Late 2010 Core i7 iMac Shutdown

Only 3 days in and so far so good. Although with the release of 10.6.5 today I encountered the same old MagicJack file I downloaded weeks ago and again I had to eject it.
I wonder of there was a "hidden" fix in 10.6.5 for our iMacs? I noticed a graphics update that some folks considered a possible problem area. Sadly I won't know for some time now but maybe this weekend. I guess I'm either the only one or one of the few that doesn't believe it's the NuRam or the iMac not being able to handle 16GB. My problems only started with 10.6.4

Please keep us informed on whether the 10.6.5 helps. I am about to pull the trigger on a new iMac but have had second thoughts about a 27" i7 after following this tread. I want to use it for Aperture and photos so I thought might as well go with the i7 and 16 gigs but your issues give me pause. My alternative would be a i5 quad core with the 5760 board and only 12 gigs. Either machine will probably work fine but I assume the i7 one might have a longer useful life and the incremental cost is small.

Unfortunately today again i had a shut off while i was browsing with Safari , nothing else was running and the computer was not to hot!!! I guess im going to try diffrent ram config (just in case) i dont believe its a bad ram but maybe something relative ! So what ever i do and they did on the Apple store and the 10.6.5 update didnt help!!!

We have 7 new iMacs that we are using for heavy visual effects production. Our machines have 16GB (though not currently) and we are finding the same results as others... All our machines have powered down suddenly - generally when taxed. If we reduce memory, things are fine. A prior generation iMac and numerous Mac Pros are operating just fine.

We've replaced memory through OWC with the latest NuRAM (1333mhz) and it's the same situation. One machine has memory purchased from MacMall and that has the same problem.

AppleCare says it suspects our building's power is faulty. With the issues others are having and our non-iMac machines being happy I think they're incorrect. Also, every machine is on a UPS, so that should protect from everything but massive power problems.

I just upgraded one machine to 10.6.5 and it failed immediately with a test we've developed using one of our software applications.

I'm working with OWC to try the Samsung memory that they sell. That's the only thing I've heard has helped others. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT ISSUE THAT APPLE NEEDS TO ADDRESS ASAP

Thanks

If they're on a UPS, they're just fine. I worked in a hospital years ago where the power went up and down like a yo yo. Brown outs, blackouts, etc. The UPS's job is to equalize power. If you have a $100 or so to troubleshoot, call in an electrician and have him measure for you.

Power could cause it, and I've seen it before overseas where they run voltage low, but not if you're on a UPS.

Let us know what happens with the Samsung RAM.

I have the same problem since early august . I have written a thread about it as have a lot of others.
My iMac is on UPS too. The only thing that helped me so far is reduction of ram. ( using 2x4 G OWC and 2x 2 G Apple ram).
I have read all the threads and post about this problem and I believe it is a hardware issue rather than a software one. So the latest update 10.6.5 will not solve this problem because I saw no firmware update in it. It appears that this iMac is very sensitive to the kind of ram you put into it when going for 16 G. Whether that is due to Apple or to the ram manufacturers remains to be seen. When earlier iMacs are working fine with 3rd party ram it is probably because they are not working with 16 G. Correct me if I am wrong about this.


peterwillem

Peter - I've seen your posts. I hope we can all find a resolution to this. Can anyone speak to whether using 16GB of Samsumg memory seems like a solid solution?

FYI - We have a prior generation iMac (2.8mhz) running with 16GB for many months and never had an issue with it.

Brian

Quote:
FYI - We have a prior generation iMac (2.8mhz) running with 16GB for many months and never had an issue with it.

So that points to either an Apple hardware cause or a ram factory cause.
Maybe if you can compare the technical difference between the ram used in the older and newest iMacs:
PC8500 DDR3 1066MHz SO-DIMM 204 Pin PC3-8500 versus
PC3-10600 DDR3 1333MHz SO-DIMM 204 Pin CL9

Could it be that the problem lies in there? Perhaps Apple did not adjust the hardware in their latest model enough to let it work with the full 16 G ram?

I don't know, it is a riddle that Apple has to solve ASAP!

Hope that Apple engineers are reading and taking notice of these post and threads.


peterwillem

I found this in another thread in this forum. This sounds promising.
http://everythingapple.blogspot.com/2009/11/ddr3-1333-mhz-works-in-new-quad-imac s.html

A pity, should have known this sooner.


peterwillem

If this holds true from the link Peter supplied then is there a possible firmware fix that Apple could provide? If not, then I wonder if NuRam and OWC would replace those modules with slower 1067 MHz RAM modules? Or with ones containing the CL-7 specs?

If the supplied and supposedly working w/o a hitch Samsung RAM is true then what are it's cache latency specs?

Here's a copy of the post, edited:

"Although Apple has included DDR3 1067 MHz memory with the new iMacs, but the built-in DDR3 memory controller officially supports 1333 MHz memory. Someone has now tried 1333 in his new Core i7 iMac and yes 1333 MHz memory works, with some caveats. The biggest issue is that the memory must have a cache latency of 7 - CL7 (like the 1067 MHz memory Apple provides) to work properly. However, a lot of 1333 MHz memory out there is the slower CL9 speed. CL9 modules can cause the iMacs to become unstable. Furthermore, it seems the speed boost from 1333 MHz RAM is at best small, even in synthetic memory benchmarks. Presumably, the lack of a third memory channel (as in the Mac Pros) limits overall memory performance."

I was waiting and as I suspected it shut down. However, it wasn't hot I had it asleep from 4:00 PM till 6:48 PM. If helpful here'e a copy of the recent Console Logs:

11/13/10 5:48:39 PM Rowmote Helper[205] Est <AsyncUdpSocket: 0x315170> (5843)
11/13/10 6:17:51 PM Rowmote Helper[205] Est <AsyncUdpSocket: 0x315170> (5843)
11/13/10 6:17:54 PM Rowmote Helper[205] Est <AsyncUdpSocket: 0x18095a0> (5843)
11/13/10 6:17:59 PM com.zeobit.MacKeeper.plugin.AntiTheft.daemon[61] traceroute to mackeeper.zeobit.com (64.15.138.185), 64 hops max, 52 byte packets
11/13/10 6:25:38 PM SMARTReporter[202] Drive: 'WDC WD1001FALS-40Y6A0 (Macintosh HD | WD-WCATR1973316 | disk0)' Status: SMARTOK (S.M.A.R.T. condition not exceeded, drive OK)
11/13/10 6:40:56 PM com.apple.launchd[1] * launchd[1] has started up. *
11/13/10 6:41:21 PM com.apple.launchd[1] System: Bug: launchd corelogic.c:8760 (24208):2
11/13/10 6:41:21 PM com.apple.launchd[1] System: job migspawn() can't find its session!
11/13/10 6:41:21 PM com.bjango.istatserver[49] LSOpenURLsWithRole() failed for the application /Library/Application Support/iStat Server/iStat Server Updater.app/Contents/Resources/UpdateChecker.app with error -10810.
11/13/10 6:41:21 PM com.bjango.istatserver[49] launchctl bsexec failed: Inappropriate ioctl for device
11/13/10 6:41:35 PM com.apple.SystemStarter[23] Starting Veoh Client Service
11/13/10 6:41:35 PM com.apple.SystemStarter[23] /Library/StartupItems/Veoh/Veoh: line 8: /usr/sbin/veohd: No such file or directory
11/13/10 6:41:35 PM com.apple.SystemStarter[23] /System/Library/Extensions/hypervisor.kext failed to load - (libkern/kext) not found; check the system/kernel logs for errors or try kextutil(8).
11/13/10 6:41:44 PM com.apple.launchd.peruser.502[130] (com.apple.ReportCrash) Falling back to default Mach exception handler. Could not find: com.apple.ReportCrash.Self
11/13/10 6:41:44 PM com.apple.launchd.peruser.502[130] (com.apple.Safari) Bug: launchd corelogic.c:4598 (24208):2

My iMac (11,3) came with 4GB (2x2) of DDR3 1333 Mhz Samsung memory. If the 1333 Mhz is the problem, then Apple should do a recall as this is OEM supplied.

I maxed out to 16GB, and then dropped to 14GB to see if that would help. It does not

My post from another thread:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=12581219#12581219

I think the 1333 Mhz with CL 9 could be the problem when using 16 G.
I have been using 2 x 4 G OWC ram CL9 and 2x2 G original Apple ram for over a month now without any problem.
You are using in one slot not equally matched ram. Could that be a cause of your long intervals shutdowns? Try 2x4 and 2x2 G ram.The profit of using 14 instead of 12 G ram is marginal, it only shows in the benchmarks.
This does not alter the fact that Apple and/or the memory vendors/manufacturers should do something about these problems ASAP!

peterwillem

All my comments below assume we are talking about a new Mac, still in warranty, that is not performing as advertised.

Someone above wrote:

"THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT ISSUE THAT APPLE NEEDS TO ADDRESS ASAP"

Before the issue can be addressed we have to understand what the issue really is, and who is in a position to address it.

This thread, and thousands of others like it, are based on the false assumption that the problem being discussed is a technical problem.

From this false assumption, thousands of people have wasted millions of hours over decades trying to fix technical problems in brand new Macs, that few of us are qualified to diagnose, let alone fix.

Even if we were qualified, diagnosing and fixing technical problems in new Macs is NOT our job.

This isn't a technical problem, it's a business problem.

The business problem is that because each of us looks at this through the very limited lens of our own self interest, Apple is able to divide and conquer, and convince each of us that we should be involved in fixing THEIR problem.

Unless we learn to see this as a business problem, not a technical problems, threads like this will continue for decades to come...

... and none of us will ever be able to buy a new Mac in peace, with confidence and joy.

It's not in either our interest or Apple's interest that we should never be able to buy a new Mac with confidence and joy.

Both we and Apple will benefit if we are able to make the required mindset shift, and both of us will suffer if we don't. We are all in the same boat, and will sink or swim together.

Every time we refer to failures in new Macs as a technical problem, we are making the real problem, the business problem, worse.

Thanks Peter I might swap down to 12GB but someone else tried the move to 12GB and it only delayed the shutdowns.

I could easily live with 8GB since I'm a casual Mac user not a Pro or even a Prosumer however, my reasoning on purchasing the 16GB NuRam kit was 2 fold I could afford it at the time and somewhat future proof my new iMac by stuffing it with the maximum capacity ram it'll take.

My last brand new Mac was a 1st gen Intel 20" iMac w/a Core Duo 2.0 not a Core 2 and the only BTO option I went for was the 256MB video card ram upgrade. The maximum ram it would hold was a measly 2GB. 😉 It cost the same for that model which was the top of the line in early 2K6 as the Core i7 so I decided to trade up and the 12 month interest free financing offered by Barclaycard made the deal hard to resist. 🙂 I'll be giving my old iMac to my niece and her husband as a holiday gift complete with Snow Leopard iLife '11 and iWork.