Computer problem

[sofiaviolet]

Ever since getting a new battery for my laptop (the old one being rather swollen, to the point of interfering with the trackpad in its upward expansion, for several months), I've been experiencing random reboots.

I can't be sure of the immediate cause, because it always happens when I step out of the room, to get myself a snack or something. This morning, I left to pee, came back and started getting dressed, and then heard the little startup noise.

My suspicion is that it has something to do with requiring my password to wake it up, as I had no problems between getting the new battery and turning that feature on. I've now turned that feature off and will see if I can go a week without my computer restarting itself when I look away. However, I post this in case anyone has any better ideas.

The laptop in question is a Macbook from mid to late 2007, running 10.6.6. (Actually, maybe it's related to the most recent software update. I can't remember whether I turned on "require password to wake" before or after updating to 10.6.6, and I can't remember which of those was just before I started having issues.)

Comments

[holyschist]

A battery connector/sleep switch problem should run about $60-90, if that's the issue (the part is about $30 and theoretically only moderately difficult to replace yourself, but that would be a gamble; reseating it would be free, but again, gamble).

[sofiaviolet]

Oh hooray! I'm not sure I would do it myself but I live with an ECE major who probably has the necessary skills.

[holyschist]

If they do and are willing to check it out, it probably wouldn't hurt anything. However, if it persists, I'd really recommend going to a licensed non-Apple repair place. When I took mine in they charged me $60 for labor to diagnose it and reseat the switch (it would have cost more to replace it if that had been necessary) and I have the peace of mind of knowing it wasn't my logic board.

Yeah, the Genius Bar is...really not there for actual hardware problems. Sometimes they can give you an educated guess, or tell you it doesn't seem to be a software problem.