I have a 2020 MacBook Pro with M1 processor running Sequoia 15.5, the latest OS.

The symptoms:

1) the computer randomly shuts down and reboots, and generates a crash report to send to Apple.

2) The Brave browser just quit working, i.e. would not start reporting a corrupt file. I downloaded a new version, and had the same problem. Rebooted machine, and suddenly Brave was fine.

3) Safari crashed, and is in an endless look with errors on SafariBookmarksSyncAgent, and asks me to send a report to Apple.

4) Google Earth crashed and will not restart under any circumstances I have tried.

5) a number of annoyance issues, like a browser that will no longer open a new tab, or respond to the mouse. The rest of the system will, just not the browser (true in Safari, Brave, and DuckDuckGo).

The random hard crashes seem systematic of hardware failures, but the refusal of applications that I use literally everyday suddenly becoming flaky, sounds more like software (OS) issues. Not sure when the upgrade to MacOS 15.5 occurred, but I don't think my problems arose immediately after the update. A low-level driver might have been upgraded, but the symptoms are random and un-reproducible.

I did use the Disk Utility to verify my disk, though that seemed an unlikely cause, and the disk is fine.

Right now, my options appear to be:

1) Restore my system from TimeMachine
2) Re-install MacOS and restore my files from TimeMachine
3) Get a new computer

Has anyone had success with Apple actually fixing a cmputer? I looked into scheduling a repair appointment at an Apple store, but it looks like their main business is fixing cracked screens, not diagnosing internal hardware errors.

Anyone have insight to share on this? TIA

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DrDan,

quote:

Right now, my options appear to be:

1) Restore my system from TimeMachine

I might be wrong, but I think TimeMachine backups don’t go that deep into system software.

I suggest a Genius Bar appointment.

Just wondering, did you try the D command on startup?

Watching.....

I would probably go w/ option 2.....

quote:

Originally posted by DrDan:
Has anyone had success with Apple actually fixing a cmputer? I looked into scheduling a repair appointment at an Apple store, but it looks like their main business is fixing cracked screens, not diagnosing internal hardware errors.

Anyone have insight to share on this? TIA

Be prepared to be without it for a bit as they'll have it shipped-off to Cupertino or, a regional warranty center and have it evaluated. Sounds like a deeper issue that they'll need to spend some time on.

Smells like a corrupted system library to me. I'd go with booting into Recovery and reinstalling the OS from the 'net if you don't have installation media.

It wouldn't hurt to zero out the disk (reformat) first.

Your Time Machine backup can be used post-OS install to restore your home and other non-system data.

Hardware suspects might be bad RAM, or a flaky CPU register. However, macOS has gotten pretty good at noticing and informing of this. The crash dump is intimidating, but not that hard to decipher if you apply a little common sense.

A Genius Bar appointment is not a terrible idea. Just be sure that you can reproduce the problem at will. If they can't fix it, my experience is that you will walk away with a replacement machine. They will have installation media which makes the OS reinstall much quicker than doing it over the wire/air.

quote:

2) Re-install MacOS and restore my files from TimeMachine

this would be my first step if that doesn't work 5 years is going to be out of warranty I'd contact these guys, they're the only repair shop I'd ever use.
https://rossmanngroup.com/

I had a similar situation with a slightly older MacAir. Took it to the Genius Bar, 30 minutes later my laptop was back running (better than before - they cleared out unused cr*p). For me, it was worth it.

I think, remembering back that far, the machine has a fan.

It could be overheating either because the fan has either stopped working or is clogged with dust.

I would first try blowing out and vacuuming all the dust and debris you can.

Sometimes, that is all it takes to lower the temperature inside and stop the crashing.

Try that and see what happens.

Another thought:
System Settings => General => Storage
To see if you’re running low on memory.

Along the lines of the above, have you been getting any "running out of memory" notifications?

Do you have anything plugged into the USB ports?
Or a monitor?

My company issued MacBook did this with a bad USB device.

I am having the same issue with my UI team using 2021 MacBooks. (Most devs are windows home users that professionally develop on a Mac due to closer reality with ALL web browsers) Our hardware department has noticed that 8 out of 12 are running hot when using two monitors, actually one, the MacBook itself and one on the USB. They're thinking it's a fan issue. "Thinking" being the key word there. A side note is two MacBooks have been replaced due to general unreliability but the replacements have been bullet proof. This does seem like an Apple hardware problem but it could be some firmware/OS driver not behaving as it should. If the attached hardware is not acting properly the correct response from the OS is to shut the bad behavior down and let the user know. Sorry, zero help on this one but just a bit of insight on my most recent experience in dealing with MacBooks. The "Genius" bar seems like a good place to start.

If you have Time Machine backup, and even better, if you have stored everything under your Apple ID in the iCloud, repair of your system is simple.

Use the internet recovery method. Ensure you first perform hard disk first aid, and create a new partition. Then, have the OS from the internet placed on the machine. Then run all the updates. Then install all the apps that you actually use (not ALL of them!). Then, keep on truckin’

Lots of web resources on how to do this, so I won’t bore you with step by step here.

Complete certified Apple ignorant but those described are consistent with temp issues as diagnosed above.

I would start with blowing compressed air where it makes sense.

0-0

Thanks for the suggestions, here's an update.

Here's what I have done:

- booted into Recovery Mode, and ran disk checks, all is clean

- unplugged the 2 external USB drives I used for backups

- after an extended time ( half a day) with the machine off, I restarted it normally

So far, it has run flawlessly for at least 12 hours. It is cool, and all the software that previously gave me grief loads and runs perfectly. In fact, the computer is more responsive than it has been for quite awhile.

All this leads me to suspect either the 2 USB drives were drawing enough power to eventually over-heat the computer, or perhaps one of the USB drives itself is causing an issue, as some people in this thread have suggested. There is no fan or air vents for me to clean. If all stays hunky-dory today, I will start to plug the USB drives back in and see if it is one of the drives. Most likely, I think now, the 2 drives simply over-heated the computer.

I'll update again if I isolate the exact cause.

Thank everyone!

Unpopular opinion: reinstall system, but do not use a backup, so that you can test it with a clean configuration.

If the issues occur on a fresh install as well it`s something with the Macbook itself

I would keep those two drives unplugged until it's time to do your backups. As soon as you plug them in they will be indexed by spotlight and peg your cpu usage, you can disable that with spotlight privacy settings.

I wouldn't use time machine for backups, carbon copy cloner is a more reliable choice.

I always stay about one OS version behind, ie macos sonoma, don't be a beta tester.

I had the spinning drives in my 27" iMac and TimeCapsule both start to fail at the same time in 2021. iMac drive was corrupted, and backups were corrupted. Luckily I was able to recover everything but it was a tense couple days.

I now have an M3 iMac with a maxed out internal drive - 2TB, and two 2TB Thunderbolt 4 external drives (each an OWC chassis with PCIE card installed). One drive is a Carbon Copy Cloner backup that is bootable, and the other is a Time Machine backup. Both are bus powered and I have not seen any issues.

Belt and Suspenders. I will never use spinning drives again, they all fail at around the 4 year mark. SSD drives are better, but can still fail, hence the dual backup strategy.

Seems the OP problem is mostly solved but every Mac owner should run ClamXAV virus/malware software. It's shareware, updated frequently, inexpensive, unobtrusive, and it works. Mac virus/Malware/Trojan Horses are less common than Windows, but they still exist.

I spoke too soon, the computer died again. The Genius Bar ran detailed hardware diagnostics and verified bad memory. A new logic board is on order. ☹️