Has your Radeon 4850 based iMac froze more than once?

[definitive]

Has it frozen more than once since the time you've received it. Hopefully we can get some idea of what's going on.

Please specify what CPU your system is running (2.93 or 3.06 ghz), along with info when you ordered the system, and when it was shipped.

[davemulheran]

Yes 3 times so far, minimal evening use 3.06

[jun]

yes. once, 20 minutes ago. 3.06.
mnimal use, too (safari 3 & onyx).

[Chris Michel]

Yes. Minimal use too, just copying some files and surfing with Safari...

2.93 iMac

[andysrich]

Nope. (3.06)

No freezes yet. Have been using lots of stuff: Safari, MacTheRipper, Handbreak, iMovie, iTunes, TuneUp, Adium, QuickTimePro, Mail, Pages. Also copied about 300GB of stuff across with no errors or crashes.
Have had them running all together with no problems so far.

[GonzoRob]

yup - about 5 times .. ive been playing with crossover ... so probably to be expected :)

[definitive]

if possible, please provide info when your system was ordered and shipped.

[Tymbo]

Yes.

Memphis, TN USA
Ordered evening of March 3
Shipped Fri April 10
Delivered Monday April 13

Dead pixel forcing an allowed return.. just dropped it off hours ago (see my freezing imac thread for details)

Waiting on replacement......................................

[hitkaiser]

Yes. So many times :(

About 2-3 times a day (since day one) at random intervals. Often not doing anything at all (just leaving it on).

3.06Ghz

Madrid, Spain
Shipped Monday 13th April

[caelumusus]

No, not yet at least.
All I've done is set up, run updates, minimal surfing (Safari)
System Profiler, Activity Monitor, iPhoto
Oh and lots of dribbling!:)

Ordered 3rd Mar
Arrived 16th Apr
UK
24" iMac: 3.06GHz/4GB SDRAM/1TB/ATI Radeon HD 4850
p.s. No dead pixels (heaven)

[feezel]

2.93 iMac with 4850. Sydney, Australia. Got it yesterday, about 5-6 hours of use so far no crashes or freezes. Spent most of that time downloading and installing software, browsing Safari, watching movies.

Going to try Handbrake and World of Warcraft tonight. Fingers crossed.

[mtatfluler]

Yes! 3 times so far! Just browsing the web and it happened twice, the third was when i was watching a video online.

hmmmm!

3.06GHz, 4GB, 1TB HD, ATI Radeon 4850.

From UK.

[1chocolate1]

Mine has frozen at least 7 times, mostly in Apple programs--Safari, iTunes, and iPhoto. I was on the phone for over an hour with tech support tonight. They had me check all the disc analyzation, equipment testing, etc. and found nothing. They said to call back when it happens again. I left it alone for 30 minutes. When I returned to my computer it was frozen again. The problem is I use it at night primarily so when it freezes they're usually closed!

[ronel129]

These freezes you guys are experiencing does the computer lock up and force you to hold down the start button in order to restart? Also, mine i been using it for 4 hours today an no issues.

[Tymbo]

These freezes you guys are experiencing does the computer lock up and force you to hold down the start button in order to restart? Also, mine i been using it for 4 hours today an no issues.

Yes... can't force quit, move the mouse, or change the brightness on the screen (keyboard control). Exchange process underway.

[WizardHunt]

Yes. Minimal use too, just copying some files and surfing with Safari...

2.93 iMac

Did the software ask you to send information to Apple? If so do it, or Apple will not know about the freezes and they will never get fixed.

[hh83917]

So for those who have non-frozen 4850 iMacs. Have you guys reinstalled with the original disc when you first receive it? I know many people like to clean the HDD and reinstall OSX from scratch when they receive their new macs. I'm just wondering if there is any relevance in reinstalling from scratch and the freezing.

[WizardHunt]

So for those who have non-frozen 4850 iMacs. Have you guys reinstalled with the original disc when you first receive it? I know many people like to clean the HDD and reinstall OSX from scratch when they receive their new macs. I'm just wondering if there is any relevance in reinstalling from scratch and the freezing.

This is a great point. It could be that there is a common problem with maybe some software that is installed from the old machine when they did the back up and restored. I myself like to do a fresh install. And only back up my email with mobile me and then I can reinstall what I want at the time I need to use it. This way it makes troubleshooting a whole lot easier.

[nifets]

2.93ghz iMac with Radeon 4850. Hard freezes during WoW gameplay at semi-random intervals. Tuning down video settings seems to make the freezes come less often.

Have observed temperatures with istat. At the time of freezes, main GPU temperature was at 67 degrees celsius, GPU heatsink at 62 degrees. Other temperatures were lower. No clear correlation between temperature and freezes as far as I can tell, as the temperatures did not change much at all regardess of video settings.

I used the option to transfer stuff from old computer at installation.

[mtatfluler]

Apple have assured me that as of yet they have not heard anything of this problem and suggested i get a new replacement. I don't think the next one will be any better, but i get to keep the current one until the new one arrives.

[GonzoRob]

This is a great point. It could be that there is a common problem with maybe some software that is installed from the old machine when they did the back up and restored. I myself like to do a fresh install. And only back up my email with mobile me and then I can reinstall what I want at the time I need to use it. This way it makes troubleshooting a whole lot easier.

I'll try this on the weekend. I migrated my old macbook pro files from a time machine backup. Lots of little things dont work, like Photobooth.

Perhaps a clean install will help out... will let you all know ...

EDIT: also, for me, it doesnt feel like a hardware issue. I can't quite put my finger on it. Like others, the computer totally locks up but (usually) with a hardware failure the OS kicks in, screaming and forces a shutdown. This is why I'm not sending it back - yet...

[Jammers]

Apple have assured me that as of yet they have not heard anything of this problem and suggested i get a new replacement. I don't think the next one will be any better, but i get to keep the current one until the new one arrives.

How did you wangle that one as other users are reporting they have to send their machine back before they will even begin to build the new one.

[GamaFu]

I have an 2.93 Ghz iMac with Ati 4850, have been using it non-stop since I got it 12 hours ago.
I transferred my massive photos, music library from my PC, installed a few applications. No freezes, at least not yet.

So far my first mac experience has been great. Still need to figure out some keyboard/mouse shortcuts though. :p

[Jammers]

I have an 2.93 Ghz iMac with Ati 4850, have been using it non-stop since I got it 12 hours ago.
I transferred my massive photos, music library from my PC, installed a few applications. No freezes, at least not yet.

So far my first mac experience has been great. Still need to figure out some keyboard/mouse shortcuts though. :p

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1343

[GamaFu]

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1343

Thanks for the tips. :D
I've read Apple's Switch 101 and Mac 101 and some of the guides here on MacRumors. OS X is so much better in terms of user interface than Linux, I've tried Ubuntu, OpenSolaris.

[Topo-kun]

Hi mine has also freeze 2 times always in the same scenario:
trying to download the iPhone SDK with Safari(not version 4).

Installed firefox, download it and no more freezes.(fingers cross)
Not doing too much heavy work on it yet though.

Specs

2,93 Ghz
ATI HD 4850
640GB HD
4GB RAM

Someone knows if its a Driver problem?

[kingofkev]

yes! around 6 times now. Mostly on minimal usage.

2.93/640gb/4850

Arrived 14th april, Sydney, Australia

[hh83917]

This is a great point. It could be that there is a common problem with maybe some software that is installed from the old machine when they did the back up and restored. I myself like to do a fresh install. And only back up my email with mobile me and then I can reinstall what I want at the time I need to use it. This way it makes troubleshooting a whole lot easier.

I was thinking if those new 4850 iMacs come with some secretly preinstalled ATI drivers which may not be in the OSX disc that it came with. So possibly, if you don't do a erase and install, it might be fine? Just curious...:rolleyes:

[Jammers]

I was thinking if those new 4850 iMacs come with some secretly preinstalled ATI drivers which may not be in the OSX disc that it came with. So possibly, if you don't do a erase and install, it might be fine? Just curious...:rolleyes:

I did not do an erase and install but just copied over all my stuff from a Time Machine backup. It has frozen 3 or 4 times now. If it happens again I will be demanding a replacement.

[booly]

:mad:
Should I do a clear install ? Mine (iMac 3.06 with Radeon) froze several time, even with minimal use such watching movies....
Replacement ?? after waiting for 2 month I don't really want to wait another 2 month....

[Kalypso]

Yes, it seems to be when I do anything graphics intesnive, from playing WoW to watching streaming video fullscreen. It seems that the more graphics intensive, the faster it freezes (requiring a hard reboot).

The freezes happen after as little as 30 seconds playing WoW on ultra settings, up to 30 minutes playing WoW on default settings, and it seemed to freeze about every 40 minutes watching streaming TV fullscreen from fox.com last night. I checked the GPU temp during the streaming TV and it never went above 107F. Other temps also looked reasonable.

I have a genius bar appt tonight.

3.06 ghz
ordered 3-7-09 from Modesto, CA
delivered 4-13-09

[MTShipp]

Is there a safe mode for booting an iMac like there is for Windows? Perhaps running in safe mode will help determine if it is hardware or software.

A n00b with Mac so no flames on this question please.

[Jammers]

After discussing the issue again with Applecare and after sales I have ordered a replacement which is being shipped with priority. I can return my current one after the new one arrives which will hopefully be without the freezing problem.

[mtatfluler]

How did you wangle that one as other users are reporting they have to send their machine back before they will even begin to build the new one.

Looks like the same way that you managed to wangle keeping yours until the new one arrives! :cool:

[Jammers]

Looks like the same way that you managed to wangle keeping yours until the new one arrives! :cool:

lol, yes I answered my own question. I asked the aftersales guy lol

[mtatfluler]

lol well lets hope the new ones will be better ay! if not, we might have to wait for an updated driver :(

[Omni Geno]

Is there a safe mode for booting an iMac like there is for Windows? Perhaps running in safe mode will help determine if it is hardware or software.

A n00b with Mac so no flames on this question please.

Hold down the shift key on startup and keep holding it down while you wait for the startup process to complete. Please note that when I did this, it took quite a few minutes to start up. This is apparently normal. Your mileage may vary.

For accuracy's sake, this was done on the computer shown in my sig.

[Dannewashere]

My iMac has frozen two times since i got it today. first time while playing CoD2 and second time while testing the visualizers in iTunes. i also was disappointed when i got distortions on the screen , in this case horizontal lines in a Safari window.

i attached a image of it , has anyone had similar problems?

[ciakow]

After using iTunes visualization every time (5x); after about 20 mins
Safari 2x

3.06 / ati

Still think the power supply has to do with it... > 82C

[synagence]

Just for comparison, i just rendered a very large 1080p Terragen2 landscape which took several hours, the CPU diod temp was 60oC and the Power was at 69oC pretty steady (+/- 1 or 2 degs)

[hh83917]

I did not do an erase and install but just copied over all my stuff from a Time Machine backup. It has frozen 3 or 4 times now. If it happens again I will be demanding a replacement.

I see, I feel sorry for you. I'd demand a replacement if I were you. I hope your replacement goes well. :(

[Jammers]

I see, I feel sorry for you. I'd demand a replacement if I were you. I hope your replacement goes well. :(

Yep, replacement ordered and will send back the old one once the new one arrives.

[nss.aries]

2 times in 1 day :/ hope it's not hw

[gasport]

I had no problems with mine until it totally froze and could not get it restarted with tech support providing guidance. I could move the cursor but could not activate any program. I had to ship back the original and they started the build of the new one only after I called and complained that they promised me priority service. This happened on Tuesday and the new one just shipped.

I am wondering about the quality of the iMac after my experience and the problems on this post. :(

3.06 with the 4850 ordered on March 3, shipped on April 9 delivered April 10 returned April 15.

[OBSIA]

12+x times !!!!!!!

Waited over 6weeks for this machine -.- :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

[WizardHunt]

Yep, replacement ordered and will send back the old one once the new one arrives.

They allowed you to order one keeping yours, until you get the new one then they will allow you to ship the old one back later? I am surprised. Please clairify.

[WizardHunt]

12+x times !!!!!!!

Waited over 6weeks for this machine -.- :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

12 times? wow, in how many days or are we talking about hours?
That is a lot of times to freeze up? Is it always the same thing you are doing when it freezes?

[WizardHunt]

After using iTunes visualization every time (5x); after about 20 mins
Safari 2x

3.06 / ati

Still think the power supply has to do with it... > 82C

I doubt it is the power supply. More likely something with the 4850 Chip... but who really knows... at this point.

[WizardHunt]

I had to ship back the original and they started the build of the new one only after I called and complained that they promised me priority service. This happened on Tuesday and the new one just shipped.


Wow that is good turn around time for the replacement. Did you have to send the original back first by choice or Did they require it to be in their hands before they would send out a replacement?

[WizardHunt]

Just for comparison, i just rendered a very large 1080p Terragen2 landscape which took several hours, the CPU diod temp was 60oC and the Power was at 69oC pretty steady (+/- 1 or 2 degs)

Where are you finding the temperature readings on the mac? Are you using special software to get them?

[Jammers]

They allowed you to order one keeping yours, until you get the new one then they will allow you to ship the old one back later? I am surprised. Please clairify.

I told them it was unacceptable for them to demand my machine back before they started to build the new one. The American guy I spoke to (I'm from the UK) said that was fine and he would email me a waiver form that basically said I had 5 days to send back the old machine after I had received the new one or they would charge my credit card - fair enough.

He then emailed a bit later and said not to worry about the Waiver form - when TNT phone to pick up the defective iMac I should tell them i am not ready for pick up yet and contact them when I am.

[WizardHunt]

I see, I feel sorry for you. I'd demand a replacement if I were you. I hope your replacement goes well. :(

I probably would have asked for a replacement too. But you know I can't figure out why Apple would do that so quickly if they know they are going to have a fix for this. Maybe they don't have a fix yet, and that is why they are so willing to replace them without too much hassle, or it could be the great customer service. What do you think?

[WizardHunt]

I told them it was unacceptable for them to demand my machine back before they started to build the new one. The American guy I spoke to (I'm from the UK) said that was fine and he would email me a waiver form that basically said I had 5 days to send back the old machine after I had received the new one or they would charge my credit card - fair enough.

He then emailed a bit later and said not to worry about the Waiver form - when TNT phone to pick up the defective iMac I should tell them i am not ready for pick up yet and contact them when I am.

That is Great. I did not know they did that. That way you can still use yours up to the point of getting the new one. Awesome. :D

[WizardHunt]

Is there a safe mode for booting an iMac like there is for Windows? Perhaps running in safe mode will help determine if it is hardware or software.

A n00b with Mac so no flames on this question please.

To start up into Safe Mode (to Safe Boot), do this:

Be sure the computer is shut down.
Press the power button.
Immediately after you hear the startup tone, hold the Shift key. The Shift key should be held as soon as possible after the startup tone but not before.
Release the Shift key when you see the gray Apple icon and the progress indicator (looks like a spinning gear).
During startup in Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you will see "Safe Boot" on the login window, which appears even if you normally log in automatically.

During startup in Mac OS X 10.2 through 10.3.9, you will see "Safe Boot" on the Mac OS X startup screen.

To leave Safe Mode in any version of Mac OS X, restart the computer normally, without holding any keys during startup.

[Matthew Yohe]

Some of you may want to download: http://www.bresink.de/osx/TemperatureMonitor.html

Then set it up (in preferences) to save the History every minute. And then after a lockup, check the clock in the menubar (might want to enable display of Seconds) reboot and check out the history for that time.

[snouo79]

Yes, three times in 8 hours.

- First time after 5 (five) minutes of its life (just opened safari...and then...freeze)
- Second time when playing a youtube video
- Third time using iPhoto09

Well...I have a lot of things to complain about...On monday I will call Apple Support. I hope that just a firmware upgrade will fix this issue.

Just one consideration: Apple sells just two/three kind of video cards (or five/six..I don't know)..is it so difficul to test them BEFORE sell? I don't think this is an unknow issue...

Ciao

Fabio

[OBSIA]

12 times? wow, in how many days or are we talking about hours?
That is a lot of times to freeze up? Is it always the same thing you are doing when it freezes?

In 2 days!

i did:

1. Webbrowsing(watching youtube, flashvideos) often
2. Downloading with jDownloader often
3. watching eye tv dtt
4. opening the dashboard
5. Adium often
6. watching a normal divx video
7. listening to itunes music with visualizer turned on
8. using mail

the things with "often" behind were quite everytime open when a freeze happened...

[WizardHunt]

In 2 days!

i did:

1. Webbrowsing(watching youtube, flashvideos) often
2. Downloading with jDownloader often
3. watching eye tv dtt
4. opening the dashboard
5. Adium often
6. watching a normal divx video
7. listening to itunes music with visualizer turned on
8. using mail

the things with "often" behind were quite everytime open when a freeze happened...

Another words, pretty much normal use. Bummers! That is not good news for Apple. :(

[OBSIA]

Another words, pretty much normal use. Bummers! That is not good news for Apple. :(

webbrowser I use is Safari in version 3 - Software is all up to date.

[Dannewashere]

Where are you finding the temperature readings on the mac? Are you using special software to get them?

most people probably uses istat pro or iStat menu (the one i use).

[OBSIA]

most people probably uses istat pro or iStat menu (the one i use).

yep or widget istat nano

[serum]

My 2.93 with 4850 is about to be delivered; this is not the news I was looking for. I was hoping for enthusiastic reviews of the 4850. Hard to tell if it's software or hardware.

Anyone here has done/tried a complete clean install? Sure is worth a try.

[oturner]

My 2.93 with 4850 is about to be delivered.


Got mine delivered 3 days ago now and it has been turned on since it arrived. And not a single lock up at all.

Lots of web surfing (safari and oepra), bit of work in lightroom, entourage email, a few skype calls (with and without video), a 6 hour session of WoW and several shorter sessions.

Mine is a standard 2.93 with a 4850, using an MX revolution with LCC 2.7.

Absolutely loving the iMac so far, been a MBP user for 3 or so years but this just leaves that experience for dead.

[DELTAsnake]

Mine hasn't frozen but I have had the Beach Ball of Death on the entire system once and I couldn't force quit.

2.93
1TB
4GB
4850

Ordered on 3rd March
Shipped on 10th April
Arrived on 14th April

[Sermon]

Had it since April 14, plenty of iTunes, iChat (with and without video), playing games like Doom 3 and Quake 4, lots of surfing, downloading and watching Quicktime stuff in HD (1080) and as of yet not a single lockdown. Hope it stays that way, but everyone out there experiencing problems, you have my sympathy.

I hope the issue will be addressed by Apple and they'll fix it soon, whatever it is.

[naptime]

I just finished a marathon session of "breaking in" my new 3.06GHz 4850 imac, and am happy to say it had no freezing issues at all. I used in continuously for about 10 hours (lol) doing things like playing WoW, watching movies, listening to iTunes, and using ventrilo; sometimes, all at the same time. The GPU stayed relatively cool (max around 68˚C) and everything was flawless. Very happy :D

[Mindbang]

I have my new imac since the 14th and its been on since then. never had any freezing issues. well, until today. my system froze two times. first time while activated screensaver, second time watching lost.

hope we see a fix soon :)

[ciakow]

hey there,

Still think it has to do more with the northbridge and the powersupply than the 4850. The freezing has been erratic; sometimes I've had loads of stuff open: copying > 200Gb over the wireless network, parallels, iTunes, etc. and nothing happens.

Just safari, or just iTunes and it kills out on me. Every time the powersupply > 80C, the northbridge> 80 and the GUP > 80.

I've installed smcFanControl and it shows my CPU is ca. 32C... when I put the Fan 1500rpm.

Still trying to find some s/w to control the GPU fan.. Any ideas?

[WizardHunt]

Got mine delivered 3 days ago now and it has been turned on since it arrived. And not a single lock up at all.

Lots of web surfing (safari and oepra), bit of work in lightroom, entourage email, a few skype calls (with and without video), a 6 hour session of WoW and several shorter sessions.

Mine is a standard 2.93 with a 4850, using an MX revolution with LCC 2.7.

Absolutely loving the iMac so far, been a MBP user for 3 or so years but this just leaves that experience for dead.


Finally someone will good news. Actually a few on here are saying that there have been no lockups. That is good news.

[Jammers]

hey there,

Still think it has to do more with the northbridge and the powersupply than the 4850. The freezing has been erratic; sometimes I've had loads of stuff open: copying > 200Gb over the wireless network, parallels, iTunes, etc. and nothing happens.

Just safari, or just iTunes and it kills out on me. Every time the powersupply > 80C, the northbridge> 80 and the GUP > 80.

I've installed smcFanControl and it shows my CPU is ca. 32C... when I put the Fan 1500rpm.

Still trying to find some s/w to control the GPU fan.. Any ideas?

Could be right. Mine hasn't frozen for a couple of days. The most intensive thing I have done is some stuff in iMovie with the real time rendering of transitions. No complaints. I'll have to try WoW again to see if it freezes. Nevertheless four freezes is four too many and it is going back within the 14 day exchange program.

[teamzissou]

Mine has frozen once, while playing Spore with nothing else running.

Maybe this is standard procedure and everybody knows this already, but fyi, tech support told me to hold power to turn it off, unplug everything for 30 secs, then plug in the power supply and keyboard, press power and immediately press and hold option + command (on left of spacebar, not right) + R + P. He said to hold until I hear the second chime (about 30 - 45 secs).

It worked and so far it hasn't happened again, and it even fixed some issues I was having with iPhoto. Keeping my fingers crossed

[jtourville]

Thought I'd add to the thread... I got my 3.06 GHz ATI 4850 iMac on 4/17, and it has frozen up on me many times since 4/18.

One interesting (though perhaps unrelated) piece of information. If I click "About this Mac", it identifies the CPU as 3.06 GHz. However, if I boot the hardware test and select the hardware tab, it reports 3.60 GHz...

To anyone else experiencing these freezes, what CPU frequency are you seeing in the hardware test? (Hold down the "D" key on boot to check.)

How bout those of you with this iMac who aren't seeing any problems?

[Thethirdone]

Not a computer whizz by any mean but had an ibook G4 that froze like that, on and off, with no particular reason. The problem turned out to be the motherboard. Went to a retailer who changed it and worked fine afterward.

I just thought I'd throw this out there.

Still waiting for my 2.93 with ATI 4850...gonna get it tomorrow. Hope it doesn't freeze (low tolerance for that kind of thing...especially since I moved away from PCs for that kind of problems:rolleyes:)

:apple: ibook G4
:apple: airport extreme "g"

[iMac4850User]

I got my 3.06 GHz ATI 4850 iMac on 4/14 and it's frozen:

On 4/14 right out of the box while using Safari :(
On 4/16 while downloading Xcode :mad:
On 4/16 while running Apple Hardware Test
On 4/19 while downloading Xcode :mad:
On 4/19 while using Safari
On 4/20 while using Mail

Apple is forcing me to take it to the nearest Apple Retail Store. No replacement for me yet. Did the people who are getting replacements threaten to return it within the 14 day window and refused to pay the restocking fee or did they get Apple to declare it dead on arrival or what? Did they talk to a product specialist? Exactly how do you get a replacement?

[definitive]

Thought I'd add to the thread... I got my 3.06 GHz ATI 4850 iMac on 4/17, and it has frozen up on me many times since 4/18.

One interesting (though perhaps unrelated) piece of information. If I click "About this Mac", it identifies the CPU as 3.06 GHz. However, if I boot the hardware test and select the hardware tab, it reports 3.60 GHz...

To anyone else experiencing these freezes, what CPU frequency are you seeing in the hardware test? (Hold down the "D" key on boot to check.)

How bout those of you with this iMac who aren't seeing any problems?

could someone on a freezing 2.93 please try this and tell us what speed it will say?

[ineusch]

Anyone tested iMac fan control to force the video card fan to cool it ?
A guy on the apple forums tried it...
I'll have my iMac tomorrow to try that ;)

[davemulheran]

Had it since April 14, plenty of iTunes, iChat (with and without video), playing games like Doom 3 and Quake 4, lots of surfing, downloading and watching Quicktime stuff in HD (1080) and as of yet not a single lockdown. Hope it stays that way, but everyone out there experiencing problems, you have my sympathy.

I hope the issue will be addressed by Apple and they'll fix it soon, whatever it is.

do you connect to the internet via ethernet or wifi?

[GonzoRob]

so, from this poll - half of all ATI imacs are faulty ?!?

[ineusch]

so, from this poll - half of all ATI imacs are faulty ?!?

You have to add all the users that do not have a problem, and therefore did not start reading the forum and did not vote :D

[Sermon]

do you connect to the internet via ethernet or wifi?

I connect to the internet via cable modem, so it's Ethernet. Like I said, haven't had any problems yet, but that doesn't necessarily mean the problem isn't lurking somewhere behind the next corner for me. Haven't done anything so GPU-heavy yet, so maybe that's why I haven't had any troubles yet. But then again people are reporting that their system freezes while surfing with Safari or while listening to music via iTunes, so I don't know ... at the moment I just consider myself extremely lucky.

[Animalk]

You have to add all the users that do not have a problem, and therefore did not start reading the forum and did not vote :D

This logic is faulty. If that was the case, we wouldn't be seeing the distribution we currently have. Granted, I do agree that the actual real-life percentage of faulty imacs is highly likely to be lower than what we are seeing here.

Make no mistake, the ratio of faulty 4850 imacs is very significant.

[kdogg]

I've been using mine for about a week (since April 14) now no crashes. It's a 3.06GHz. I've run Migration assitant to get files off my old iMac, used itunes, iphoto, safari, vlc, Vuze, eyetv, tvu and played COD3, because of Vuze, I run it about 20 hours a day, (I also use my iMac to watch tv) no problems here. The GPU will get to about 70C while gaming, but that's no problem, it should be specified to at least 85C, if not 125C.

[davemulheran]

I connect to the internet via cable modem, so it's Ethernet. Like I said, haven't had any problems yet, but that doesn't necessarily mean the problem isn't lurking somewhere behind the next corner for me. Haven't done anything so GPU-heavy yet, so maybe that's why I haven't had any troubles yet. But then again people are reporting that their system freezes while surfing with Safari or while listening to music via iTunes, so I don't know ... at the moment I just consider myself extremely lucky.

I havent done anything heavy on the imac. I dont own any mac games or large software. Ive only ever used safari and itunes! yet I still have 10+ freezes under my belt with minimal use. I am a Solid WIFI user though, connecting to my mac mini downstairs, remote linking to imac from plex and torrent downloads.

Anyway, I rang apple and they are sending me a new build. I am also holding on to my faulty one until it arrives :D well done :apple:

[davemulheran]

I've been using mine for about a week (since April 14) now no crashes. It's a 3.06GHz. I've run Migration assitant to get files off my old iMac, used itunes, iphoto, safari, vlc, Vuze, eyetv, tvu and played COD3, because of Vuze, I run it about 20 hours a day, (I also use my iMac to watch tv) no problems here. The GPU will get to about 70C while gaming, but that's no problem, it should be specified to at least 85C, if not 125C.

How do you connect to the internet mate? WIFI or not?

[Sermon]

I havent done anything heavy on the imac. I dont own any mac games or large software. Ive only ever used safari and itunes! yet I still have 10+ freezes under my belt with minimal use. I am a Solid WIFI user though, connecting to my mac mini downstairs, remote linking to imac from plex and torrent downloads.

That's really annoying. I guess the most demanding thing I've done so far was to play Doom 3 on max resolution, including V-Sync and anti-aliasing - been playing for two hours and no crashes/freezes/lockups. TOday I watched a few HD-trailers and looped them for a while, just to see if I could produce a freeze, but nothing there as well. I'm seriously beginning to give this WIFI/Ethernet theory quite some credibility (until the one guy comes in saying he's had freezes with Ethernet ;))

I am also holding on to my faulty one until it arrives :D well done :apple:

Heh - good for you! How'd you manage that?? Let's hope this new one works ... fingers crossed!

Anyway, I hope Apple will find the cause of the lock-ups soon and will release a tool where everyone can actually try for themselves if they're affected or not. They must be aware of the issue by now, although I'm still quite surprised that Macrumors hasn't run this one their front page yet ....

[kdogg]

How do you connect to the internet mate? WIFI or not?

I connect the modem directly to the computer (ethernet), although for the first two days, before I packed away the old iMac and sold it, I was using wifi. Also i meant COD4, not COD3

[Sermon]

We might be on to something here. Been to a few other forums and have asked the question there as well and so far every single working iMac is connected to the Internet via Ethernet and everyone who is using WIFI is having the lockups.

Maybe we should start a separate thread on the issue?

[MrENGLISH]

We might be on to something here. Been to a few other forums and have asked the question there as well and so far every single working iMac is connected to the Internet via Ethernet and everyone who is using WIFI is having the lockups.

Maybe we should start a separate thread on the issue?

Good idea! Maybe another Poll!

1) Locks Up - using WiFi
2) Locks Up - using Ethernet
3) No Lock Ups - using Wifi
4) No Lock Ups - using Ethernet

[MrENGLISH]

People on the Apple.com forums are reporting that using fan control has solved their freezing issues.

[jebiwan]

We might be on to something here. Been to a few other forums and have asked the question there as well and so far every single working iMac is connected to the Internet via Ethernet and everyone who is using WIFI is having the lockups.

Maybe we should start a separate thread on the issue?

think that to try to discard the wifi problem, people who didn't have the problem so far (and have the possibility) should switch from ethernet cable to wifi for a quite long period in order to see if theirs hang too.

And viceversa, people who had the problem should switch from wifi to ethernet to see if their machines cease to freeze

[GonzoRob]

think that to try to discard the wifi problem, people who didn't have the problem so far (and have the possibility) should switch from ethernet cable to wifi for a quite long period in order to see if theirs hang too.

And viceversa, people who had the problem should switch from wifi to ethernet to see if their machines cease to freeze

ok, im running the test now.

In windows, disabled wifi card, running GPU stress test. So far been going to 20 minutes. I'll run it for a couple of hours. If it doesnt crash, Ill do it again with the wifi enabled. See what happens.

[Matthoss]

My new iMac did not freeze up for the first 24 hours even under heavy gaming.

However, I used iDVD to watch a dvd movie and it crashed twice.

I was connected to the internet via ethernet, although I don't think I disabled the WiFi.

-M

[Sermon]

My new iMac did not freeze up for the first 24 hours even under heavy gaming.

However, I used iDVD to watch a dvd movie and it crashed twice.

I was connected to the internet via ethernet, although I don't think I disabled the WiFi.

-M

Well, I've got WiFi enabled and am connected to the Internet via Ethernet and haven't had any lockups. I guess you just thrashed our theory ...

[GamaFu]

My new iMac did not freeze up for the first 24 hours even under heavy gaming.

However, I used iDVD to watch a dvd movie and it crashed twice.

I was connected to the internet via ethernet, although I don't think I disabled the WiFi.

-M

You didn't disable Wifi, but is it also connected?
Since you don't use it anyway, can you please disable AirPort and let us know if you iMac still freezes. :)

[Macole]

Are the wifi cars on freezing and non freezing iMacs the same model ?

[GamaFu]

Are the wifi cars on freezing and non freezing iMacs the same model ?

It should be the same.
However, I guess those who didn't experience any freeze just simply don't use wifi. We need those people to confirm though.

[Omni Geno]

User "fjaekel" in post #7 of the "Has the first replacement 4850 been received? (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=689171)" thread says he's not using Wifi, and he's on his second dud of an iMac.

[maclearning]

Finally got my 24" iMac w the ATI 4850...This is a beautiful setup and I haven't gotten any freeze at all. For those of you that are worried, don't be. Buy the iMac w/ the ATI and you wont be dissappointed.

Absolutely beautiful...worth the wait and the $$$...enjoy y'all.

[MrENGLISH]

User "fjaekel" in post #7 of the "Has the first replacement 4850 been received? (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=689171)" thread says he's not using Wifi, and he's on his second dud of an iMac.

yeah BUT does he actually have WiFi disabled or is it on but he's not using it? That could make all the difference right there...

[sharky867]

Hello

When I first received my iMac I was using WIFI (Airport) over my wireless network since I did not have extra 20' ft ethernet cable. After about 3hrs of playing with iMac I was listening to song with iTunes when iMac froze. I was not able to force quit iTunes. I had to turn off iMac to unfreeze. I did get ethernet cable later on Saturday and turned off WIFI. I only use ethernet network cable now to connect to internet. I have used iMac every day and have not experienced any lock-ups since.

the new iMac rocks..just hope apple can fix the video ichat/share screen problem.

Ordered iMac 24" 2.93 ghz ATI 4850 on March9th
Received iMac on April 18th

Hope this information helps anyone having similiar problems......


Sharky :D

[Omni Geno]

yeah BUT does he actually have WiFi disabled or is it on but he's not using it? That could make all the difference right there...

Very good point, sir ENGLISH. I'm not sure.

[palantas]

I received my Imac 1 week ago and after about 1 hour it froze the first time. Since then it has frozen 1-2 times every day. It can happen when doing work with my statistical programme (Stata) or using Word. It also has happened when I just put the machine to play Itunes and went away. When I came back it had frozen.

I have been using WIFI all the time.

Today I have switched WIFI off and started using Ethernet cable instead. Until now no freezes, but I have only been using it for a few hours. Will keep you posted if a freeze occur.

EDIT: At no time have I been using any heavy applications and my CPU temperature was never above 46 Celcius, aswell as the gfx processor is not above 55 celcius. I don't have the feeling this is related to a heating issue.
---
Imac 24", 2,93GhZ Intl Core 2 duo, 4850 ATI Radeon, 4Gb DDR3

[snouo79]

HW: iMac 24" Ati4850 based (ordered March, 5th - Arrived mid of April)
Location: Italy
Problem: freezing multiple times a day
Solution: ordered a replacement

They are going to ship the new iMac by April, 30th.

I will not send my iMac 'til the new one will arrive.

Ciao

Fabio

[maverick72]

HW: iMac 24" Ati4850 based (ordered March, 5th - Arrived mid of April)
Location: Italy
Problem: freezing multiple times a day
Solution: ordered a replacement

They are going to ship the new iMac by April, 30th.

I will not send my iMac 'til the new one will arrive.

Ciao

Fabio

Did you actually bother to read SOME of the posts here?

My guess is not but if you would have, you would've at least include if you are using wifi or not and if its disabled.

[MTShipp]

3.06 shipped April 17, received April 20. Two lockups.

WiFi ON
BlueTooth OFF
iStat Pro temps for GPU are high when it happens.

[cwazytech]

I've had mine since 4-16, and was crossing my fingers, but I've had two lock-ups since. Both times using Safari. My hookup is WIFI and Bluetooth on.:confused:

[GonzoRob]

I've had mine since 4-16, and was crossing my fingers, but I've had two lock-ups since. Both times using Safari. My hookup is WIFI and Bluetooth on.:confused:

can you try with bluetooth off ? it's the only option currently untested ...

[Malacoda]

I picked mine up yesterday and haven't experienced any freezes so far. I have ran World of Warcraft, and City of Heroes without issues, and let it run the iTunes visualizer at fullscreen for some time, and no hiccups so far.

WiFi is disabled.

I am hoping I dodged this bullet.

[davemulheran]

I think it is DEFFO wifi related!

Where is the wifi card situated? is it near the graphics card?

graphics card getting too hot and affecting the WIFI card, causing a screen lock?

[pocketrocket]

24" 1Tb Radeon HD4850 3.06gHz
Ordered it 6 weeks ago or there abouts.
Received on Friday 17th April

Problems shifting stuff over from g4 Sawtooth over to mac (wouldn't recognise TDM - appears to be an issue with old G4's not intel iMacs).

After getting all stuff onto the machine and loading it with all the creative softwear I use daily (Quark8, Adobe CS4, etc) popped on iTunes and whamo! Freeze.

Replicated this freeze over and over again (in total I probably made it freeze over a dozen times). WiFi was on throughout this period to stream iTunes radio. Bluetooth was also on.

The machine was NOT under any CPU load at the time, just a usual graphical load running iTunes visualiser.

All temps fine and within normal expected ranges, all fans working, OS updated and all other sftware updates in place.

Have sent machine back to retailer in UK today and await their technical depts opinion. Will be requesting a NEW machine asap with identical spec.

[GonzoRob]

i testest the wifi last night, didnt seem to make a difference - could you guys with crashing imacs try with no bluetooth (or just one mouse or keyboard)?

[davemulheran]

i testest the wifi last night, didnt seem to make a difference - could you guys with crashing imacs try with no bluetooth (or just one mouse or keyboard)?


i use a wireless mighty louse and a wired keyboard. I can try using a wired mouse tonight and see if it still crashes. If it does, I will spend an evening on it, with wifi disconnected.. see how I get on

[Topo-kun]

i testest the wifi last night, didnt seem to make a difference - could you guys with crashing imacs try with no bluetooth (or just one mouse or keyboard)?

Also one with freezes and no bluetooth 6 post over

3.06 shipped April 17, received April 20. Two lockups.

WiFi ON
BlueTooth OFF
iStat Pro temps for GPU are high when it happens.

After my experiments yesterday, I am really convinced that it has to do with the wifi... :)

I told applecare so when i asked for a replacement, hope it helps :rolleyes:

[babsvii]

i got my imac today been using it for the last 5 hours hasnt froze on me at all... im loving it... best thing i have ever bought!!!

[snouo79]

Did you actually bother to read SOME of the posts here?

My guess is not but if you would have, you would've at least include if you are using wifi or not and if its disabled.

Dear maverick72, thank you for your meticulousness.

I tried with:

- WiFi ON/OF and BT ON/OFF (all the combinations)
- Reset PRAM and PMU

no results...

I hope this can help and I'm sorry for the LOI...

[turbowolf42]

Got my iMac 24" 3.06gHz ATI Radeon HD 4850 on monday.
Didn't have any freezes... watched some HD Movies, played Warhammer Online under Win XP in 1920x1200 witch high quality settings and tried many other CPU and GPU stressing things under Mac OS X and WinXP...

WiFi Off
Bluetooth Off
iMac Fan Control installed

[davemulheran]

I've been looking at the poll results.

42 people havent experienced freezes???

well where the hell are they? I havent seen more than 6-7 people post on this forum stating they have had NO freezes!!

i smell ******** voting!!

[jmpage2]

I've been looking at the poll results.

42 people havent experienced freezes???

well where the hell are they? I havent seen more than 6-7 people post on this forum stating they have had NO freezes!!

i smell ******** voting!!

I don't have freezing yet with my iMac, and I voted that way. It's pretty typical for the people with the problem to spend a lot more time posting about the problem than those who don't have the problem.

I'd suspect that the voting is slanted based on that fact too.

[adrianhon]

I initially thought I had no freezes and voted that way, but then I got three. Oh well - you can subtract one from that total.

No idea what's causing it; I am using wireless, for what that's worth. Haven't had a freeze for two days either, which is nice, although I did have two freezes in a row on Monday.

[Azmordean]

How did you wangle that one as other users are reporting they have to send their machine back before they will even begin to build the new one.


I don't have an iMac but I thought I'd share this little tip as it may help some of you guys out. I went through this when I had to have my MBP replaced. Initially they wanted me to send mine back, and said they'd send the new one when the received mine.

I said that wouldn't do, I needed the computer until I received the new one (it was a screen issue, so it worked fine with my external monitor).

Their accommodation was to submit the new MBP as a new order and charge me for it on my credit card, then credit the full amount when they received the old one back. Worked flawlessly, and to me, having an extra MBP on my credit card for 2 weeks was no biggie compared to being computerless.

So, those of you facing this issue, consider suggesting that to the representative if you need your computer.

[Eftimes]

Got my imac 3.06 yesterday with Hd Radeon 4850 have had 3 freeze all when watching videos on Hulu if that helps.

[WizardHunt]

I don't have freezing yet with my iMac, and I voted that way. It's pretty typical for the people with the problem to spend a lot more time posting about the problem than those who don't have the problem.

I'd suspect that the voting is slanted based on that fact too.

jmpage2, Just curious, have you ever ran iTunes for about 2 hours with full screen visualizer to see if it would freeze? That seems to be the only place mine does freeze. In 5 days it froze on me 2 times. Once on the 3rd song I played and the 2nd time it did it , it did not happen until 2 hours into the playing the playlist. So I am wondering if I never would have used iTunes would it have froze on me?

[Omni Geno]

jmpage2, Just curious, have you ever ran iTunes for about 2 hours with full screen visualizer to see if it would freeze? That seems to be the only place mine does freeze. In 5 days it froze on me 2 times. Once on the 3rd song I played and the 2nd time it did it , it did not happen until 2 hours into the playing the playlist. So I am wondering if I never would have used iTunes would it have froze on me?

Hey WizardHunt. I'm not jmpage2, but I thought I'd give my input. I went away to a family gathering yesterday afternoon and kept the iMac on from about 4-10pm. It was running Adium, Skype, and iTunes with visualizer fullscreen (playing a playlist at the same time of course) with wifi off. No freezes.

It is still the case for me that I've had no freezes while using ethernet; only wifi.

I installed Crossover Games and downloaded Steam and did some stuff on there, all while running Safari w/ some videos and iTunes music in the background. No freezes with ethernet, even though my iMac got really hot during the time.

How bizarre that many of the things people have said to try in order to make it freeze do not do the trick for everyone.

[jmpage2]

jmpage2, Just curious, have you ever ran iTunes for about 2 hours with full screen visualizer to see if it would freeze? That seems to be the only place mine does freeze. In 5 days it froze on me 2 times. Once on the 3rd song I played and the 2nd time it did it , it did not happen until 2 hours into the playing the playlist. So I am wondering if I never would have used iTunes would it have froze on me?

I have run iTunes with full screen visualizer over night (for about 10 hours) with no ill effects.

[WizardHunt]

I have run iTunes with full screen visualizer over night (for about 10 hours) with no ill effects.

That does it. Then I am going to send mine back. Mine should not do this. Can you answer one more thing for me? When you transferred your files over to your new iMac, did you use Time machine or Mac to Mac transfer or did you do a clean install?

I am wondering if I do a clean install if that would fix things? If anyone has a answer here feel free to jump in.

[Tymbo]

That does it. Then I am going to send mine back. Mine should not do this. Can you answer one more thing for me? When you transferred your files over to your new iMac, did you use Time machine or Mac to Mac transfer or did you do a clean install?

I am wondering if I do a clean install if that would fix things? If anyone has a answer here feel free to jump in.

I've read posts of people doing clean installs and witness it freeze on the install!

[PoweredbyNorth]

3.06Ghz, 1Tb, 4850, wired KB+mouse, Wifi via timecapsule, Bluetooth on.

No freezes for me so far.... received mine 6 days ago, used it intensively since. Played Team Fortress 2 (first via CrossOver, but that wasn't satisfying so installed Vista with Bootcamp, runs perfect now!), used iTunes, iPhoto, copied 100Gb of files, used Safari, Mail, etc. etc. All runs very fine without any hassle.

Good luck for those who have a freezing iMac. Hope issues are resolved soon.

[jmpage2]

That does it. Then I am going to send mine back. Mine should not do this. Can you answer one more thing for me? When you transferred your files over to your new iMac, did you use Time machine or Mac to Mac transfer or did you do a clean install?

I am wondering if I do a clean install if that would fix things? If anyone has a answer here feel free to jump in.

The only thing I haven't tested is whether it locks up on wireless. Since I don't plan to use wireless any time in the near future (if ever) I don't really have any plans to test it out. I'm quite happy using my Mac on a wired ethernet connection to my very fast home network.

I did not transfer anything over to the new iMac other than manually moving over my mail, book marks and a few other things. Most of my stuff is stored on a local network storage set up so I don't have much to move around.

So basically I pulled it out of the box, turned it on, did updates and that's about it. I've only loaded about a dozen applications on it so far (MS Office, Keepass-X, True-Crypt-X, etc).

And so far, zero crashes.

[WizardHunt]

The only thing I haven't tested is whether it locks up on wireless. Since I don't plan to use wireless any time in the near future (if ever) I don't really have any plans to test it out. I'm quite happy using my Mac on a wired ethernet connection to my very fast home network.

I did not transfer anything over to the new iMac other than manually moving over my mail, book marks and a few other things. Most of my stuff is stored on a local network storage set up so I don't have much to move around.

So basically I pulled it out of the box, turned it on, did updates and that's about it. I've only loaded about a dozen applications on it so far (MS Office, Keepass-X, True-Crypt-X, etc).

And so far, zero crashes.

So then since you are not using wireless, and having no freezes, then the wired part is your safe net. Since your machine will not be hooked up to wireless then you may never know if yours is affected or not.

In reality this situation that you are in where you did not use Wireless might be the others on the forum that are not having trouble either. This is interesting. Good for you though since you are not having any freeze ups.

I am doing a test of bypassing my airport extreme router at this time and running itunes with visualizer at full screen while surfing the internet at the same time and so far about 3 hours into this test no lock ups. I may leave it all night and see how it goes. If it does not lock up then I would have to think it is the wireless part for sure. The question is would it be my airport extreme that is causing the problem or the wireless logic card inside the machine that is causing this? Apple should be testing this not me. I am just trying to keep from sending back my machine unless i really have to.

[slffl]

Got my iMac 24" 3.06gHz ATI Radeon HD 4850 on monday.
Didn't have any freezes... watched some HD Movies, played Warhammer Online under Win XP in 1920x1200 witch high quality settings and tried many other CPU and GPU stressing things under Mac OS X and WinXP...

WiFi Off
Bluetooth Off
iMac Fan Control installed

I've been thinking about getting this iMac so I can play WAR at full settings. I play on lowest right now.

How well does WAR run at max settings?

[turbowolf42]

I've been thinking about getting this iMac so I can play WAR at full settings. I play on lowest right now.

How well does WAR run at max settings?

I would say it runs good, not really great but it's playable... I switched to some lower settings to get better FPS

[VulnoX]

I just had the 2.93GHz, 4GB, 4850 delivered about an hour ago. I transfered 3GB of music, played a bunch (with Visualizer on), am currently doign WoW's Download/Installer, and am downloading apps for the Mac.

All on WiFi, only been an hour, but 0 lockups so far. If it makes it through the next 4 hours, including some gaming, I will relax a little bit.

[VulnoX]

Ok, I have transferred about 10GB now over WiFi, been installing WoW, played a half hour of HD video, and run the iTunes visualizer.

Anyone have anything else for me to use to get it to freeze? I don't want it to, but before I hand it off I want it to be working right.

[straleno]

Took a couple of days before mine froze, but running the visualizer full screen did the trick the first time. Second time, I was just posting to this forum.

[VulnoX]

Took a couple of days before mine froze, but running the visualizer full screen did the trick the first time. Second time, I was just posting to this forum.

Alright, I wasn't running it fullscreen before. I have it on full, transferring stuff over the wireless network, and installing/downloading WoW. Fingers crossed nothing happens today... or later.

[Sir Loin Steak]

I can't say I've had a lockup, exactly, but what has happened about three times now is the mouses freezing.

I can still use Safari using keys, but not the mouse.

Forces me to hard reboot the mac.

Is this what folks mean by 'freezing'?

I'm using wifi.

[MTShipp]

Is this what folks mean by 'freezing'?

No. The freeze is when the whole system locks up; no keyboard or mouse ability. To verify the hardware freeze portion, try to turn caps lock on/off. there is no change in the LED for it. The screen freezes and some people have their audio repeat over and over. The only way out is to force a power off by holding the power button on the left-rear.

[Sir Loin Steak]

Well, while the mouse freezing is a pain, it's a bit of a relief (for me) that I haven't had a system lockup as others are describing.

I surf a bit, download from you tube, use handbrake, google earth, mail etc., nothing that demanding I should think.

[mtbdudex]

well;
after reading all these posts I was really worried, see I had just ordered a iMac 24" for my dad (73 years old) to replace his 3 year old WinTel and its delivery date is Friday 5/1, I did not want to deal with this issue. :(

Then, found out I ordered the entry 24" for him, 2.66Ghz w/NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics, so appears by not getting the fastest "hot rod" specs lucked out in this situation. :D
(unless there are issues with his 24" iMac that I've not seen here)

His order:
IMAC 24"/2.66/SD Z0FP $1,649.00 1 $1,649.00
With the following configuration:
PROCESSOR 065-8308 2.66GHZ INTEL CORE 2 DUO
MEMORY 065-8042 4GB 1066MHZ DDR3 SDRAM-2X2GB
HARD DRIVE 065-8048 1.0TB SERIAL ATA DRIVE
MOUSE 065-8061 APPLE WIRELESS MIGHTY MOUSE
APPLE KEYBOARD & USER'S GUIDE 065-8052 WL KYBD & USER'S GUIDE
COUNTRY KIT 065-8055 COUNTRY KIT,IMAC 24
Ships: 1 - 3 business days
Delivers: Apr 29 - May 5