My MacBook Pro laptop is turning into a disappointment. I am breaking a mild taboo; Mac owners are supposed to be wildly happy about having a Mac. But I am not.
I suppose I was naif to think I would no longer have computer problems to dump Mr. Gates and his PC devices.
My main disappointment is it started ‘freezing up’ a few weeks ago. One of the main reasons for getting a Mac was hopes that freezes would be a thing of the past. Alas, this was not to be. I will be typing and lo! no movement. I don’t even have control+alt+delete to use. I have to shut the laptop down and reboot it. True this reboot goes much faster than the Dell, but it isn’t supposed to happen at all !!
Mac users tell me this never happens to them. I took it in for a consultation at the Mac Store – they tried a few things but to no avail. My suspicion I have a ‘virus’ was poo-pooed at not possible. So what is going on? No one can tell me.
Another disappointment – on occasion a key acts like it is stuck. I press the ‘c’ key and suddenly the laptop runs off with it, printing ccccccccccccccccccccccccc etc. until I push the back button. Worse, the computer will start to erase typing – I watch my sentencees disappearing until hitting some key/any key stops the runaway train.
There is so much in the Mac I don’t know how to operate or use. Mac (bless their hearts) offers a getting to know your laptop course. I want to take it. Alas, schedules don’t permit it.
So the Mac turns out to be ‘just another computer’ in my opinion.
If anybody knows what causes the damn freeze ups I would be most grateful.
24 comments
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March 19, 2009 at 6:43 AM
Ultra Dave
I understand your disappointment. At school, the Macs do the same thing, at least the freezing up part. They are all just machines made by man.
March 19, 2009 at 7:20 AM
Jim
I’m not a fan of the MAC. The ex (Valdemort) had one and although it had many nifty things vs the PC, those little things weren’t enough to convert me. So you don’t want my advice… lol. The biggest thing about it was what you’re describing about no “alt-control-delete ” feature. I also think the iPhoto section sucks!
March 19, 2009 at 10:07 AM
Thomas Nguy
Are you running ‘Leopard’ as your OS? There is a bug that has been reported to cause these demon-possessed, recursive key actions. Hit your software update, system preference, and see if there available patches.
March 19, 2009 at 10:31 AM
theportablehobbit
If an application freezes, there are two ways to stop the application without having to reboot your system.
1. Click the Apple in the top left corner. Choose “Force Quit”. A window will open with all your running applications. Choose the Application that you want to stop. You will be prompted with an option to report the problem to Apple. Do, for future bug fixes. (If you were running MS Word, relaunch and a recovered version of your document will be available.)
2.) Keyboard Shortcut – Position your mouse cursor over the icon of the application in your dock. Ctrl/Click and an option will appear for Force Quit.
This way you won’t have to shut down your computer every time.
Application freezes are a little more common, but I’ve never had a Total System Freeze. Remember how on a PC *nothing* worked and you had to basically unplug it from the wall?
March 19, 2009 at 11:46 AM
jay Cole Simser
I have had to “force quit” and application now and then (I use Apple + Option +Escape) relaunch it. But the system has never acted like that. I always blamed it on downloading too much porn.
I have never had the problems you are describing. I will refer you to my guru and see what he says.
March 19, 2009 at 12:45 PM
Diederick
If I were you, I’d request a replacement computer. Stuck keys and running aground is not normal for a new computer – particularly for Mac books (or so I heard).
I tend to be a little conservative concerning computers. I specifically requested Windows XP instead of Vista when buying this one, and I steer clear from all the fabulous junk Windows tries to sell me.
Windows Life sucks.
March 19, 2009 at 1:51 PM
A Lewis
oh my god, this is a first. never. ever. have i heard anybody mac user speak poorly of his mac! i’m sorry for your troubles…there’s nothing that ruins a day faster.
March 19, 2009 at 2:14 PM
Kurt
You may also want to ‘flash’ your pram. I do it at least once a month. Here’s to do it:
1 Shut down the computer.
2 Turn on the computer and press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys.
3 Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
You should be good to go after that as far as the freezing goes. I’ve been using Macs in 1984, and love them.
March 19, 2009 at 4:19 PM
cedrorum
I have had macs in the past, and although I like their look and feel, I had the same problems you are having. Hence, the reason I buy PCs now. For the money that you pay for a mac you should never have problems and they should come to your house for free if you do. As you know we are enjoying our new PC, Vista and all (knock on wood), after our 7 1/2 year dell bit the dust last month. I didn’t have a single problem with our prior computer until the hard drive finally gave out. I’ll be sticking with PCs and Windows.
March 19, 2009 at 7:42 PM
Mark
Bummer, Spo! Sorry to hear your expectations dampened. Hope it irons out!
March 19, 2009 at 10:29 PM
Raybob
Clearly the only common denominator is … You!
Kidding, kidding, kidding. Clearly something’s wrong: follow the advice of the smart boys who post hereabd see if it doesn’t fix your troubles
macs are generally trouble-free, and I’ve been handling pcs since the dark ages of them.
March 20, 2009 at 5:11 AM
BearToast Joe
Most computers do get dirty now and then. The best remedy (particularly for lap tops) is to launch the computer, open it at at 90 degree angle, put it in the dishwasher, and run on the “pot scrubber” cycle.
Works like a dream. It REALLY fixes it! Forever.
March 20, 2009 at 1:21 PM
Greg C.
Now’s your chance to hire one of those gay techs to come over and take a look at your hard drive.
March 20, 2009 at 3:15 PM
Tony
Sorry to hear you are having trouble with your Mac Book. I can’t speak for the Mac Book as I only have an iMac, which I do truly love. I have had very little trouble with it. I have had the very rare freeze ups but I suppose all computers do it once in a while. I will say it has fewer than Windows did. I believe the main reason for freezes is that the computer may be trying to do too many things all at once and the memory resources are stretched. Anyway, I hope that the Mac starts behaving and if not well maybe you’ll find a Windows Pc that will treat you better. For now I’ll stick with my iMac.
March 20, 2009 at 3:17 PM
Tony
Ps Command/Alt/Esc will give you some help for programs not responding.
March 20, 2009 at 3:21 PM
Tony
Apologies for the the PS as I’ve just read all the other comments and see that others have already given you this tip.
March 20, 2009 at 4:37 PM
Sean
And I thought we had a bright future together as star crossed lovers in an illicit yet fiery affair…sigh…
Sorry our experiences are so vastly different. Going on 3 years with my macbook pro with nary a problem. Hope it gets fixed soon…then you can come here for a mac weekend and we can show you how to use everything…ev-ery-thing!
March 20, 2009 at 4:52 PM
Cameron
I am very surprised that your Mac laptop is experiencing these problems. They are very rare. I have been a happy Mac user for 21 years. Meanwhile, all my PC friends complain how glitchy and virus-ridden THEIR computers are.
I would hope that you invested in AppleCare, which is a 3-year warranty. Do you have it? If so, you can get your computer replaced for free.
Do these problems occur on EVERY application, or only on certain ones? It’s important to determine if the problem is due to faulty hardware or software.
March 21, 2009 at 8:27 PM
Robert
How’s your Mac running now?
I’ve worked with Macs and PCs. Like UltraDave said, they’re just machines. I work with what I have. Currently I use a PC and it’s in wonderful shape. There’s no need for me to go back to a Mac. I just don’t see the point for paying so much and have to reinvest in all new software!
My 2 cents. I wish you luck Dr. Urspo.
March 26, 2009 at 2:08 PM
Steven
Sorry to hear about the woes with the Mac. I hope that you are able to determine the cause and get things back on track. I am glad I stuck with PC a few months ago, but the Vista has taken some time to get used to.
March 29, 2009 at 1:27 AM
Daniel
As you already mentioned the main problem for some one newly migrated to Mac is lack of knowledge not the Mac itself.
I moved to Mac 3 years ago, I have also a Dell with vista for some softwares without Mac equivalent.
For me there is no way I move back to windows, not in a million times!
Did I have problems and system freeze? Sure, I had some. To be honest most of them were my fault because I didn’t know how to do something and I messed up the system sometimes. But definitely there were some incidents because of apple or Mac OS X problems. For instance I remember one update problem for leopard. but fortunately the Apple response isn’t like Microsoft, at least in my experience.
After all you should chose and use something that helps you to be more productive, relax and enjoy what you want to do. If you think Windows gives you that experience (that I really doubt) go for it, and be sure that you can find some one to grab your Mac Pro for good in an eye blink.
For me Mac made me enjoy using computer again I will never change it with anything else unless they prove they can give me better one (linux or windows or anything else , it doesn’t matter).
My suggestion is to spend more time to be familiar with your new machine before your ultimate judgment.
April 15, 2009 at 10:41 AM
Vicki
well, i had really terrible experience with my mac. was writing huge work for college and bless me and my trust into mac – didn’t even saved it in any back-up, since I believed that nothing can ever happen…. but the last night before submission I got to know that my mac can not only freeze COMPLETELY, even mouse refused to move… the worst part was that once I decided that there is no other option as only to restart it – my mac actually died. Died with my huge report and some other important documents. And in the repair centre they could not restore anything at all…. In 10 days I got my laptop back – empty as a new… Since then I don’t trust it at all, and, seriously – for a good reason….
June 23, 2009 at 6:19 AM
shannon
all you have to do is update your software and firmware.
September 9, 2009 at 4:00 PM
PossumCuber
If your mac is freezing, it probably means it’s either faulty, you went to a malicious site, or you downloaded malicious software… Macs can get viruses, but PC’s are so much worse, I had to get used to running software, even though it had a virus, and was difficult to use. (Damn Hijacker virus!!!) My main recommendation is don’t try being a |_337 cracker. Probably about half of all cracked programs contain some form of virus