Level 1

16 points

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

682 replies

Apr 14, 2010 6:42 AM in response to frazzm737

I'm having this exact same problem. I've called Apple, and they do not acknowledge that this problem exists. I've done all the maneuvers they recommended, without any effect. Has anyone reinstalled Snow Leopard and upgraded to 10.6.2? Any success?

Apr 14, 2010 9:34 AM in response to sherifhanna

I've had the same freezing problems with my 15" Macbook Pro (2007 model). After a few hours the system would freeze and holding down the power button would be the only remedy. Reinstalling the system with Time Machine and upgrading to 10.6.3 (build 10D573) did not work. Reinstalling the system with Time Machine and downloading and installing the old 10.6.2 combo update did solve the freezing problems. However, Apple recently (12 April 2010) released an 10.6.3 v1.1 Update (build 10D578). I downloaded ( http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1017 ) this latest update and it DOES solve my freezing problems. My Macbook pro runs great now. I hope this information is useful.

My problems with with the old 10.6.3 10D573 build:
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? Nothing
5. Keyboard key presses do nothing? Nothing
6. Only way to re-animate system is by holding down power button? Yes
7. Mouse/Keyboard Model? Macbook pro trackpad / keyboard

Diragor

Level 1

19 points

Apr 14, 2010 9:39 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? Apple aluminum full-size KB, Magic Mouse

This is only happening on my 20" iMac at the office, it has not happened on my MacBook or 27" iMac at home.

I've used this machine at work with pretty much the same software (kept updated) since it was purchased. No problems until the 10.6.3 update, when it started freezing randomly. There was no consistency to what I was doing or what software was running when it froze. I reloaded from the original Snow Leopard disc, applied the 10.6.3 combo update, reloaded my development tools with fresh installs (not restored from backup), and it worked perfectly for a week. The 10.6.3 update showed up Tuesday morning, I applied it, and after that it's been freezing randomly again. It's happened four times so far in my first 90 minutes at work today, and still with no consistency regarding what apps are running or what I'm doing in them.

Diragor

Level 1

19 points

Apr 14, 2010 9:45 AM in response to firedragon76

Very interesting. I've applied everything available via Software Update, including what was labeled as the 10.6.3 update, but my OSX build number is still showing as 10D573. I'm downloading the combo update to see if that gets me to 10D578 and fixes my freezing (see firedragon76's post above).

Apr 14, 2010 9:59 AM in response to Diragor

Downloading the 10.6.3 v1.1 Update via this link( http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1017 ) will definitively update your system to the latest 10.6.3 build 10D578. What I understand from internet blogs is that the "old" 10.6.3 build 10D573 did NOT properly apply all updates included in the package to all 10.6 Mac's. Essentially an error/bug in the 10D573 update package and therefore they now released the 10D578 update, which properly installs all included updates in the package. Another problem is that when you run "Software Update" Apple decides by doing a basic check of your Mac whether or not the 10.6.3 v1.1 Update is needed for your Mac so it may not show up at all. Very annoying since it did not show up for me but I did need it and it DID solve my problems. Therefore, I manually downloaded and successfully installed it. On a related note, as Apple states you can safely install the 10.6.3 v1.1 combo Update (build 10D578) on ANY Snow Leopard (10.6) system, also the ones that have no problems. It's a universal update and the latest they made publicly available. Good luck, I hope this latest build will solve your problems.

Apr 14, 2010 12:26 PM in response to firedragon76

I appreciate the suggestions. I downloaded and installed the latest build of 10.6.3 (10D578). Unfortunately, I'm still getting crashes and freezes. My next step is to install 10.6 again (I understand this will archive and install) and then update to 10.6.2. Before I do that, I'd be interested in any other suggestions. Thanks.

Apr 14, 2010 2:54 PM in response to retiredoc

Just in (14 April 2010), Apple released Security Update 2010-003. After installing the 10.6.3 v1.1 (10D578) combo update (see earlier posts) get the Security Update 2010-003 via Software Update. Perhaps you are lucky and hopefully it will fix your problems. With regard to a clean install, I prefer the following method: (1) full Time Machine backup, (2) Pop in Snow Leopard disk and restart, (3) erase the entire hard disk via Disk Utility in the menu bar (under Erase tab use Format: Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and give the disk a name of your choice), (4) install with your Time Machine disk, (5) download and install 10.6.2 combo update (if you still have trouble with 10.6.3).

Diragor

Level 1

19 points

Apr 14, 2010 4:50 PM in response to firedragon76

That downloadable combo update does seem to have fixed my problems. Thanks for the detailed post!

pmlong

Level 1

0 points

Apr 14, 2010 4:51 PM in response to sherifhanna

Same problem here on iMac:

1. Problem started happening after 10.6.3 update? Yes
2. Did you get any errors during 10.6.3 update process? Yes
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? mighty mouse/apple wired keyboard

Very frustrating, although pretty reliable until now.

Patrick

Apr 14, 2010 5:25 PM in response to sherifhanna

Problem went away after downloading the combo update and doing the auto update for the security patch. 🙂

pmlong

Level 1

0 points

Apr 14, 2010 7:03 PM in response to Brent Carroll

Unfortunately for me, the additional update did not fix the freezing problem. I believe my only recourse is a system restore to before upgrade.

Apr 15, 2010 5:38 AM in response to sherifhanna

My problem was not fixed with this new update. The 1.1 update was not even offered to me. At the moment it is getting ridiculous: I had to power off my laptop 3 times this morning. I still think the problem is related to Mail or Safari, but I am not sure. At least it does not seem some process is using all the CPU.

Diragor

Level 1

19 points

Apr 15, 2010 8:25 AM in response to Diragor

I take it back. That 1.1 combo update got me to the end of the day yesterday, but after 40 minutes of use this morning it froze again. Very, very frustrating. I'm probably going to have to start over, update to 10.6.2 and stop there.

Apr 15, 2010 11:58 AM in response to firedragon76

Many thanks to firedragon76 for his help. I reinstalled snowleopard from the disk, installed the 10.6.3 v1.1 (10D578) combo update obtained from the apple website, and got the Security Update 2010-003 via Software Update. Whether one of these steps did the job, or all three together, I have no way of knowing, but my crashes and freezes are a thing of the past. And, the reinstall of snowleopard did NOT require me to reinstall my third party software (MS Office, quicken, etc) from disk. Also, it seems like everything is running just a bit faster and a bit better, without some of the tiny annoying quirks I had noticed earlier.

Apr 15, 2010 4:52 PM in response to retiredoc

Still no luck here.
I had downgraded and had been using 10.6.2 until yesterday when I heard that the new v1.1 of 10.6.3 came out. I updated right away thinking it would address the issue.

Well, since yesterday I have had SEVEN total system freezes. I have had no choice in any of them other than to do a hard shut down via power button.

I have noticed a pattern in the freezes though - they seem to come when the system is waking from sleep or booting. When the system tries to load the desktop from boot or sleep it will either fill the screen with video memory garbage and freeze or just hang on an entirely black screen with the cursor. Things are still happening in the background though - for example, my Time Machine drive is spinning up and writing data and my iPhone was syncing through iTunes. Throughout all of this activity I was unable to DO anything other than swear.

The new Security update did not address this either. Looks like I will be downgrading to 10.6.2 AGAIN for the third time now. I am sure my system directories and support files are hosed at this point.

I still maintain that this is a graphics driver bug - mark my words... we will see updated drivers soon! It's too much of a coincidence that we are seeing "artifacting" seconds before the freeze is about to happen.

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System Freezes Randomly after 10.6.3 Update