Filed under: iMac, Software Update, Apple
iMac Software Update (for both Tiger and Leopard)
2.0, 2.4, or 2.8GHz 20-inch and 24-inch iMacs are great machines, except for the matter of those random freezing issues. We can all agree that a Mac, no matter how cool it is, becomes much less useful when it freezes up. Luckily, Apple has been fiendishly working on an update to fix this issue and the updates are ready for prime time. Notice the plural there, Apple has released a version for Tiger and a version for Leopard.If you have one of the iMac that suffers from this particular ailment, get to downloading!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Pedro said 1:00AM on 11-02-2007
Fiendishly? Don't you mean feverishly?
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Lee Webb said 4:02AM on 11-02-2007
I've had the random freeze thing with my 2005 imac since around mid august. I've had the logic board replaced once and it's back in for another replacement now cos it didn't fix it. I'm now convinced that it's a Mac OS issue cos this never happened until I updated to 10.4.9 and of course, new imacs came with 10.4.10 so I think whatever changed at 10.4.9 is still causing a problem. I mentioned this at the store but they still insist on changing the logic board. Hrmph!
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Lee Webb said 4:04AM on 11-02-2007
I note that this update is purely for the new imacs. When is a system update not a mac os update? I assume they'll still be 10.4.10 right?
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Lee Webb said 4:07AM on 11-02-2007
This begs the question, 'when will they release an update to fix the previous imac freezing issue?' It's a known issue cos there's a repair plan for it, but isn't it possible that software can cause hardware problems? Software handles power handling doesn't it?
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Tim Kimberl said 5:20AM on 11-02-2007
Now it seems this is mostly just a driver update. Wheres the bootcamp ones :P, thats where I need it the most. You can't even play vista's 3d chess without it locking up a few min into it.
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James Donevan said 5:16AM on 11-02-2007
Scott do you have an actual Apple reference for reporting this update is intended to address the freezing issue? There is nothing in the Apple docs supporting that notion, and Apple concurrently released a MacBook update which suggests these updates may be intended to address other bugs/issues. There is nothing in the anecdotal reports on the Apple Discussion forums to to suggest this update corrects the freezing issue - quite the opposite.
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mentalsticks said 6:33AM on 11-02-2007
Maybe they're less useful when they freeze up, but they're still beautiful. And great design is important too!
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Ervin Lukacs said 6:39AM on 11-02-2007
Come on, this is for the new imacs only. Why
I have a problem with an early 2006 model of the imac that is freezing up too
Why can't they just make a version that works an all machines
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dave said 7:40AM on 11-02-2007
This hasn't fixed the freezing issue. In fact, 30 seconds after restarting once the update was complete it locked up again.
Hmph.
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hans said 9:09AM on 11-02-2007
Hallelujah!
I´ve been to anger management class due to this problem. It has rendered my iMAc completely useless for some time now.
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Shreedhan said 8:56AM on 11-02-2007
I second that dave, about a minute in it crashed showing lines all across screen similar to this:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shreedhan/1561418063/
I've just reset Pram 4 times to see if it does anything.
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Jimmy said 9:40AM on 11-02-2007
Well I've been having the freezing issue and weird artifacts on my screen issue also. I updated to 1.2 (Leopard) and it actually got worse. I brought my iMac into work (I work at an Apple Specialist) and we swapped out my RAM for 2x2GB chips and fired it up. Worked fine. I've been running 5-6 Terminal windows with 'top' going, iTunes visualizer, viewing the preview for that new screensaver included in Leopard and I've got Photobooth up. It hasn't given me any issues at all, and I've got all that running at the same time. I guess it just likes a lot RAM...maybe that approach will work for someone else.
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Geoff said 10:03AM on 11-02-2007
I have a 2.0 GHz 20" iMac ... G5. What is this freezing you speak of?
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Rob said 10:11AM on 11-02-2007
I am convinced that a lot of the freezing issues are caused either by bad RAM or a bad video chipset.
My sister had a new iMac and it frooze four times right out the box during the installation of the Apple Software Updates.
When you have these problems, the first thing Apple will want you to do is reinstall the OS. When I said it was freezing RIGHT out of the box, Apple said it might be a bad software install at the factory.
So I booted off the install DVD and when I went to the Disk Utility to erase and format the drive, Disk Utility started to show problems. I had a 3 inch space between some of the tabs (First Aid, Erase etc) when there should not be any spaces. So Apple confirmed it was a HARDWARE issue.
My recommendation to those with freezing iMacs is to do the following:
1) Run your iMac for 2 hours playing games. using Skype etc
2) Then boot off the DVD install disk and run some of the programs (like Disk Utility). BUT do not reinstall the OS. If your iMac freezes or shows weird graphics etc, it DEFINITELY is a Hardware issue.
I think TUAW may be doing the mac community a disservice by suggesting it is a software issue. Where is the official Apple note acknowledging this?
I have bought two Macs during the past year and BOTH had to be returned for hardware issues. The quality control for the recent Apple products leaves a lot to be desired.
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Wilder K. Wight said 12:25PM on 11-02-2007
Just my two cents-- I've had a 24" Aluminum iMac since early/mid September and it does not have this issue. No freezing here.
This would support some people's theory that this is a hardware issue and not a software issue.
Either way, I hope you all get it sorted out. The iMac + Leopard is a very nice computer, indeed.
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Nick said 1:26PM on 11-02-2007
Anybody see this error code on their stainless imac:
4SNS/1/4000000:TCOH
My fan goes full blast for a long time and the temp of the CPU dissapears in istat
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daniel said 4:29PM on 11-02-2007
I've had my 20" for about two month now, but it's only frozen two or three times. My only other problem was a botched Boot Camp installation that erased my drive—other than that, no problems. So it sounds like a software problem, wouldn't it, if I haven't had any hardware issues?
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jds said 5:08PM on 11-02-2007
What about those that use a MacBook Pro only in windows? I need better bookcamp drivers and solid firmware updates. Is it too much to ask for my screen brightness to return to where it was before I put my computer to sleep instead of full brightness?
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steveisaacs said 5:36PM on 11-02-2007
I have one of the stinkers and the update didn't help ONE BIT.
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Rob said 6:30PM on 11-02-2007
#19 -- I would talk to Apple ASAP and get it repaired or replaced. If you just bought it, Apple will replace it free of charge (usually with the first 14 days of ownership).
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