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

I don't know if this is just coincidence or not, but since updating my iMac to 10.6.3 it keeps on crashing. On 3 separate occasions today, whilst using my Mac the screen has gone completely black with thin white lines down it.....see pic below:

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/6SYzhCgVYEU5TBKqRfOQ1Q?feat=directlink

The fans and hard disk are still running but it will not respond to any keyboard or mouse presses - I simply have to turn it off by holding the power button in.
It will then restart as usual.

Anyone got any ideas? Do you think that if I was to re-install Mac OS X from my original install disk it could solve the issue?

Thanks

Darren

24" intel imac 2.8Ghz, Mac OS X (10.6.3)

Posted on Mar 31, 2010 2:43 PM

Reply
1,804 replies

Nov 28, 2012 8:58 PM in response to JCarrier

I have a 2007 iMac 7,1 and my machine was incapable of running in 64 bit in Snow Leopard (though I didn't try forcing it in terminal) But I was able to install Mountain Lion, which starts up in 64 bit mode I believe, and apply the kext fix. It has been several months now with no freeze.


20-inch, Mid 2007 Graphics ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT 128 MB

Model Name:iMac
Model Identifier:iMac7,1
Processor Name:Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed:2 GHz
Number of Processors:1
Total Number of Cores:2
L2 Cache:4 MB
Memory:4 GB
Bus Speed:800 MHz
Boot ROM Version:IM71.007A.B03
SMC Version (system):1.20f4

Nov 29, 2012 9:06 AM in response to retiredoc

I actually partitioned my HD and kept Snow Leopard on one and ML on the other. (I had replaced my hard drive with a 1000 G because it was on its way out)


With ML you lose Rosetta Stone forever so it won't run Palm desktop, Clarisworks, and a few other old favorite programs. That's why I kept the snow leopard install. I haven't gone back to it much but it's nice to know it's there.


On the install, I went from the original install disks (10.4?), then upgraded to SL, then ML.

Dec 13, 2012 11:03 AM in response to DazzaG

I have the Kext fix installed but it's not improving performance on my 8,1 iMac with the HD 2400 card. My slowdowns tend to happen every afternoon specifically after graphic-intensive screen sharing sessions with customers. Of course, a simple reboot fixes it for a while.


Like many others, mine has been in the Apple Store twice. Once because we thought it might be the hard disk (which it wasn't) and the other time they kept it overnight to see if they could experience issues and run tests. Nothing was ever found.


Does anyone have any other suggestions?

Dec 29, 2012 12:31 PM in response to DazzaG

I had the same issue, and I Have watch this thread for long time now. The screen of the iMac 8,1 (with nvidia) freese and the only solution then was a hard reset. Like more of you I was assuming that the this was a software issue. Afew weeks ago I removed one of the ram modules and the freesing became more present, more often. When I switched the two ram modules (2 mb each) the problem was over. I have used the iMac for weeks without any freezing. A few days ago I have ordered new ram modules and istalled them and, until now, no new freeses!

SoI think this issue has something to do with "wrong" ram modules.


Hoopfully this is helpful for some of you.

Jan 5, 2013 5:29 AM in response to DazzaG

I also have a 2007 intel core imac and since upgrading to Snow Leopard 10.6.3 I'm having random freezes. It can happen anytime, especially after waking from sleep mode and the only way out is to turn the computer off and on. Sometimes I get a dark blue screen, sometimes grey. This is getting very frustrating - I upgraded to improve my computer, not to get all this hassle! From reading this and similar threads, I gather it is a problem that Apple need to resolve -anyone got any ideas in the meantime?

Jan 5, 2013 5:49 AM in response to Soul Nut

This is a problem that's been around since 10.6.3 was released. Apple has never done anything about it, so don't expect them to do anything about it. There's been a lot of ranting on this thread, but Apple has not bothered to deal with it.


But never fear, the kext fix mentioned in this thread works amazingly well for your machine. I have an iMac identical to yours. I've upgraded it to the latest version of Mountain Lion, 10.8.2, and the kext fix has been rock solid throughout. After I applied the kext fix, my machine has NEVER frozen. It's run like you expect an Apple computer to run. 🙂

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

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