iMac 20-inch Mid 2009 NVIDIA GeForce 9400 keeps crashing

Question

Level 1

8 points

iMac 20-inch Mid 2009 NVIDIA GeForce 9400 keeps crashing

Hello,

I have a beautiful iMac 20-inch, Mid-2009, with a 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB memory (third party, Komputer Bay), and NVIDIA GeForce 9400 256 MB running OS X El Capitan v 10.11.16.

Occasionally the machine is crashing, and when I check the crash report, its mostly a different process causing it. What is the best way to find the reason of this crash? I tried EtreCheck but not much help.

Crash reports occasionally show that the crash happened when some video activity happens (sometimes when a heavy YouTube video, or sometime when a minimal screen animation).

I suspect memory chip is defective, but need some advice how to check it. If confirmed, I c an buy new 2x4GB and replace the existing 4GB module.

I also noticed the GPU card usually is defective and causing these kind of crashes - is there any way of disabling the GPU and still continue using this computer with no major repair.

Any advice is appreciated.

Posted on May 26, 2020 4:03 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Best reply

Allan Jones

Level 9

69,026 points

May 27, 2020 7:51 AM in response to Kahvecio

Are your crashes "kernel panics"? The screen would look like this:

If so, I suspect the RAM because it did not come from what most of use consider a trusted vendor. I do not know if memtest will report issues with RAM simply because it dos not meet the quality a Mac demands, but you can try. Most senior contributors here, including me, recommend RAM only from Crucial or Other World Computing.

EtreCheck shows your computer was not starved for RAM at the time of the test.

Pairing RAM may give a slight performance boost but unpaired quality RAM should not cause crashes.

Graphics card issues are usually manifested in video defects or no video at all. Yes, it is possible a bad vidcard could cause a crash but that is far down on my symptoms list.

I like keeping old Macs is service but even I think this might be steep climb if using better RAM does not help the issue. Disassembly to check even simple things like if the video card is properly seated is not for the faint of heart.

Reply

Answer 2

rkaufmann87

Level 10

140,910 points

May 26, 2020 4:49 PM in response to Kahvecio

You have a 12+ year old computer, if you can get it to run EtreCheck please do the following:

Please navigate to the Mac App Store or navigate to www.Etrecheck.com and download the free version of EtreCheck. Once you have you downloaded the app and installed it, please run the report and save it. This report will help us get a good idea what has been installed on your system and help us be able to diagnose what may be wrong.

When you have your report, you can attach it when you reply to this message and we can then review it and help you determine what is needed to get your system running well again.

For instructions on how to download your EtreCheck report and attach it to your reply to this message please click https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-250000211

Reply

Answer 3

Kahvecio Author

Level 1

8 points

May 27, 2020 8:09 AM in response to Allan Jones

Yes, crashes are causing kernel panics - I am seeing those screens. Below are some examples of crash reports.

I will work on testing with quality pair of memory chips - thanks for the advice.

Can you also look at the crash reports in case there is more hints there? two were caused in GPU processes, and one was caused in msdosfs process.

crash reports - 3 separae ones.

Reply

Answer 4

BDAqua

Level 10

239,573 points

May 26, 2020 7:13 PM in response to Kahvecio

Have you blown the dust out of the intakes lately?

What temperatures does this App report? Especially the GPU.

This App can be used to speed up the fans, all my iMacs would be dead without it.

Never ever ever drop fan speeds below the speed that the Mac itself is calling for.

MacFansControl…

https://www.crystalidea.com/macs-fan-control

Reply

Answer 5

Kahvecio Author

Level 1

8 points

May 26, 2020 9:34 PM in response to rkaufmann87

I can do everything I need on this computer, so I would like to keep it if I can :)

Can you advice me how can check the memory and the graphic cards for any fault? is memtest86 a good test that will show me if memory hardware has some issues? Also do I need the memory chips in pairs? I currently have 1 chip of 4GB - I am wondering if this is an issue that existed from beginning. I bought this machine in 2013 and I always had that crash issue.

Reply

Answer 6

rkaufmann87

Level 10

140,910 points

May 27, 2020 7:31 AM in response to Kahvecio

Parts have not been made for that computer for at least 5 years, if the GPU has failed. you cannot operate the computer without it and finding one will be extremely difficult. Take it to an independent Apple Authorized Service Provider if you want and see what they can do, but IMHO you are throwing away money.

Reply

Answer 7

Kahvecio Author

Level 1

8 points

May 28, 2020 12:27 PM in response to Allan Jones

Thanks a lot, I will still test this with a 2GB OWC memory chip which I found at amazon for 10 dollars - I think its worth validating that the memory chip is not the problem here. Since the video card is using the shared physical memory too, its possible that 4GB KomputerBay chip is not meeting the requirements and causing that crash. Also the third crash report I attached earlier does not point to a video card kernel extension - just a filesystem module, msdosfs.

Thanks again for all advices!

Reply