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

May 19, 2010 7:45 PM in response to batondor

Hi Batondor,

Here are the links RE: Apple and the bad GPU's, etc. It's very obvious that indeed the 24 and 27 iMac had some issues as well as Mac Pro's etc.

FIRMWARE FIX for .. Apple iMac ATI Radeon 2600/2400 1.0.1
http://mac.brothersoft.com/apple-imac-ati-radeon-2600-2400.html

Firmware fix site #2
http://mac.downloadatoz.com/apple-imac-ati-radeon-2600-2400/

This notes a problem Apple had with the 27 inch models for those that have those units.

http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2009/12/13/apple-delays-shipping-of-27-inch-imacs -faulty-graphics-card-to-blame/

I would try this firmware update if your have that GPU listed above! (check the firmware revision numbers to see if yours differ if possible) Here is the discussion re: REV2 GPU's which could fall
under your ATI GPU criteria .. especially if you have AppleCare I would ask them asap ... http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=999134&start=15&tstart=0

I'm glad to see you have a nice alternative method that works. I would also check out the GPU firmware for your 2400. Take care ! ~ xtech 😉

May 19, 2010 8:18 PM in response to batondor

Batondor ..oh my.. geez whiz.. skip the other post above .. I found another more recent firmware update you might be looking for on your ATI 2400/2600's

http://mac.downloadatoz.com/imac-graphics-fw-update-1-0-2/

I would recommend Apple GPU users to use this link and to run a search for your GPU models here
maybe there is a firmware revision that has been added for your specific GPU using 10.6.x

Let us know if this site might helpful to any user! Please post your findings or fixes if found.
Thanks all 😉 xtech

May 19, 2010 8:56 PM in response to xtech

Let us know if this site might helpful to any user!


FWIW, the first updates seem to be nothing more than the iMac (early 2008) ATI Radeon HD Graphics Firmware Update 1.0.1 (which users should get from Apple to insure they have not been tampered with) & the last link you provided currently times out with a bunch of mysql_select & fatal errors, as does anything in the mac.downloadatoz.com domain.

If it were me, I would steer clear of such sites, at least for any OS software that should be obtained directly from Apple.

May 19, 2010 9:17 PM in response to R C-R

RC-R .. thanks for the update .. back to the drawing board!

Although it seems batondor had found a temporary fix for himself and we probably should leave it at that.

I donate to the M tracker (Ian Page) .. it's probably one of the top freeware tech resource tools for any Apple guy. 🙂

Good old Round Rock, TX where the Power Computing clones where made .. hey when you say north TX I think of the panhandle area and not Dallas so much .. which town are you from?

May 19, 2010 9:43 PM in response to xtech

FYI, reputable download sites link to Apple's downloads instead of hosting a version on their own servers (which violates Apple policy) & do the same for any developer that requests that. It isn't always obvious, though. When in doubt, compare the SHA checksum to the Apple version's & if it doesn't match, don't install it.

FWIW, I'm in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex area in a suburb, not the panhandle. For reasons I prefer not go into here other than to say I'm not on the run from the authorities or anything like that, I won't identify my location more precisely than that.

May 20, 2010 12:23 AM in response to R C-R

As far as iMac firmware for ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro or ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT I found the following pages.

iMac (early 2008) ATI Radeon HD Graphics Firmware Update 1.0.1
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL71

iMac Graphics FW Update 1.0.2
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL938

The firmware revision details specified for 1.0.1 are as per my graphics card (ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro).
ROM Revision: 113-B2250L-259

iMac Graphics FW Update 1.0.2 is not applicable to my system.

Any clues as to why 1.0.2 is not applicable?
My hardware is iMac (early 2008)

May 20, 2010 5:55 AM in response to xtech

xtech wrote:
I did mention that quite a while back! I believe the real issue here lies within the GPU's themselves. It seems that various Mac's GPU's just do not like the 10.6.3. I'm sure that in some cases here it just might be possible corruption or as RC-R pointed out ... a simple reset.


Software is my bet as I have also experienced issues with display brightness setting retention after a PRAM reset.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=11375215&#11375215

Also since going back to 10.5.8, not a single issue.

10.6.4 doesn't look too far away now.
http://www.9to5mac.com/snowleper_betaships

If Apple would like to send me a copy (URL) of the latest beta I would be more than happy to test it.

May 20, 2010 5:57 AM in response to whyisitsohard

whyisitsohard wrote:
iMac Graphics FW Update 1.0.2 is not applicable to my system.

Any clues as to why 1.0.2 is not applicable?
My hardware is iMac (early 2008)


No clues, other than that not all computers need all firmware updates. That's one reason Apple recommends using the Software Update application for Apple updates: if your Mac doesn't need one, it won't appear in the list.

FWIW, I have the same iMac with the same HD 2600 Pro & ROM Revision, & if I manually download & run the 1.0.2 update, I get a message, "Your computer does not need this update." I take that at face value.

All my Intel Macs, including this one, are running 10.6.3 without problems. So whatever the problem is, it is not something that affects all of them using ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro GPU's.

May 20, 2010 6:19 AM in response to whyisitsohard

whyisitsohard wrote:
I am guessing here but may be linked to ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro GPU's & native resolution as
24" run (1920 x 1200) and 20" run (1680 x 1050)


I'm guessing your comment comes from not reading my profile info carefully. Note that I list two 2008 iMacs, a 24" & a 20". The 20" one has the ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro, has the same ROM number as yours, & runs at 1680 x 1050 native resolution. (The 24" has a NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS GPU.)

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System Freezes Randomly after 10.6.3 Update

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