Graiai

Q: iMac hangs booting up and randomly freezes

My late 2009 iMac has started to hang while booting up and randomly freezes. I brought it to the Genius Bar and they told me that the hard drive was going bad and needed to be replaced. I replaced it. But I'm still having the same trouble.

 

Could this be a logic board or mother board?

iMac (27-inch Late 2009), OS X El Capitan (10.11.1)

Posted on Sep 17, 2016 8:43 PM

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Q: iMac hangs booting up and randomly freezes

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  • by rkaufmann87,

    rkaufmann87 rkaufmann87 Sep 17, 2016 9:33 PM in response to Graiai
    Level 9 (58,598 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Sep 17, 2016 9:33 PM in response to Graiai

    Please post an EtreCheck report of your system and we can look for obvious issues. If you have installed any antivirus, cleaning or other third party maintenance utilities, that may be your problem. They should NEVER be installed, OS  X is extremely secure and if simply kept up-to-date that is the only maintenance it needs.

  • by kaz-k,

    kaz-k kaz-k Sep 17, 2016 9:39 PM in response to Graiai
    Level 5 (5,794 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 17, 2016 9:39 PM in response to Graiai

    Resetting SMC could solve the problem.

    Reset the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac - Apple Support

    Try to check logic board with Apple Hardware Test(extended) as well.

  • by Graiai,

    Graiai Graiai Sep 18, 2016 3:58 AM in response to rkaufmann87
    Level 1 (90 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 18, 2016 3:58 AM in response to rkaufmann87

    Here it is. There's barely anything installed right now. The base system, Chrome, Mia for Gmail, Evernote, Dropbox, Quicksilver, Coda and Sequel Pro. So it couldn't be a software problem.

     

    EtreCheck version: 3.0.3 (307)

    Report generated 2016-09-18 05:56:01

    Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

    Runtime 2:35

    Performance: Excellent

     

    Click the [Support] links for help with non-Apple products.

    Click the [Details] links for more information about that line.

     

    Problem: No problem - just checking

     

    Hardware Information:

        iMac (27-inch, Late 2009)

        [Technical Specifications] - [User Guide] - [Warranty & Service]

        iMac - model: iMac11,1

        1 2.8 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU: 4-core

        16 GB RAM Upgradeable - [Instructions]

            BANK 0/DIMM0

                4 GB DDR3 1067 MHz ok

            BANK 1/DIMM0

                4 GB DDR3 1067 MHz ok

            BANK 0/DIMM1

                4 GB DDR3 1067 MHz ok

            BANK 1/DIMM1

                4 GB DDR3 1067 MHz ok

        Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported

        Wireless:  en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n

     

    Video Information:

        ATI Radeon HD 4850 - VRAM: 512 MB

            iMac 2560 x 1440

     

    System Software:

        OS X El Capitan 10.11.1 (15B42) - Time since boot: less than an hour

     

    Disk Information:

        ST1000DX002-2DV162 disk0 : (1 TB) (Rotational)

            EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

            Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / : 999.35 GB (987.36 GB free)

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

     

        OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5680H   ()

     

    USB Information:

        Apple, Inc. Keyboard Hub

            Logitech USB Receiver

            Apple, Inc Apple Keyboard

        Western Digital My Book 1230 3 TB

            EFI (disk2s1) <not mounted> : 315 MB

            Back Up (disk2s2) /Volumes/Back Up : 3.00 TB (2.44 TB free)

        Apple Card Reader

        Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub

            Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

        Seagate Expansion Desk 5 TB

            EFI (disk1s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

            Dapper Dan (disk1s2) /Volumes/Dapper Dan : 5.00 TB (2.33 TB free)

        Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

     

    Gatekeeper:

        Mac App Store and identified developers

     

    System Launch Agents:

        [not loaded]    5 Apple tasks

        [loaded]    166 Apple tasks

        [running]    65 Apple tasks

     

    System Launch Daemons:

        [failed]    com.apple.ucupdate.plist (2015-08-22)

        [failed]    com.apple.watchdogd.plist (2015-09-19)

        [not loaded]    46 Apple tasks

        [loaded]    156 Apple tasks

        [running]    81 Apple tasks

     

    User Launch Agents:

        [not loaded]    com.google.keystone.agent.plist (2016-09-17) [Support]

     

    User Login Items:

        Quicksilver    Application  (/Applications/Quicksilver.app)

        Google Chrome    Application Hidden (/Applications/Google Chrome.app)

        Dropbox    Application  (/Applications/Dropbox.app)

        Mia for Gmail    Application  (/Applications/Mia for Gmail.app)

     

    Internet Plug-ins:

        Default Browser: 601 - SDK 10.11 (2015-10-17)

        QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (2015-10-17)

     

    3rd Party Preference Panes:

        None

     

    Time Machine:

        Time Machine not configured!

     

    Top Processes by CPU:

            23%    Google Chrome Helper(9)

             2%    fontd

             1%    WindowServer

             1%    kernel_task

             1%    systemstatsd

     

    Top Processes by Memory:

        1.14 GB    Google Chrome Helper(9)

        726 MB    kernel_task

        164 MB    Coda 2

        164 MB    Google Chrome

        115 MB    iconservicesagent(2)

     

    Virtual Memory Information:

        8.93 GB    Free RAM

        7.06 GB    Used RAM (2.37 GB Cached)

        0 B    Swap Used

     

    Diagnostics Information:

        Sep 18, 2016, 05:51:33 AM    /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/bird_2016-09-18-055133_[redacted].cpu_resource. diag [Details]

            /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CloudDocsDaemon.framework/Versions/A/Support/ bird

        Sep 18, 2016, 05:41:57 AM    Self test - passed

        Sep 17, 2016, 10:33:58 PM    /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/softwareupdate_download_service_2016-09-17-2233 58_[redacted].crash

            /System/Library/CoreServices/Software Update.app/Contents/Resources/softwareupdate_download_service

        Sep 17, 2016, 07:05:20 PM    /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Dropbox_2016-09-17-190520_[redacted].cpu_resour ce.diag [Details]

            /Applications/Dropbox.app/Contents/MacOS/Dropbox

     

     

  • by rkaufmann87,

    rkaufmann87 rkaufmann87 Sep 18, 2016 7:13 AM in response to Graiai
    Level 9 (58,598 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Sep 18, 2016 7:13 AM in response to Graiai

    Nothing shows up on the report. One thing I'd try is disconnecting all peripherals and then testing. It is possible you have a peripheral such as your external HD that is causing a problem. Disconnect each one by one and test until you either found the culprit or found all are okay.

  • by notcloudy,

    notcloudy notcloudy Sep 18, 2016 7:43 AM in response to Graiai
    Level 4 (1,190 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 18, 2016 7:43 AM in response to Graiai

    Have had the problem off and on since a November clean up (delete) of old stuff - its a Unix underpinning issue -

    Mac pro 2008 running Snow Leopard - and  I noticed every time I deleted even one old thing the next boot was slow (down to 5 minutes but slow)

     

    I determine when to connect to the internet - and you should stop any applications from launching when you are in this misery.

     

    So

     

    It may not be frozen - its doing something prior to desktop- so just leave it until the desktop shows up - or it shuts itself down.

    After a long boot to the desktop you may have to- restart immediately if the desktop looks funny at least 3 times seems to work

    After it shuts itself down - I had a very clean power-up.

     

    I just tried this after the shutdown I had last week -Open the activity monitory - disk activity tab - and watch the box until you get a flat-line.  - Yesterday - I deleted some old files - cleared trash & watched the disk activity until it stopped & it was running  a bit behind.  (I had also moved my hard drive into private area of spotlight preferences - as the indexing was also causing issues when you start deleting old stuff)

  • by Graiai,

    Graiai Graiai Sep 19, 2016 4:23 AM in response to Graiai
    Level 1 (90 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 19, 2016 4:23 AM in response to Graiai

    I unplugged all peripherals and booted in safe mode. It boots in safe mode and I also got it booted in regular mode without the peripherals. However, when it went to sleep and I tried to wake it up, it just gave me a black screen with a cursor and never fully came back on.

     

    Now, it will only boot in safe mode.

     

    Any ideas where to go next?

  • by notcloudy,

    notcloudy notcloudy Sep 20, 2016 6:18 AM in response to Graiai
    Level 4 (1,190 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 20, 2016 6:18 AM in response to Graiai

    Since Tiger the unix underpinnings have done some housekeeping on wakeup (you no longer have to leave the system on 24/7)

     

    Best thought on the problem - is it is between the finder and the unix disk whatever when the disk is fragmented.        On one freeze during a download - the download actually completed even though the freeze implied time was before the download/update finished.

     

    I did boot it once in safe mode a day or two before I just let it sit in normal mode & I think the safe mode actually caused more problems with regular startup -- on the other had the walkaway - touch wood seems to have been the solution to clear up problems from  safe mode -- second solution - is waiting for all disk activity to flatline before shutdown or in your case sleep.

     

    You may also want to stop any screen saver activity & disconnect from the internet when not on-line. 

  • by Graiai,

    Graiai Graiai Sep 20, 2016 6:26 AM in response to notcloudy
    Level 1 (90 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 20, 2016 6:26 AM in response to notcloudy

    I've never done any of this and had my iMac since 2009 with no problems at all. As far as the HD being fragmented, it was installed on Saturday and the disk first aid has been run twice.

     

    It's been on 24/7 since 2009 and needs to be because Dropbox updates, video is processing, etc. etc. It can't be offline and never has been.

  • by notcloudy,

    notcloudy notcloudy Sep 21, 2016 2:09 PM in response to Graiai
    Level 4 (1,190 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 21, 2016 2:09 PM in response to Graiai

    Graiai wrote:

     

    I've never done any of this and had my iMac since 2009 with no problems at all. As far as the HD being fragmented, it was installed on Saturday and the disk first aid has been run twice.

     

    It's been on 24/7 since 2009 and needs to be because Dropbox updates, video is processing, etc. etc. It can't be offline and never has been.

     

    I have had my mac pro since mid 2008 and the freezing/long boot problems only happened in late 2015 after I deleted many old files along with doing a fast change to some photographs.  

     

    You may benefit from getting DiskWarrier software - it costs about $100 -- and may resolve your problem.