Majorly need some help...

So, I've had my beautiful iMac since around 2007. I love this thing, I've used it every day. My model of iMac can only operate up to Snow Leopard. Lion/Mountain Lion will never be available, so I plan to upgrade once I have the funds. But for the past year and a half or so, I've been having a LOT of problems with this Mac...

Such as:
-- Screen tearing (sometimes I'll minimize safari and part of the window will stay on the screen until I highlight or drag something over it)
-- Sometimes my apps (safari/itunes especially) will unexpectedly close and not re-open correctly until I RESTART my mac entirely.
-- I get Kernel Panics almost daily at this point. Sometimes even 2-3 times a day. The screen will wipe gray and force me to shut down via the power button being held down. This isn't a safe way to shut down, obviously, and I'm forced to do it multiple times a week.
-- Websites like Youtube ESPECIALLY, will randomly cause a kernel panic. In fact, about 75% of my Mac's kernel panics are from youtube videos I'd say. This particularly sucks, because I quite enjoy winding down a day with some videos.
-- On top of youtube causing forced shutdowns, I'll be watching videos and FREQUENTLY the video will stop, exit fullscreen, and over the video pops up a gray box saying "Plugin failure" or something of that nature.


I have a Problem Report from safari randomly closing pulled up on my screen as I type this, it just happened. The report, however, is much too long to post here, as if my post isn't long enough.

Is there anyone that can help me troubleshoot as much as possible? I've taken it to an Apple store and didn't have the funds, and I'd just like to be able to safely operate it without as much frustration until I can afford a new Mac. Could it be one bad file somewhere?

The one thing you can do at home is run a verify and repair on the hard drive by booting your iMac from the original install disk and use Disk Utility from the disk. Also, read through our trouble shooting tips Sticky post at the top if this forum.

Well, I don't have the original install disk, as it hasn't been used in a good almost 6 years. And My family moves quite a bit, so it's hard to keep track of things. As for the troubleshooting, this isn't really a "basic" problem. But I will read through them. Thanks. Is there anyone who has a similar problem though? Or has seen this before? And will give me a more full explanation?

In order to do any kind of basic trouble shooting whether it be to verify the hard disk or run the Apple Hardware Test, you need your install disk. You say the computer is a 2007 iMac so it probably came preinstalled with Tiger or maybe with Leopard. Both of those original disks are hard to find and can be expensive to replace. And any kind of professional repair by Apple or an authorized Apple dealer is going to cost $$.

Why don't we try this.... do you know how to boot your iMac to single user mode? No? Here's how: Reboot your iMac and hold down the command + s keys as soon as you hear the Bong! sound.

Follow these instructions:

At the command-line prompt type:

/sbin/fsck -fy

Press Return. fsck will go through five "phases" and then return information about your disk's use and fragmentation. Once it finishes, it'll display this message if no issue is found:

** The volume (name_of_volume) appears to be OK

If fsck found issues and has altered, repaired, or fixed anything, it will display this message:

***** FILE SYSTEM WAS MODIFIED *****

Important: If this message appears, repeat the fsck command you typed in step 2 until fsck tells you that your volume appears to be OK (first-pass repairs may uncover additional issues, so this is a normal thing to do).

When fsck reports that your volume is OK, type
reboot at the prompt and then press Return.

Your computer should start up normally and allow you to log in.

Let us know how it went.