Ok....every once in a while...probably once a day, my Dualie G5 2ghz freezes, and a grey shade falls down over the monitor with a "you need to restart..." message in the middle of the screen. If a CD is playing, that immediately starts to skip on the note it was on when the crash happened. Of course, I have tried to ID when all of this happens, but it is completely random. ANy ideas...I know...I know...needle in the haystack. Thanks for any info, though.
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Grey Shade of Death???
- Thread starter BicyclePunk
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Well, that's a kernal panic. Have you installed any new RAM? OS X is very picky about RAM, so if you've installed some, take it out and just leave the factory Apple RAM. If it doesn't happen anymore, you know its the RAM. If it still happens, or you haven't added any RAM, it's time to call Apple. Kernal panics happen, but very very rarely. If you're getting them often, there's a problem.
You know, I do have some Kinston RAM. I should take that out again. I'm pretty sure that it was doing it before, but I'll give it a shot. I was actually getting the text across the screen style of kernel panic. Took it to the Apple store and they had to replace BOTH CPUs on this month old machine. Pretty nuts. Maybe this machine's still f-ed up.
I'll try the RAM...thanks for the advice.
I'll try the RAM...thanks for the advice.
I had the same thing on my mac a while back.
I dont think it has anything to do with Panther though.
I ran all tests possible with tech tool pro, disk warrior and whatever, all failed when thoroughly tested the ram. I had really freaky errors no one has ever had on a mac before, ones like going to a unix command line on top of the dead os GUI.
After replacing the bad ram stick, ALL problems went away.
I would assume its the ram like the others said.
I dont think it has anything to do with Panther though.
I ran all tests possible with tech tool pro, disk warrior and whatever, all failed when thoroughly tested the ram. I had really freaky errors no one has ever had on a mac before, ones like going to a unix command line on top of the dead os GUI.
After replacing the bad ram stick, ALL problems went away.
I would assume its the ram like the others said.
I'm gonna do that. I suppose there are no tools to say if the RAM is bad, or not, huh? Either way....I'm pulling out the RAM. If it's all cool without, I guess I'll drop lots of dough for Apple RAM. Thanks!
tech tool pro is the best imo. It pin pointed which chip was a defected one on the stick. I took it out and replaced it with a new one. Works like charm.
I bet you like your dual 2z btw
I bet you like your dual 2z btw
I'll have to check out TechTool Pro. The Dual G5? You know...I should like it. I waited long enough for it. (Ordered on June 30, cancelled my online order on Oct 2nd...then drove two miles to the Apple store near my house and they had a pile of them there.) Had a few minor glitches when I first got it. Got them sorted out and then a few weeks later put Panther on and the RAM on two days later. Then everything wen to hell. Took it to Apple and they replaced the CPUs, as I mentioned. Got it back and it was better, but not perfect. Two weeks ago I did a clean install of Panther (as opposed to the upgrade I did originally) and things got better. Still not perfect. Put the RAM back in and seem to still have the same issues. But, as I said, I will pull the RAM and use it for a few days to see if that helps.
But, other than that, the machine is faster and pretty cool. But I really should have waited for the second generation of this machine and Panther. I really feel burned.
But, other than that, the machine is faster and pretty cool. But I really should have waited for the second generation of this machine and Panther. I really feel burned.
If you haven't already, you might also try running the Apple Hardware Test CD that came with your G5; I assume they did that when you took it in for service before, but that's been known to catch some problems, including bad RAM in *some* cases (not always, though, so don't assume a clean bill of health means no problems).
It's also possible there's some sort of interaction between your new RAM and the Apple stuff--if pulling the new RAM doesn't fix it completely, try taking out the Apple RAM and see if that helps.
I've got a similar set up (dual G5 w/Panther) that's only a little newer than yours, and I've seen a single, hardware-related kernel panic since I've had it, so these are most definitely not standard issues.
It's also possible there's some sort of interaction between your new RAM and the Apple stuff--if pulling the new RAM doesn't fix it completely, try taking out the Apple RAM and see if that helps.
I've got a similar set up (dual G5 w/Panther) that's only a little newer than yours, and I've seen a single, hardware-related kernel panic since I've had it, so these are most definitely not standard issues.
Yeah...I ran that before and when I took it in and it actually hung up a few times. But then it finally diagnosed the problem. Then when I brought it home and the machine started to get funky again, I ran it, without the RAM and the darned thing hung up again. Haven't tried it since I did the reinstall, though.
But I do have to say that the fres reinstall did solve a lot of the problems I was having...with the exception of the kernel panic.
But I do have to say that the fres reinstall did solve a lot of the problems I was having...with the exception of the kernel panic.
It might be a cooling problem, if a CPU or maybe even some other components get too hot you'll often cause that dear little kernel to panic. I know the dual 2 runs hot, and I think that they even custom calibrate the fans, maybe yours weren't calibrated correctly in the factory.
When we were in the shop with it, we were trying to get the machine to do something stupid. After a while, it did. Then one of the techs said something along the lines that "it had to get hot to get that". But then they replaced the CPUs anyway.
So how do I go about calibrating the fans? Take it to the store, I bet, huh?
So how do I go about calibrating the fans? Take it to the store, I bet, huh?