iMac g5 freezes up...

mcpaulusmcpaulus
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
I have a 20" iMac 2.0 G5 and I run the lastest version of Tiger. Today, out of the blue, it just started freezing completely so that nothing works: keyboard, mouse, everything. The only way out is to turn off the computer and restart it. It can happen no matter what program I am using. Sometimes, but not always, after it freezes the fan will kick on "turbo". It never blows that loud - ever!



After searching other posts in the Genius Bar forum, I have tried repairing permissions but that does not help. I have not added software recently so I do not think there is a conflict there. Some suggested heat could be the cause but it never has been in the past and the back of the computer does not feel hot. Why would heat start to be a problem now? I even took the back off to see if there was dust buildup or something obstructing air flow and there is not.



Those were the only suggestions on the board that I thought would apply. The troubleshooting section of the manual says it may be necessary to reinstall the OS and software that came with the computer. I do not really want to do that if I can help it. BTW, if I do have to reinstall everything, will the disk be erased or can I install on top of what is already there, in effect, just replacing the OS and bundled software and everything else remains?



Any other suggestions for me to try before I reinstall?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 3
    macjamrockmacjamrock Posts: 6member
    Where did you purchase it - any chance of taking it to an Apple Store and getting them to look at it? It sounds more like a hardware problem than software. Since it's less than a year since you got it (you did say a 2.0 GHz model, right?) then you're still well within warranty. Hopefully you have backups of your important data?
  • Reply 2 of 3
    gobble gobblegobble gobble Posts: 615member
    Have you run a memory test? That should be on the hardware diagnostics CD that came with your computer.
  • Reply 3 of 3
    pbg4 dudepbg4 dude Posts: 1,611member
    You can do an "Archive & Install" which keeps you from having to reinstall programs and tweaking their settings. You may want to try this if you believe OS X is the cause of your troubles.
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