Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

27" i7 iMac random shutdown. Fun!

robotkiller

robotkiller

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 25, 2009
319
0
So my iMac has developed this awesome new feature. Two or three times a day it will decide to restart itself. There is no interruption in power and the speakers attached to the same outlet do not turn off, so it appears the problem is isolated to the computer itself. I am typically surfing when this happens, luckily no mission critical stuff has been lost.

Anyone else with this issue? I should be expecting iMac #4 in a couple of weeks, so I suppose I'll just have to deal with it in the meantime.
 
If this were any other computer (e.g. not a mac) I'd suspect either overheating issues (chipset bracketing automatically shutting down system before heat damage occurs) or a bad power supply. Since the bracket on PCs is usually 70ºC, and I know reports of Macs that have reached temperatures as great as 107ºC (suffice it to say: don't do that) without shutting themselves down, I think a power supply is more than likely the issue.

If it's still covered under Applecare, send it in for the Apple lackeys to take a look at. They'll either find the defective part and replace it or send you an entirely new machine if it is covered.
 
JacaByte said:
If this were any other computer (e.g. not a mac) I'd suspect either overheating issues (chipset bracketing automatically shutting down system before heat damage occurs) or a bad power supply. Since the bracket on PCs is usually 70ºC, and I know reports of Macs that have reached temperatures as great as 107ºC (suffice it to say: don't do that) without shutting themselves down, I think a power supply is more than likely the issue.

If it's still covered under Applecare, send it in for the Apple lackeys to take a look at. They'll either find the defective part and replace it or send you an entirely new machine if it is covered.
Click to expand...

This was my immediate thought as well. I've been monitoring temperatures and they don't seem too far out of line. All temps less than 60 degree C.
 
This was happening on my 24" imac for about a week. It was like there was a laser targeted emp effecting only my imac.
 
This could be either a hardware or software issue, and may be hard to pinpoint. If you are not under heavy load when it happens, I wouldn't immediately suspect a power supply but it certainly could be. Do you have boot camp installed? You could always try booting into Windows (or another OS) or even from the OSX cd and see if it still does it.

I would also try unplugging all unnecessary USB/Firewire devices to eliminate the possibility of a conflict there.

You say it reboots, not shuts down, right?
 
Travisimo said:
This could be either a hardware or software issue, and may be hard to pinpoint. If you are not under heavy load when it happens, I wouldn't immediately suspect a power supply but it certainly could be. Do you have boot camp installed? You could always try booting into Windows (or another OS) or even from the OSX cd and see if it still does it.

I would also try unplugging all unnecessary USB/Firewire devices to eliminate the possibility of a conflict there.

You say it reboots, not shuts down, right?
Click to expand...

Yeah, it restarts - basically it clicks off to a black screen and a few seconds later you hear the boot gong. I've reset the PRAM (not that I think this will help) and we'll see what happens.

One thing I've considered is the firmware update -- I never had this problem until I installed it. I recall it first happening shortly after first updating it.
 
In the past three days my imac i7 has done the exact same thing twice.

Coincidence only, but I'll put it out there, both times I was actively using firefox when it just died, reboot and everything was fine. Nothing else was active and the fans were not even on. Core temp I can confirm to you was 28 degrees Celsius, ambient 14, hdd 22.

The only update I do not have installed is the Graphics firmware update.

I'm confident it was not a power bump as the iMac is on a back-ups.

:(

robotkiller said:
Yeah, it restarts - basically it clicks off to a black screen and a few seconds later you hear the boot gong. I've reset the PRAM (not that I think this will help) and we'll see what happens.

One thing I've considered is the firmware update -- I never had this problem until I installed it. I recall it first happening shortly after first updating it.
Click to expand...
 
primehifi said:
In the past three days my imac i7 has done the exact same thing twice.

Coincidence only, but I'll put it out there, both times I was actively using firefox when it just died, reboot and everything was fine. Nothing else was active and the fans were not even on. Core temp I can confirm to you was 28 degrees Celsius, ambient 14, hdd 22.

The only update I do not have installed is the Graphics firmware update.

I'm confident it was not a power bump as the iMac is on a back-ups.

:(
Click to expand...

My i7 restarted only once and it was about 5 minutes into I using Firefox. It has not done that any other time, since then I have installed the firmware update and installed the latest version of Firefox.
 
Ecoh said:
My i7 restarted only once and it was about 5 minutes into I using Firefox. It has not done that any other time, since then I have installed the firmware update and installed the latest version of Firefox.
Click to expand...

hrm.

maybe Firefox is the culprit ? If it happens a third time while using FF I'll begin using Safari and see if it happens then.
 
I posted this in another thread. In the last 3 days, I've had 2 resets, while clicking on the facebook newsfeed in Safari. I've done heavy load video encoding that bakes this machine, without any problems. Heat does not seem to be the issue for me.
 
RE: i7 iMac random shutdown...Me too

My i7 has restarted about 3-4 times in the past 6 days. All while my wife was surfing, not pushing the machine. I have a week 50 machine with all software updates installed. I've pushed the machine doing batch processing and exports from Aperture without issue.

One additional piece of data, my wife does use Safari on facebook. I need to gather some log info next time it happens, but I can confirm the printer and modem did not go out with the iMac, and they're all on the same power strip. Strange.
 
I could be totally wrong, but it sounds like the issue may lie in Javascript (it's the only thing I can think of that makes Facebook stand out among other sites). Try disabling Javascript in your browsers and see if it makes a difference.
 
I could be totally wrong, but it sounds like the issue may lie in Javascript (it's the only thing I can think of that makes Facebook stand out among other sites, as it uses Javascript extensively. Try disabling Javascript in your browsers and see if it makes a difference.

Sorry for the double post, my computer was acting up.
 
ugh.... woke up this morning not only to an imac that was turned off entirely but also to a 3GS iphone which was also stone dead.

restoring iphone now (the dreaded "my iphone won't boot past apple logo" scenario).

As I said, my imac was also off this morning. Hit the switch on the back and got it on, no issues there. Opened firefox and it restores the last open tabs, first one it shows me.

Facebook.
 
primehifi said:
ugh.... woke up this morning not only to an imac that was turned off entirely but also to a 3GS iphone which was also stone dead.

restoring iphone now (the dreaded "my iphone won't boot past apple logo" scenario).

As I said, my imac was also off this morning. Hit the switch on the back and got it on, no issues there. Opened firefox and it restores the last open tabs, first one it shows me.

Facebook.
Click to expand...

It's a possibility you had a power outage over night.
 
was2aks said:
My i7 has restarted about 3-4 times in the past 6 days. All while my wife was surfing, not pushing the machine. I have a week 50 machine with all software updates installed. I've pushed the machine doing batch processing and exports from Aperture without issue.

One additional piece of data, my wife does use Safari on facebook. I need to gather some log info next time it happens, but I can confirm the printer and modem did not go out with the iMac, and they're all on the same power strip. Strange.
Click to expand...


Sorry to mention this, but you guys sound like a typical PC crowd. Random crashes while WEB SURFING??
Is Mac really that much different from a regular PC, Gold Leopard, or not?
I am really having some serious second thoughts...

Tom B.
 
its your PSU losing it for just a second. in your system prefs switch off "auto restart after power cut" if your computer goes off but has no restart its a PSU fault.

known 27" problem
 
HLdan said:
It's a possibility you had a power outage over night.
Click to expand...

imac is on a ups. Unless the power went out for several hours (imac is the only thing on the ups, so it's got a lot of time), which it didn't because my old school digital clock without a battery, three nas's and other stuff did not lose power.
 
My replacement iMac has been fine, but I isolated the old iMac's problem to Safari. When I used Chrome exclusively, there were no more restarts. I don't use Firefox, so I cannot say how it would act. I do not think this is a hardware issue that is necessarily specific to the 27". When I ran the thing in Safe Mode, I had no problems, so it appears to be software.

So for those having this problem -- try using Google Chrome and see if it fixes the problem.
 
robotkiller said:
My replacement iMac has been fine, but I isolated the old iMac's problem to Safari. When I used Chrome exclusively, there were no more restarts. I don't use Firefox, so I cannot say how it would act. I do not think this is a hardware issue that is necessarily specific to the 27". When I ran the thing in Safe Mode, I had no problems, so it appears to be software.

So for those having this problem -- try using Google Chrome and see if it fixes the problem.
Click to expand...


What if you don't want to use Chrome..?
 
Btom said:
Sorry to mention this, but you guys sound like a typical PC crowd. Random crashes while WEB SURFING??
Is Mac really that much different from a regular PC, Gold Leopard, or not?
I am really having some serious second thoughts...

Tom B.
Click to expand...


Yes it is different.

My home built Win 7 PC costs a tenth of an i7, it doesn't crash or freeze and the screen is uniform in colour... ;)

btw. only 2nd thoughts...?
 
archipellago said:
does that mean you don't have an answer.. ? ;)
Click to expand...



archipellago, I've home built PCs since I was 12 years old, going back to DOS 4.0. If you think that PC users never troubleshoot and experiment in order to isolate a problem, then you are completely naive. The point of this thread is to isolate the problem and share experiences therein. All computers (even Windows!) have problems and we are trying to figure out the problem and, hopefully, a real solution. Using Chrome instead of Safari is an experiment. Surely you can fathom this. If you have nothing constructive to contribute, then may I respectfully suggest that you get lost?
 
robotkiller said:


archipellago, I've home built PCs since I was 12 years old, going back to DOS 4.0. If you think that PC users never troubleshoot and experiment in order to isolate a problem, then you are completely naive. The point of this thread is to isolate the problem and share experiences therein. All computers (even Windows!) have problems and we are trying to figure out the problem and, hopefully, a real solution. Using Chrome instead of Safari is an experiment. Surely you can fathom this. If you have nothing constructive to contribute, then may I respectfully suggest that you get lost?
Click to expand...


I fully understand what you are trying to do but it makes no sense nor gives a solution.

outcome from your experiments will be either a/ or b/

a/ Chrome solves the problem, machine doesn't crash. User doesn't like Chrome so machine has to be returned.
b/ Chrome doesn't solve problem, machine has to be returned.

anyway I thought Macs just worked?

without need for much troubleshooting (if any) or the need to use (or not use) specific programs?

the real solution is to return for refund and if OSX is needed then wait for rev B, build a Hack or a different machine...... but seeing as Apples' desktop range is somewhat anaemic the choice is limited.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back