24" iMac Screen Freezes since 10.6.3 update - pls help!

Your symptoms are exactly the same as mine were, same computer, too. I ran kext solution on 10.6.7, worked great. Moved to 10.6.8, set OS to 64-bit, worked great. Got new GPU under Apple Care, haven't needed kext solution since then. Now running Lion with no problem.

Setting OS to 64-bit is really no problem. I'm no hand at 'Terminal', but follow directions exactly and it ought to work. Spaces and everything else matter when doing that. Don't have the instructions at hand, but they're somewhere.

Thanks for the feedback, TK111, and the interesting point about your new GPU. I wish my iMac were still under AppleCare.

Strangely enough, I haven't had a freeze-up in the last few days. If it starts happening again (and I'm a pessimist so I expect it will) I'll be ready to apply the kext solution+running 64-bit. In the meantime I'll be watching any posts here...

Regards,

Brian

BTW - if anybody wants the 10.6.2 drivers for a 21" 2.0Ghz Core2Duo Intel iMac (7,1) using the ATI RadeonHD 2400 / 128MB Graphics card let me know - the whole 10.6.2 ATI driver set is only about 3MB.

In January you've made this offer to whom might be interested in the 10.6.2 drivers to perform the KrzysiuTurek solution to the freezes. I have the exact same iMac as you and the exact same problems when trying to upgrade to 10.6.3. The question is I'm upgrading from Leopard and the Snow Leopard installation disk I have is already version 10.6.3. So i don't have the driver files from 10.6.2. Would you happen to still have those files ? If so, could you send them to me ?

Thanks

i have them, post me a mail address so i can mail them to you.

Thanks swmaster. My e-mail is lvizzotto@me.com.

I'm going to try KrzysiuTurek's solution on an external hard drive to preserve my data in internal HD. Do you think anything could go wrong in the process by the fact it's done in external hd ?

TK111, I have AppleCare on the same iMac. How did you convince Apple to give you a new CPU? They just want me to run through the checklist every time I call.

CW3X: I documented every freeze I had for about eight months, documented the results I had with the kext fix, etc. Previous to getting my iMac's GPU replaced I had taken it into the Apple store with the same problems, and they ran hardware tests with no problem found. A few months later, after increasingly frequent freezes and more documentation, I brought it in again with a strenuous complaint, and they replaced the GPU.

It's interesting that although the kext fixes worked previously, with a new GPU, Snow Leopard and Lion both worked without the kext fix, no freezes now for two months. So, one could conclude that, at least in my case , it did have something to do with a hardware problem. Most of these iMacs are out of warranty by now, it seems, and tough luck for them, I guess, according to Apple. Even with yours under warranty, who knows if they'll give you a new GPU.

P.S., that's GPU, not CPU as in your note.

I have an iMac 7,1 (2007) with the Radeon HD2400. I tried installing the 10.6.2 kexts, but i kept getting kernel panics at reboot. I read that you need to be booting the 64 bit kernel in order for the 10.6.2 kexts to work, but the iMac 7,1 is one of the models that can't boot the 64 bit kernel.

Morpho, you seem to be the only person with an identical iMac to mine that got the 10.6.2 kexts working. Any tips?

Thanks!

schleppy wrote:

I have an iMac 7,1 (2007) with the Radeon HD2400. I tried installing the 10.6.2 kexts, but i kept getting kernel panics at reboot. I read that you need to be booting the 64 bit kernel in order for the 10.6.2 kexts to work, but the iMac 7,1 is one of the models that can't boot the 64 bit kernel.

Morpho, you seem to be the only person with an identical iMac to mine that got the 10.6.2 kexts working. Any tips?

Thanks!

I have the same Mac. The kext fix works with Snow Leopard 10.6.7, but not 10.6.8, which will give you the kernel panics at startup you describe. Downgrade to 10.6.7 and you'll be fine.

Not sure how (or if) the fix will work with Lion on that model.

schleppy wrote:

Morpho, you seem to be the only person with an identical iMac to mine that got the 10.6.2 kexts working. Any tips?

Thanks!

Keep your system at 10.6.7. That's the only viable solution on iMac7,1, even though you'll miss some critical security updates.

Or jump on the Lion bandwagon if your workflow does not depend on TrueCrypt, Wuala, MacFUSE, VMware et al.

Damnit. Is there any way to roll back to 10.6.7? Or am I erasing this machine?

Thanks Morpho!

Schleppy,

you can do an install of the stock 10.6.0 w/o any big side effects just on the top of your current system.

i did it a couple of times until i was able to figure out the kext fixing on my own.

it's really like 1,2,3, boot from the original cd, choose install, next, next, finish.

go have a cup of tea or watch a short movie, in 45-50 minutes your mac will be good as new,

running 10.6.0.

you basically don't lose your data, your apps, your settings remain as they are, then you can upgrade to 10.6.7 using the combo and then apply the kext fixes.

oh, i forgot, you lose safari5 but it can be reinstalled once you are on 10.6.7.

I'll give that a go if the Apple store is unwilling to upgrade the graphics card.

Thanks!!

Getting a page not found trying to download the 10.6.7 combo update. :-(