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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

Apr 1, 2010 9:41 PM in response to Brent Carroll

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
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?A1152 EMC 2058 /A1243 EMC 2171

The problem seems to occur when I try to scroll up/down a page via the 'elevator'

Apr 4, 2010 10:47 AM in response to yoyo_53

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? Cannot Click anywhere
5. Keyboard key presses do nothing? Cannot type anything
6. Only way to re-animate system is by holding down power button? Yes
7. Mouse/Keyboard Model? A1255 Wireless Aluminum Keyboard, A1296 Magic Mouse

This has been happening primarily when using a combination of Safari and iTunes. I can see the entire system start to go haywire when small video artifacts start to show up on the screen - black lines, garbled icons, etc.

Eventually, the system drops internet and the only thing I can do is move the mouse around. Eventually a hard shut down via power button is the only resolution.

Apr 9, 2010 5:53 AM in response to Andrew Artz

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? Mouse A1152, Keyboard A1243

Sometimes I get a white screen that doesn't show mouse cursor at all, but most of time I'm getting the symptoms above.

Apr 10, 2010 3:23 AM in response to sherifhanna

Exactly same here.
iMac 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 4 GB ram

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
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? apple alu keyboard and magic mouse

Apr 10, 2010 10:29 AM in response to eeemin

Do you by any chance have LCC 3.2.0 installed? If so, read onwards:

Logitech Control Center 3.2.0 is not compatible with 10.6.3 - Uninstall it by running the LCC installer file and selecting Uninstall from the file menu.

Your sharing, bluetooth, USB, system freeze issues will be resolved, hopefully.

-Wissam

Apr 10, 2010 11:33 AM in response to baltwo

How do you revert back to 10.6.2? I tried to download 10.6.2 from the Apple site and install, but it keeps telling me that my hard disk is ineligible for the 10.6.2 installation (probably because I already have 10.6.3 installed.)

BTW, I am having the same unpredictable crashing problems since my updates as the others on this site. I have done a hard disk check and permissions repair (with Disk Utility). These didn't solve the problem.

Apr 10, 2010 1:06 PM in response to sherifhanna

Yes, me too. Eloquently stated! I had to use my original 10.6 snow leopard disk and revert to 10.6 then do the 10.6.2 update. It is working as it did before I did the 10.6.3. I have a case number and have been working with an Apple senior advisor. He advised me that they are well aware that there is a problem with the update. He is the one that advised me to go back to 10.6.2 and explained how. I had to use my original Snow Leopard disk, do the instal, then do the 10.6.2 combo pack. I am not putting any blame nor am I making any statement about wether or not this was properly released. These issues are way beyond my pay grade. I am simply happy that there is a solution until these issues are corrected.

Apr 11, 2010 11:27 AM in response to sherifhanna

Same with my iMac and 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? 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? Wired USB mouse A1152, Wired USB Alu Keyboard A1243

Apr 11, 2010 3:55 PM in response to sherifhanna

This is SO frustrating. I've never had any problems with a previous update before and now my computer had been freezing at least once a day since I've installed 10.6.3. Does anyone have a solution?

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? Keyboard - A1243

Apr 12, 2010 8:11 AM in response to sherifhanna

Hi there,

Same issue.
This has happened about 30 times over the last two months. What I started noticing is that it happens while recharging the battery just before it is fully charged, i.e. @ 99%, and I'm working at the same time. I know because my MenuMeters are frozen at that point.


1. Problem started happening after 10.6.3 update? Yes and after I bought a new adapter.
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

Apr 12, 2010 8:08 PM in response to sherifhanna

I have the same problem. It's very annoying - this issue has not been publicly acknowledged by Apple yet, such critical bug! What kind of QA standards did Apple impose to release this update? This is very serious and speaks very badly about their release management processes; I hope this kind of screw up is prevented at all costs in the future.

Apr 13, 2010 6:21 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? 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? Standard Alum and Mouse that came w/machine

Apr 13, 2010 7:15 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? USB mouse/Mac Aluminum KB w/num pad

Originally I thought it was Firefox, but it just happened to me with only Finder open, launching quicktime. Seems like it always happens when waking the Mac from standby; mouse clicks are responsive very briefly before the system freezes. It's possible that my external disk is spinning up from time machine when this happens, but I'm not sure if that's related.

Apr 13, 2010 7:27 PM in response to tdowney

My problem seems to fit into this post. The symptoms are the same. It occurs at start-up. the machine takes much longer than usual to boot. After it finally starts, neither the cursor nor the keyboard are responsive. I am forced to shut down using the power button and restart. The screen comes right back up and at this point everything works just fine. I am considering reinstalling Snow Leopard and moving back to 10.6.2.

System Freezes Randomly after 10.6.3 Update

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