dylesid

Q: My iMac early 2009 freezing issue

Quick question.

 

 

Almost every day my iMac early 2009 freezes with no reason. Only thing I can do is hard reset. What to do, what is the cause. What to provide, any log? Where to find it?

 

Please help.

 

My EtreCheck logs:

 

EtreCheck version: 2.2 (132)

Report generated 6/3/15, 8:54 PM

Download EtreCheck from http://etresoft.com/etrecheck

 

Click the [Click for support] links for help with non-Apple products.

Click the [Click for details] links for more information about that line.

 

Hardware Information: ℹ️

iMac (24-inch, Early 2009) (Verified)

iMac - model: iMac9,1

1 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU: 2-core

8 GB RAM Upgradeable

BANK 0/DIMM0

4 GB DDR3 1067 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM0

4 GB DDR3 1067 MHz ok

Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported

Wireless: en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n

 

Video Information: ℹ️

ATI Radeon HD 4850 - VRAM: 512 MB

iMac 1920 x 1200

 

System Software: ℹ️

OS X 10.10.3 (14D136) - Time since boot: 0:46:59

 

Disk Information: ℹ️

ST31000342ASQ disk0 : (1 TB)

EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

Untitled (disk0s2) / : 999.35 GB (631.93 GB free)

Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB

 

OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5670S

 

USB Information: ℹ️

Apple Inc. Built-in iSight

Microsoft Microsoft® Nano Transceiver v1.0

HGST Touro Mobile 3.0 1 TB

EFI (disk3s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

Touro (disk3s2) /Volumes/Touro : 999.86 GB (536 MB free)

Toshiba External USB 3.0 1 TB

EFI (disk2s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

Toshiba (disk2s2) /Volumes/Toshiba : 999.86 GB (72.20 GB free)

Western Digital My Book 1230 4 TB

EFI (disk1s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

My Book (disk1s2) /Volumes/My Book : 4.00 TB (2.86 TB free)

Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

 

Gatekeeper: ℹ️

Anywhere

 

Kernel Extensions: ℹ️

/Applications/Karabiner.app

[loaded] org.pqrs.driver.Karabiner (10.6.0 - SDK 10.10) [Click for support]

 

/Applications/Radio Silence.app

[loaded] com.radiosilenceapp.nke.filter (1 - SDK 10.7) [Click for support]

 

/System/Library/Extensions

[loaded] com.microsoft.driver.MicrosoftMouse (8.2) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.wacom.kext.pentablet (5.3.6 - SDK 10.9) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.wdc.driver.1394.64.10.9 (1.0.1 - SDK 10.9) [Click for support]

[loaded] com.wdc.driver.USB.64.10.9 (1.0.1 - SDK 10.9) [Click for support]

 

/System/Library/Extensions/MicrosoftMouse.kext/Contents/PlugIns

[not loaded] com.microsoft.driver.MicrosoftMouseBluetooth (8.2) [Click for support]

[loaded] com.microsoft.driver.MicrosoftMouseUSB (8.2) [Click for support]

 

Launch Agents: ℹ️

[not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist [Click for support]

[running] com.adobe.AdobeCreativeCloud.plist [Click for support]

[running] com.epson.Epson_Low_Ink_Reminder.launcher.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.epson.esua.launcher.plist [Click for support]

[running] com.extensis.FMCore.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.radiosilenceapp.agent.plist [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.teamviewer.teamviewer.plist [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.teamviewer.teamviewer_desktop.plist [Click for support]

[running] com.wacom.pentablet.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] org.macosforge.xquartz.startx.plist [Click for support]

 

Launch Daemons: ℹ️

[running] com.adobe.adobeupdatedaemon.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.radiosilenceapp.nke.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.teamviewer.Helper.plist [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.teamviewer.teamviewer_service.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.torch.update.agent.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.tunnelbear.mac.tbeard.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] org.macosforge.xquartz.privileged_startx.plist [Click for support]

 

User Launch Agents: ℹ️

[loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist [Click for support]

[failed] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist [Click for support] [Click for details]

[running] com.spotify.webhelper.plist [Click for support]

 

User Login Items: ℹ️

iTunesHelper Application (/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunesHelper.app)

Box Sync Application (/Applications/Box Sync.app)

Karabiner Application (/Applications/Karabiner.app)

Android File Transfer Agent Application (/Users/[redacted]/Library/Application Support/Google/Android File Transfer/Android File Transfer Agent.app)

WDDriveUtilityHelper Application (/Applications/WD Drive Utilities.app/Contents/WDDriveUtilityHelper.app)

BambooCore Application (/Library/Application Support/Wacom/BambooCore.app)

 

Internet Plug-ins: ℹ️

JavaAppletPlugin: Version: Java 8 Update 45 Check version

o1dbrowserplugin: Version: 5.41.0.0 - SDK 10.8 [Click for support]

Default Browser: Version: 600 - SDK 10.10

AdobeExManDetect: Version: AdobeExManDetect 1.1.0.0 - SDK 10.7 [Click for support]

AdobeAAMDetect: Version: 3.0.0.0 - SDK 10.9 [Click for support]

FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 17.0.0.188 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 11.0.0 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

Silverlight: Version: 5.1.40416.0 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

Flash Player: Version: 17.0.0.188 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3

googletalkbrowserplugin: Version: 5.41.0.0 - SDK 10.8 [Click for support]

SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.4.9 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

AdobePDFViewer: Version: 11.0.0 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

MeetingJoinPlugin: Version: Unknown - SDK 10.2 [Click for support]

 

Safari Extensions: ℹ️

Facebook Cleaner

uBlock

GooglePlus

 

3rd Party Preference Panes: ℹ️

Flash Player [Click for support]

FUSE for OS X (OSXFUSE) [Click for support]

Java [Click for support]

Microsoft Mouse [Click for support]

PenTablet [Click for support]

 

Time Machine: ℹ️

Time Machine not configured!

 

Top Processes by CPU: ℹ️

4% WindowServer

2% com.apple.WebKit.WebContent(5)

1% Box Sync Monitor

1% plugin-container

1% com.apple.WebKit.Networking

 

Top Processes by Memory: ℹ️

1.07 GB com.apple.WebKit.WebContent(5)

668 MB kernel_task

524 MB firefox

442 MB Safari

426 MB Google Chrome Helper(8)

 

Virtual Memory Information: ℹ️

62 MB Free RAM

7.94 GB Used RAM

2 MB Swap Used

 

Diagnostics Information: ℹ️

Jun 3, 2015, 08:04:24 PM Self test - passed

Jun 3, 2015, 02:08:36 PM /Users/[redacted]/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Creative Cloud_2015-06-03-140836_[redacted].crash

Jun 3, 2015, 03:44:23 AM /Users/[redacted]/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Creative Cloud_2015-06-03-034423_[redacted].crash

Jun 2, 2015, 02:36:04 PM /Users/[redacted]/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Creative Cloud_2015-06-02-143604_[redacted].crash

Jun 2, 2015, 10:29:00 AM /Users/[redacted]/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/ExManBridgeTalkCmd_2015-06-02- 102900_[redacted].crash

Jun 2, 2015, 09:41:58 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5_2015-06-02-094158_[redacted].hang

Jun 1, 2015, 02:21:43 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/discoveryd_2015-06-01-142143_[redacted].cpu_res ource.diag [Click for details]

Jun 1, 2015, 08:31:26 AM /Users/[redacted]/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/familycircled_2015-06-01-08312 6_[redacted].crash

Jun 2, 2015, 10:23:37 AM /Users/[redacted]/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/AppZapper_2015-06-02-102337_[r edacted].crash

Jun 2, 2015, 08:08:36 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/PDApp_2015-06-02-080836_[redacted].hang

Posted on Jun 15, 2015 10:44 AM

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Q: My iMac early 2009 freezing issue

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by rkaufmann87,Apple recommended

    rkaufmann87 rkaufmann87 Jun 15, 2015 11:42 AM in response to dylesid
    Level 9 (58,523 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Jun 15, 2015 11:42 AM in response to dylesid

    Under normal circumstances 8GB of RAM is enough, however something is using up a lot of your RAM. I would recommend using Activity Monitor (Applications - Utilities - Activity Monitor) to see what is taking up your RAM. If you have not used AM to do this before please refer to:

     

    Use Activity Monitor on your Mac - Apple Support

  • by Linc Davis,Helpful

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Jun 15, 2015 11:54 AM in response to dylesid
    Level 10 (207,973 points)
    Applications
    Jun 15, 2015 11:54 AM in response to dylesid

    1. This procedure is a diagnostic test. It changes nothing, for better or worse, and therefore will not, in itself, solve the problem. But with the aid of the test results, the solution may take a few minutes, instead of hours or days.

    The test works on OS X 10.7 ("Lion") and later. I don't recommend running it on older versions of OS X. It will do no harm, but it won't do much good either.

    Don't be put off by the complexity of these instructions. The process is much less complicated than the description. You do harder tasks with the computer all the time.

    2. If you don't already have a current backup, back up all data before doing anything else. The backup is necessary on general principle, not because of anything in the test procedure. Backup is always a must, and when you're having any kind of trouble with the computer, you may be at higher than usual risk of losing data, whether you follow these instructions or not.

    There are ways to back up a computer that isn't fully functional. Ask if you need guidance.

    3. Below are instructions to run a UNIX shell script, a type of program. As I wrote above, it changes nothing. It doesn't send or receive any data on the network. All it does is to generate a human-readable report on the state of the computer. That report goes nowhere unless you choose to share it. If you prefer, you can act on it yourself without disclosing the contents to me or anyone else.

    You should be wondering whether you can believe me, and whether it's safe to run a program at the behest of a stranger. In general, no, it's not safe and I don't encourage it.

    In this case, however, there are a couple of ways for you to decide whether the program is safe without having to trust me. First, you can read it. Unlike an application that you download and click to run, it's transparent, so anyone with the necessary skill can verify what it does.

    You may not be able to understand the script yourself. But variations of it have been posted on this website thousands of times over a period of years. The site is hosted by Apple, which does not allow it to be used to distribute harmful software. Any one of the millions of registered users could have read the script and raised the alarm if it was harmful. Then I would not be here now and you would not be reading this message. See, for example, this discussion.

    Another indication that the test is safe can be found in this thread, and this one, for example, where the comment in which I suggested it was recommended by one of the Apple Community Specialists, as explained here.

    Nevertheless, if you can't satisfy yourself that these instructions are safe, don't follow them. Ask for other options.

    4. Here's a general summary of what you need to do, if you choose to proceed:

    ☞ Copy a particular line of text to the Clipboard.

    ☞ Paste into the window of another application.

    ☞ Wait for the test to run. It usually takes a few minutes.

    ☞ Paste the results, which will have been copied automatically, back into a reply on this page.

    These are not specific instructions; just an overview. The details are in parts 7 and 8 of this comment. The sequence is: copy, paste, wait, paste again. You don't need to copy a second time.

    5. Try to test under conditions that reproduce the problem, as far as possible. For example, if the computer is sometimes, but not always, slow, run the test during a slowdown.

    You may have started up in safe mode. If the system is now in safe mode and works well enough in normal mode to run the test, restart as usual. If you can only test in safe mode, do that.

    6. If you have more than one user, and the one affected by the problem is not an administrator, then please run the test twice: once while logged in as the affected user, and once as an administrator. The results may be different. The user that is created automatically on a new computer when you start it for the first time is an administrator. If you can't log in as an administrator, test as the affected user. Most personal Macs have only one user, and in that case this section doesn’t apply. Don't log in as root.

    7. Load this linked web page (on the website "Pastebin.") The title of the page is "Diagnostic Test." Below the title is a text box headed by three small icons. The one on the right represents a clipboard. Click that icon to select the text, then copy it to the Clipboard on your computer by pressing the key combination command-C.

    If the text doesn't highlight when you click the icon, select it by triple-clicking anywhere inside the box. Don't select the whole page, just the text in the box.

    8. Launch the built-in Terminal application in any of the following ways:

    ☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)

    ☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.

    ☞ Open LaunchPad and start typing the name.

    Click anywhere in the Terminal window to activate it. Paste from the Clipboard into the window by pressing command-V, then press return. The text you pasted should vanish immediately.

    9. If you see an error message in the Terminal window such as "Syntax error" or "Event not found," enter

    exec bash

    and press return. Then paste the script again.

    10. If you're logged in as an administrator, you'll be prompted for your login password. Nothing will be displayed when you type it. You will not see the usual dots in place of typed characters. Make sure caps lock is off. Type carefully and then press return. You may get a one-time warning to be careful. If you make three failed attempts to enter the password, the test will run anyway, but it will produce less information. If you don't know the password, or if you prefer not to enter it, just press return three times at the password prompt. Again, the script will still run.

    If you're not logged in as an administrator, you won't be prompted for a password. The test will still run. It just won't do anything that requires administrator privileges.

    11. The test may take a few minutes to run, depending on how many files you have and the speed of the computer. A computer that's abnormally slow may take longer to run the test. While it's running, a series of lines will appear in the Terminal window like this:

    [Process started]
            Part 1 of 8 done at … sec
            …
            Part 8 of 8 done at … sec
            The test results are on the Clipboard.
            Please close this window.
    [Process completed]

    The intervals between parts won't be exactly equal, but they give a rough indication of progress. The total number of parts may be different from what's shown here.

    Wait for the final message "Process completed" to appear. If you don't see it within about ten minutes, the test probably won't complete in a reasonable time. In that case, press the key combination control-C or command-period to stop it and go to the next step. You'll have incomplete results, but still something.

    12. When the test is complete, or if you stopped it because it was taking too long, quit Terminal. The results will have been copied to the Clipboard automatically. They are not shown in the Terminal window. Please don't copy anything from there. All you have to do is start a reply to this comment and then paste by pressing command-V again.

    At the top of the results, there will be a line that begins with the words "Start time." If you don't see that, but instead see a mass of gibberish, you didn't wait for the "Process completed" message to appear in the Terminal window. Please wait for it and try again.

    If any private information, such as your name or email address, appears in the results, anonymize it before posting. Usually that won't be necessary.

    13. When you post the results, you might see an error message on the web page: "You have included content in your post that is not permitted," or "The message contains invalid characters." That's a bug in the forum software. Please post the test results on Pastebin, then post a link here to the page you created.

    14. This is a public forum, and others may give you advice based on the results of the test. They speak for themselves, not for me. The test itself is harmless, but whatever else you're told to do may not be. For others who choose to run it, I don't recommend that you post the test results on this website unless I asked you to.

    ______________________________________________________________

    Copyright © 2014, 2015 by Linc Davis. As the sole author of this work (including the referenced "Diagnostic Test"), I reserve all rights to it except as provided in the Use Agreement for the Apple Support Communities website ("ASC"). Readers of ASC may copy it for their own personal use. Neither the whole nor any part may be redistributed.

  • by dylesid,

    dylesid dylesid Jun 15, 2015 12:31 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 15, 2015 12:31 PM in response to Linc Davis

    Thank you for the very detailed instruction. Here is my results: http://pastebin.com/DAyq2Euh

     

    I will do this test also later on a fresh computer and after collapse.

  • by dylesid,

    dylesid dylesid Jun 15, 2015 1:31 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 15, 2015 1:31 PM in response to Linc Davis

    And this is the rapport after the fresh restart:

    http://pastebin.com/w267VzQ2

  • by Linc Davis,Apple recommended

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Jun 15, 2015 1:46 PM in response to dylesid
    Level 10 (207,973 points)
    Applications
    Jun 15, 2015 1:46 PM in response to dylesid

    A

     

    If possible, reinstall the original memory and see whether the freezes stop. Otherwise, remove one of the memory modules and test. Then switch and test again.

     

    B

     

    Disconnect all USB devices and test. If the freezes stop, reconnect the devices one at a time until you identify the culprit.

     

    C

    Any or all of the following third-party system modifications may be contributing to the problem:

          Microsoft Mouse

          WD Smartware

          Karabiner

          Radio Silence

    Check that all are up to date, and if they are, uninstall them, one at a time, to see whether you can determine which is at fault. A conflict between modifications may be involved.

    Any third-party software that doesn't install from the App Store or by drag-and-drop into the Applications folder, and uninstall by drag-and-drop to the Trash, is a system modification.

    Whenever you remove system modifications, they must be removed completely, and the only way to do that is to use the uninstallation tool, if any, provided by the developers, or to follow their instructions. If the software has been incompletely removed, you may have to re-download or even reinstall it in order to finish the job.

    I never install system modifications myself, and except as stated in this comment, I don't know how to uninstall them. You'll have to do your own research to find that information.

    Here are some general guidelines to get you started. Suppose you want to remove something called “BrickMyMac” (a hypothetical example.) First, consult the product's Help menu, if there is one, for instructions. Finding none there, look on the developer's website, say www.brickmymac.com. (That may not be the actual name of the site; if necessary, search the Web for the product name.) If you don’t find anything on the website or in your search, contact the developer. While you're waiting for a response, download BrickMyMac.dmg and open it. There may be an application in there such as “Uninstall BrickMyMac.” If not, open “BrickMyMac.pkg” and look for an Uninstall button. The uninstaller might also be accessed by clicking the Customize button, if there is one.

    Back up all data before making any changes.

    You will generally have to restart the computer in order to complete an uninstallation. Until you do that, there may be no effect, or unpredictable effects.

    If you can’t remove software in any other way, you’ll have to erase and install OS X. Never install any third-party software unless you're sure you know how to uninstall it; otherwise you may create problems that are very hard to solve.

    Trying to remove complex system modifications by hunting for files by name often will not work and may make the problem worse. The same goes for "utilities" such as "AppCleaner" and the like that purport to remove software.

    D

    Back up all data before proceeding.

    Launch the Font Book application and validate all fonts. You must select the fonts in order to validate them. See the built-in help and this support article for instructions. If Font Book finds any issues, resolve them.

    Start up in safe mode to rebuild the font caches. Restart as usual and test.

    Note: If FileVault is enabled in OS X 10.9 or earlier, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a software RAID, you can’t start in safe mode. In that case, ask for instructions.

    If you still have problems, then from the Font Book menu bar, select

              FileRestore Standard Fonts...

    You'll be prompted to confirm, and then to enter your administrator login password.

    Also note that if you deactivate or remove any built-in fonts, for instance by using a third-party font manager, the system may become unstable.

  • by dylesid,

    dylesid dylesid Jun 15, 2015 1:54 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 15, 2015 1:54 PM in response to Linc Davis

    Thank you, I will do the steps during the week, it is very reasonable and smart approach, thank you.

     

    I just wonder if there is any log somewhere on mu iMac, when a second before iMac crashes there is a signature error or any other information...?

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Jun 15, 2015 2:18 PM in response to dylesid
    Level 10 (207,973 points)
    Applications
    Jun 15, 2015 2:18 PM in response to dylesid

    You've already looked at the log. It's in the output of the test you ran.

  • by dylesid,

    dylesid dylesid Jun 15, 2015 4:00 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 15, 2015 4:00 PM in response to Linc Davis

    OK, I have to analyse this. Thank you.

  • by dylesid,

    dylesid dylesid Jun 17, 2015 8:06 AM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 17, 2015 8:06 AM in response to Linc Davis

    OK, this is the last one, a minute after sudden crash in the safe mode:

    http://pastebin.com/fPcABBn6

  • by Thanar,

    Thanar Thanar Mar 21, 2016 3:16 AM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 2 (290 points)
    Mar 21, 2016 3:16 AM in response to Linc Davis

    OK, so we've been having the exact same problem with 2 iMacs 11,1 for over 6 months now and have narrowed it down to RAM. We've added white a bunch of extra memory to both, both running on 20GB as I write this. Exchanging RAM modules between the two led to a situation that we're now at 2 weeks uptime on the one of them (on that machine, running DIMMs on 1333MHz seemed to be the problem, once down to 1067MHz by adding some older memory, issue was resolved), however the other is still freezing / restarting randomly. What I've noticed is that whenever that happens when there's a user at the iMac, it usually has to do with graphics-intensive stuff. Line Davis, you note on another thread that the graphics processor is failing, could you elaborate on that a bit?

     

    Here's my Diagnostic Test using Linc's script, in case someone could dig a little dipper (please do).

     

    Before you jump into to fast, same bahavior also when no BOINC clients are running, was the first thing that came into my mind as well...

  • by Eddie Jasmine,

    Eddie Jasmine Eddie Jasmine Mar 21, 2016 3:24 AM in response to Thanar
    Level 1 (63 points)
    Mar 21, 2016 3:24 AM in response to Thanar

    Hi Thanar.

     

    Do the iMac's ever just shutdown without restarting?  Also, when it next happens, could you open the Console app located in Applications > Utilities, type "previous shutdown" (without quotations) into the search box in the upper right, and post what code is listed?

  • by Thanar,

    Thanar Thanar Mar 21, 2016 3:49 AM in response to Eddie Jasmine
    Level 2 (290 points)
    Mar 21, 2016 3:49 AM in response to Eddie Jasmine

    No, they never just shut down. They occasionally restart over the weekend (login screen when I come back at Monday) and also freeze with mouse moving and sound playing.

  • by Thanar,

    Thanar Thanar Mar 23, 2016 1:00 AM in response to Eddie Jasmine
    Level 2 (290 points)
    Mar 23, 2016 1:00 AM in response to Eddie Jasmine

    It happened again today; Came back to work, crushed on the mouse button, screen came on with only the cursor alive. There was also intense HDD activity as soon as the screen came on. The machine was accessible through ssh, top reports "WindowServer" process as "stuck". Went away and prepared myself some coffee and came back to restart the machine by the power button. "previous shutdown" cause was "3".


    Got a couple of messages during the time the iMac was "frozen" that also hint to WindowServer: http://pastebin.com/s5KpAcT1

    Any ideas?