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

Never update to 10.6.4. Freezing is the same. On 10.6.2, no problem.

I'm having similar problems with my new iMac. I'm not sure if this problem is related to the 10.6.3 update since my iMac was shipped with pre-installed Snow Leopard 10.6.3. I updated to 10.6.4 but I'm still having the same problem.

Just for clarification: Only the screen goes black. All processes seem to keep running fine in the background (I can type, etc.). The only why I can recover the screen is with sleep/awake.

One time, instead of blackout, I had this:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2322766/iMac.jpg

Well I just experienced the flickering lines system freeze for the seconds time now. Exact same problem as before of flickering black horizontal lines and then system freeze (the clock doesn't even keep time). I was fine for 7 days. Going to go to Apple this weekend.

My wife has a 3 week old 21.5" imac with the ATI Radeon HD 4670 graphics processor with 256MB of GDDR3 memory and her screen keeps going black for no reason. She is on 10.6.4 and it keeps happening.

I have zapped the PRAM and reset the SMC and it seems to be a little better than it was. Mostly seems to happen when using Photoshop CS4 and iWeb.

About 2 weeks ago, I did a clean reinstalled 10.6 and did a combo update to 10.6.2 in safe mode. My computer has not frozen since. I will not be upgrading to any other version until the matter is resolved. I had problems with both 10.6.3 and 10.6.4.

Same here. My 2007 iMac has been perfect until +/- a week ago, now with daily freezing (even the clock), screen blacking out as well as lines/blocks on screen. A real mess ... not a happy camper! The usual fixes/tests/PRAM etc to no avail ...

mert wrote on 6/17/2010:
So far, no freezes on 10.6.4 (my hopes are not exactly high though). I never tried 10.6.2 on my machine, it went from 10.5.8 directly to 10.6.3 (the Apple retail DVD I purchased came with 10.6.3 on it).

Just an update... I have been getting the same kind of 10.6.3 freezes on Combo updated 10.6.4 (iMac 7,1 2GHz Core2duo). Recall that I jumped from a rock solid (month plus no problems) 10.5.8 directly to 10.6.3 (that's what is on my retail DVD), then to 10.6.4 Combo plus all other Apple updates. The freezes began with 10.6.3.

Here's a couple of the unorthodox things I've tried based on stuff I've read in this thread and elsewhere (these are in addition to the usual PRAM zap, repair disk, repair perms, etc. etc.):
+ disconnected Time Machine drive
+ disabled Spotlight with this command: sudo mdutil -a -i off

Niether of the above stopped the freezes (defined as: beachball, mouse moves pointer but clicking does nothing and keyboard does nothing; machine still running - can ssh in and run top where you can see the windowserver process listed as "stuck").

Additionally, I ran the iMac's HW tests in looping mode overnight - no problems found.

Next, I will reinstall 10.6.3 from my retail DVD, apply 10.6.4 and all Apple updates again.

I've been experiencing the above described iMac problems for some time now.

I suspected a hardware related problem in the beginning. All hardware has been extensively tested with the 'Apple Hardware Test', but with no abnormalities found. Next, the iMac returned to an 'Apple Authorised Service Provider' for some heavy and prolonged stress testing, but again no hardware errors were found. I was told the hardware should be perfectly stable. However, they gave me back one unreliable and unusable iMac back in my hands, making me an unhappy Apple customer.

Bizarre.

Meanwhile, a fresh install of Mac OS X 10.6 was forced (erasing everything). Resulting in a stable and usable system.
Next, the software-updates have been installed and rendered the iMac once again unusable (with the above described problems).

It is my believe this is a software related problem by one of the latest updates. Can other users please verify this statement by doing a clean install and NOT updating anything?

Oh, something magical happened recently! The iMac crashed once more and forcing me to shutdown (hangup with white screen). But I had the option to collect and sent a CRASH LOG to Apple after booting.

Apple, use this crash log and fix this ASAP! And next do some better QA when pushing updates.

One unhappy customer.

tommie_c wrote:
Apple, use this crash log and fix this ASAP! And next do some better QA when pushing updates.

Please keep in mind that these are user-to-user forums. Addressing comments to Apple here is a lot like walking up to another shopper in a store & telling them they must do something about the products on the shelf -- it is more likely to make people wonder about you than get any useful results. To tell Apple what you think, refer to the links you see by clicking the "Contact Us" one at the bottom of every Discussion page, for instance the http://www.apple.com/feedback/ ones.

Also please keep in mind that many users are having no issues with the various updates so it would be pointless for them to do a clean install & not apply any updates since it would verify nothing.

R C-R, thank you very much for your enlightening and enjoyable message.

R C-R wrote:

Please keep in mind that these are user-to-user forums.

Organized and run by Apple, making it a very important source for direct customer feedback.

Addressing comments to Apple here is a lot like walking up to another shopper in a store & telling them they must do something about the products on the shelf -- it is more likely to make people wonder about you than get any useful results.

And that's your very personal opinion. My personal opinion is that you're missing the power op Web 2.0. Knowledge is power. Power to the people.

To tell Apple what you think, refer to the links you see by clicking the "Contact Us" one at the bottom of every Discussion page, for instance the http://www.apple.com/feedback/ ones.

Good point. Only extremely difficult when based outside the USA, Canada or Mexico. The only viable alternative for Europe is contacting an Apple Authorized Service Provider. You will notice I've done this (if you read my post thoroughly) with little new information. However, this Apple Authorized Service Provider is doing a good job by further looking into this issue.

Also please keep in mind that many users are having no issues with the various updates so it would be pointless for them to do a clean install & not apply any updates since it would verify nothing.

Yes, I'm aware the problem is non-existent as long Apple doesn't officially recognize this issue. This forum thread actually shows more and more users are experiencing the freezing issue.

To clarify some things: I'm not asking users without freezing issues to not apply updates. No, I'm actually asking users *with freezing* problems to do a clean install and *only update to 10.6.2*.

Then let's see what happens. People might have a stable and usable iMac again.

Thank you for your understanding.

mert wrote on 6/29/2010:
Next, I will reinstall 10.6.3 from my retail DVD, apply 10.6.4 Combo and all Apple updates again.

Wow, that didn't take long. I logged in to the iMac this afternoon, started using Safari and after visiting a couple of sites (like this one), the screen flashed and then went black. This freeze was much more harsh than usual in that the entire machine appeared to have locked up. I could not even ping the machine from another Mac on the same subnet.

tommie_c wrote on 6/30/2010:
...I'm actually asking users with freezing problems to do a clean install and only update to 10.6.2.

I might be about willing to try this (running out of other ideas), however, I'm not sure how since my retail Snow Leopard DVD came with 10.6.3 on it. I guess I'd have to find someone with an older version.

Another one here with the freeze issues. I'm running 10.6.3 and would like to revert back to 10.6.2. If I just put in my Snow Leopard DVD can I just upgrade from that without losing data? I'm not sure what all will get wiped out on a reinstall.

I do have a time capsule with backups.

Good point. Only extremely difficult when based outside the USA, Canada or Mexico.

The only difficulty with using the feedback links is they are in English. Since you seem to have no problem with that language, I don't understand why you find it extremely difficult.

Yes, I'm aware the problem is non-existent as long Apple doesn't officially recognize this issue.

That isn't what I said. I only advised you to keep in mind that many users are not having any issues with the updates. What Apple does or doesn't officially recognize has nothing to do with it. There are many thousands of posts in various Discussions forums from users running 10.6.3 or later that make no mention of screen freezes or any similar issues. This is also part of the 'knowledge is power' thing that should not be missed.

Another thing that should not be missed is that doing a clean install & stopping at 10.6.2 does not demonstrate an intrinsic problem with 10.6.3 or beyond, even for users having freezing problems with the later updates. Some users find that a clean install & applying all available updates solves their problems. Some do not. There must be a reason for this but I do not think ignoring either the users with no problem to begin with or those that have solved theirs is the way to find it.

Of course, that is just my opinion….

YMarkY wrote:
Another one here with the freeze issues. I'm running 10.6.3 and would like to revert back to 10.6.2. If I just put in my Snow Leopard DVD can I just upgrade from that without losing data? I'm not sure what all will get wiped out on a reinstall.

I was worried about this too. Here's what happened when I reinstalled from the DVD:
My iMac was combo updated to 10.6.4. When I put my retail Snow Leopard 10.6.3 DVD in, booted from it (holding down c key), and installed 10.6.3 again, my user accounts, 3rd party apps (e.g. Office 2008) and most (all?) of my preferences remained.

R C-R wrote:
That isn't what I said. I only advised you to keep in mind that many users are not having any issues with the updates. What Apple does or doesn't officially recognize has nothing to do with it. There are many thousands of posts in various Discussions forums from users running 10.6.3 or later that make no mention of screen freezes or any similar issues. This is also part of the 'knowledge is power' thing that should not be missed.

Yes, fortunately most users are not having issues with these updates. But some users are definitely having problems. It's a frustrating issue also, making further research wanted.

Another thing that should not be missed is that doing a clean install & stopping at 10.6.2 does not demonstrate an intrinsic problem with 10.6.3 or beyond, even for users having freezing problems with the later updates. Some users find that a clean install & applying all available updates solves their problems. Some do not. There must be a reason for this but I do not think ignoring either the users with no problem to begin with or those that have solved theirs is the way to find it.

I've had more contact with Apple today en they suggested doing the things you're discouraging.

Of course, that is just my opinion….

Long live freedom of speech! Anyway, I'm not putting more energy in this discussion.

I'll keep other users updated on how Apple is handling this issue.