G5 1.6 randomly freezing...not due to 3rd party RAM

Hi,

I've posted before on this issue, but at the time I thought that the random freezes with my new G5 1.6GHz system were due to some 3rd party RAM (tried Apacer and Kingmax) that I had installed. I've since removed the RAM, but my freezing/lockup problems have continued.

Basically, the symptoms are fairly simple: just navigating around the desktop, using Safari, or reading e-mail with Mail is enough to occasionally lock the entire system up. Nothing is written into the /var/log/system.log or to the console which would indicate something going wrong. I have run the Apple Hardware Test, in both quick and extended modes, but no problem is reported.

I also performed a 'erase and install' new installation of Mac OS X 10.2.7 from the provided DVD. The system actually locked up *during the installation*!!! At this stage I called Apple Australia, and started speaking to their support people. Their first suggestion was to re-install again, but this time deleting the original partition and re-partitioning. I did this, but once again, the installer locked up at the 'Registering your Details with Apple' stage (those little animated blobs just froze too...very sad. The G5's fans also kicked into high gear, indicating that the OS had lost control of the hardware).

Another call to Apple, and this time the suggestion was to boot into single user mode and perform an fsck (it came up clean), and then to reset the CUDA switch on the motherboard. That was about an hour ago, and since then, i've been running iTunes, surfing the web with Safari, and reading email with Mail with no problems...all the things that made the system lock up before. I've even given UT2003 a quick run, and it all seems fine.

Maybe the CUDA reset was what fixed it. Maybe it's just so random that 5 minutes after I post this message it'll lock up again? I don't know...I'm pretty concerned that my 6-day old G5 system is so unstable. This is the sort of behaviour I would expect from a bottom-tier PC clone with dodgy RAM.

Has anyone out there had similar experiences with their system locking or freezing up, even *without* adding in 3rd party RAM or PCI cards? This thing is as stock as the day it arrived. The config is: 1.6GHz G5, 256MB RAM (2 x 128MB), 80GB HDD, Combo drive, Radeon 9600 Pro, no modem, no Airport, no Bluetooth, stock Apple mouse and stock Apple keyboard, connected up to a 17" VGA screen via the supplied Apple DVI->VGA adapter.

Mat.

OK, it's crashed again twice, once while I was on the phone to an Apple rep. They've conceded that it can only be a hardware fault, and have recommended I take it into one of their local service centres in Sydney.

So does Apple even bother to do burn-in testing? This system has been acting flakey since day 1. Anyone else out there with similar problems?

Replacement 1.6GHz G5 followup

I thought this thread had died, but it looks like people are still posting to it, so here's the followup. After spending some time on the phone with Apple Australia, they finally admitted that my G5 was probably a Dead On Arrival (DOA), and I should take it back to the nearest dealer. I did that, and about 3 weeks later, a replacement 1.6GHz G5 was delivered to me. It worked perfectly out of the box, even after I added an extra 1GB of Crucial DDR SDRAM to the stock 256MB (which this time was also Crucial...previously Apple had used Hynix RAM).

Unfortunately, another problem has since developed, which is the dreaded 'Black Screen of Death' (BSOD). This problem, which seems to be widely reported on Apple's own discussion forum, relates to the video card (a Radeon 9600 Pro in this case) not sending any signal to the monitor upon cold booting or waking from sleep (the G5 itself boots fine, there's just no video signal until the 2nd, 3rd or sometimes 10th reboot). I called AppleCare again in early December to arrange for service, but in the past few weeks the problem seems to have fixed itself. I don't know if it has got anything to do with the various OS X and firmware upgrades which have been recently released, the warmer weather here in Sydney, or just plain old good luck. Anyway, I'll see how it goes...I've got another 8 months or so of warranty to get the problem fixed.

Apart from the occasionally very frustrating BSOD problem (everyone *loves* having to power-cycle their G5 2 or 3 times to get a video signal in the morning!), I haven't had another lockup or crash. I'd say the original problem was with the motherboard. To anyone still suffering from random lockups and crashes, persist with AppleCare until they replace or repair your G5. Don't accept any BS about 'running too many apps at once' or anything like that...it's a hardware problem, your G5 shouldn't crash at all, and Apple should fix their manufacturing faults.

Hope this helps. BTW, I've since gotten a 1GHz 12" PowerBook to replace my old PIII Dell notebook, and in contrast to the G5, I've not had a single problem with it since I got it a few months ago (which comes as a relief).