Random hard freezes with 10.9.1

OK, you convinced me. I killed everything related to Techtool except for the small eDrive which couldn't possible be involved in this mess. The freezes are completely random in timing and with applications open. I have been unable to see any EXACT duplication of conditions for any two freezes. By the way, I am running the 10.9.2 that came on the iMac. I added my problem to a previous similar one tha had the 10.9.1 title. Today the machine worked beautifully with no freezes. After 5 hours in which I have had open and used ALL of the applications that were running during previous freezes, plus a few more, with no problems. One thing is did not previously report is at times before a freeze some applications, noteably Word and Excel, would slow down considrably.... but today everything has been superfast. I wonder if these problems have anything to do with the fact that my iMac is semi maxxed out with the 3.5 GHz Intel Core 7 processor, 16 GB of 1600 MHz DDR3 RAM and a 3TB hard drive? My old one (that I've been using a lot while this new one has been acting up) was just a plain Jane base model. I've run another EtreCheck with the results printed below. After that I've pasted in the last portion of my problem log.. Any insight you may give would be appreciated. I'm beginning to think I have a lemon.

EtreCheck 2014-03-29

Hardware Information:

iMac (27-inch, Late 2013)

iMac - model: iMac14,2

1 3.5 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU: 4 cores

16 GB RAM

Video Information:

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M - VRAM: 4096 MB

System Software:

OS X 10.9.2 (13C64) - Uptime: 0 days 3:57:55

Disk Information:

APPLE HDD ST3000DM001 disk0 : (3 TB)

EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB

disk0s2 (disk0s2) <not mounted>: 2.99 TB

Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>: 650 MB

eDrive (disk0s4) /Volumes/eDrive: 12 GB (4.94 GB free)

ST3000DM001-9YN166 disk2 : (3 TB)

EFI (disk2s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB

JEJ_iMac_2_EHD_Backup (disk2s2) /Volumes/JEJ_iMac_2_EHD_Backup: 3 TB (1.95 TB free)

Recovery HD (disk2s3) <not mounted>: 1.17 GB

USB Information:

HGST Touro Desk 3.0 4 TB

disk3s1 (disk3s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB

JEJ Time Machine BU 01 (disk3s2) /Volumes/JEJ Time Machine BU 01: 4 TB (2.94 TB free)

VIA Labs, Inc. USB3.0 Hub

VIA Labs, Inc. USB3.0 Hub

Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

VIA Labs, Inc. USB2.0 Hub

VIA Labs, Inc. USB2.0 Hub

Apple, Inc. Keyboard Hub

Mitsumi Electric Apple Optical USB Mouse

Apple Inc. Apple Keyboard

Apple Inc. MacBook Air SuperDrive

FireWire Information:

Thunderbolt Information:

Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

Seagate GoFlex Desk Adapter Thunderbolt

Kernel Extensions:

com.seagate.driver.PowSecDriverCore (5.2.4 - SDK 10.4)

com.eltima.ElmediaPlayer.kext (1.0)

com.sophos.kext.sav (8.0.14)

Startup Items:

HP IO: Path: /Library/StartupItems/HP IO

Problem System Launch Daemons:

[System] com.seagate.TBDecorator.plist 3rd-Party support link

Launch Daemons:

[System] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist 3rd-Party support link

[System] com.bombich.ccc.plist 3rd-Party support link

[System] com.bombich.ccc.scheduledtask.0126A738-FE0F-48FC-A12B-2984BDBE4C22.plist 3rd-Party support link

[System] com.bombich.ccc.scheduledtask.5D0AE733-8AEF-423F-8348-908025078D34.plist 3rd-Party support link

[System] com.bombich.ccc.scheduledtask.A6292958-88D1-4EC1-B75B-6FFB4BDF39A3.plist 3rd-Party support link

[System] com.eltima.ElmediaPlayer.daemon.plist 3rd-Party support link

[System] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist 3rd-Party support link

[System] com.intego.BackupManagerPro.daemon.plist 3rd-Party support link

[System] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist 3rd-Party support link

[System] com.sophos.autoupdate.plist 3rd-Party support link

[System] com.sophos.intercheck.plist 3rd-Party support link

[System] com.sophos.notification.plist 3rd-Party support link

Launch Agents:

[System] com.coupons.coupond.plist 3rd-Party support link

[System] com.google.keystone.agent.plist 3rd-Party support link

[System] com.hp.help.tocgenerator.plist 3rd-Party support link

[System] com.intego.backupmanagerpro.agent.plist 3rd-Party support link

[System] com.sophos.uiserver.plist 3rd-Party support link

User Launch Agents:

[not loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist 3rd-Party support link

[not loaded] com.bombich.ccc-user-agent.plist 3rd-Party support link

User Login Items:

Garmin Express Service

FontExplorerXAutoload

Rogue Amoeba Schedule Helper

Dropbox

Garmin Lifetime Map Updater

Radioshift Helper (1419127606)

VersionCueCS2Status

HP Scheduler

Director Docker

HP Product Research

SymSecondaryLaunch

Internet Plug-ins:

Flash Player: Version: 12.0.0.77 - SDK 10.6 3rd-Party support link

PrintDialogExt: Version: 6.1 3rd-Party support link

googletalkbrowserplugin: Version: 5.2.4.18058 3rd-Party support link

Scorch: Version: 6.2.0 3rd-Party support link

iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0

RealPlayer Plugin: Version: (null) 3rd-Party support link

DirectorShockwave: Version: 11.5.2r602 3rd-Party support link

QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3

FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 12.0.0.77 - SDK 10.6 3rd-Party support link

GarminGpsControl: Version: 2.9.2.0 Release 3rd-Party support link

VLC Plugin: Version: 1.0.3 3rd-Party support link

MacCouponPrinter3: Version: (null)

Mozillaplug: Version: 1.0

DivXBrowserPlugin: Version: 1.4 3rd-Party support link

CouponPrinter-FireFox: Version: Version 1.0.11

CouponPrinter-FireFox_v2: Version: 5.0.3 - SDK 10.6 3rd-Party support link

NPExView: Version: (null) 3rd-Party support link

Silverlight: Version: 4.0.51204.0 3rd-Party support link

Default Browser: Version: 537 - SDK 10.9

Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: Version: 2.3.8.1 3rd-Party support link

o1dbrowserplugin: Version: 5.2.4.18058 3rd-Party support link

NPDjVu: Version: (null) 3rd-Party support link

SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.3.9 - SDK 10.6 3rd-Party support link

JavaAppletPlugin: Version: 14.9.0 - SDK 10.7 Outdated! Update

OfficeLiveBrowserPlugin: Version: 12.3.6 3rd-Party support link

Safari Extensions:

iTube Studio: Version: 4.8.0.0

musicbox: Version: 2.1

Videobox: Version: 2.1

Audio Plug-ins:

BluetoothAudioPlugIn: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.9

AirPlay: Version: 2.0 - SDK 10.9

AppleAVBAudio: Version: 203.2 - SDK 10.9

InstantOn: Version: 7.1.2 - SDK 10.8 3rd-Party support link

iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.3 - SDK 10.9

iTunes Plug-ins:

Quartz Composer Visualizer: Version: 1.4 - SDK 10.9

User Internet Plug-ins:

Move-Media-Player: Version: npmnqmp 071706000001 3rd-Party support link

3rd Party Preference Panes:

DivX 3rd-Party support link

Flash Player 3rd-Party support link

Flip4Mac WMV 3rd-Party support link

Old Applications:

None

Time Machine:

Auto backup: YES

Volumes being backed up:

Destinations:

JEJ Time Machine backup 01 [Local] (Last used)

Total size: 4

Total number of backups: 37

Oldest backup: 2013-12-10 20:03:56 +0000

Last backup: 2014-03-30 00:44:57 +0000

Size of backup disk: Excellent

Backup size 4 > (Disk size 0 B X 3)

Time Machine details may not be accurate.

All volumes being backed up may not be listed.

Top Processes by CPU:

2% firefox

2% WindowServer

1% AdobeReader

1% mdworker32

1% PluginProcess

Top Processes by Memory:

577 MB firefox

328 MB mds_stores

213 MB WindowServer

164 MB com.apple.IconServicesAgent

147 MB softwareupdated

Virtual Memory Information:

6.05 GB Free RAM

3.84 GB Active RAM

4.73 GB Inactive RAM

1.37 GB Wired RAM

1011 MB Page-ins

0 B Page-outs

From Problem log:

2014-02-17 – 8:50 PM – Froze after being on all day, several minutes after removing AdobeResourceSynchronizer. Different this time. Could switch among open windows but could not do anything. Spinning wheel only appeared when MAIL was selected. Could not Force quit. Rebooted and wrote this.

2014-02-21 – 9:15 AM – Froze after typing letter using Word only other application open was Safari (May have had both Word 2008 and Word 2011 open. Rebooted OK.

2014-02-21 – 9:00 PM – Froze after startup and CCC couldn’t find backup HD. Dismissed CCC. Opened a folder and it froze. Rebooted OK.

2014-02-24 – 9:00 PM – Froze on startup. Backup may have been started Second cold start worked (first stuck on gray screen)

2014-03-02 – 10:45 – Startup fine, cloning started as scheduled, opened Word Document, opened Excel document, sorted Excel document – froze

2014-03-03 – Froze randomly twice. Second when accessing online Adobe help

2014-03-05 – 8:05 PM Froze while reading MAIL. Only other App running was Safari.

2014-03-05 –9:35 PM Froze while watching Youtube . Word, Safari, and Mail open

2014-03-06 –10:35 PM – Froze while CC was running, Safari and Word open, Typing in word.

2014-03-06 – 9:30 PM – Froze while in word shortly after startup. Did not restart that night

2014-03-06 11:15 AM restarted - Word and Safari opened. CCC started. Searches one website in Safari and hard freeze started. Restarted, and Word and Safari opened again.

2014-03-11 – 9:30 PM – Opened Mail, opened Word Document, modified document, copied portion and switched to mail – Froze! 9:40 PM – rebooted, Word and Mail opened automatically (no shutdown notice), modified Word document, froze while doing this. 10:04 PM – Rebooted again.

2014-03-15 – 10:50 AM – Started and CCC started. Opened Mail Read 3 messages – hard freeze. Rebooted. 11:10 AM – Opened mail only. Composed and sent one message. Hard freeze again. Rebooted. Opened Word, made entry. Left Word open, opened Mail, read two messages 11:20 AM hard freeze! Rebooted. Opened this file and made entry. Opened Mail again. Worked fine until normal 1:45 PM shutdown. 5:30 PM Booted up with windows set to reopen, two freezes, 5:37 rebooted, seems to be holding.

2014-03-16 – 9:15 AM – Booted, opened mail, opened Safari to check on freezing problem. Froze, rebooted. Repeated sequence exactly except for starting word first. Stayed OK all day

2014-03-17 – 10:00 AM Booted up but did not open anything. CCC started and finished. 10:30 opened MAIL, EXCEL, Safari and Word. Reading mail and froze. 10:35 rebooted. All previous applications opened. OK all day. Did final “cleaning” as suggested. Shut down at 10 PM.

2014-03-18 -9:45 AM Booted up. Opened one folder on desktop (did not open any files). Clicked MAIL icon in Dock after a few bounces computer froze. Cursor spinning ball no matter where positioned on screen. Mail never opened. Clock still running, could switch between and move open windows but nothing else. 9:55 AM rebooted. CCC started. Made this log entry. Launched MAIL. Apple Support window opened automatically (had last been viewed the previous evening and had not opened during first launch). Regular mail window not visible. Closed window and relaunched MAIL from dock. Regular MAIL window opened. Launched Safari from hotlink in message. Windows from last night’s session opened. Stable until 5:00 PM shutdown.

2014-03-19 – 5:00 PM – Booted and CCC started. Froze. Rebooted and stable until shutdown.

2014-03-19 – 1:30 PM – Booted and CCC started. Froze. Rebooted and stable until shutdown.

2014-03-22 – 11:50 AM – Booted and CCC started. Launched Mail. Clicked on link that launched Safari. Downloaded PDF document. Attempted to answer message. Froze. Rebooted Relaunched MAIL

2014-03-24 – 7:00PM – After working fine for hours, it froze while opening a Mail message! Rebooted and it worked fine.

2014-03-25 – 9:00 AM – Booted fine. Launched and used Safari, Word & Mail. 9:40 AM froze when from Mail, clicked on Safari window.

2014-03-28 – 4:15 AM – Booted computer and launched Mail. Read a few messages. Clicked a link to open Safari. Safari launched. Visited website Returned to Mail, computer froze. Like most recent freezes I could still switch between windows, the clock was still running, but the curser remained a spinning ball.

2014-03-28 – 4:30 AM – Rebooted, opened Word, tried to update this log and the iMac froze.

2014-03-28 – 4:45 AM – Rebooted again, opened Word and finished these entries. 4:52 AM Launched Mail. 5:06 – opened graphic from desktop with Preview, very slow. Graphic opened but cursor ball spun when I attempted to close graphic window. Now 2 minutes later ball is still spinning when cursor is moved over Preview Window but I am able to make this log entry. 5:10 tried to force quit Preview. Quit successfully, report sent to Apple. Started downloading a group of PDF’s. When renaming one, Finder Froze after typing first two characters of new name. Finished this entry and relaunched Finder from Force Quit menu. Mail Window still open so returned to download, finished renaming last PDF and continued PDF downloads. Worked fine for additional 8 hours.

The iMac continues to randomly freeze after following LexSchelling recommendations but sometimes goes for two days without problems. On April 17th after almost an hour of normal boot uo and operation my screen went completely black while watching a YouTube video. Holding the power button produced the "grey screen of near death". At my wit's end I made an appointment at the Apple store and took it in, explaining the sigtuation. They kept it for two days, could find nothing wrong, and reformatted the hard drive and reinstalled the operating system. Brought it home and migrated the disk load from my Carbon Copy Cloner. Same random freezes. Called Apple support and the tech worked me through a new disk wipe, system reinstall, but this time migrated disk load from my Time Machine backup, explaining that during the migration progress some of the bad stuff is left behind. Has been freezing about every other day since. Booted up today at 5:20 AM this morning and everything looked OK. Launched MAIL and started reading message. At 5:20 AM launched Firefox. AT 5:34:38 the computer froze while reading mail. This freeze was a bit different from most in that the clock froze and I could switch among open windows but could not close any or Force quit and applications. Cursor remained a spionning ball. Rebooted at 5:38 and continued reading mail. Launched Safari at 5:51 AM. Ran smoothly until 6:44 AM when Message just quit while adding a contact. Got "Report to Apple" message. Relauched Messages and everything worked fine. Carbon Copy Cloner started and finished its backup at 10:00 AM. It is now 2:12 PM and everything has been going strong for 8 hours. Am thoroughly frustrated with entire situation. Anyone have more suggestions?

I think I pulled all of the Seagate stuff off. No more time right now to work on it. Leaving for Rome Monday and won't return from Istanbul until June. Key to this topic agan then.

Jack

Well, I gave up trying to find out what was causing the problem. The only way I could determine if the random freezing was caused by software or hardware was to completely wipe my hard drive and start (almost) from scratch. After wiping the drive clean and reinstalling the operation system, I copied all of my data over from my CarbonCopyCloner backup after vacation on June 6th and have slowly been reinstalling all of my applications and other "goodies". Almost two weeks have passed an there has been only a partial freeze using Videobox to download some video (11 hours of Drexel University Graduations in one file - Grandson did it Magna *** laude with both Bachelor's and Master's degrees).

Lex, Thanks for trying. Didn't get to see the Pope but after visiting both the Vatican and Istanbul museums have come to the conclusion that when the pope, at the height of the power of Roman Empire....... and the Sultan, at the height of power of the Ottoman Empire... sends a message out to his cardinals (or Governors) the work to "Send me you best stuff"........ They get the best stuff!!! Unbelievable collections. New Acropolis museum in Athens is also good.