BIG problems with iMac and they're getting worse
On my two year old intel-based iMac (the plastic kind with a webcam) I began to experience some delays (happened every 5 minutes or so and lasted 5-10 seconds) while loading web pages. It effected all applications. At first it only delayed graphics but now it's effecting sound as well. After I realized something was up, I followed these steps in order to try and fix it:
1) repaired disc permissions
2) reinstalled the latest update for flash player (99% of the time that's what I use my computer for)
3) Reset my external modem.
4) did a web search and made a forum thread
5) installed a maintenance app and used it to clean catches
6) looked for launch daemons
7) watched Active Monitor while forcing a delay; didn't see anything
8) got really pissed
and did a full erase and install after backing up my files
9) tested the new install only to find that the problem was still there
10) made a new forum thread
11) got a new maintenance app called Maintenance.app (made by the people who made Onyx)
12) repaired disc and checked my S.M.A.R.T. status which is verified
13) registered at AppleInsider and made a new, new thread hoping people here are more knowledgeable.
Looking at Active Monitor again, I'm seeing several occurrences of "Safari is not responding" or "Big Bang Chess is not responding" while trying to do several things at once.
This can't be a bug with new software updates because I tested it first without updating anything. Anyway, the problem is getting worse: the delays are more frequent and prolonged. ESPECIALLY while using software update. I'm still watching lots of flash videos but now it's at the point where my computer is almost not usable while a video is loading.
These are my specs:
Model Name
tiMac
Model IdentifiertiMac6,1
Processor NametIntel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speedt2.16 GHz
Number Of Processorst1
Total Number Of Corest2
L2 Cache (per processor)t4 MB
Memoryt2 GB
Bus Speedt667 MHz
Boot ROM VersiontIM61.0093.B07
SMC Versiont1.10f2
Serial NumbertW864218FVGP
Please help...
1) repaired disc permissions
2) reinstalled the latest update for flash player (99% of the time that's what I use my computer for)
3) Reset my external modem.
4) did a web search and made a forum thread
5) installed a maintenance app and used it to clean catches
6) looked for launch daemons
7) watched Active Monitor while forcing a delay; didn't see anything
8) got really pissed
and did a full erase and install after backing up my files9) tested the new install only to find that the problem was still there
10) made a new forum thread
11) got a new maintenance app called Maintenance.app (made by the people who made Onyx)
12) repaired disc and checked my S.M.A.R.T. status which is verified
13) registered at AppleInsider and made a new, new thread hoping people here are more knowledgeable.
Looking at Active Monitor again, I'm seeing several occurrences of "Safari is not responding" or "Big Bang Chess is not responding" while trying to do several things at once.
This can't be a bug with new software updates because I tested it first without updating anything. Anyway, the problem is getting worse: the delays are more frequent and prolonged. ESPECIALLY while using software update. I'm still watching lots of flash videos but now it's at the point where my computer is almost not usable while a video is loading.
These are my specs:
Model Name
tiMacModel Identifier
tiMac6,1Processor Name
tIntel Core 2 DuoProcessor Speed
t2.16 GHzNumber Of Processors
t1Total Number Of Cores
t2L2 Cache (per processor)
t4 MBMemory
t2 GBBus Speed
t667 MHzBoot ROM Version
tIM61.0093.B07SMC Version
t1.10f2Serial Number
tW864218FVGPPlease help...
Comments
9) tested the new install only to find that the problem was still there
Looking at Active Monitor again, I'm seeing several occurrences of "Safari is not responding" or "Big Bang Chess is not responding" while trying to do several things at once.
Even if your hard drive is S.M.A.R.T verified, it can still fail. I had a drive that did this and it only paused every so often at first during hard drive activity (e.g video caching or writing a file to disk), then it would get more frequent and all apps started freezing. S.M.A.R.T was always verified for me too even when it was clearly failing - I even ran an external app to check but if you run it from the failing drive, because the system is freezing, so is the process checking the drive so it doesn't think anything's wrong.
To check if it's a hard drive problem, clone your internal drive to an external one using Superduper or Carbon Copy Cloner. Then boot from the external drive and unmount the internal. Run the system like that for a while and see if you get the same problems.
Even if your hard drive is S.M.A.R.T verified, it can still fail. I had a drive that did this and it only paused every so often at first during hard drive activity (e.g video caching or writing a file to disk), then it would get more frequent and all apps started freezing. S.M.A.R.T was always verified for me too even when it was clearly failing - I even ran an external app to check but if you run it from the failing drive, because the system is freezing, so is the process checking the drive so it doesn't think anything's wrong.
To check if it's a hard drive problem, clone your internal drive to an external one using Superduper or Carbon Copy Cloner. Then boot from the external drive and unmount the internal. Run the system like that for a while and see if you get the same problems.
I was thinking it was a hardware problem but didn't know how to make sure. I'll have to try that. I don't own an external drive but maybe I can borrow one from somewhere. (Maybe I can rent one?)
Anyway, thank you very much for your insightful post!
I was thinking it was a hardware problem but didn't know how to make sure. I'll have to try that. I don't own an external drive but maybe I can borrow one from somewhere.
8) got really pissed
What did you backup your files to if you don't have an external drive?
everyone should have an external drive. HDDs can fail without warning and it's no fun if there's no backup. With a backup utility such as Carbon Copy Cloner it is trivial to create a full backup of your system and thereby recover instantly from an HDD failure.
If you need to get yourself an external HDD, I heartily recommend one of these or one of these.
They are external RAID arrays, containing two mirrored drives. If you use one of these, not only are you backed-up, but your backup is backed-up too. If you have an internal drive failure, there's no worries using your external drive as your boot drive whilst waiting for a new internal HDD to arrive to replace the failed one, because the external drive is automatically fault-tolerant.
What did you backup your files to if you don't have an external drive?
a single writable dvd
A 4.7 GB DVD was enough for my files as well as a copy of my bookmarks and a text document listing things I can get from the internet.
everyone should have an external drive. HDDs can fail without warning and it's no fun if there's no backup.
I understand external HDDs can be useful, I just prioritized my cash elsewhere. But don't you think it's a little ironic that you're saving your files from an HDD by putting them on an HDD?