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I am using a 13-inch Mid 2012 MacBook Pro that I got about an year ago. I am a writer and work primarily on Word, Safari & Preview. And I work on the machine for an average of about 16-18 hours a day.

It's become slow several times and I have already re-installed the OS twice. I installed Mac OS X 10.9.4 Mavericks after it was released and I upgraded my RAM so that it has 10 GB of RAM instead of the standard 4 GB RAM.

Still the MacBook Pro has become slow again and—more problematically—it has started shutting down without any warning or any notice after re-start.

I cleaned the Mac, reset SMC and increased the free space on it. Still the crashing problem continues.

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  • @Tetsujin might be on to something with regards to heat - in what environment are you using the laptop? Is it sitting on a table or something else?
    – Lizzan
    Aug 31, 2014 at 7:25

3 Answers 3

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Sudden shut-downs I would always attribute to heat - dust/fluff collecting in the fans & heat sink fins. It takes more than a quick run-round with a duster or a can of air to properly clean out the fins; it needs splitting open & getting in properly - even so far as replacing the heat sink paste.
It's not a job for a beginner, especially on a laptop, but the guys at the Genius bar ought to be able to steer you in the right direction.

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Word, Safari and Preview won't overload any machine with 10Gb of RAM. I'm going with heat too.

Most laptops have cooling issues, esp. in extended use. Try the following:

  • Always use it on a hard surface. No fabric at all. A metal surface is even better.

  • Keep the room temperature below 26 degrees

  • No direct sunlight

  • Put a small fan behind the screen, blowing toward the vents in the hinge. A cheap 10cm USB fan is fine, we just want some air movement. (but don't plug it into the laptop)

2 years old shouldn't have severe dust problems unless the environment has severe dust problems (like a cat). However, heat damage is cumulative. If the hardware is already shutting down because it has been overheated in the past then it's not possible to repair it.

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You, also, might try a laptop stand that elevates the machine and/or has fans or some other kind of cooling component built-in.

That duration of daily work would really be more appropriate for a desktop computer. For that matter, desktop computers are the more logical choice for any work which does not require bringing a specific computer into the field and/or around to various locations throughout the workday. Not only are you putting excessive wear on the machine, you're putting excessive wear on your body. Ergonomically, you want a screen to be eye-level when your head is facing straight ahead and a keyboard to meet your hands where your shoulders and elbows are at their natural positions of bent rest. This is impossible with a laptop and results in notable damage to the neck and wrists, initially, with other spinal and hip problems to follow. For the sake of your body, which cannot be replaced at the Apple Store when it goes bad, please, look into getting an iMac or Mac Mini.

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