# Macbook shuts down when watching Youtube



## Pripman (Feb 12, 2011)

Today i wathced a video on youtube, when my macbook suddenly shut down. I started the computer again and nothing seemed to be wrong. I retried watching the same video and it happened again! Then tried another video and same thing! I went into disk utility and tried to check disk, and it didn't report any problems.. I then repaired the other option, I think its called disk permits(My os is danish so I dont know the english term).. And now I can watch a youtube video without a problem... Should I be Worried that something is wrong with my hardware, or do you think it could be a software issue(maybe something with flash and safari)??

Its a Macbook pro unibody late 2008 2,4 ghz, 4 gigs ram, 250 gb harddrive


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## djackmac (Feb 12, 2011)

Looks like a GPU issue or else one or a heat issue. Possibly one or both fans is not functioning or excessive dust buildup inside the heatsink vents and fans. This more than likely applies to you.


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## edadams (Feb 13, 2011)

Have you installed the latest version of flash? 
Can you browse to other flash based websites?
Try these-
http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/
http://www.chemgapedia.de/vsengine/info/en/help/requirements/flash.html
http://www.flashvideofactory.com/test/DEMO720_Heima_H264_500K.html


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## djackmac (Feb 13, 2011)

edadams said:


> Have you installed the latest version of flash?
> Can you browse to other flash based websites?
> Try these-
> http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/
> ...



Maybe you didn't catch the symptoms. The machine is shutting down while watching flash content. I can see a browser crash possibly if it were just a flash problem, but the latest version of Safari will still run even if a plug-in crashes now.


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## edadams (Feb 13, 2011)

Yes I did catch the symptoms... personally I like to approach a problem with small steps, the link you provided relates to video corruption not a total shutdown.


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## djackmac (Feb 13, 2011)

edadams said:


> Yes I did catch the symptoms... personally I like to approach a problem with small steps, the link you provided relates to video corruption not a total shutdown.



Small useless steps. When an integrated GPU, processor, or logic board for that matter gets hot enough, it will cause a total shutdown. I see these symptoms almost daily with these particular machines and it is a known issue with the NVidia GPU or else an overheating issue. Extremely and highly doubtful its software related.


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## edadams (Feb 13, 2011)

Wow, this is supposed to be a community help site?? I will not get into a slagging match like you have just done....
All I will say is that you do not have enough info to make that kind of diagnosis, no matter what you see everyday. I have seen enough weird stuff to know that an objective approach is needed, it could be any number of things and software is the first step of elimination.
My opinion, which is not useless.


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## djackmac (Feb 14, 2011)

edadams said:


> Wow, this is supposed to be a community help site?? I will not get into a slagging match like you have just done....
> All I will say is that you do not have enough info to make that kind of diagnosis, no matter what you see everyday. I have seen enough weird stuff to know that an objective approach is needed, it could be any number of things and software is the first step of elimination.
> My opinion, which is not useless.



If you are really a "MacTech" like you call yourself or a tech of any kind, you'd probably know about the NVidia graphics chip issue these models of macbook pros are notoriously known to have and many other brands of portables have. Also you'd know that this is anything but a bad plug-in that is making this machine shut down.


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## edadams (Feb 14, 2011)

I know of it very well, its not always the first thing that springs to mind.

Look I would appreciate if you would refrain from insulting me like this on a public forum, its not cool, if you wish to take this offline. PM me and I will let you know in private what an 'elitist jerk' you are.


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## chevy (Feb 14, 2011)

Men, stop fighting.

Pripman is asking for help, not for a geek competition. Please calm down and propose a sound way for Pripman to sort out his issue.

Thanks for the continuous and valuable support you provide here for long time.


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## edadams (Feb 14, 2011)

Help was offered....
I always eliminate software first, then look to hardware.

This model has a 9600M GT video card, not the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT that is problematic according to Apple.

My approach-
Update flash
Test other flash video sites
Is it repeatable?
Test another user
Test another browser
Does it happen when using cpu or vide intensive apps other than flash in a browser?

If possible test another OS booting from FW/USB drive

Stress test using Cinebench or the like
Memtest repeat for at least 50 cycles


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## djackmac (Feb 14, 2011)

edadams said:


> I know of it very well, its not always the first thing that springs to mind.
> 
> Look I would appreciate if you would refrain from insulting me like this on a public forum, its not cool, if you wish to take this offline. PM me and I will let you know in private what an 'elitist jerk' you are.



How am I insulting you? I called your bluff basically and questioned your integrity. This happens in politics all the time and is not considered insulting. You are the one that that threw the first insult calling me an 'elitist jerk'.

Anyway, my approach is to skip the software troubleshooting unless there is a good reason to believe this has anything to do with software which I highly doubt. It is literally 10 screws to remove the bottom pan on this model. Pull the bottom pan and inspect the fan and heatsink for being clogged or dust filled. While your at it look for any accidental liquid spills that might have occurred and slipped in through the back vents since I've seen several of these units fall victim to liquid spills after liquid came in through the back vents. I did just notice that this machine is a late 2008 for which it does not have the problematic GPU. But I still would suspect a GPU or overheating issue over software all day long. If it is still under Applecare take advantage of it.


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## edadams (Feb 14, 2011)

We are not politicians....and yes I considered it insulting to have my methods called 'useless' and 'If you are really a "MacTech" like you call yourself or a tech of any kind' We are here to help and if we disagree on matters thats fine but don't be pulling this. Just deal with the fact that you may be wrong and there are other methods to consider.

Yes it may be a hardware issue, it could be RAM, hard drive or a faulty logic board, the GPU is not the only source of these faults.
As i said before, I always start with the basics, I do not jump to conclusions as that type of mentality can hinder your methods and cause time wasting.

I am not here for you to 'bow to my greatness' as you put it, then removed the comment, I am here to provide help.


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## djackmac (Feb 14, 2011)

edadams said:


> As i said before, I always start with the basics, I do not jump to conclusions as that type of mentality can hinder your methods and cause time wasting.



Everybody has their way, and you can call it jumping to conclusions if you see it that way. But if you want to talk about time wasting, that whole list of things you listed on a previous thread is going to waste plenty of time and likely yield little results except maybe throw a "false positive" so to speak where different software configurations and environments can show vastly different symptoms and anomalies in a situation like this or else make the issue look like its solved until other symptoms arise. How much time would it actually take to pull the bottom pan and check for clogged air vents/dust/spillage compared to the hoops you would have the user jump through? I guess I assume those that choose to claim they are techs have the experience to know better than to follow the systematic approach used by paper techs because they lack the experience to skip the baby steps and possibilities of producing false positives.


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## edadams (Feb 14, 2011)

Yeah so getting the user to pull the machine apart is your first step....
Im done with this thread and your arrogant answers, you stick to your methods and i will carry on doing it on paper.


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## Pripman (Feb 14, 2011)

Guys...

I appriciate the the help. But didn't mean to start a war.. Its really hard to make conclussions based on updating software etc. Cause it doesn't happen any more. 
 However I find it pretty strange that all the times it happened it was a youtube video.. My quistion is do you think i should worry to the extend of taking it to the dealer for a for them to take a closer look (wich cost quit a bit where i'm from)?? Or should I leave it as it is.. It should be mentioned that I have used programs that are very CPU demanding since the last time it happened (COD modern warfare, pro tools, ableton live etc..) so I doubt that it could be caused by over heating..


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## Pripman (Feb 14, 2011)

Also Djackmac: How hard is it to to get to the coolers? Is it just removing the battery or do I have to tare the whole machine apart?

Extra info: no apple care or warrenty


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## djackmac (Feb 14, 2011)

Pripman said:


> Also Djackmac: How hard is it to to get to the coolers? Is it just removing the battery or do I have to tare the whole machine apart?



Turn the machine off. Flip it over and remove the battery door. Pull tab on battery to remove battery. Then for the bottom case there are 10 #0 Phillips head screws. Remove the screws and pay attention to which go where because 3 of the top screws are much longer than the remaining 7 screws. From there you will have access to the logic board, RAM, HD, optical drive, heatsink vent and fans. No further take-apart should be needed for a decent internal cleaning. With a can of compressed air you should be able to do a decent job of cleaning the fans and heatsink vents. If it is extremely filthy than further take-apart would be needed to possibly get to underside of logic board and remove the heatsink from the logic board and reapply thermal paste, but this should not be necessary unless the machine is very dirty inside.


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