Late 2006 iMac, Lines, Kernel Panic, Freeze, Reboot, Restart, Serial W8 ?

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Late 2006 iMac, Lines, Kernel Panic, Freeze, Reboot, Restart, Serial W8 ?

Hello,

Let me start by explaining the method I am initially going to adopt in my search for answers;

•All of the keywords and more that would not fit in the title space, relate to my problem.
•I think the *iMac Serial* holds the key to mine and possibly a lot of other peoples search for answers.
•My second post will explain what I know about the Serial and the information it provides.
•I have a strong feeling that a lot of people who have the same or similar problems to me will have a Serial that begins with at least W8.
•I believe that a lot of affected machines will of been produced between 2006 & 2008, yet not confined to that window in time.
•So, to round up, I am looking for people who have had/are having the same/similar problems to the ones listed below.

•Small graphical glitches; Thin lines in random areas on the desktop, growing in number and intensity over time.
•Graphical glitches on, in and around Finder windows. Again, growing in number and intensity over time.
•Horizontal lines across entire screen. Again, growing in number and intensity over time.
•The odd Software Crash/System Freeze. (Which does not happen very often on the iMac we've grown to love)
•More frequent Software Crashes/System Freeze's. (Maybe it's all that freeware and plugins I've been playing with)
•Kernel Panic's, never had one before... it was a new one on me.
•Frequent Kernel Panics.
•System Freeze, recovering after being put to sleep and then woken.
•System Freeze, unrecoverable. Hard reset required.
•Exactly the same behavior after a full reinstall of OSX.
•Exactly the same behavior after wiping system drive with zero's, then a full reinstall of OSX.
•Exactly the same behavior after wiping system drive with zero's, then a full reinstall with a previous version of OSX.
•System Freeze requiring hard reset on nearly every occasion Time Machine was accessed.
•Shut iMac down completely, never to respond to Power Button being pressed again, even after trying to reset the SMC.

The above is a simplified list of key events on a relatively short journey from Perfect Machine to, 'will not power up'.

If you or anyone you know has gone through anything similar, I would love you to join this topic.

Yours,
GaBeech

iMac (20-inch Late 2006) 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo ~ x1600 Graphics, Mac OS X (10.6.3), Serial Number: W87070ACVUV (Check My Biography To See What A Serial Means)

Posted on May 26, 2010 8:36 PM

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Answer 1

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rkaufmann87

Level 10

140,274 points

May 26, 2010 8:46 PM in response to GaBeech

My late 2007 24" iMac serial number begins with W8.

The machine operates perfectly.

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Answer 2

GaBeech Author

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May 26, 2010 9:22 PM in response to GaBeech

W87070ACVUV - My iMac's Serial Code. A breakdown of information it provides follows Below;

W8 - Factory Code (Single or Double Character Code) - *Shanghai China*

7 - Production Year - 2007

07 - Week Of Production Year - 07

0AC - Production Number (Base 34, excluding letters I & O to avoid confusion with 0 & 1) - 352

VUV - Model ie. iMac, iPhone, etc. - *All of the following;*

*Name: iMac Intel (Late 2006)*
*Group1: iMac*
*Group2: Intel*
*Generation: 3*
*ModelCode: imac late06*
*CPU speed: 2.16GHz*
*Screen size: 20 inch*
*Screen resolution: 1680x1050 pixels*
*Memory - number of slots: 2*

I don't believe any information in a *Serial Code* could jeopardize a users security in any fashion, it could be compared to a serial on a television or a box of crisps.
Just providing place, date of manufacture, unit number to be sent down the belt and the 'items in the finished box'.

So please, if you choose to post in this topic, provide your *Serial Code*.
If still unsure, at least provide the first 5 characters of your *Serial Code*.
+(factory, year, week)+

Yours,
GaBeech

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Answer 3

den.thed

Level 9

76,906 points

May 26, 2010 9:31 PM in response to rkaufmann87

My W8602..... also operates perfectly.

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Answer 4

Moloch'

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May 27, 2010 1:31 AM in response to den.thed

Serial : W86463, glitches & artefacts on screen depends on GPU temperature.
iMac 24" 2006.

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Answer 5

GaBeech Author

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May 27, 2010 3:07 AM in response to Moloch'

Hello Moloch',

Thanks for your reply.

I hate being so negative, yet keep a close watch for more symptoms of system degradation.
Each system will differ slightly...
Each owner will place different levels of stress on thier system...

...here's the negative part; I think it's just a matter of time.

Keep me posted.

Yours,
Gabeech
PS which country are you in?

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Answer 6

GaBeech Author

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May 27, 2010 3:09 AM in response to GaBeech

Hello,

Could people also post Which Country they are in.

Thanks,
GaBeech

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Answer 7

GaBeech Author

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May 27, 2010 3:35 AM in response to GaBeech

I've Submitted a post here... Take a look.

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Answer 8

R C-R

Level 6

17,782 points

May 27, 2010 5:42 AM in response to GaBeech

GaBeech wrote:
I don't believe any information in a *Serial Code* could jeopardize a users security in any fashion, it could be compared to a serial on a television or a box of crisps.

The serial number uniquely identifies the Mac. With it, anyone can call Apple & pose as its owner, reregister it under their name, claim it was stolen from them, etc.

It is a very bad idea to post it in the clear in any public forum.

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Answer 9

R C-R

Level 6

17,782 points

May 27, 2010 6:12 AM in response to GaBeech

GaBeech:

The symptoms you report are consistent with a failure in the video memory (VRAM) subsystem. This could be anything from a few cells going bad in a VRAM chip to a failing associated part like a capacitor that conditions a signal or power line.

Such failures frequently are gradual, at first only occasionally causing visual artifacts but eventually getting bad enough to cause crashes, kernel panics, etc. When they reach this point, they almost always can be detected by the Apple Hardware Test (AHT) provided with your Mac (on one of the grey system discs that came with it & on some models on a hidden partition of the hard drive).

Running AHT should produce a code indicating the failure. It would be useful to know if that happens with your Mac & if so, what the code is.

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Answer 10

GaBeech Author

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May 27, 2010 8:26 AM in response to R C-R

If that's all it takes to trick the authorities to believe you, then I may of gone a little far asking people to quote their full serial, is there a way of editing previous posts.

R C-R wrote:

The serial number uniquely identifies the Mac. With it, anyone can call Apple & pose as its owner, reregister it under their name, claim it was stolen from them, etc.

It is a very bad idea to post it in the clear in any public forum.

Does that mean you could in effect collect serial codes from outlets who keep alot of stock on the shop floor and the call the police six months later and claim your goods back of the 'thieves'... Ahem, rightful owners.

I may have to do that, due to my mac not working at all after a very rapid decline.

So people, just stick to the first five characters.

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Answer 11

GaBeech Author

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May 27, 2010 8:33 AM in response to R C-R

R C-R wrote:

The symptoms you report are consistent with a failure in the video memory (VRAM) subsystem. This could be anything from a few cells going bad in a VRAM chip to a failing associated part like a capacitor that conditions a signal or power line.

Such failures frequently are gradual, at first only occasionally causing visual artifacts but eventually getting bad enough to cause crashes, kernel panics, etc. When they reach this point, they almost always can be detected by the Apple Hardware Test (AHT) provided with your Mac (on one of the grey system discs that came with it & on some models on a hidden partition of the hard drive).

Running AHT should produce a code indicating the failure. It would be useful to know if that happens with your Mac & if so, what the code is.

The decline from small visual artifacts to not being able to power up was relatively fast in my case.
I'm not able to run any tests, my iMac will not power up.

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Answer 12

rkaufmann87

Level 10

140,274 points

May 27, 2010 8:32 AM in response to GaBeech

I have to agree with R-C-R on this one, posting your serial number in a public forum is short sighted and foolish.

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Answer 13

GaBeech Author

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May 27, 2010 9:01 AM in response to rkaufmann87

So people, first 5 characters.

Steal my iMac, protect your own.
I'd still like to find out if all these iMac's that die from the same/similar problems are linked in any way.

I'll worry about my iMac if and when it gets brought back to life.
Three years is not long for a top class piece of kit to last.
If it was just me affected I'd shake my fist to the heavens and submit to bad luck...
It seems like it's not only me thats been affected.

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Answer 14

R C-R

Level 6

17,782 points

May 27, 2010 9:35 AM in response to GaBeech

GaBeech wrote:
If that's all it takes to trick the authorities to believe you, then I may of gone a little far asking people to quote their full serial …

It isn't necessarily all it takes, but it can complicate your life if the ownership of your Mac is disputed or if that info is used in combination with other things to get access to personal info about you. (I won't go into details for what I hope are obvious reasons, but never underestimate the power of a clever con & the good intentions of honest people to compromise your security.)

… is there a way of editing previous posts.

Level two & above Discussions users can report posts to the moderators, suggesting (among other things) that a post needs an edit. When users just post their serial numbers or the UUID of their Macs, the moderators usually obscure some critical part of that. I did report your post, but you have included the serial number in so many places that they probably can't do anything so simple.

I suggest that you change your user profile info to obscure everything after the first five characters of your serial number ASAP, & if you are concerned about the post here that reveals it, that you post those concerns in the Apple - Support - Discussions - Feedback about Discussions category.

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Answer 15

R C-R

Level 6

17,782 points

May 27, 2010 9:52 AM in response to GaBeech

GaBeech wrote:
Three years is not long for a top class piece of kit to last.
If it was just me affected I'd shake my fist to the heavens and submit to bad luck...
It seems like it's not only me thats been affected.

The most significant thing is how many people with similar Macs have the same problem & when it occurs. If there are say half a million of that model in regular use & only say 1000 of them die the same way at around the three year mark, that is just a 0.2% failure rate, which is actually quite good even for top class three year old computer products. But if say 10,000 out of half a million of them die, it begins to look a lot less like bad luck.

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