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

Jun 14, 2010 11:08 AM in response to napabill

Well, I understand your choice to return to 10.6.2... but I would be willing to make a small wager that you would have experienced the same result as I did if you had "hidden" the X1000 driver... and I would double that bet if asked whether 10.6.4 will resolve your problem because I still believe it comes from the improvements to OpenGL and Core Graphics that simply push the graphics pipeline a bit harder and that this will return to your platform when it is updated...

... though it will be interesting to see if Apple has mitigated the problem when 10.6.4 comes out.

PS: I wonder if you saw my longer update here:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=11663560#11663560

The simplest conjecture would be that your iMac might have a similar problem to the one detected on mine, but the disabled Spotlight "astuce" is still intriguing and I'll be interested to see how that unfolds when 10.6.4 comes out (who knows, maybe Spotlight uses the GPU via OpenCL now...).

Message was edited by: batondor

Jun 15, 2010 12:32 PM in response to i_Lou

*Here is the follow-up to my last update.*

I have spent four working days on my computer with not a freeze. Hurray! It's a relief to be able to spend some time working without having to constantly reboot. I have not yet reconnected my external drive. Been putting it off in order to get some work done. But now I need to backup...!

Trying to decide if I should reconnect my external drive with Time Machine or just manually backup to the drive?

Here's hoping that 10.6.4 fixes this problem.

Jun 15, 2010 5:12 PM in response to batondor

batondor wrote:
mert:

I believe you are having exactly the same experience that I had on the same hardware.

Before you do anything else, please try the approach of shutting off Spotlight that someone suggested earlier in this thread.


I shut off Spotlight (maybe not the right way) by adding the Mac's hard drive to the Privacy tab in Spotlight's System Preferences. It locked up within an hour of the change.

I've installed 10.6.4 Combo. Let's see how that goes. The listed 10.6.4 fixes do not look promising for this issue. (I've also turned Spotlight back on.)

Jun 15, 2010 5:12 PM in response to sherifhanna

And here is the link to the update:

http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1048

Note the first item listed:

"resolve an issue that causes the keyboard or trackpad to become unresponsive"

So Apple has acknowledged that it is a high priorty problem with the software so much so that they issued a fix. Something I said that was needed months ago, despite RCR's denials...

Jun 15, 2010 8:12 PM in response to Thrasher91604

When Apple says "resolve an issue" it could mean any of the following:

• Fix an inherent bug in the OS code of the prior OS X update
• Fix an inherent bug in the OS code of all prior OS X versions
• Work around a bug in the code of commonly used third party software
• Modify OS code for better compatibility with changes in some of the part specifications vendors provide to Apple for use in Macs
• Modify OS code for better compatibility with proprietary third party hardware features
• Modify OS code for better compliance with emerging or updated industry standards
• Modify installer scripts, preflight, & post flight procedures to work around problems caused by hacks or other modifications to the preexisting OS

Apple prioritizes these things based on:
• The number of users affected
• The consequences of the issue & of its resolution, such as possible data loss or security concerns
• The ability to reproduce the issue & determine its cause

Jun 16, 2010 5:33 AM in response to cvdgenugten

Decided to try it also. Same for me, 3 or 4 hours and no freezes yet. Also I've been running 6 movies in QuickTime at once and have Safari open on 6 different sites, while transferring songs to my iPod from iTunes. Hey, I believe 10.6.4 did something to mail also, it had to go through my mail before mail would start up. This is an old iMac 5,1, still waiting for a freeze.

Jun 16, 2010 6:34 AM in response to bee41

bee41 wrote:
Hey, I believe 10.6.4 did something to mail also, it had to go through my mail before mail would start up.


The update installs a new version of Mail.app (version 4.3), replacing the old one (version 4.2). If not already installed, it will also replace any older version of Safari with the new 5.0 one. Depending on what third party additions (like plugins, application helpers, or UI enhancers) you had installed prior to the update, this may correct certain problems they may have caused for a previous OS version or break or disable them in the current OS version.

Also, if you have any problems with the 10.6.4 "delta" (obtained from a manual download) or "smaller delta" (obtained through Software Update) versions, you can try the larger Mac OS X v10.6.4 Combo version. Since the deltas patch some existing OS files rather than replacing them with completely new versions while the combo version always replaces them with completely new versions, the deltas will not correct damage to existing OS files but the combo will (as long as the damaged file has been updated since the first version of the OS was released).

Jun 17, 2010 1:08 AM in response to Thrasher91604

Thrasher91604 wrote:
Except that rolling back the OS to 10.6.2 solved the mouse freezing problem for everyone.


Not true, as a careful review of this & several other topics about freezing systems clearly shows. Some users solved their freezing problems & were able to use 10.6.3 & some continued to have freezing problems even after going back to 10.6.2 (& in one case back to 10.5 versions). Now we are starting to see reports that going to 10.6.4 cures some freezing problems but not others.

In fact, the reported freezing symptoms themselves vary considerably, from immediately after login to randomly during use & from a few seconds to more than a minute.

It should be pretty clear by now that not all of the freezing problems are caused by any one thing, including the update itself.

Jun 17, 2010 4:41 AM in response to kremik

kremik wrote:
Grrrr. I installed the 10.6.4 update via Software Update and after a day without any freeze I've got one again 😟

Well I'm going to try Combo Update and I will see ....


I used the 10.6.4 Combo update on the evening it was released, and so far, I have not seen a freeze (the freeze where the mouse still moves the pointer but the WindowServer process gets "stuck" according to top, and have to reboot to fix). With 10.6.3 I would usually see a freeze within an hour of use. (A few weeks ago was when I first upgraded to Snow Leopard. I went from rock solid 10.5.8 directly to 10.6.3 using an Apple Retail DVD that contained 10.6.3).

aluminum 20inch iMac7,1
2GHz Core2Duo, ATI RadeonHD2400

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.