to TimeMachine.” This resulted in a “hard freeze.”

Since then, the thread has ballooned to 65 pages (at the time of this writing) with users complaining that their pricey new notebooks crashed when performing any GPU-intensive tasks, like running video games or iMovie.

According to user ND381, the problem occurred when running CPU-heavy processes along with programs that caused graphics processing to shift from the new Sandy Bridge processor to the descrete AMD Radeon graphics processor. One user, Chullo, was able to duplicate the problem at his local Apple Store, and cause all 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro display models to freeze, “much to the surprise of the genius helping me,” he wrote.

After reports of the problem became more widely known, Apple released a Mac OS X 10.6.7 update, which included a number of updates and fixes, including improved “graphics stability.” Unfortunately for MacBook Pro users, the freezing issue has persisted for some users, even after the update.

In fact, some say the problem has actually gotten worse, as a similar issue now seems to occur simply when running iTunes. We have yet to hear whether Apple has additional plans to address the issue.

Editors' Recommendations

Andrew Couts
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Features Editor for Digital Trends, Andrew Couts covers a wide swath of consumer technology topics, with particular focus on…
There’s a MacBook that Apple has no right to continue selling
A stack of MacBooks is pictured from the top down.

With the launch of the new 15-inch MacBook Air, Apple has solidified its most fleshed-out Mac lineup in recent memory. There's a MacBook for almost every conceivable budget and use case, ranging from the $999 M1 MacBook Air up to the upper echelons of the 16-inch MacBook Pro.

Considering how well the 15-inch MacBook Air has been received in early reviews, there doesn't appear to be a bad choice in the mix. That is, until you stumble upon the MacBook hidden in the lineup that Apple has continued to sell for absolutely no reason. I'm referring to the 13-inch MacBook Pro, of course.

Read more
Apple’s next MacBooks and iPads could be in serious trouble
The MacBook Pro open on a wooden table.

Hype has been growing for Apple’s upcoming M3 chips, which are expected to splash down in a slate of Macs and iPads later this year. Yet one leaker has come along to spoil the party and has claimed that we won’t see anything of the sort until 2024.

That idea comes from Twitter leaker Revegnus, who tweeted that there would be “No M3 Mac or iPad for this year.” That will be disappointing news to anyone looking forward to laying their hands on the latest and greatest Apple silicon chips in the coming months.

Read more
A new iMac and 15-inch MacBook Air are almost ready to launch
A student types at a desk on a pink Apple iMac 24-inch M1 desktop computer.

The M1 iMac made a big splash when it launched in spring 2021, but it’s been a long two years without updates since then. There’s some good news for Apple fans, though, as a new iMac is apparently almost upon us.

That’s according to a new report from Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman, who claims the next iMac is undergoing production tests as we speak. This stage of development (known as engineering validation testing, or EVT) means the product is getting close to launching.

Read more