iMac Freezing

Yes, Apple will replace your main board for just $700 (in Poland for about $1000). 😟

FINALLY SOLVED:

Everyone, you need to make an appointment with the genius bar and have it looked at. _*YOU'LL FIND THE GRAPHICS CARD HAS GONE BAD*_ - this is final. not a driver issue, sorry to inform you that your graphics card has gone kaput. This is straight out of the mouth of an apple techie at the genius bar.

My computer is out of warranty, and they were going to charge me $150ish to fix my graphics card - at which I said "Fine, I'll pay it.. but I've had it only a little over a year.. What happens in another year? Is this going to be a yearly thing? Did I make a mistake by switching?"

"And how bout the 5 people I talked into buying a mac, and my work? Did I make a mistake by telling them to switch to mac?(true story) This will be my last mac if this is what I get.."

Five minutes later they came back to me and told me they'd wave the charges (Thank you apple, very much appreciated). They told me they're replacing the logic board, and the graphics card, and possibly the hard drive. A testament to apple's great one on one customer care. *Faith in apple restored *

It's in the shop now, due to be finished end of this week. I'll report back with the results then. THANK YOU APPLE!

Well, this is definitely heat related issue.

I've had this issue for a few months now.

It's been very hot and humid last few days, and with fans on windows open, my room ambient temp has gone to 27-28 degrees from 20 or less usually.

Even using fans full on with smc fan control has struggled to contain any glitches. Today much colder and so far no glitches at all.

The question is whether it's the logic board, graphics card or something else.

Given onscreen video corruptions and freezing, I'd go for the graphics card especially as so far I've not seen any clear corruption of saved files/images to suggest it's anything other than an issue with the graphics subsystem.

Despite only graphics issues and freezes, I no longer feel I can do any important work whatsoever on this iMac, and it's about 20 months old. Any PCs I've built have lasted much longer.

I'm struggling to decide what to get next:

a) a MacMini, which is relatively expensive for the computing power but has the advantage of small form factor

b) a MacPro which I've wanted for some time, but given the reliability experience with the iMac and the cost of the Pro, I'm not sure I'm prepared to risk it

c) another iMac. As much as they're stylish, the all in one nature is a real risk as if the machine fails or is uneconomically repairable you lose the whole setup including a nice monitor.

d) a windows base unit - for the cost of the simplest MacMini I could get a 3GB RAM 2.4GHz QuadCore Intel, decent hard drive size, TV tuner, and the dog called Vista, with an easy to open case allowing me to expand/repair/mod it as I want to. The hardware attracts me from a price/performance viewpoint but I really don't want Vista.

Anyone else in the same kind of predicament, frustrated that an iMac cannot be economically repaired?

AC

Message was edited by: Alley_Cat

Well, I'm not prepared to give up on Macs. Aside from being a thing of beauty I forked over quite a few pennies for my recent iMac. It needs to continue to make me happy for at least another 3 years. :))

According to the last post, Apple must be aware of the issues if they are so willing to repair the machines, even when the warranty has expired.

Inquirer: HP, Dell and every other PC maker out there is having graphics chips fail at alarming rates due to defective Nvidia chips...

http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/07/31/hp-pays-half-nvidia-probl ems

Problem also covered by Slashdot: "Laptops With Certain NVidia Chips Failing."

http://mobile.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/08/01/0142219

Seems it's not only laptops. They also identify heat issues.

I can understand Apple's reluctance to address this issue - they certainly didn't want to start a widespread panic where the brand is concerned - but imagine the bad PR that decision has caused. I would guess it's worth $$millions. My spastic plastic (24" iMac Intel Core Duo), for example, is in the shop right now. I'll be without it for up to 5 days, and who knows what the outcome will be. In the meantime, I'm scrambling to work from my 17" PowerBook, which is adequate enough to handle what I need, but since Retrospect kept getting corrupted by frequent crashes, I had to move everything from the iMac to the external, and it's a pain trying to work around the mess this issue has created. When the iMac returns home next week (I hope), I'll have to restore everything - and you know how frustrating that can be. After months of this trouble, I'll be glad to return to normal, but it has definitely left a bad taste in my mouth.

On another, more humorous note... when I dropped the iMac off at the shop, I had to wait behind some guy who wanted his Mac cleaned. After 5 minutes of questions from the Tech, the customer finally figured out which model he had. "Yeah, yeah - that's it... the lampshade Mac... one of them iMac things." Whoa...! That's scary. Imagine having no idea what computer you're using. Imagine being the Tech on the other end of those conversations...but that's another thread 🙂 Good luck everyone with your search for a solution. I think we're much closer.

One more for the list.
Mine is a late 2006 20" with ATI 1600 256mb

This machine has been the least reliable mac I have had in 20 years.
The first machine I received had a manufacturing defect in the plastic bezel around the screen.
The second was DOA
The third replacement had a noisy fan that took 6 weeks to get fixed.
One month out of warrantee in late 2007 the hard drive failed.
Now I have this graphics issue.

Of course I don't have AppleCare, as I have never had an unreliable mac before so didn't think I would need it.

Not sure that this is temeerature related. SMC fan Control has made no difference, and yesterday my graphics started crashing at 38 degrees, the only thing that I found that did work was running off a 10.5.2 backup disk.

Several other threads to add to the list:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1593674&tstart=0

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1631698&tstart=0

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1603824&tstart=0

If Apple dont fix this for free I am seriously thinking of building a Hackintosh.

so my imac froze about 20+ times in a row earlier today, just about gave up on trying to get what I need done. it blacked out just now and I got this crash log

panic(cpu 1 caller 0x00191997): pmap flushtlbs() timeout pmap=0x4b3700 cpus tosignal=0x1
Backtrace, Format - Frame : Return Address (4 potential args on stack)
0x142330f8 : 0x128d0d (0x3cc65c 0x1423311c 0x131f95 0x0)
0x14233138 : 0x191997 (0x3cf870 0x4b3700 0x1 0x6)
0x142331a8 : 0x192c79 (0x4b3700 0x2b99e000 0x0 0x15fcac)
0x14233248 : 0x192e16 (0xb55c 0x0 0x142332b8 0x0)
0x14233268 : 0x161f8e (0xb55c 0x2b99d000 0x0 0x0)
0x14233338 : 0x1652a0 (0x1615f3c 0x142333dc 0x1 0x4b3700)
0x14233428 : 0x165cc0 (0x2b9a0000 0x0 0x1 0x0)
0x14233468 : 0x162fcf (0x1615f3c 0x2b99e000 0x0 0x2b9a0000)
0x14233498 : 0x1c38fb (0x1615f3c 0x2b99e000 0x2000 0x0)
0x14233508 : 0x1c3d93 (0x33bad68 0x1615b54 0x19b23e 0x4)
0x14233598 : 0x1c418c (0x33bad68 0xb04 0x0 0x2000)
0x142335d8 : 0x1c43ef (0x2000 0x0 0x0 0x10)
0x142335f8 : 0x2ed91c (0x33bad68 0xb04 0x0 0x2000)
0x14233668 : 0x3173e0 (0x33bad68 0xb04 0x0 0x14233734)
0x14233688 : 0x315bf8 (0x3078e04 0xb04 0x14233734 0x19e23a)
0x14233778 : 0x2f198b (0x33aa410 0x2b33004 0x142338cc 0x142338de) Backtrace continues...

Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 8.11.1: Wed Oct 10 18:23:28 PDT 2007; root:xnu-792.25.20~1/RELEASE_I386

Model: iMac5,1, BootROM IM51.0090.B09, 2 processors, Intel Core 2 Duo, 2.16 GHz, 1 GB
Graphics: ATI Radeon X1600, ATY,RadeonX1600, PCIe, 128 MB
Memory Module: BANK 0/DIMM0, 512 MB, DDR2 SDRAM, 667 MHz
Memory Module: BANK 1/DIMM1, 512 MB, DDR2 SDRAM, 667 MHz
AirPort: spairport wireless_card_type_airportextreme (0x14E4, 0x87), Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (4.170.46.5)
Bluetooth: Version 1.9.5f4, 2 service, 1 devices, 1 incoming serial ports
Network Service: Built-in Ethernet, Ethernet, en0
Serial ATA Device: ST3250824AS Q, 232.89 GB
Parallel ATA Device: MATSHITADVD-R UJ-846, 128.97 MB
USB Device: Built-in iSight, Micron, Up to 480 Mb/sec, 500 mA
USB Device: Hub in Apple Pro Keyboard, Mitsumi Electric, Up to 12 Mb/sec, 500 mA
USB Device: Apple Optical USB Mouse, Primax Electronics, Up to 1.5 Mb/sec, 100 mA
USB Device: USB Printer, EPSON, Up to 12 Mb/sec, 100 mA
USB Device: Apple Pro Keyboard, Mitsumi Electric, Up to 12 Mb/sec, 250 mA
USB Device: Akai MPD32, Akai, Up to 12 Mb/sec, 500 mA
USB Device: Bluetooth USB Host Controller, Apple, Inc., Up to 12 Mb/sec, 500 mA
USB Device: IR Receiver, Apple Computer, Inc., Up to 12 Mb/sec, 500 mA
FireWire Device: d2 Quadra (button), LaCie, Up to 400 Mb/sec
FireWire Device: Big Disk Extreme+ (button), LaCie, Up to 400 Mb/sec

I too am experiencing these issues on my 20" CoreDuo. The fan trick has helped but it looks like I need to haul it in and keep my fingers crossed it's not going to cost me a fortune. I've never owned anything but a Mac and I'm not ready to jump ship over one bad box but this is the first time I've ever been let down by Apple. I hope it's not a trend.

Some further observations.

It's not exclusive to Tiger or Leopard, nor AMD or nVidia.

Leopard causes additional graphical glitches I do not see in Tiger.

It seems to be definitely heat related.

Is there a driver contribution?

I mainly run Tiger on the iMac (20" late 2006 Core 2Duo).

It's been quite cool the last few days and I've had generally low temps and virtually no graphcial glitches except for the time I accidentally tried to move SMCFanControl from it's download location (I hadn't dragged it to Apps for some reason). When I next restarted the machine without SMCFanControl I had glitches within seconds of logging in. Resinstalling and all fine again until today when it's been warmer (ambient 26C compared to 18-20C last few days).

I've now installed Leopard on an external drive, all updates applied.

Within minutes of use I get the corrupted horizontal lines - these are all I see on Tiger apart from freezes if really bad.

Then dragging Windows left magenta gradients where the shadows normally are.

Next scrolling in Safari gave triangular gradient filled or corrupted glitches I never see with Tiger.

iStatPro however showed that the problems seemed to be happening at lower temps in Leopard - GPU only reading 40-41C with issues - they don't appear until high 40's C in Tiger - still very low IMO.

Adding smcFanControl to Leopard and so far glitches diminished, until I guess I do some intensive work.

Some thoughts:

1) Wanted to try booting from external drive to see if it would generally reduce temps in iMac - seems not despite ejecting the internal drive which I would hope would spin it down at the very least.

2) Considered how much heat the iMac display might be generating - thought why not run it with another monitor connected via DVI, then realised I don't think there's a way of turning the internal display off in use.

I've not yet lost any critical work or seen any obviously corrupted files so it seems mainly to affect the VRAM - nevertheless I don't trust the machine for anything important anymore.

Was tempted to buy a cheap Windows box, but can't really see the point as most of the stuff I want to do now relies on the Mac.

So the quandary:

1) replace the iMac with an Al iMac, but they have issues too, and boy do they feel hot to the touch compared to the white ones

2) get a Mac Mini, though they seem a bit expensive these days, and get an external display

3) MacPro - best option bar expense, but there seem to be some hardware issues mentioned in the Mac Pro forum

AC
AC

Hello

I was wondering whether someone could tell me whether I may have the same problem.

I bought an iMac 20" in May (because I switched to a little 13" Macbook last year and it is AMAZING). It was OK at first but now freezes regularly. I had one incident of colourful screen tearing some weeks ago but none since, however, it freezes nearly daily. I have stopped as much as possible on start up and cannot really identify a pattern. Just sometimes something will stop working and I know it is time to restart but Force Quit won't work and I end up pressing the start button. The Macbook is perfect. No problems, no freezes and I do all the same stuff and run all the same programmes (very little graphics or video - nearly all text based and a bit of Keynote). The only difference on the iMac is the external hard drive. I have stopped using Time Machine because I was sure that was causing a problem as it was always turning and never getting anywhere but it hasn't cured everything.

I have also noticed that there is always a sort of gradient effect on the screen - I use a large spreadsheet that has alternately coloured rows and the colour is much brighter and stronger at the top of the screen - this same effect happens on the second monitor but does not happen with the document on the Macbook.

I have AppleCare but I want to do some investigating and work out what my issues might be and be well armed before I do anything. I am lucky enough to have this amazing little Macbook so I can put the iMac in if it needs to go. I have been running the Macbook continuously, moving it around, place to place, with WinXP in Parallels sitting running in the background for weeks and it hasn't required a restart. What a machine.

Deb

Your problem sound suspiciously like mine - but no matter what, get that MacBook in to the shop right away. Don't let it get any worse, because I suspect that it will. I initially thought that this issue was related to the 24" iMac, but I'm beginning to wonder, since I'm seeing similar symptoms (to varying degrees) on other products... and still no word from Apple. I like to refer to it as "Apple Area 51" syndrome. There's a serious problem, and everyone knows it exists, but the 'powers that be' refuse to acknowledge its existence. My iMac has been in the shop for more than a week now, and still no word of its status. I'm trying to do heavy duty work on my 17" G4 PowerBook - it handles it, but it took a great deal of time to configure it after I lost the iMac. When (or if) the iMac comes home, I have to go through it all again. The product is amazing - I agree - but the quality control, tech support and followup leaves a great deal to be desired. I'll tell you this much - that iMac had better come home with an assurance that I will never see these problems again.

Thank you for your reply.

I'm sorry I wasn't very clear - I have a MacBook that is amazing and great and never skips a beat in 18 months.

So I bought an iMac in April and it is the iMac that has the freezing and graphical stuff. But not nearly as bad as everyone on this forum - just irritating when I have a MacBook that handles anything I can throw at it, including being dropped itself.

I installed smc to assess the heat but when I'm using it at its height it is only ever around 40C - not very warm - though it is winter here.

I think I will try a complete reinstall and bit by bit install things over a few days and see how it goes - I still have 2 1/2 years of AppleCare left.

Deb

today my screen went white, something new I guess. it boggles my mind that this p.o.s. usually freezes on the lightest things, like when i use the arrow keys to go down a list of addresses in the url in safari, or moving the cursor through a word in textedit. really? i mean, really? I have my fan running at 4200 rpm and it's still usually at 93F at best to 100 on average, to 122+ at worst.

every product my family has purchased from apple has been buggy. the tibook fell aparat, the g4 iMac had a faulty logic board and screen, my first ipod had a faulty HD, my last ipod had dead pixels and a clickwheel that would randomly move up and down and damage my ears. the only thing keeping me on them is the fact that i've been using them since 2002 and windows isn't any better. but that's no excuse for apple, a company started by so-called progressively-minded individuals, to turn into a bottom line-obsessed greedy pig that can't even address a serious and possibly widespread hardware issue affecting loyal customers who've been speaking highly and getting others to switch for almost 7 years.

here are some recent screen captures of the graphics problems (not nearly as annoying as constant freezing 12+ times a day, but still troublesome).

http://gribblecake.com/FileShare/Pictures/Mac/Picture%2013.png
http://gribblecake.com/FileShare/Pictures/Mac/Picture%2018.png
http://gribblecake.com/FileShare/Pictures/Mac/Picture%2019.png
http://gribblecake.com/FileShare/Pictures/Mac/Picture%2036.png
http://gribblecake.com/FileShare/Pictures/Mac/Picture%2037.png
http://gribblecake.com/FileShare/Pictures/Mac/Picture%2038.png
http://gribblecake.com/FileShare/Pictures/Mac/Picture%2039.png
http://gribblecake.com/FileShare/Pictures/Mac/Picture%2040.png

So how hot is hot? I am using SMC to keep temperature reasonable - should I aim for 100 F or what?

I have had a couple freeze's and horizontal lines, not as bad as what everyone else on thread has had, but I want to keep it that way!

Thanks so much for any insights

-Tom