serious problems with eMAC - crashing galore!!!! +loss of itunes music

Welcome to the discussions.
There are several things that may be the cause of your problems.
First and Formost, Did you use a full retail version of Tiger, You can't use a copy that came with another machine.
It is always a good idea to unplug any external device before Installing software and especially a New Operating System.
Did you or have you followed the recommended steps in this link.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=122021
Many times crashes or Kernel Panic's are caused by installing cheap or incompatible Ram. Apple products tend to be much picker about the quality of Ram used in there machines.
Did you Repair Permissions before and after the install?
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.4/en/mh12.html
It may be to your advantage to do a clean Install.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=30691
Last but not least it also sounds like a Logic Board. You may have to take it to the Apple Doctor.
Cheers Don

Rhys, for peace of mind, and something that only takes 10 minutes... unplug your eMac, and check out the capacitors under the RAM hatch.

Your eMac falls into the time period for when the bad caps were being used, and as much as I know I keep harping on whenever someone on this forum says they have an eMac that is crashing... I think at least 95% of the time it has indeed been these capacitors...

[Unplug the eMac, put it flat on its screen, and then open the panel on the belly of the computer - just needs a flat-head screwdriver. Doesn't void any warranty etc. Inside are 2 RAM slots, a battery, and, amongst other components, there are 2 small cylindars - capacitors - that I suspect may be swollen out of shape (they should be straight, and have a flat bottom, not curved), and/or have a brown substance leaking out...]

If the caps are indeed bad, then Apple will replace the logic board free of charge under the Repair Program. You will need to call your local Apple Repairer so they can inspect the computer and confirm the diagnosis, then they should arrange the repair work, all for free.

Yes, indeed, the caps should be flat on the bottom, not curved.

You MIGHT be able to convince Apple to send a technician to your house.... but I that has mostly only applied to people who had Apple Care. Those of us who didn't pay the extra money, although getting the free repair, had to do the man-handling ourselves... (And those things aren't light!)

Hi there, I had the same problems with my eMac, I had one of the faulty batches. You need to check your serial number against the list that Apple supply in their extended rpeair program for eMacs. Be careful to note your serial number correctly - I had one with a V that looked like a U which I only corrected because I still had the original box the eMAc came in. If yours falls within the list, Apple should give you a case number. Then you can have your eMac taken away by an Apple certified repair company who will replace your logic board or replace the whole compluter. (How anyone is supposed to lug an eMac around shopping centres is beyond me!) Try to back up ALL your data NOW, (plus any software) you will want to keep before your computer dies on you like mine did. You definitely have a capacitor problem, it only looks slightly rounded but it is enough to cause havoc - there are probably more inside in a worse state that you can't see from the hatch.
I eventually got a replacement which is a new flat screen iMac. I miss my roundy eMac but I am so pleased that I have a computer again. Don't hesitate with this, I guarantee it will only get worse. Good luck.

rhys, if you start in Safe Mode, you should be able to get enough time to back up your data.

I just did simple drag-drop backup of things like iTunes & iPhoto libraries, Documents folder... (ie onto blank DVDs).

With the Drive, if it's large enough you could simply drag the whole internal HD onto the external one to copy it all over.

Or there are Backup Programs you could buy, or look for some for free on macupdate.com

How do you start in safe mode?

eMac 1.42GHz Mac OS X (10.4.9)

It may have been a mistake to revert back to the saved stuff immediately. If they fixed the hardware problem, they may also have had to fix files corrupted by the hardware fault at the same time and/or updated some things.

It would probably have been prudent to have waited a while before restoring your backed up files. If all was ok still after, say a month or so, then it would be safe to assume that the external backup was no longer needed then it would have simply been a matter of deciding whether to just restore Apps or docs that are missing (if any) or dump the lot. Restore any missing Apps one at a time though, so if anything goes wrong then it will be obvious where the problem lies.

Likelihood was that everything on your HD was repaired. By immediately restoring your backed up files you may have simply reintroduced damaged software.

PM6500/300 (603e) Mac OS 9.1.x