Older imac freezing after upgrading to Snow Leopard

[mikehende]

Hey guys, I can some help with this older imac please.Nothing written on the unit anywhere for references. Info shows:

imac 7.1
Intel core 2 duo
2 ghz
4gb ram
Serial Number: W873478TX85

I had Tiger on it, I wiped the drive clean and installed Snow Leopard but now every now and then it freezes, it did the same thing when I upgraded to Yosemite but snow leopard works a lot better than Yosemite, any ideas please?

 

[pigoo3]

Did it ever freeze when Tiger was on it? Does it seem to freeze when doing certain things?

- Nick

 

[mikehende]

The owner says it never had freezing problems with Tiger, reason for wanting to upgrade was only so he could use facetime. Now with SL on it, It only froze once when I tried to play a video for the first time, now it plays videos fine so I am hoping that was a one time thing but any special way to test this unit for freezing issues?

 

[pigoo3]

There is absolutely no logical reason why a computer that was formerly running Tiger would all of a sudden start freezing with 10.6. OS 10.6 was specifically designed to run with Intel Mac's…so it should actually run better with 10.6 than 10.4.

Two reasons why the iMac could be freezing with 10.6 from a software perspective:

- The iMac really was freezing with 10.4…and the owner is just not communicating things well.
- The owner has older software on the iMac that was fine with the older 10.4/Tiger OS…and this older software is somehow not as stable with 10.6.

Or from a hardware perspective…could be bad ram (which would have been there with Tiger as well).

- Nick

 

[mikehende]

If I wanted to reload Tiger back unto this system, where would it be available please?

 

[pigoo3]

If I wanted to reload Tiger back unto this system, where would it be available please?

eBay. And probably sold at some used Mac websites. But I bet it will be seriously over priced.

For example…there's a website called "We Love Mac's"…which I ABSOLUTELY loath!!! These guys for years & years & years have been ripping off the Macintosh community!!! The don't "Love Mac's"! The "love" ripping people off!

Looky here…"We Love Mac's" price for a full install DVD of 10.4…ONLY $299.95!!!

MA453Z/A Apple Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger (Full Install) DVD Retail Version

Should be able to get the same thing for about $50 or less if in no hurry on eBay. If in a hurry…here's an eBay auction (Buy It Now) for $69:

Apple Mac OS X Tiger 10.4 MA453Z/A

$69 bucks for the EXACT same thing "We Love Mac's" is charging $299.95 for. I really hate "I Love Mac's"!!!

HTH,

- Nick

 

[mikehende]

Thanks, what I think is happening is whenever the unit is inactive for a while and I immediately open a video that's when it's freezing, after inactivity, when I do anything else, open a file or go browsing the net it works fast, is this normal behavior for an old unit like this?

 

[pigoo3]

The first generation aluminum iMac's weren't that bad. The "white" iMac's that they replaced were a lot worse.

I bet that if the hard drive on this computer was erased, reformatted…and a fresh copy of 10.6 installed…it would run fine. Unless it actually has some hardware issues (ram, video hardware, logic board, etc.).

Of course maybe the owner doesn't want the HD wiped. I wouldn't bother with trying to reinstall 10.4 (purchasing install disk). Unless that's what the owner demands.

- Nick

 

[mikehende]

The owner requested the upgrade and agreed to wiping the drive clean which is what I have done but I am guessing only way to know if this unit only works problem free the original Tiger is to reload Tiger. Anyways, once this mac freezes is there any way to kill the process and get it running again like ctrl+alt+delete and task manager in windows?

 

[pigoo3]

The owner requested the upgrade and agreed to wiping the drive clean which is what I have done but I am guessing only way to know if this unit only works problem free the original Tiger is to reload Tiger.

A fresh install of any OS that this computer is capable of running should display the same stability (and like i mentioned above…10.6 actually should be better than 10.4). There should not be a "stability difference" between 10.4 and 10.6 on this computer. So since you have an install disk for 10.6…and the owner wants the OS upgraded…10.6 should be fine for any stability testing.

Anyways, once this mac freezes is there any way to kill the process and get it running again like ctrl+alt+delete and task manager in windows?

Depending on the type of "freeze" it is…you can use the 3-key combo…command +option + delete. This will bring up a window with a list of the open apps…and you can "Force Quit" or kill the app. But if it's a kernel panic type of freeze…then you have to restart.

- Nick

 

[mikehende]

Thanks. I restarted and went to youtube and ran the same video, no issues so it has to be when running a video immediately after the unit has been inactive for while which is causing it to freeze since I can open any file or browse the net fine immediately after it's been inactive for a while.

 

[mikehende]

what I thought was happening was whenever the unit was inactive for a while and I immediately open a video that's when it's freezing, after inactivity, when I do anything else, open a file or go browsing the net it works fast. I also think the graphics may need upgrading somehow since I let the unit be inactive for an hour then when I clicked the mouse to go back in from the powersave mode I am seeing a jumbled and distorted screen? I then restarted the machine and went to your tube and it froze again so it's not related to inactivity as I had previously thought, this seems to be video or graphics related issue. Since I upgraded to and did a fresh install of snow leopard, is there a way to update the graphics?

 

[mikehende]

Now I am not sure it's graphics as it just froze while going to the net and nothing to do with video. Wonder if HDD may be bad.

 

[pigoo3]

Now I am not sure it's graphics as it just froze while going to the net and nothing to do with video. Wonder if HDD may be bad.

Only if the computer has two problems (HD + video issue). A bad HD wouldn't cause the video issue pictured in the image you posted. Also…upgrading to Snow Leopard has nothing to do with this…it's just coincidence.

The situation is (from what I'm reading)…this computer has had a problem for a long time…that's why the owner wasn't using it ("inactivity" was mentioned a few times). Now the owner decided to have it looked at. And all you are doing is "rediscovering" the problems that the owner always knew.

You could have been doing what you're doing with OS 10.4 installed the whole time…and the same problems you see now (freezing & video issues) would still be happening.

If the HD has been erased, reformatted, and a fresh copy of the OS installed (and these problems continue). Then this computer has hardware issues…that may be too expensive to attempt to repair.

- Nick

 

[mikehende]

When the owner brought it to me he said only reason why he wishes to upgrade is because is because he cannot use facetime with Tiger.

 

[pigoo3]

When the owner brought it to me he said only reason why he wishes to upgrade is because is because he cannot use facetime with Tiger.

Ok…I thought you mentioned that the owner had some freezing issues. But maybe I got confused. All I can say is…if this is a hardware issue (which I think that it is)…it didn't just happen when the computer got to you (unless you are having extremely bad coincidental luck)!

A hardware problem like this didn't just happen when it was brought to you by the owner. Thus it was there when the owner brought it to you. And upgrading the OS from 10.4 to 10.6 should or would not have caused this.

But hey…maybe I'm wrong. Reinstall OS 10.4 (or even 10.5, 10.7, 10.8, 10.9, or 10.10)…since this iMac supports all these OS versions…to see if you get better results/stability. Yes I know that you mentioned that you already installed Yosemite. But I'm guessing you didn't run or "bench test" the computer quite as much/long as you have with 10.6 installed.

Install Yosemite again…then run the computer for hours…doing the same stuff/tests you've been doing with 10.6 installed. And see if you get better stability. "Better stability" means 100% no problems. Because even ONE freeze-up is not desirable or acceptable.

- Nick

 

[mikehende]

I already installed yosemite 2 times so no need to do that. I just spoke to my friend who has the computer store, he confirmed pretty much what you've stated and what my conclusion is and said from everything described this should be a hardware issue.

 

[pigoo3]

I already installed yosemite 2 times so no need to do that.

I understand. What I was suggesting in my post above was...that when Yosemite was installed earlier...that the computer wasn't run & played with as much (minutes & hours)...as it has been with Snow Leopard installed.

If the computer was run & played with as much with Yosemite as it was with Snow Leopard (bench testing)...the same problems (video & freezing) most likely would have shown up as well. So I was trying to convey that the problems are not related to the OS version that is installed...but that it's a hardware problem (which no installed OS version is going to cure).

I just spoke to my friend who has the computer store, he confirmed pretty much what you've stated and what my conclusion is and said from everything described this should be a hardware issue.

Yes it definitely sounds like a hardware issue. Which is why I said that this problem most likely existed BEFORE the owner brought the computer to you for an OS upgrade.

The owner probably fully knew that this problem existed...but thought that maybe a "miracle" would happen if OS 10.6 was installed.

Sometimes we do all we can to fix a computer. But sometimes it costs too much. This computer could certainly be fixed with a replacement graphics card (if it's replaceable) or a replacement logic board. But it makes no sense to do this if the cost of the replacement part/parts exceeds or comes close to the total value of the computer.

- Nick

 

[pm-r]

You've put in a long day on just this thread Nick, and I'd agree that there's something goofy with that iMac and we have the same era 24" model and Snow Leopard is it's sweet spot - at least for our use.

It definitely sounds like some sort of hardware problem that maybe some further diagnostic testing could locate, but even if anything serious is found, it's just not worth fixing I'd say.

 

[pigoo3]

You've put in a long day on just this thread Nick, and I'd agree that there's something goofy with that iMac and we have the same era 24" model and Snow Leopard is it's sweet spot - at least for our use.

Thanks. Hopefully the check is in the mail! I need some $$$ to hit McDonald's or Taco Bell or Domino's...or even Burger King!

- Nick