iMac freezes after 10.9.2 update

There are some troubleshoots that you need to do like PRAM, NVRAM, etc. and if those things won't work then the best way is to bring your mac to Apple Center. This is about hardware issue.

My iMac has frozen twice in two days since upgrading to 10.9.2 and almost never froze in 5 years before.

When it freezes, the mouse curser still moves and that's all. The keyboard doesn't do anything. To restart, I first have to pull the power cord, wait and then reconnect the power before hitting the power button.

This must be a software issue in my opinion.

It could be a software issue and mostly to do is to reinstall the OS X or Reformat. However, if the problem repeat it again then I must say it is a hardware issue.

tyron1980 - I respectfully disagree. The only thing that has changed is the OS version 10.9.1 to 10.9.2. This was a software change. There is no evidence to point to a hardware issue.

I understand your point of view but this is the case of my iMac and it is in the Apple Service Center. I updated the latest OS X and I have the same problem as the author. I had this same problem four times and what the technicians from Apple do is reformatting the software but still the problem is the same. The latest update of mine is they ordered some parts of the unit to fix it.

I guess we'll see in due course. Maybe you had a flaky hard disk or something, but mine passes all tests. Let's see if others have the same issue.

Take each of these steps that you haven't already tried. Stop when the problem is resolved.

b. If you have access to a working Mac, and both it and the non-working Mac have FireWire or Thunderbolt ports, start the non-working Mac in target disk mode. Use the working Mac to copy the data to another drive. This technique won't work with USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth.

c. If the internal drive of the non-working Mac is user-replaceable, remove it and mount it in an external enclosure or drive dock. Use another Mac to copy the data.

Step 2

If the startup process stops at a blank gray screen with no Apple logo or spinning "daisy wheel," then the startup volume may be full. If you had previously seen warnings of low disk space, this is almost certainly the case. You might be able to start up in safe mode even though you can't start up normally. Otherwise, start up from an external drive, or else use either of the techniques in Steps 1b and 1c to mount the internal drive and delete some files. According to Apple documentation, you need at least 9 GB of available space on the startup volume (as shown in the Finder Info window) for normal operation.

Step 3

Sometimes a startup failure can be resolved by resetting the NVRAM.

Step 4

If you use a wireless keyboard, trackpad, or mouse, replace or recharge the batteries. The battery level shown in the Bluetooth menu item may not be accurate.

Step 5

If there's a built-in optical drive, a disc may be stuck in it. Follow these instructions to eject it.

Step 6

Press and hold the power button until the power shuts off. Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed to start up, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Use a different keyboard and/or mouse, if those devices are wired. If you can start up now, one of the devices you disconnected, or a combination of them, is causing the problem. Finding out which one is a process of elimination.

Step 7

If you've started from an external storage device, make sure that the internal startup volume is selected in the Startup Disk pane of System Preferences.

Start up in safe mode. Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a Fusion Drive or a software RAID, you can’t do this. Post for further instructions.

Safe mode is much slower to start and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including wireless networking on certain Macs.

The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know the login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.

When you start up in safe mode, it's normal to see a dark gray progress bar on a light gray background. If the progress bar gets stuck for more than a few minutes, or if the system shuts down automatically while the progress bar is displayed, the startup volume is corrupt and the drive is probably malfunctioning. In that case, go to Step 10. If you ever have another problem with the drive, replace it immediately.

If you can start and log in in safe mode, empty the Trash, and then open the Finder Info window on the startup volume ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name.) Check that you have at least 9 GB of available space, as shown in the window. If you don't, copy as many files as necessary to another volume (not another folder on the same volume) and delete the originals. Deletion isn't complete until you empty the Trash again. Do this until the available space is more than 9 GB. Then restart as usual (i.e., not in safe mode.)

If the startup process hangs again, the problem is likely caused by a third-party system modification that you installed. Post for further instructions.

Step 8

Launch Disk Utility in Recovery mode (see Step 1.) Select the startup volume, then run Repair Disk. If any problems are found, repeat until clear. If Disk Utility reports that the volume can't be repaired, the drive has malfunctioned and should be replaced. You might choose to tolerate one such malfunction in the life of the drive. In that case, erase the volume and restore from a backup. If the same thing ever happens again, replace the drive immediately.

This is one of the rare situations in which you should also run Repair Permissions, ignoring the false warnings it may produce. Look for the line "Permissions repair complete" at the end of the output. Then restart as usual.

Step 9

Reinstall the OS. If the Mac was upgraded from an older version of OS X, you’ll need the Apple ID and password you used to upgrade.

Step 10

Do as in Step 9, but this time erase the startup volume in Disk Utility before installing. The system should automatically restart into the Setup Assistant. Follow the prompts to transfer the data from a Time Machine or other backup.

Step 11

This step applies only to models that have a logic-board ("PRAM") battery: all Mac Pro's and some others (not current models.) Both desktop and portable Macs used to have such a battery. The logic-board battery, if there is one, is separate from the main battery of a portable. A dead logic-board battery can cause a startup failure. Typically the failure will be preceded by loss of the settings for the startup disk and system clock. See the user manual for replacement instructions. You may have to take the machine to a service provider to have the battery replaced.

Step 12

If you get this far, you're probably dealing with a hardware fault. Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store, or go to another authorized service provider.

My Macbook Air is freezing now too. Everything is froze including the cursor. It's happened twice in two days. This has never happened before the update. It will boot fine and I can use it for most things. It will just freeze and I have to do a hard shutdown and reboot.

same with me. Yesterday I choose "update over night" and today the screen is black but mouse cursor works.

Reply from APPLE would be nice.

I had this login problem too after updating to 10.9.2 - able to use my (admin) login, but my wife was getting the spinning beach ball that lingered indefinitely. But once I reset the NVRAM and PRAM, problem solved. This worked: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1379

OPUS130 wrote:

Reply from APPLE would be nice.

These are user to user forums. If you wish to contact Apple then do so.

FEEDBACK http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html

By jumping in on someone else's thread, as many have done here, stating similar problems, it does nothing but confuse the advice that someone like Linc is trying to give to the original poster to help resolve THEIR problem. After it is resolved this post will be of help to you, perhaps. You would be much better off starting your own thread and detailing your individual issues. iMac 'Freezes' can be caused by a wide variety of issues.

Good Luck

Pete

I spent most of the day trying to get my 2011 27" 2.7 Ghz intel core i5 w/ 20 GB RAM 2 TB HD iMac fixed. Had some problems for the past couple of weeks with intermittent beachballs, slow Safari, started using Chrome and Firefox. Upgraded to 10.9.2 thinking "an upgrade might help!"

Nope.

Disk Repair, restore of a time machine backup that was a month old, another disk repair for good luck and one on the time machine drive because - what the heck. Running like a champ again, but back to 10.9.1-

I'll try again next week, if I can find the courage. . .

Same problem here on a Mid-2010 iMac. Freezes. Mouse can still be moved. Sometimes it is a pointer, sometimes the beach ball. Only a force power off and back on fixes it that I've found. Happened 4 times yesterday - after 10.9.2 update. Using my Boot Camp partition now until a fix is found... ugh 😟

By the way - no freezing whatsoever in Windows under Boot Camp. Ran all evening yesterday and quite a bit this morning. Couldn't use Mavericks for more than 20 mins. during the day yesterday.

Same problem here. Late 2013 MacBook Pro. Mouse freezes, whole system locks up 3-4 times a day. I have a suspicion there is still something amiss with Chrome and Mavericks.