Computer locks up, screen is gibberish, kernel panics

Question

Computer locks up, screen is gibberish, kernel panics

Hi,

Recently I updated to 10.6.7. Now I have this new fun problem. A few, actually. Sometimes, my computer will freeze entirely except for the mouse, for 10 seconds, and then the mouse also locks up, for another 5 seconds, and then I can use my computer again. Completely randomly, I can't reproduce it.

The other problem is that every now and then, one of my two screens turns into complete garbled gibberish, all of a sudden, without warning. I have to restart to fix it.

Recently I restarted and got a kernal panic while it was booting up, and that inspired me to ask my friends on the Apple Discussions if they had heard of this or had any ideas as to what this all is. I have a Mac Pro 1,1 2.66 ghz Dual core intel xeon with 6 gb ram. My main monitor is plugged into a Radeon HD4870 and my secondary monitor is plugged into my GeForce 7300 GT.

Any advice would be helpful. Thank you!

mac pro

Posted on May 2, 2011 11:35 AM

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Answer 1

Dr_AST

Level 1

10 points

May 2, 2011 11:40 AM in response to Jacqueline Dedell

Have you installed RAM lately?

I had a problem with one of my RAM chipsets and it only showed up under intense RAM usage (Parallels desktop using Solid Edge ST2).

Check for bad RAM using something like TechTool Pro ($99) or there may be a free RAM tester out there.

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Answer 2

May 2, 2011 11:44 AM in response to Dr_AST

I haven't, the last time I installed ram was over 1 year ago. The only change I have made recently is installing 10.6.7 (A week ago), and these problems just started showing up a few days ago. My guess is maybe 10.6.7 is conflicting with something in my computer, but I really have no idea.

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Answer 3

The hatter

Level 9

61,031 points

May 2, 2011 11:48 AM in response to Jacqueline Dedell

Pull the 7300GT.

Unplug any and all external devices.

Check and even swap out or replace USB cables and extensions.

run Disk Warrior!

there are problems DW can fix that DU will not.

USB issues are common and can cause panics.

Avoiding eliminating Kernel panics

FAQ kernelpanic

Resolving Kernel Panics

Clone your system so you can boot from another hard drive if you haven't already.

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Answer 4

May 2, 2011 11:54 AM in response to The hatter

Yeah, I think it must be something with the 7300 since thats the screen that keeps turning into gibberish. I'll pull that and just run on 1 screen for a while until I get an adapter for the Apple Mini display -> DVI.

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Answer 5

May 2, 2011 11:17 PM in response to Jacqueline Dedell

Took my second monitor out of the 7300 and put it into the 4870... so far so good. I'll keep you posted if anything bad happens.

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