iMac freezes and restarts when streaming or watching video locally

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Tsipir Author

Level 1

4 points

iMac freezes and restarts when streaming or watching video locally

I have a 2017 iMac 27 inch with the following specs:

16GB RAM

2TB FusionDrive

Big Sur OS

The mac was purchased second hand in December 2022 and after some corruption issues under Monterey I installed Big Sur. The iMac was running well until a couple of weeks ago when I started watching the Queens tennis tournament live (streaming on BBC iPlayer). The video would occasionally freeze (I could still move the cursor but the iMac would not respond to any clicks) and after a few seconds it would restart. Over the next few days, the symptom became more frequent, to the point where it would happen within 5 minutes of starting streaming. And this would happen with all browsers I have: Safari, Brave and Firefox.

My iMac account is a regular account and the problem also occurs on the iMac's admin account as well as a new regular account I created just for testing.

I had to purchase a new external hdd as the old Time Machine backup drive failed and just completed a TM backup. I was going to do a clean reinstall of Big Sur to see if the problem occurs on a clean machine without any 3rd part apps installed.

Before doing that, however, I will wait to see if we can figure out what is going on with the system as is.

Here are some EtreCheck and Apple Crash logs from the crashes.

Apple Crash Report #1

Apple Crash Report #2

Edit: I just saw that the format of the EtreCheck reports is a little messed up. Apologies for that. If that's a problem, please let me know and I can create some more reports and try to upload them without the formatting issues.

iMac 27″

Posted on Jul 2, 2023 3:41 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Tsipir Author

Level 1

4 points

Jul 11, 2023 1:57 AM in response to Owl-53

Thank you both for the answers. I am inclined to think that there is a hardware failure in the iMac. After many failed attempts to install Catalina, Big Sur, Monterey and Ventura (all gave the error "An error occurred loading the update" at 12 minutes remaining of the installation), Catalina finally installed. The issue could be repeated on a freshly installed system. However, the issue did not occur when booting the iMac from an external SSD (connected via USB 3). Although I could be totally wrong, my feeling is that the issue is with the FusionDrive.

I spoke to Apple support on the phone and after doing various things they said I should take the iMac to the experts. Since the iMac is still covered under the 1 year warranty I got when purchased second hand, I will send it back. The reason I didn't send it back sooner is because of the hassle and time needed to ship it across Europe to the seller who is in a different country.

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Answer 2

brbo

Level 8

40,243 points

Jul 6, 2023 9:30 PM in response to Tsipir

Hi Tsipir

welcome to the Apple (user-to-user) Community.

Re: "iMac freezes and restarts when streaming or watching video locally"

Thank you for the details provided. Am no expert with EtreCheck, however once the discussion is under way, someone with more expertise than either of us may join the discussion, or offer to look through the reports.

Re: "I will wait to see if we can figure out what is going on with the system as is".

Does the issue persist in Safe Mode ?

Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support

How to: Use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support

If the issue doesn't continue while in safe mode, leave safe mode by restarting your Mac normally.

Then test for the issue again. The issue may have been resolved.

____________________________________________________________

More trouble-shooting if needed:

✽. Wondering if you have enough memory / storage on your iMac (at least 50 Gb free) for your Operating System to work smoothly.

How to check, and /or free up storage space on your Mac. (Back everything up first, if you need to delete items)

Free up storage space on your Mac - Apple Support

____________________________________________________________________

✽ Wondering which app is in use when Mac freezes / restarts:

If an app on your Mac stops responding, closes unexpectedly, or won’t open - Apple Support

✽. If the issue is occurring when the Mac is plugged into power,

check that the connection is stable, and the adapter or power point is not at fault.

________________________________________________

✽. Sometimes third-party (non-Apple) apps (eg: including unnecessary virus checkers, ad blockers etc.) can cause issues. (The EtreCheck reports may help identify anything troublesome)

Try turning off any such apps., (even "Chrome", VPN etc can cause issues)

or

uninstall using the uninstaller from the developer.

See if there is any change.

iMac Support website:

iMac - Official Apple Support

All the best :-

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Answer 3

brbo

Level 8

40,243 points

Jul 11, 2023 3:15 PM in response to Tsipir

Thank you for your thoughtful reply, Tsipir, and for letting us know all the latest details. (This can also be helpful for anyone searching through the discussions later, looking for answers.) Grateful you are keeping us posted.

Thank you too, to P.Phillips, for ably joining the discussion and sharing the expertise.

Cheers :-)

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Answer 4

Owl-53

Level 10

107,041 points

Jul 11, 2023 2:12 AM in response to Tsipir

Time permitting, please do keep us updated on the outcome

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Answer 5

Tsipir Author

Level 1

4 points

Jul 11, 2023 2:23 AM in response to Owl-53

Will do!

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Answer 6

Owl-53

Level 10

107,041 points

Jul 7, 2023 4:19 AM in response to Tsipir

To add to the Good Suggestions presented by my colleague @brbo

Etrecheck Report #3

“ The mac was purchased second hand in December 2022 “

Q - Kernel panics - This system has experienced kernel panics. This could be a sign of hardware failure.

A - I am not a Hardware Expert, though there are several Contributors with way more Technical Knowledge on these types issues

If were are fortunate enough, perhaps one or two will pickup your question and offer more insights

A - To really know if the machine is failing might require a visit to the Experts

Have the computer evaluated by the Professionals who have the Special Hardware Software and Expertise to diagnose the issue and offer possible solutions

Make an Appointment at the Apple Genius Bar and have them evaluate the computer

Q - Unsigned files - There are unsigned software files installed. These files could be old, incompatible, and cause problems. They should be reviewed.

A - Self explanatory

Q - Drives:

disk0 - APPLE SSD SM0128L 121.33 GB (Solid State - TRIM: Yes)

disk0s2 [APFS Fusion Drive] 121.02 GB

disk1 - APPLE HDD ST2000DM001 2.00 TB (Mechanical - 7200 RPM)

Q - System Software:

macOS Big Sur 11.7.4 (20G1120)

A - Current version of Big Sur is 11.7.8

Keep your Mac up to date - Apple Support (CA)

Apple security updates - Apple Support (CA)

Q -NordVPNLauncher (App Store - installed 2023-05-18)

/Applications/NordVPN.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/NordVPNLauncher.app

A - VPNs are not always doing what they appear to be doing

https://gist.github.com/joepie91/5a9909939e6ce7d09e29

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iMac freezes and restarts when streaming or watching video locally

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