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 20, 2010 6:51 AM in response to whyisitsohard

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


Apple requires beta testers to sign a non disclosure agreement (NDA), the same as it does for developers. This is one reason you should take rumors about an imminent release of some update with the same skepticism you should about any other unsubstantiated rumor.

BTW, if you haven't already noticed, the Mac rumor sites feed on each other. When one posts some tidbit like this, so do most of the others, sometimes attributing the info to another site, but more often not. All these sites depend on advertising to survive. None of them want to look like they have been "scooped" by any of the others so they tend to publish the same info as soon as they see it on another site, often verbatim.

May 20, 2010 6:52 AM in response to xtech

xtech:

Thanks... but I had already tried all the official firmware upgrades before I took my iMac to the Apple Store the first time and they confirmed that this model did not need one...

... yet? I'm still hopeful that they'll find a solution soon because I must admit that the difference between the "disabled" the accelerated X2000 driver and the generic 2400 driver is increasingly obvious (though interestingly enough, more when I use VNC than when I use the video out with a TV to stream video or to watch a DVD...).

May 20, 2010 8:31 AM in response to whyisitsohard

whyisitsohard wrote:
Are graphics problems with ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro only when using 1920 x 1200 resolution?


Probably not, since there seems to be a mixture of different Macs running different screen sizes with & without this issue. For instance, I know of people with 24" 2008 iMacs with the same ATI GPU that are running 10.6.3 without any issues. Plus, some of the reports here suggest 10.6.2 works fine for them. You seem to be in a minority as far as having to regress to 10.5.x to be free of the issue.

In fact, the lack of uniform symptoms & behaviors with different OS & hardware variants strongly suggests that this topic covers several different problems which can all loosely be described as some form of random freeze but differ in various ways, frustrating any attempts to narrow them all down to the same cause.

May 20, 2010 12:03 PM in response to whyisitsohard

+"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)"+

Not so much. My Late 2006 17-inch iMac with a Radeon X1600 was paralyzed until I backtracked to 10.6.2. Running 10.6.3 resulted in as many as 5-6 freezes daily and horizontal lines on the display, along with TechTool reporting VRAM failure. After reverting to 10.6.2 it has worked perfectly for over a week. I have the iMac display running at 1440x900 and the HP w2207h at 1920x1080.

Jun 2, 2010 12:31 PM in response to sherifhanna

Since updating my iMac to 10.6.3 it has crashed an average of 3 times a day with a solid color or striped screen. I have read this discussion and others like it and have come to the conclusion that it only happens when I have my external usb time machine hard drive attached. There are 3 absolutely identical iMac systems in my office and the only one that has had this problem has a usb drive. There are no issues with the drive itself. I have decided to back up sparingly. I hope
Apple can fix this issue in the next software update.

Jun 8, 2010 11:23 AM in response to sherifhanna

Does anyone dare to install this one? Search for "10F564 combo tpb" on google and you will be able to go to the first link which has posted the june 1st combo update.

If one does dare to install, please post findings on this latest beta or PM me please. I am leaving for a holiday and will only be able to test it after I return. I may find myself not doing so at all and waiting patiently until Apple releases the official update to be on the safe side of the Apple Software License Agreement.

-
I do not have anything to do with the person who posted this update, just something I found on google, FYI.
-

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

System Freezes Randomly after 10.6.3 Update

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.