TT locks up a Mac Pro
by Stephen Heller · in ThinkTanks · 08/28/2009 (2:00 am) · 2 replies
I purchased a Mac Pro back in June (running OS X v10.5.6 Leopard) and have recently attempted to play Think Tanks on it. Periodically through the game the video will freeze for a few minutes. The audio seems to work as I'll hear the sound of the tank idling but nothing else. None of the keys will work, nor will the mouse respond to any movement or clicking. After a few minutes the game releases and appears to run okay for a couple of minutes then in the same game it freezes up again. This process (freeze/release) repeats several times in one game. On the fourth time it froze permanently and I was forced to reboot the Mac.
Last week I called Applecare and they advised me to take the Mac Pro to an Apple Store for repair. At the store they ran what they call a "stress test", which among other things runs 40 simultaneous games of chess and as many 3D renderings. The Mac Pro froze up while running the stress test, so they took it in for repair. Ultimately they replaced the logic board and the backplane - not the graphics card, however. When I picked it up today, they said that the Mac Pro ran as it should through the stress test, so all should be well. When I returned home I ran Think Tanks and unfortunately the game freezes & releases as described above.
Now for my question: Has anyone experienced similar (freeze/release) problems with Think Tanks on a Mac Pro?
Last week I called Applecare and they advised me to take the Mac Pro to an Apple Store for repair. At the store they ran what they call a "stress test", which among other things runs 40 simultaneous games of chess and as many 3D renderings. The Mac Pro froze up while running the stress test, so they took it in for repair. Ultimately they replaced the logic board and the backplane - not the graphics card, however. When I picked it up today, they said that the Mac Pro ran as it should through the stress test, so all should be well. When I returned home I ran Think Tanks and unfortunately the game freezes & releases as described above.
Now for my question: Has anyone experienced similar (freeze/release) problems with Think Tanks on a Mac Pro?
#2
Armed with that information, I took my Mac Pro back to the folks at the Apple Store and explained what I experienced. They spent the next two weeks changing a number of components and boards only to make the computer act even stranger for them at the shop. When I called them they informed me of the situation and that they decided to replace the computer with a brand new Mac Pro. It took an additional week to get the new Mac in and for them to transfer the data from my original disk to the new Mac Pro. At this point, they didn't wish to take additional chances with ANY previous hardware including the hard drive.
I finally brought my new Mac home and spent the next several days (time permitting) hitting it with the games I mentioned above as well as Think Tanks. The computer has worked flawlessly thus far with all of the games and when rendering 3D graphics on Vectorworks 2009.
Without trying to put down Apple or anyone at Apple, I suspect that the original Mac Pro was a lemon as it didn't matter what the techs did to it, they simply couldn't get the machine to work as it should. Once it was obvious that no amount of replacement would fix it, they did the right thing, so I have no gripes. It wouldn't surprise me if this was one of the worst computer glitches they have ever seen. I'm sure they were greatly relieved when I walked out of the store with the new computer.
I did get one unexpected plus from all of this - the new machine had Snow Leopard loaded in it! Thanks again for your help.
09/20/2009 (4:32 am)
I appreciate your timely reply as it helped me to determine a direction to go. I tried two other games I knew would press the graphics - Nanosaur II and Doom 3. Both games caused the computer to lock up shortly after beginning. Later I tried Enigmo 2 and experienced the same lockups although somewhat later in the game. Armed with that information, I took my Mac Pro back to the folks at the Apple Store and explained what I experienced. They spent the next two weeks changing a number of components and boards only to make the computer act even stranger for them at the shop. When I called them they informed me of the situation and that they decided to replace the computer with a brand new Mac Pro. It took an additional week to get the new Mac in and for them to transfer the data from my original disk to the new Mac Pro. At this point, they didn't wish to take additional chances with ANY previous hardware including the hard drive.
I finally brought my new Mac home and spent the next several days (time permitting) hitting it with the games I mentioned above as well as Think Tanks. The computer has worked flawlessly thus far with all of the games and when rendering 3D graphics on Vectorworks 2009.
Without trying to put down Apple or anyone at Apple, I suspect that the original Mac Pro was a lemon as it didn't matter what the techs did to it, they simply couldn't get the machine to work as it should. Once it was obvious that no amount of replacement would fix it, they did the right thing, so I have no gripes. It wouldn't surprise me if this was one of the worst computer glitches they have ever seen. I'm sure they were greatly relieved when I walked out of the store with the new computer.
I did get one unexpected plus from all of this - the new machine had Snow Leopard loaded in it! Thanks again for your help.
Associate David Montgomery-Blake
David MontgomeryBlake