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System Freezes Randomly after 10.6.3 Update

Hi,

I have seen other people post various other problems they have experienced after 10.6.3. But I want to dedicate this thread specifically to Macs freezing randomly during operation after applying the 10.6.3 update.

It has happened twice in the past 24 hours. While using my iMac, the system becomes unresponsive and exhibits the following symptoms:

1. Though the mouse pointer moves, I cannot click on icons, links, select text or interact with anything using the mouse.
2. The system is also unresponsive to key presses on the keyboard, whether they be individual key presses or pre-defined keyboard shortcuts.
3. The only way to make the system respond is by holding down the power button until the iMac shuts down.

I cannot tell if the problem is related to the specific activity I was performing on the Mac - the freezing may seem random to me but it could be caused by the same event (maybe Flash, Javascript, or some background program)

If you are having the same issue, please post here by copying and pasting the text below and entering your answers:

1. Problem started happening after 10.6.3 update? Yes/No
2. Did you get any errors during 10.6.3 update process? Yes/No
3. Mouse cursor moves? Yes/No
4. Mouse clicking does nothing? Yes/No
5. Keyboard key presses do nothing? Yes/No
6. Only way to re-animate system is by holding down power button? Yes/No
7. Mouse/Keyboard Model?

I'll fill in mine to start:
1. Problem started happening after 10.6.3 update? Yes
2. Did you get any errors during 10.6.3 update process? No
3. Mouse cursor moves? Yes
4. Can you click anything with the mouse? No
5. Does the system respond to keyboard key presses? No
6. Only way to re-animate system is by holding down power button? Yes
7. Mouse/Keyboard Model? Magic Mouse/Apple Aluminum KB w/number pad

iMac 24" (Late 2008), Mac OS X (10.6.3)

Posted on Mar 30, 2010 11:06 PM

Reply
682 replies

Jul 18, 2017 6:18 PM in response to sherifhanna

You may hear something like "Rise from you grave" after my reply, but I've just signed up for Apple's Support Community to share my experience and how this thread helped me.


I bought a Mid 2007 20" iMac a few months ago and began experiencing this freezing issue as well.


After reading a lot of threads I got to this one and followed the steps on page 45. However, I could not get both Hiren's and Ultimate Boot CD to recognize my keyboard (No legacy USB support maybe?) so I downloaded a Windows 7 PE ISO and used it for both operations: reading the ROM from the VGA and writing the 2400 one.


I also ran into an issue where AtiFlash.exe would complain about not finding a DLL even though it was in the same folder. Downloaded ATi WinFlash 2.6.7 (instead of 2.4.7) and it worked like a charm!


Then I ran it with the -s switch to Save the old ROM, and then with the -p switch do Program the new one. Everything went fine and I'm a happy person now!


As for the "blind recovery CD", burned 15 of them but always got an error saying "This program cannot be run in DOS mode" so I gave up and flashed the ROM "commando style" and you should do it as well!

Mar 31, 2010 1:29 AM in response to sherifhanna

I have had the same problem after update to 10.6.3.

1. Problem started happening after 10.6.3 update? Yes
2. Did you get any errors during 10.6.3 update process? No
3. Mouse cursor moves? No (when my machine freeze randomly... my mouse can moves per 5 seconds... and freeze too)
4. Can you click anything with the mouse? No
5. Does the system respond to keyboard key presses? No
6. Only way to re-animate system is by holding down power button? Yes
7. Mouse/Keyboard Model? Magic Mouse + MacBook Pro's Keyboard

Mar 31, 2010 8:44 AM in response to ericsantos.net

I have the same problem noted above on my late 2006 MBP with the exact same symptoms noted by Eric Santos:

1. Problem started happening after 10.6.3 update? Yes
2. Did you get any errors during 10.6.3 update process? No
3. Mouse cursor moves? No, mouse can move for a few seconds then freezes.
4. Can you click anything with the mouse? No
5. Does the system respond to keyboard key presses? Caps-lock can be toggled.
6. Only way to re-animate system is by holding down power button? Yes
7. Mouse/Keyboard Model? On-board keyboard and trackpad

Mar 31, 2010 11:46 AM in response to sherifhanna

Then, I recommend that you revert back to 10.6.2, run Disk Utility from the install disc, and then run the Apple Hardware Test program, extended tests. If everything passes, reinstall the 10.6.2 COMBO update, ensure it works without issues, and retry the 10.6.3 update. Personally, I make bootable clones and use those to restore when updates get wonky.

Mar 31, 2010 1:49 PM in response to sherifhanna

1. Yes
2. No
3. Yes
4. Yes
5. Yes
6. Yes

Update process was as per usual:
1) restart into single user mode
2) fsck -fy then exit
3) repair permissions using Disk Utility
4) restart
5) clone start-up disk
6) restart
7) install COMBO update.

However on each update from 10.6 I've had problems a few hours into using the new upgrade. The 10.6.2 upgrade required me to restore from a back-up clone, but the 10.6.3 one seems to be having it's own problems.

It can be anywhere from 5 minutes to 5 hours between failures, and it usually starts with the network being dropped, followed by an inability to open the network preference pane, followed by the freezing of just about everything that's currenty running. Can't even open spotlight to run activity monitor.

Mar 31, 2010 2:14 PM in response to sherifhanna

1. Problem started happening after 10.6.3 update? Yes
2. Did you get any errors during 10.6.3 update process? no
3. Mouse cursor moves? Yes
4. Mouse clicking does nothing? Yes
5. Keyboard key presses do nothing? Yes
6. Only way to re-animate system is by holding down power button? Yes
7. Mouse/Keyboard Model bt keyboard and magic mouse (that comes with new imacs)

I restored my system to the day prior to the updates via time machine.

Mar 31, 2010 2:51 PM in response to sherifhanna

1. Problem started happening after 10.6.3 update? Yes
2. Did you get any errors during 10.6.3 update process? No
3. Mouse cursor moves? Yes
4. Mouse clicking does nothing? No
5. Keyboard key presses do nothing? No
6. Only way to re-animate system is by holding down power button? Yes
7. Mouse/Keyboard Model? Logitech MX/Apple Aluminum KB w/number pad

Mar 31, 2010 3:23 PM in response to sherifhanna

Nearly the same exact issues immediately following the reboot after the 10.6.3 update. System is a 2-week old brand new MBA with absolutely NOTHING installed other than what Apple preinstalled.

1. Problem started happening after 10.6.3 update? Yes
2. Did you get any errors during 10.6.3 update process? No
3. Mouse cursor moves? Yes
4. Can you click anything with the mouse? Yes, the mouse worked normally
5. Does the system respond to keyboard key presses? No, including a dead trackpad
6. Only way to re-animate system is by holding down power button? Yes
7. Mouse/Keyboard Model? Logitech Anywhere (no Logitech software installed) / MBA keyboard

Rebuilt to 10.6 and it's staying this way.

Apr 1, 2010 1:16 AM in response to sherifhanna

I have the same problem noted above on my IMac with the exact same symptoms.

1. Problem started happening after 10.6.3 update? Yes
2. Did you get any errors during 10.6.3 update process? No
3. Mouse cursor moves? Yes
4. Can you click anything with the mouse? No
5. Does the system respond to keyboard key presses? No
6. Only way to re-animate system is by holding down power button? Yes
7. Mouse/Keyboard Model? Aluminum Keyboard/Magic Mouse

Apr 1, 2010 8:19 AM in response to sherifhanna

1. Problem started happening after 10.6.3 update? Yes
2. Did you get any errors during 10.6.3 update process? No
3. Mouse cursor moves? No
4. Mouse clicking does nothing? No it does not
5. Keyboard key presses do nothing? No they do not
6. Only way to re-animate system is by holding down power button? Yes
7. Mouse/Keyboard Model? MBP keyboard/trackpad & MagicMouse

Apr 1, 2010 12:41 PM in response to sherifhanna

1. Problem started happening after 10.6.3 update? Yes
2. Did you get any errors during 10.6.3 update process? No
3. Mouse cursor moves? Yes
4. Mouse clicking does nothing? Yes
5. Keyboard key presses do nothing? Yes
6. Only way to re-animate system is by holding down power button? No, wait a minute or 2, and the mouse clicks start working
7. Mouse/Keyboard Model? logitech anywhere mx, mac book pro

Apr 1, 2010 4:24 PM in response to sherifhanna

Yep, me too.

1. Problem started happening after 10.6.3 update? Yes
2. Did you get any errors during 10.6.3 update process? No
3. Mouse cursor moves? No
4. Mouse clicking does nothing? Yes, mouse clicking does nothing (poor question)
5. Keyboard key presses do nothing? Yes, again, poor question. Keyboard does nothing
6. Only way to re-animate system is by holding down power button? Yes
7. Mouse/Keyboard Model? 2008 MPB.

I haven't seen this yet on the Mac Mini but the most we do is watch Hulu on the big screen.

System Freezes Randomly after 10.6.3 Update

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