MacBook SMC firmware update 1.1 to end random shutdown?

Alright folks, you can put down your pitchforks, drop that class action lawsuit and kill all 20 online petitions you started to try and get Apple to fix the MacBook random shutdown fiasco that has been haunting the Mac faithful these past months. The problem, which has been affectionately termed RSS, "Random Shutdown Syndrome," has finally been addressed by an SMC firmware update for the MacBook. Version 1.1 -- 1.0 battled the infamous "moo" problem -- supposedly "improves the MacBook's internal monitoring system and addresses issues with unexpected shutdowns." Apple also sez: "This update is recommended for all MacBook systems, including those that received warranty repair." Of course, the proof is in the pudding, so fire up that cracked, brown and mooing MacBook of yours and let this thing work its magic, then let us know your results in the comments. Oh, and before you go looking for the "Shut down randomly" option in your Energy Saver control panel, we'd like to thank whomever is responsible for that amusing Photoshop, the source of which we've totally forgotten.

[Roberto Egretti @ Oct 26th 2006 6:17PM]

Nice Photoshop work.

[David Silvestri @ Oct 28th 2006 9:28PM]

no the patch does not work. mine still shuts down. perhaps you should of checked to see if it really fixed the problem bdefore shooting your mouth off.

[Alcaron @ Oct 26th 2006 6:21PM]

But, but, its a mac...mac;s a re FLAWLESS...just ask justin long...or a goodly percentage of the readers here. ;p

You may moderate my post...but you will never take my FREEEEEEEDOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM!

[Mitch R. @ Oct 26th 2006 6:36PM]

WTF?

[Boris714 @ Oct 26th 2006 6:38PM]

Apparently, the only thing flawed is your typing skills.

Apple fixed theirs... what's your story?

[3rdsun @ Oct 26th 2006 6:36PM]

Shut down randomly - that takes the cake lol

[JoshuaMac @ Oct 26th 2006 6:40PM]

Good thing I just took mine to get repaired today. Son of a bitch.

[Will Cosgrove @ Oct 26th 2006 6:56PM]

I've had my machine fixed twice because of RSS. It happens because a wire shorts out when the casing melts because it rests against the heatsink. Not sure how this firmware update is going to unmelt people's wires and magically fix RSS if they already have it. But it will probably run the fans more preventing it from happening in the first place.

[jon b @ Oct 26th 2006 7:20PM]

Yeah mine is in the shop getting a new heat sink as of two days ago.

[TheWakeUpCall @ Oct 26th 2006 7:21PM]

hahahahaha shut down randomly. Where can i untick that on my PC? lol.

[AndrewNeo @ Oct 26th 2006 7:51PM]

Control Panel -> System -> Advanced tab -> Startup and Recovery Settings -> Uncheck 'automatically restart'

[TheWakeUpCall @ Oct 26th 2006 7:54PM]

lol thanks but i was joking. I'm pretty sure windows (or any OS to that matter) has a randomly shutdown button lol.

[Brett Biba @ Oct 26th 2006 7:21PM]

I dropped my macbook off (apple store) on a monday night got it at my doorstep on Thur morning. They replaced some stuff including the top cover that gets discolored but I have a black macbook so thats kinda weird.

[Marty @ Oct 26th 2006 7:25PM]

Fantastic.

[Michael Parker McEachern @ Oct 26th 2006 7:52PM]

thats great

[Richard @ Oct 26th 2006 8:08PM]

Um, sorry to burst your bubble... but I've had the SMC update since it was released, and my Macbook STILL MOOOOS.

[Joel Heflin @ Oct 26th 2006 8:14PM]

I installed the firmware update and it actually fixed the problem. I'm really curious to know how exactly this works because the problem was a hardware issue, but I'm not gonna complain too much. I have Apple Care so they will have to fix anything if they mess up my MacBook

[kL @ Oct 26th 2006 8:20PM]

Most likely it's not photoshop - it's nib editor (part of OS X developer tools). You can crack open and edit GUI of most Cocoa apps.

[Hunter @ Oct 26th 2006 8:29PM]

This is easily the best news I've heard all week.

I called into AppleCare around a month ago and got a box to mail off my MacBook the next day, but I just couldn't stand sending my precious computer off for some indeterminable time. I opt, instead, to put up with constant, completely random shut downs and lost work if I was so foolish as to not save regularly.

[Matthew @ Oct 26th 2006 9:52PM]

We are working with a media contact about this - read my latest post about it here...

http://www.macbookrandomshutdown.com/2006/10/27/so-has-apple-officially-recognized-the-macbook-issue-potentially-so/

what is interesting is Apple delayed their response to our media contact until today - the same day this fix came out.

If there is indeed a physical hardware flaw, how can a firmware update fix that?

guess we will see!

Cheers!
Matthew
macbookrandomshutdown.com

[Dave @ Oct 26th 2006 10:49PM]

I guess the firmware update tells the macbook NOT to shut down when it senses that short. Im assuming the short is not damaging since they can override it or bypass it, but I'd love to know exactly what its doing. My MacBook has only suffered from RSS a total of 4 times since I got it (which was many months ago) but if it happens again, Im sending it in.

[js @ Oct 26th 2006 10:51PM]

I thought macs are flawless?

[keith waddington @ Oct 26th 2006 11:14PM]

these i thought macs are flawless posts are becoming so tedious. No one ever suggested such a thing.

Ask a switcher. They will tell you that macs are better than Windows machines, that's all. Get over it.

Oh, and I know your Dell was made in never-never land and the hardware was checked by Santa's little helpers and is totally perfect and will never go wrong.

waddo

[Paul @ Oct 26th 2006 11:41PM]

My laptop is a windows dell, and as long as you know how to take care of it you will have no problems

I see several people I know switch to macs from PCs and they generally fit into two categories, before I get any further I repeat, this is just with the people I know.

They are either not super PC literate and just want a simpler option, aka, no options, you buy something standard, it works, you have no maintenance really, and they pretty much just use their computer for office needs.

Or, they have used windows computers for a long time, and have gotten fed up with Microsoft, so they switch to Apple, or some other operating system.

I on the other hand feel that I am not willing to give up all the software options of a Windows computer for a Mac or a full time Linux (its on a little used desktop), I use firefox as a browser because of all the options and the improved security, I do regular virus updates/scans and if my computer starts to act really funny, I just reformat it, takes a few hours out of my time but in the end I might as well have a brand new computer again.

[TWiesner1 @ Oct 26th 2006 11:34PM]

That is the funniest thing I have seen in a long time lololololol.

[Keaton @ Oct 27th 2006 12:52AM]

I agree... I only recommend people buy a Mac if they are very, very, very computer illiterate. Apple has done a wonderful job of taking all the complexities out of operating a computer. You have one option for everything... One office suite, one media player, etc, etc. But by doing this Apple has horribly isolated itself.

According to http://www.onestat.com/html/aboutus_pressbox46-operating-systems-market-share.html Windows rules the operating market share with an astonishing 96.97% compared to the 2.47% market share of Apple based operating systems...

If someone is even slightly computer literate I recommend they own a Windows based computer. Why choose to isolate yourself in the computer world? I have personally dealt with the very proprietary software Apples uses, especially their office suite. Macs will never �play well� with PC�s. I had to spend massive amounts of money to convert years and years worth of .cwk files for one of my clients. There is not ONE program that will convert .cwk files to .rtf or .doc files on a PC. I had to outsource all the files to a specialized company who uses some magic voodoo to do the work for me. This one incident has caused me to never want to look at a Mac again.

Once again, I applaud Apple on making the computer look beautiful and simple to use. But until Apple based operating systems start to make up a decent percentage of market share, I will recommend �PC�s� to all of my clients. There is no point in isolating yourself in the ever changing computer world with very proprietary software.

http://www.soggycowdesigns.com

[Mitch @ Oct 27th 2006 12:13AM]

My Macbook never had the rss problems, but hopefully I never do!

[Darren @ Oct 27th 2006 12:28AM]

I've never had a problem with my MacBook. It is indeed flawless.

And the software that runs on it is kick-ass, too.

[Steve @ Oct 27th 2006 3:36AM]

To a point this argument used to be true (though you'll have problems translating documents from one application to another in most products in one way or another) but in the last six months or so it's become almost totally invalid.

First let me give you a bit of background. I'm an IT Manager (and developer and support officer and, well, you get the idea) at an international company responsible for around 250 users. Not a great many in the grand scheme of things but enough to be a pain in the backside when things go wrong. I've been using windows since the days of 3.11 and Linux since 1999. And yet a few weeks ago I replaced my work-issued Dell with a mid-range Macbook.

Why? For one thing, after a little negotiating with my local Apple store, the price came in at about �20 more than the Dell and that includes international warranty support and the iSight camera which is surprisingly useful in my line of work. Far more important however, it isn't a Windows machine. In the event of something nasty happening to our windows network (all it takes is one zero-day exploit after all) we have at least one machine in the building which can happily carry on working. That allows us to access the web and that in turn gives us access to whatever research and tools we need to correct the problem.

Most importantly though, it's a testbed for a piece of software called Parallels. I'm sure most people on here have heard of this but breifly: it creates a virtual machine which can be used to run more-or-less any flavour of Windows you care to mention along with several other OS's. Crucially this VM runs at almost full speed, and that makes it trully useable for the first time.

Why is this important to us? Because we have over a hundred laptops spread throughout the UK which regularly run into trouble with their Windows 2000 installations, usually because of user error. Currently we have to recall the machines to head office to carry out repair / reinstallation work. However, if a Parallels VM installation croaks all we'd have to do is send the user a DVD containing their VM from the last backup we have (a grand total of two files) and a simple installation program. They get the DVD the next day, put it in the drive, run the program and they're back up and running. All their files are saved on the (shared) Mac partition, their Windows OS and apps are on the VM.

We're still trialing this approach and Parallels still has a few issues they need to sort out before we would consider deploying it but it's very, very close right now. Certainly for head office users, or the more technically minded, it's fine and offers real benefits in a business situation.

As for OSX itself, I've found it to be a breath of fresh air after XP. You do need to spend some time learning it and getting used to the Apple aproach but so much of it makes sense you wonder why MS hasn't copied some of it for Windows. Example: stick a blank DVD in the drive and a DVD icon appears on the desktop. Drag files to this icon and it'll append them to the queue for burning, once you're happy just confirm the burn process and off it goes. Or the little things like holding Contorl-Apple-D to give you a dictionary definition of the word your mouse pointer is over. Or hitting one key to bring up the Dashboard, something I thought would just be a novelty but in a business environment becomes very, very useful indeed especially with translation widgets available.

[Ignacio @ Oct 27th 2006 2:42PM]

"I only recommend people buy a Mac if they are very, very, very computer illiterate. Apple has done a wonderful job of taking all the complexities out of operating a computer. You have one option for everything... One office suite, one media player, etc, etc. But by doing this Apple has horribly isolated itself."

Dude,
http://www.microsoft.com/mac/
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/

And finally,
http://www.google.com/search?q=mac+os+x+software&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official

[keith waddington @ Oct 27th 2006 1:32AM]

"One office suite, one media player"

hahaha
On OS X:

Microsoft Office
iWork
Open Office
NeoOffice
AppleWorks 6
etc etc

quicktime player
vlc
real player
windows media player
Flip4Mac
Mplayer osx
etc etc

Most bias against macs comes from uniformed people who think they are great experts.

Now enjoy your 10,000 windows apps, I'm sure they are all great and I'm sure you won them all. I know you probably need at least 27 apps just to take care of your email.

keep smiling and keep downloading those viruses

waddo

[Dom @ Oct 27th 2006 6:10AM]

If I'm computer literate why should I own a Windows based machine? Why can't I simply want to get rid of all the extra responsibilities that come with a PC? I don't want to scan for shit every other week, I don't want to have to search through the PC to find out why my PC is suffering slowdowns, I do not want a Windows machine that seizures when handling a wireless network, I don't want a bloated app or several apps to "watch" the PC, and I definitely don't want the security fixes every week.

You can preach all you want about how Macs aren't targeted by viruses and malware because the OS's market share is low, about how the software isn't there (it is), and about how leet your graphics card is (the one and only area I miss from the switch... but that's why there's dual boot). Fact of the matter is some of us get tired of fixing and "maintaining" our computer more than we get to use it. After the switch I get more out of using my computer and get to look good doing it 8) hehe.

As for the RSS issue... glad to say I never experienced it. The moo? I had it, and it was fixed... but never really bothered me that much in the first place.

Please stop lumping the Mac user into a group of computer illiterates just because we don't use Windows.

I don't hate Microsoft, they have many great apps and I love my 360 to death.... but I do hate Windows.

[Kevin O'Donnell @ Oct 27th 2006 6:37AM]

I don't see how a firmware update can 'fix' a melted and shorting sensor cable. That's what was causing my RSS and I have pictures to prove it! The fault starts with a kernel panic; the machine runs hot when it fails to shut down properly; the thermal sensor cables are way too close to the heatsink. I think this is called 'bad design'. But Apple aren't listening, so they should be sued by anyone who still has this problem and doesn't want to crack open the case and fix it.

[portalz @ Oct 27th 2006 8:47AM]

Fact is Windows will always own Apple - their market share is too great and I think that with OSX being as good as it is, MS knows that it must step its game up. Vista looks to be a big big step in the right direction. Smart code and tidy from the ground up; it is indeed true that if you are a computer fan, then Windows is the only choice.

[Se?Pantalones @ Oct 27th 2006 10:49AM]

Did you just say 'tidy from the ground up' ?

about Vista?

make sure you brought enough of what you're smoking for the whole class....

[portalz @ Oct 27th 2006 9:42AM]

Have you used Vista? - I reckon you just buy into the hype and have not actually used / experienced the new OS; so you may as well sit down and keep ya cake hole shut. Thank you twat boy.

[crescentdavid @ Oct 27th 2006 11:03AM]

I'm happy Apple's fixed a problem of random meltdowns. Whenever any computer company addresses problems as opposed to ignoring or downplaying them, it's a good thing.

I work with XP and OS X. I'm more comfortable with XP, especially in terms of file management and movement. Just my preference. It's strong enough, though, to keep me from using an Apple as my personal system. The lack of choice on an Apple system- especially in terms of actual specialty apps (like 10 or more photo album creators, for example) is another shortcoming- for me. Finally, the relative inability to modify the UI radically bothers me. I spend a lot of time in front of a computer screen. I want to be able to modify it, because quite frankly, the same old same old is BORING. I like OS's that allow you to see differently and interact differently. This "sameness masquerading as consistency" shtick is tiresome to folks who appreciate some variety.

Having said all this, I'd put up with it in order to maximize my audio production within the business environment- it's a matter of appropriate tools for different jobs.

[Kiteless @ Oct 27th 2006 11:47AM]

Well I applied this last night. This has happened to me twice since I got it about 6 weeks ago. I heard that it was some kind of short as well. It makes me wonder how they are supposed to fix a physical problem with a FW update.

Now apple needs to fix the WiFi problem is 10.4.8. It is completely hosed. Yeah Macs are not perfect but Apple would like you to think they are.

Damn finny image edit there! Engadget, I would love to hear a little backstory on where it came from.

-K

[Ignacio @ Oct 27th 2006 2:29PM]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! :D Priceless!

My MacBook has never had any problems, so I'll let more adventurous owners try the firmware update before applying it myself.

[pipp @ Oct 27th 2006 8:12PM]

I brought my MacBook into the shop a couple months ago to resolve RSS. Then about a month ago it started doing that again.

The solution? Holding down the power button for around 15 seconds - waiting until the light flashes and the computer makes a horrificly loud beeping sound.

Then it starts up just fine.

I just updated my firmware last night so I'm hoping this is now resolved. We'll see.

[willieboy @ Oct 27th 2006 10:36PM]

nvr had this rss prblm. guess i am jst 1 of the lcky few....

mcbk 2 g
A.A.C.L. artst agnst cpt lts

[cps @ Oct 28th 2006 12:25PM]

New heat sensor from tourist hell hole apple store on 57th st last week...Firmware installed this week...Now fan never shuts off, draining battery alarmingly rapidly....Can't wait for next week...

[AtAT2 @ Oct 30th 2006 9:51AM]

This was posted on September 9:

http://appleturns.blogspot.com/2006/09/macbook-random-shutdown-problem-solved.html

I made it in GraphicConverter, but I can't take credit for the red oval. Also, if you look closely, you can see that the anti-aliasing for the text next to the checkboxes is different from the other text elements, thus giving the fakeness tip-off.

[WiseMax @ Jun 22nd 2008 6:14PM]

Some comments.

I'm an IT pro (actually have been for 38 years).

I really date from way back when assembly was a widespread language, COBOL was king and UNIX/VM were the norm for universities and businesses alike, as well as IBM and the 360 mainframes and S/3x minicuomputers ruled the business world.

After some time, the personal computers appeared and no, it was not the IBM, it was the Apple II and the Commodore PET that did the trick.
However, both these machines and the systems they ran were tighly protected and copyrighted, so they never caught up much. I remember the Apple clones, they didn't pick up either, because of Apple's tight protections.

Then came the IBM PC. Expensive, with not much to show for itself... but clonable.
It had a wonderfully simple operating system, that still survives, millions of people cursed it - but millions of people worked with it. The more impressive little pieces of software were made for this. And the most widespread, like Wordperfect and Lotus 1-2-3 (yes, they can still run on today's machines...). Who will forget the popup PIM, like Sidekick?...

And so on. Then came the Apple Lisa (too expensive) and the Macintosh. Beatiful and impressive little screen, all-graphical OS... Lovely. But expensive and... non-clonable. So it always remained expensive.

Bill saw this and thought: what if I try to mimic the thing?... And, to a much lesser degree of achievenet he pumped up Win 3 and then 95/98, XP and Vista.

Ok. So we have a PC whose hardware can be manufactured by just anybody (leading to great price/quality ratios) and OS that are easy to program for.

Loads of people can afford the hardware - loads of people get the OS with it. CAn they get MAC OS X on their ultra-great low cost clones? Nope... that's only for Steve's machines. So, they stick with Bill.

But they're OK. Windows Vista SP1 is (finally!) a joy to work with and to get great stability.

So I bought this sexy, underpowered, under-everything MAC Book Air and put up with all thos restrictions (like no network port, only ONE USB port - this is the hardest one to live with... :-(

... and I dumped MAC OS X and made it a lovely, underpwered but still sexy (great screen, BTW!) Windows Vista SP1 machine :-)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unfortunate episode: The whining fan!...

It was quiet and did its thing - even under Windows. No problemo.

Until a few days ago. Now, I power up the machine, it starts stuttering and... bingo! 6,200 RPM all the way, with the stupid, horrible noise.

I read all about the stuff re-install OSX, do the upgrades (EFI and SMC, albeit SMC only for OSX) and no luck.

Then I remember the "too much thermal glue" thing, open it up, carefully fix that with top notch silver glue, close everything, do the reset hardware thingy and... still the horrible whining noise.

So, I have a beautiful noisy piece of junk (who can use it with all that noise?) and I'm wondering if any lousy tech knows more than I do.
I have 10 PC at home, 6 desktops (very up-to-date and fast) and the other 3 notebooks run circles around the MBA, performance-wise.
I have assembled myself all the desktops and replaced/enhanced stuff (mostly hard disks and RAM) on the notebooks. So I KNOW what I'm doing.

And, no, it's NOT overheating - the noise starts right away with the machine cold and properly ventilated - I bet it's a lousy sensor somewhere - I wonder if the MAC tech knows anyrthing about it - and yes, there's an expensive component inside that runs the power management - wonder if they'll ever get to tat.

Next week, I take it to the shop - I will find out then.

Summary - loads of working flawlessly cheap Windows desktops I've had - none with this price and early failure like the expebsive MBA. Gives you what to think, me says.

[Leo @ Jun 22nd 2008 6:28PM]

Ah, one more thing: when the fan starts doing its crazy noise... absolutely NOTHING is running. NOTHING. No Windows, no OS X.
Just the silly firmware that has no settings or setup, like any ordinary low-cost. low pedigree Wintel cheapo machine. No, the PC is cool, had been shut for many hours.

Some tech will eventually help me - I only WHY does an expensive low-spec (except for the screen!) machine have to bear this problem that affects so many people (doa search, folks, and start counting).

Again, my other cheap & ordinary stuff never had this kind of problems - I must have been very, very lucky.

I'm just hooked on sexy design - my two iPhones (one Edge now and a 3G iphone on July 11) are there to prove that Mr. Job's aesthetics please me!

May that's the price to pay - having a noisy fan to remind me.