Mac OS X crashes more than Win 2K

[beseku]

[I posted this in another Mac forum, so if you have read this before, apologies]

[Edit: Also, I put this in Hardware cos it is a new laptop but if it should be elsewhere, move away]

After getting more and more disapointed with Windows, and loving my new 4G iPod, I have taken the plunge and bought a PB 12", (the newest base model - 1.33Ghz, 256MB Ram, Combo running panther with all updates).

I love the machine, and the OS looks and behaves really nicely. However, it has hard crashed, (requiring a "hold-power-button" reboot) at least five or six times since I got it, (mid november). Twice now at least when trying to return from a locked screensaver - it beachballs forever on a black screen instead of the login dialogue appearing. Compared to my work machine, (win 2K cheapo desktop) which hasn't hard crashed once since I joined the company 6 months ago, this is quite poor.

After reading how superior Mac OS X is, I am more than a bit miffed at this. Having spent a lot of money on my new laptop, it really isn't up to scratch.

As a newbie to the OS, I thought I may have done something wrong, and wanted to check that it isn't my doing. I have "explored" a great deal, as well as trying out a load of programs, (including betas such as CocoaSQL and CocoaView) but only really run skedit, Photoshop CS, Firefox and iLife.

So, what is up with this? Any fixes or things I should have done or haven't, or am i just unlucky? Is this what i should expect from the OS?

[brap]

Is this what i should expect from the OS?
No, something is very wrong.
If you've had it since mid-November, you may still have some free Applecare telephone support. You should probably use it, otherwise take it into an Apple store, plonk it on the side and tall the genius to fix it! :o

[beseku]

Cool, I work near the new store in Regents St, may well pop over there and ask at Lunchtime...

[broken_keyboard]

That's not normal. Did you install extra RAM? Sometimes a faulty ram chip can cause random crashes like that.

If it's the same program crashing all the time it's likely the program, but if it's just at random times it's probably a hardware problem.

[Applespider]

How are you connecting to the internet on it? Do you have a USB modem?

I had a similar problem with my PB back in January - it crashed every few days. Looking back, it was often when it was trying to reconnect to the internet or woke from sleep. John Lewis replaced it for me since 'Macs shouldn't crash' - their words.

I also set up a wireless network when I got the new PB - didn't go near the old USB modem or drivers and no problem (or of course, the first one was a lemon). I know of one other person who had problems with the USB broadband modem with a sleeping 'Book.

PS You might want to go onto the Apple Regent St webpage ahead of time and book a slot with the Genius Bar. It looks like it gets kinda busy!

[Jo-Kun]

in general like WinXP MacOSX likes a lot of ram (I've heared XP get stable from 1GB and up... a friend works for MS, and he told me that...)
My G5 has 1,5GB and is stable, never crashed... My old PB had 256MB at first... verrrrry slow, than I added more ram 1GB... and it was heaven...
a friend bought the eMac with 128MB... the slowest crap I ever worked with

GET RAM!!!!!

[MrSugar]

I honestly think you need to look into this more. Mac OS X shouldn't crash like that. I have been running my Rev. A G5 for 82 days strait now without a restart, I have had programs crash occasionally but never OS problems. I hope you figure it out. Calling Apple or taking it to the store is a good idea, be ready to reproduce the problem though, otherwise you don't get nearly as much help.

[gekko513]

More RAM doesn't make the computer more stable, just able to handle more things at once without slowing down.

[macmax77]

i've been using X since the beginning and let me tell you that i can't remember when it crashed , if it did it on me ...

Check your Mac, it might b not be working right ...

Good luck to you,

Max

[mfacey]

I've had my powerbook for nearly 3 years now. And as far as I can remember I've only had two major system crashes, which were both Kernel panics.

OSX doesn't crash. The only programs that crash fairly often are the MS Office programs (surprising isn't it?!). Besides that Apple's are extremely stable.

[caveman_uk]

My ibook has never had a kernel panic or a hard lock (It's had a dead logic board mind you :( ). The power mac has kernel panic'd about four times in the last 18 months I guess. So, no, what you're getting isn't normal.

[Sun Baked]

With that many hard crashes you'd likely find some HD catalog/file system errors if you stick in the CD and run Disk First Aid in Disk Utility.

Probably enough of them to require you Repair Drive several times.

[siliconjones]

You should really zero the drive on the machine and reinstall everything when you get your machine. It takes about two hours of your time but is well worth it. The drives are formatted and have a disk image cloned onto them en masse. I have unpacked and setup hundreds of macs and aside from random DOA'S and other hardware issues I have had fewer problems since adding "Nuke and Pave" to my setup process.

[beseku]

Cheers for all the replies. It still has the base RAM, and so I will get some more, (prolly the other side of Christmas, damned expensive women).

Aside form that, it also looks like it may be the USB ADSL modem or a faulty disk clone form what you guys say. Can't hurt to back up the files to my iPod and reinstall can it?

[Sun Baked]

Cheers for all the replies. It still has the base RAM, and so I will get some more, (prolly the other side of Christmas, damned expensive women).

Aside form that, it also looks like it may be the USB ADSL modem or a faulty disk clone form what you guys say. Can't hurt to back up the files to my iPod and reinstall can it?Yes, everybody has problems with those -- which is why they are always told to go with an Ethernet modem.
Especially any of the USB modems that require actual drivers. http://forums.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=11368&stc=1

[Applespider]

Aside form that, it also looks like it may be the USB ADSL modem or a faulty disk clone form what you guys say. Can't hurt to back up the files to my iPod and reinstall can it?

No but I'll bet it's the modem and its drivers that are causing the trouble - particularly if it's one of those 'green frog' Speedtouch ones that the broadband ISPs tend to give during installation.

Find yourself an ethernet modem (much easier to do these days) or, even better, get yourself an ADSL modem/wireless router and lose the cables completely - so liberating! :D And a lot less expensive that you might think!

[neut]

As a newbie to the OS, I thought I may have done something wrong, and wanted to check that it isn't my doing. I have "explored" a great deal, as well as trying out a load of programs, (including betas such as CocoaSQL and CocoaView) but only really run skedit, Photoshop CS, Firefox and iLife.

are you running any third party GUI apps? is that screen saver by chance a downloaded app? I've never had good luck with screwing with GUI enhancment apps. i've noticed my friends 12" crashes much more than my 17" wich has only locked up from audio app funkiness and a few wierd instances of iTunes freaking out.

my 2000 machine at work doesn't crash much either (usually Flash) ... it's the best PC i've used yet (custom built). i still prefer my macs though. :) my G5 has only crashed because of bad RAM. :)

*i too would like to suggest going wireless with a base station. much more reliable connection than those USB things and much more freedom. :)

im running an iMac 15, 17" PB, G3 B7W, G5, APE, and express... the only time i run out of badwidth is when im streaming music moving gigs across the network from multiple computers, downloading large files, and trying to burn across the network... otherwise when everything isn't happening all at once — the wireless network is awesome. :D


peace.

[beseku]

Find yourself an ethernet modem (much easier to do these days) or, even better, get yourself an ADSL modem/wireless router and lose the cables completely - so liberating! :D And a lot less expensive that you might think!

Aye, its a belkin wireless modem/router for christmas. I will wait till I get that and then reinstall the drive sans modem drivers

[CalfCanuck]

Cheers for all the replies. It still has the base RAM, and so I will get some more, (prolly the other side of Christmas, damned expensive women).

Aside form that, it also looks like it may be the USB ADSL modem or a faulty disk clone form what you guys say. Can't hurt to back up the files to my iPod and reinstall can it?

Others will correct me if I'm wrong - I believe the base 256 MB is comprised of 128 MB RAM soldered on the motherboard and 128 MB on a RAM module. There is a chance that the 128 MB RAM module installed by Apple could be faulty.

I bought a new iBook G4 in Nov 2003 from MacConnection, with a free 512 MB upgrade already installed, and it crashed almost daily. I took out the 512 MB module and ran it on 128 MB to test the system (I had misplaced the 128 MB I took out). It ran SLOWWWWW, but confirmed my theory when it didn't crash for a week. I had the 512 replaced under warranty and all has been great ever since.

I'd be sure to start by testing RAM before wiping a hard drive!

Good luck.

[combatcolin]

Dosn't the PB's have 2 normal ram slots?

The iBook has it soldered on to save money, which makes sense as its a consumer machine.

[Sun Baked]

Dosn't the PB's have 2 normal ram slots?

The iBook has it soldered on to save money, which makes sense as its a consumer machine.The iBook and PowerBook 12 are basically the same machine, though the PB has a bit more RAM soldered (same right now, but might not always be the case) to the Motherboard and the improved GPU with spanning enabled.

[wrldwzrd89]

Others will correct me if I'm wrong - I believe the base 256 MB is comprised of 128 MB RAM soldered on the motherboard and 128 MB on a RAM module. There is a chance that the 128 MB RAM module installed by Apple could be faulty.

I bought a new iBook G4 in Nov 2003 from MacConnection, with a free 512 MB upgrade already installed, and it crashed almost daily. I took out the 512 MB module and ran it on 128 MB to test the system (I had misplaced the 128 MB I took out). It ran SLOWWWWW, but confirmed my theory when it didn't crash for a week. I had the 512 replaced under warranty and all has been great ever since.

I'd be sure to start by testing RAM before wiping a hard drive!

Good luck.
The iBook G3 had 128 MB soldered and 1 RAM slot. The iBook G4s, though, have 256 MB soldered and 1 RAM slot, plus they support the 1GB chips. This explains why the iBook G3s maxed out at 640 MB (128 MB + 512 MB) while the iBook G4 maxes out at 1.25 GB (256 MB + 1024 MB = 1280 MB = 1.25 GB).

[neut]

The iBook G3 had 128 MB soldered and 1 RAM slot. The iBook G4s, though, have 256 MB soldered and 1 RAM slot, plus they support the 1GB chips. This explains why the iBook G3s maxed out at 640 MB (128 MB + 512 MB) while the iBook G4 maxes out at 1.25 GB (256 MB + 1024 MB = 1280 MB = 1.25 GB).

the origianl iBook G4 had 128 on-board... most apple machine specs can be found at: apple-history (http://apple-history.com/)


peace.

[wrldwzrd89]

the origianl iBook G4 had 128 on-board... most apple machine specs can be found at: apple-history (http://apple-history.com/)


peace.
I knew about that site, and I'll admit that I wasn't 100% confident that what I posted was correct. I knew that the later iBook G4s had 256 MB of RAM soldered, but I was unsure about the early iBook G4s. I was too lazy to check it first before posting ;)

[Mav451]

If it was RAM, he would be crashing repeatedly, and randomly when ever he does a CPU-intensive task.

Since he didn't say it was crashing during Photoshop (running filters) or during iLife (substantial CPU impact in some apps), then I doubt its a RAM problem. It definitely sounds like a software/driver problem b/c it is not a CONSTANT problem, but an erratic one.

[Logik]

I had the lock up upon wake up from sleep with login screen issue... i cant' remember what i did to fix it.. i think it had something to do with sleeping shortly after the screen saver popped up.. i did a lot of tests and as soon as i seperated the time between sleeping and screen saver turning on it stopped... so try making sure they are about 5 minutes apart... mine typically did it after closing the lid.. i don't recall having it happen when it automatically when to sleep ... it's weird.. do a search for powerbook coma on the apple tech help site thingie.. there's a whole thread or ... eight.. on it lol

[rueyeet]

Nope, that kind of thing is definitely NOT normal for OS X. Something's wrong.

I've heard that the latest Panther update, 10.3.6, has also been known to cause problems, and not just with FireWire drives. If the other suggestions fail, that might be something else to consider.

Testing the ASDL modem theory is easy...unplug it, and do the problems go away?

I'll also agree with those who don't think it's a RAM issuel; I run Jaguar wiht 256 MB and don't have those kinds of problems. Panther is supposed to outperform Jaguar, so I'd expect it to run okay on 256 MB as well. Not screamingly fast, maybe, but certainly not unusably slowly.