G4 MDD Keeps Freezing Up

HI Matt,

I get a wierd QT notice trying to view that jpg!??

One way to test is to Safe Boot from the HD, (holding Shift key down at bootup), run Disk Utility in Applications>Utilities, then highlight your drive, click on Repair Permissions, Test for problem in Safe Mode...

PS. Safe boot may stay on the gray radian for a long time, let it go, it's trying to repair the Hard Drive

Reboot, test again.

If it only does it in Regular Boot, then it could be some hardware problem like Video card, (Quartz is turned off in Safe Mode), or Airport in 10.4 & below, or 3rd party add-on, Check System Preferences>Accounts>Login Items window to see if it or something relevant is listed.

Check the System Preferences>Other Row, for 3rd party Pref Panes.

Also look in these if they exist, some are invisible...

/private/var/run/StartupItems

/Library/StartupItems

/System/Library/StartupItems

/System/Library/LaunchDaemons

/Library/LaunchDaemons

I think you should get Applejack...

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/15667/applejack

After installing, reboot holding down CMD+s, (+s), then when the DOS like prompt shows, type in...

applejack AUTO

Then let it do all 6 of it's things.

At least it'll eliminate some questions if it doesn't fix it.

The 6 things it does are...

Correct any Disk problems.

Repair Permissions.

Clear out Cache Files.

Repair/check several plist files.

Dump the VM files for a fresh start.

Trash old Log files.

First reboot will be slower, sometimes 2 or 3 restarts will be required for full benefit... my guess is files relying upon other files relying upon other files! :-)

Disconnect the USB cable from any Uninterruptible Power Supply so the system doesn't shut down in the middle of the process.

Do you have an Apple Hardware Test disc (the AHT is on the Install/Restore DVD that came with your Mac)? Running the Apple Hardware Test in Loop Mode is an excellent troubleshooting step for finding intermittent hardware problems. It is especially useful when troubleshooting intermittent kernel panics. If Loop Mode is supported by the version of the Apple Hardware Test you are using, you run the Extended Test in Loop Mode by pressing Control-L before starting the test. Looping On should appear in the right window. Then click the Extended Test button.The test will run continuously until a problem is found. If a problem is found, the test will cease to loop, indicating the problem it found. If the test fails, be sure to write down the exact message associated with the failure.In some cases, RAM problems did not show up until nearly 40 loops, so give it a good run.

 Cheers, Tom 😉

2.5 GHz?!? Are you BBQing ribs at the same time? If not, shame to waste all that heat.....

LCS would be a good way to go to cool an overly OC'd machine.

You will never get enough heatsink and fan inside the case to properly aircool it.

Let's not forget that you may be over-pulling voltage on one or two of the PSU voltage rails.....lack of power quality and heat in the PSU are also likely accomplices in the shutdowns.

I'm working on a liquid cooled system for my 2.0 GHz processor in a Quicksilver.

due to case restraints, I'm moving the system to a Lian Li ATX case.

If you want to try and keep things "inside" and OEM looking on the outside, one of the best MDD modders that I have seen has his cooling mods documented here:

http://www.s155158671.websitehome.co.uk/

MDD articles are to the bottom.

2.5 GHz?!? Are you BBQing ribs at the same time?

A good idea, but be sure to use barbeque sauce that does not conduct electricity.

I'm very surprised that this machine even boots at 2.5GHz. IMHO, any OC that requires bumping CV is not worth it. If this were my machine and it were unstable at 1.5, I'd simply drop it back down to 1.42. The most that you can hope for is 1.67 and the odds are against you that it will be stable at this speed without liquid cooling. I've never heard of an OEM MDD module clocked higher than 1.67 that was even remotely stable.

I guess it depends on how long you want to keep this computer and what you consider to be a good trade-off between heat and performance, but my advice would be to drop it down to 1.42 (and buy a grill for cooking those ribs).

My MDD frezes 12 minutes after boot up everytime, just like clockwork.

I installed and ran applejack in AUTO mode. When the program gets to "checking preferences" I don't think anything is happening. I let it run for hours and the program seems to continue to run but never stops. I get line after line after line of continuous progress bar.

Something like

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ to infinity and beyond.

I don't think running applejack can tell if the computer has frozen. When checking the preferences it appears to be caught into endless loop.

Any help?

Mmm...barbecued Ribs...