Q: OSX Lion + 2011 iMac 27'' + Video = Freeze

Yes, you can do it by booting into the SL disc. Just look on the task bar and click tools and the disk utility. Try booting from the external and see if it results in the same issues. Just checking for a fault hard drive here with all these tests. I hear you with the sleep, it's 2am here on the east coast. I am beat, update me in the am.

Didn't 10.7.3 do anything?

I have multiple daily freezing issues on my 2009 iMac which never had issues on SL.

I read that 10.7.3 has updated nvidia drivers on the net... I haven't installed it yet but i will do the combo over the weekend as I have a NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 256 MB

In regards to the other posts here; I do agree that this issue is something to do with Lion. I've installed graphic heavy games that run for hours fine....... but exiting the game and playing with lion (safari, finder, etc..) the system has a graphics panic and locks up.

jmarchalonis: Thanks for that bit of info on Lion update for 10.7.3, seems like it has caused more problems than it is worth. I took all my Macs on Auto update and I will wait for a more stable version.

Anyone having issues if they did upgrade to 10.7.3?

Combo update, repair persmissoins before and after.. and? AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Apple did NOT fix it in 10.7.3 Still getting graphic glitches and having to force restart. I'm going to start taking video and putting these on YouTube.

To make things worse, the last two graphic glitches didn't cause an errort report to send to apple! Not as if they listen anyway.. Nothing in the release notes about freezes, nothing in the beta releases, no fixes.

What is it with apple lately? Very buggy software on both iPhone and with OSX.

Hi,

After updating to 10.7.3 using the combo updater I got 3 freezes, the last with screen corruption.

Try updating the kext cache: sudo touch /System/Library/Extensions/

(For more information: man kextcache)

People have been reporting variable results with this fix. Hope it helps.

My latest fiasco.  I can't boot up my external drive that has (had) my back up data on it.  I ran disk warrier to repair permissions.. And i believe it somehow scrambled the 2 separate partitions.  So that is gone...  I give up.  All I have left if what is on my laptop and iPad.   I had carbonite, which i let expire because it didnt wasnt mac friendly in trying to restore photos or contacts.  I had time machine on the external drive, I made a bootable clone, and all of that is gone.  iDisk is still up on icloud with limited documents on it.. So I'm having to take a "Mac Break.".     I'm just so sick of this.

One positive note is I had purchased iWork 09, some time ago.  I had copied it from the clone back on my mac... But i couldn't get the key password to work.  I finally called apple and after I explained how I managed to lose iWork they waived the $49. fee for talking to me.  Nice.    Of course he has never heard of the iMac issues we are all experiencing.  He thought perhaps I should try to reinstall it one more time and run updates and permissions.  I suggested he spent some time reading this 106 page thread and post some new suggestions.

The tech asked me if i had returned the snow leopard disk for a refund.  Poor guy, i laughed out loud.  Im so far into Mac, Mac programs and Mac devices, I'm mad at myself for getting so sucked in. 

I will figure this out....  But just not today.

When i didn't hear from you yesterday, i thought for the worst and it turns out it was true.

I am glad to hear that you were able to speak to Apple Techs, but they are totally worthless; at least in my experieance. I had to speak to three before they even would acknowlege this thread and we spoke about possible issues, but there are no real fixes sadly. I still think it is inconpatable firmware on the logics board or GPU. Nothing can really fix that but a firmware flash or remove of said component.

Don't wipe that external hard drive, you can still load it as mass-storage and pull the documents off it! Just because it isn't bootable doesn't mean it doesn't still contain the files; check first and then if it is lost. If it is truely lost, try the following.

Install Carbon Copy Cloner (Freeware)  Link: http://www.bombich.com/

Use it to make the new bootable copy of Leopard on your external.

Restart, hold option key, boot into the external.

Install Snow Lepoard to the external.

Restart, hold option key, boot into the external.

Test and Debug

     If freezes, boot into Macintosh HD ( the orginal Lepoard on the Mac)

     Wipe the external, make another bootable copy.

      I am assuming you bought Lion? If not download a beta just for testing purposes...

          Follow the information at the very bottom of this article to make a boot-able disc.

          Link: http://www.macworld.com/article/161087/2011/07/install_lion_over_leopard.html

     Note: Apple wants you to go to SL before Li, but like is said, just for test purposes go from L to Li. It volates the EULA

Boot into the external, run that Lion Disc and install to external.

Restart, hold option key, boot into the external (Now Lion).

Test and Debug.

I am telling you to do this because i put lion on my Late-2006 iMac and it run beaitifully, problem is i sold it. It had minor issues under SL. You might be able to sidestep SL alltogether. But i was also thinking, when you booted SL on to the orginal Macintosh HD, did you run the firmware update? It will permenantly write code to your hardware and logic board. I am not sure is SL is useable without runing that Firmware update to be honest, it is the same thing with Lion. 

Try what i said thought, but don't run the firmware updates... See if you get a better result with Lion than SL.

Good Luck with it, just reply to me when you finish the tests and i will be back, been following the threads.

Hi,I went to the Apple Store in my locale as my girlfriend needs a computer and I wanted her to have a Mac. I really feel she should have a Mac rather than Windows. I saw the same experienced representative I had seen a few months ago. At that time I was using one of their iMacs and wanted to see if it would freeze and crash with Lion after watching a Flash movie and putting it to sleep and then waking it up. It did at that time and he had no comment except to perform a hard restart. The Macs in the store were all running 10.7.2 as they had not updated them. As most people know the Macs in the Apple Stores all have new Disc Images before they open each day.I was interested in a Macbook Air for her and looked at the i5 128Gb for her. I watched a flash movie then put it to sleep and awakened it and it didn't freeze or crash. The rep said all the OS's have bugs and he could crash Snow Leopard 10.6.8 if I brought my MacBook Pro in.I have 10.6.8 on all my Intel Macs and I have never had a freeze or lockup or kernel panic but he claims the reason Apple moved to Lion was due to the instabilities of Snow Leopard! Any way I need your advice,should I get her the i5 Macbook Air 128Gb with 4Gb of Ram (not upgradable and marginal for Lion) I hate to have to have her get a Windows machine but as you know once yougo to Lion on these Macbook Airs you are locked into Lion.

I would say hold off if you can for a few months; there should be various 2012 models released before or around May. As i have stated above, i strongly believe the issues with lion are do to incapatable firmware drivers for internal components. I have lion on a Late 2008 MacBook Pro and a Late 2006 iMac and have not been able to recreated the crashes. Like i said, hold off on getting one if you can. Gandalf The Grey has reported no issues on the new Mac Minis. 

jmarchalonis: No issues so far with the Mac Mini, I had one slight freeze but that was it since I bought it a month ago. I have not upgraded to 10.7.3 yet and will most likely wait. I don't have a problem with updates when they make everything work better. I also have Lion on a late 2011 Macbook Pro that came with SL, but it is working well. I will wait for another iMac and I am hopefully Apple will get there heads out of there (|)s and get things fixed for the better soon!

iMac 2011 - ATI vid card.

I didn't have the same problem as the original post. However, my computer was crashing frequently after opening from sleep. The problem was fixed with the latest update.

However, I wish that Apple was more open about its releases and problems. The latest release mentioned performance fixes for ATI cards. Umm... in my case, it wasn't a performance fix but an issue that was regularly requiring hard reboots! Performance fix ... my bottom.

Yup, 24 hours into 10.7.3 and my first freeze-up. Generally if I don't have Time Machine running and its disk is disconnected, I seem to go for longer without freezing, but it is now becoming a horrible reality of Apple life. I've tried loads, stripped stuff off, but all to no avail. Bad bad bad.... Anybody e-mailed Tim Cook drectly?

I was told to hold off on the 10.7.3, but I am no longer using my 2011 June 27" iMac. Right now it is the Mini, which is ok, but I miss the Quad Core speed and better Graphics card etc..  Just a FYI, I never had any issues till the latest SL and Lion updates and seem to have little problems with other computers right now.

Lion is running well on my 2012 Mac Mini and my late 2011 Macbook Pro. So Apple Life is well on one end and was completely horrible on the iMac end, sorry to say as this computer was becoming Apple's more popular computer and one of the better all around units, till this crap started happening.

I have a feeling it is hardware related, due to permanent upgrades on the logic board firmware. So, don't expect a fix to come along, at this point, might have to be a recall. I am hope this is fixed when the 2012 models are released soon. I have returned my 2011 and buckled down to wait for the 2012 models.