Recently performed clean install of 10.7, crashes often

Rittanisi wrote:

Hello everyone. I recently did a clean install of OS X Lion 10.7 on my Intel Core 2 Duo Macbook (13" Late 2006 model). Since then I have experiencing significant instability with the OS. It has crashed several times now, and crashes every time I try to update the OS software or use Time Machine. Also, the fan is running at a high speed at all times.

I've read that there is some preliminary stuff the OS has to do once installed that may take a while. Could this be the source of this instability? I'm confident that updating the OS would be beneficial, but it crashes every time I try to do so. Any suggestions?

Edit: I feel it is necessary to mention that I went directly from 10.4 to 10.7 on this install.

Thanks.

Rittanisi

Hi, how much memory do you have and how much free space is left on your drive? Please give us the size of your drive too, thanks.

Pete

Hello:

Short of a reinstall, try this:

1. Reset the PRAM.

2. Reset the SMC.

Barry

Rittanisi wrote:

Since resetting PRAM (or NVRAM, whichever is applicable) and the SMC, I have succcessfully updated the OS and am now using 10.7.3. After the resets and prior to the OS update, the fan was running quietly. After the update the fan is working pretty hard.

Next I will try to back up using Time Machine.

Thanks for the advice. I've never heard of those options and I've had a Macbook for many years. When should I reset NVRAM and/or the SMC?

Your computer may be doing a reindex of Spotlight which can take some time and slow things right down. If it is, you will notice a black dot in the middle of the magnifying glass in the top Right of the menu bar.

Also go to Application > Utilities > DiskUtility and repair your permissions on the Hard Drive volume.

Pete

Thanks for the advice. I've never heard of those options and I've had a Macbook for many years. When should I reset NVRAM and/or the SMC?

Those are troubleshooting steps that solve (sometimes) odd problems with a system. They are not something one should do on a routine basis.

There is a widget I use once in awhile to check temperatures, fan speed, etc (not regularly). It is called iStat nano. My fan speed would be different than yours, so there is no comparison.

Incidentally, if the fan speed seems high after the updates, I would reset the PRAM and SMC again.

Barry

Good point about the reindexing, Pete! 😀

Barry