system freezes after new hd install

[JohnBrown]

I am running a 20" imac 7,1 Core 2 Duo
After the original hard drive crashed, I replaced it with a larger 500GB Seagate Barracuda from BestBuy, and restored using time machine.

Now if I let the computer sit for a few minutes, the screen goes grey and nothing I do wakes it except turning it off and back on again. But if I let it sit for a few hours it recovers on its own. I am wondering if there is some firmware that should be on the drive or something. I turned off display sleep, computer sleep, and un-checked the box that puts the hard drive to sleep.

Has anyone else had weird intermittent problems with new hard drives?

 

[chscag]

It's possible the drive is going into sleep by itself and parking the heads at the same time. A reboot would wake it up. It's not a firmware problem but more than likely a defective drive.

I would return the drive to Best Buy and get another one or a different drive. If the same thing happens with the replacement drive, we can look elsewhere.

Regards.

 

[JohnBrown]

I thought that might be the case, Ill try a different hd this weekend and let you know how it worked. Untill then, the guy at my local Mac store thought it might be bad data from my backup and recommended a clean install.

 

[chscag]

I doubt bad software would cause the symptoms you're experiencing. You can do a clean install if you wish - just make sure you backup any data you wish to keep.

Regards.

 

[JohnBrown]

yep, replacing the hd fixed the problem!
Thanks for the input.

 

[chscag]

Glad to hear you got it working. Have fun.

Regards.