Mac Crashing Often

[TheAtwookie]

I have had my Macbook for about 9 months (got it last Christmas). In July, I upgraded the ram from 512MB to 2GB, and this past week or so upgraded the 60GB HD to a Seagate Momentum 160GB HD. I cloned the OS using SuperDuper! and then just pulled the old HD out and put it in my USB enclosure

Now I've been noticing a problem with my beloved Macbook. I am a student so every hour 5 days a week from 8-1, I get up, close my Macbook to put it to sleep, and go to my next class.

The OS has been crashing on average once per day, and I'm not sure if it's the hard drive. It mainly happens that I'll open my Macbook, and it will tell me it needs to be restarted in probably 10 different languages.

I'm not sure how to proceed. Is my hard drive faulty? Did I mess something up? Could this be resolved by reinstalling the OS? Just looking for some insight from people who know much better than I.

Thanks!

Chris

 

[TheAtwookie]

And now it will not boot period. It loads up like it's going to load the OS, and then stops and says "Your computer needs to be restarted."

Does anybody know if this is an OS corruption issue, or if my HD is actually bad? I'd appreciate the help, I can install the OS again (probably not happily, but I'll do it) if I have to.

And also, will reinstalling the OS require me to get rid of everything in my users folders (documents, photos, etc?)

Thanks.

 

[Snorrblitz]

You could try putting the old hard drive back in and see if that solves the problem.

If you use the option "Archive and Install" when re-installing OS X you won't lose your documents, photos, music and stuff like that.

 

[TheAtwookie]

Thanks! I think what I'm going to do is make reinstall using archive/install for OSX, and then make a full, bootable backup onto my old HD again (I had wiped it to use as an external and it only had 3 gigs free), and backup all my regular documents/applications to a 2nd drive I have (yes, I have too many externals LOL), and then clean install/restore apps/docs to where they should be.

If that doesn't work (e.g. hd keeps crashing), then I'll definitely be calling for a warranty exchange on the HD.

Thanks again!

 

[gnasher729]

The OS has been crashing on average once per day, and I'm not sure if it's the hard drive. It mainly happens that I'll open my Macbook, and it will tell me it needs to be restarted in probably 10 different languages.

It is most likely some hardware problem. Since you changed RAM and harddisk, they are the most likely candidates. And such problems may happen more when you wake up your computer from sleep, because (1) defective RAM might be more vulnerable when the computer is in sleep mode, and (2) a defective harddisk might be more vulnerable when the computer wakes up and has to power up the harddisk.

You should have a hardware test CD that came with your computer, check that one first. You might try reinstalling the OS, just to make sure, but it is not too likely to make a difference. If possible, try putting the original harddisk back, if that doesn't fix it put in the original RAM. If that doesn't help, back to the Apple Store.

 

[TheAtwookie]

Thanks for the insight as well Gnasher. I'm thinking the HD is the more likely candidate as I've had the ram for almost 3 months without a hitch. The hard drive is when things started happening for the negative.

I'm going to do a wipe/reinstall (I managed to get my essential files backed up, and I'll be testing it for a few days to see if the problem persists).

I'll keep updates coming as I know more info.