Unknown Problem

[krmilkman]

Well, I don't have a clue as to what happen or when, but the last thing I remember is the Mac did a security update, pretty sure it was the last auto security update from Apple.

Here is the problem:

I have a G4 running OS 10.3.9 with all the latest updates from Apple applied. Everything was running smooth until (I believe the last auto update) I couldn't see the screen. What was wierd about this was the fact that the screen was black but you could see the pointer. You could even move the pointer but the screen would stay black. The only way to get out of this was to force re-start the machine, this would bring the Mac back to normal. Until time passed and the screen saver kicked in and poof back to same problem. I noticed that after doing re-start that when certain apps were launched that the system would goto 100% and freeze. Would have to force quit app to release. This happen with 3rd party apps AND system apps from apple, no common here. So, I am at a lost. Another wierd thing is that this machine is accessible across the net in the office, without problems, even with the black screen.

Any kind of guesses or help?

Thanks.

 

[MAC-simus]

some third party apps may cause this kinda problems. there are many apps running on mac which do not show up in the dock. first make sure to disable all log in items.
then check the running processes in activity monitor. (choose "my processes" from pulldown menu). if you see some background app taking too much CPU or memory, that could be a problem maker. quit it and see what happens. its very important not to quit any system processes, so make sure to select "my processes" first