Bummer. At least it's new so you probably don't have any data on there. I'd wipe and reinstall OS X from scratch, then not install any updates until Apple has the issue resolved.
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iMac AL 24" graphics freeze with 1.1
- Thread starter Yuppi
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Bummer. At least it's new so you probably don't have any data on there. I'd wipe and reinstall OS X from scratch, then not install any updates until Apple has the issue resolved.
Thats a interesting post, I have allways wondered why the heck Apple would use XT's then clock them down to Pro's. Dont remember Apple doing something like that before. If it is a hardware issue I'd be a little pissed. I like the new iMacs but im waiting to hear what the truth of this issue is.
How exactly do you wipe on a mac? Allthough I have years of experience usings macs, I've never owned one myself, so no idea about that
I just tried just reinstalling OS X with the CD's, but it didn't really format, thus not even rollback to day zero, since I only get an iWeb update and Garageband update when I check for updates.
How exactly do you wipe on a mac? Allthough I have years of experience usings macs, I've never owned one myself, so no idea about that
I just tried just reinstalling OS X with the CD's, but it didn't really format, thus not even rollback to day zero, since I only get an iWeb update and Garageband update when I check for updates.
Boot from the cd and once you're into the setup gui, go to the menu at the top of the screen and run the disk utility - that will let you wipe/partition as desired...
I'll try that next time then
Funnily enough, it hasn't froze for me so far after that reinstal. Something might have "fixed" it, no idea.. I just hope Apple fixes it fast, or ships Leopard (that will hopefuly fix it too) soon.Note that I limited the re-install to iTunes, and it appears to have helped quite a bit. No problems playing iTunes since the reinstall. I'm sure iTunes isn't the root cause, but my system is good enough to limp along until the Apple update at this point (patch or Leopard; whichever comes first). I'll keep my fingers crossed....
same problem here
I have a new iMac (20") and experiencing the same difficulties. Weird random pixelation issues and applications will randomly freeze. My machine is hot to touch (top left side). Called Apple today. The tech guy was helpful and the pixelation issue seems corrected for the moment yet the machine is still hot to the touch. Currently I cannot attach any devices (laptop or external hard drive) via firewire as the icon will not pop up on the desktop.
I have a new iMac (20") and experiencing the same difficulties. Weird random pixelation issues and applications will randomly freeze. My machine is hot to touch (top left side). Called Apple today. The tech guy was helpful and the pixelation issue seems corrected for the moment yet the machine is still hot to the touch. Currently I cannot attach any devices (laptop or external hard drive) via firewire as the icon will not pop up on the desktop.
It's very interesting how some of the iMacs are hot while others are just moderately warm. (I've experienced the difference myself and it's not subtle)
My 24" iMac has never frozen, crashed or had any kind of display issue in the past month that I've owned it, and it never gets more than moderately warm to the touch.
The overheating issue must be the common denominator between most if not all of the iMacs experiencing serious problems.
I seriously doubt that a software update is going to change that very much, especially considering that I have the notorious 1.1 iMac update installed on my machine with absolutely no issues.
My 24" iMac has never frozen, crashed or had any kind of display issue in the past month that I've owned it, and it never gets more than moderately warm to the touch.
The overheating issue must be the common denominator between most if not all of the iMacs experiencing serious problems.
I seriously doubt that a software update is going to change that very much, especially considering that I have the notorious 1.1 iMac update installed on my machine with absolutely no issues.
If your iMac "freezes whether it is hot or cold", it must, by your own implication, be getting "hot" at some point in time.
My point is that my own iMac never freezes or malfunctions, nor does it ever get "hot" that I am aware of. ("moderately warm" is being generous; this thing runs relatively cool for such a powerful computer)
The iMac I have witnessed with this graphics problem was uncomfortably hot near the top of the bezel. Not as hot as a steering wheel at noon in July, but pretty close.
One thing comes to mind from my experience tweaking videcards in gaming PCs: there is a Windows video driver utility that allows the internal clocks to be adjusted manually, but only after the actual clock frequencies have been correctly detected by the utility. Otherwise, the manual settings are applied on top of the existing clock frequencies. So, for example, if your existing clocks are 500mhz, a manual setting of 550mhz would result in a clock frequency of 1050mhz(!)
The result would be video lockups and display corruption, accompanied by overheating of the video chipset and memory; similar to what I witnessed in the fore-mentioned iMac.
hmm...if the 1.1 imac update modified the paths or clock frequencies in the video chipset, (to enable advanced rendering features, for example) I can see how some samples might not take the change correctly or may simply be below spec for this level of performance.
A software update might return the chipset to its former state, but the root of the problem seems hardware-related to me.
Looked exactly like overheated/overclocked memory to me.
I bought my iMac in late September and installed the 1.1 update and haven't had any issues that you guys are describing. Maybe I got lucky?
Mine is really starting to annoy me with the freezing. The other day it froze twice in 3 hours. Yesterday it froze about 3 minutes after it was booted into OSX. I know Apple is aware of the problem and is working on it, but is anyone besides me getting fed up with waiting? I'm afraid to do anything with it because I don't want to lose data. Namely I have a ton of video I want to edit and put on DVDs. I just think about having a ton of work done and then having the thing freeze. To have a $2300 machine and have to worry about saving every minute so you don't lose anything just really 5ucks!!!
It's difficult to even boot to OS X because it usually crashes before the dock has loaded. Also playing WoW is pretty much impossible as it crashes the moment you try to play or even watch a video on youtube. Where's our 1.2 patch? Yesterday I took count of the crashes and it was 27 times. Today over 10 and counting...
Wow, that is a ridiculous amount!!! I thought my 1 or 2 a day was bad! I switched from using a PC in February. When I go to work I look forward to my PC with the way things are now!!!
Why not return/exchange the defective iMacs? I know I would.
My buddy did that and got a full refund. (Best Buy)
He'll be buying a replacement iMac at the Leopard event at the Apple store next week.
My buddy did that and got a full refund. (Best Buy)
He'll be buying a replacement iMac at the Leopard event at the Apple store next week.
Erm, No. Not at all. If it can freeze within a couple of minutes of being booted, so its still cold to the touch and the innards are unlikely to be roasting, then it is not over heating. Simple as that.
I can verify this by checking system temps which are all well within specs.
I can verify it yet again by cranking up the fan speeds with a utility like SMCfancontrol and drop system temps significantly. Like by at least 15c all round. And it will still freeze regardless, and in a similar randomly timed fashion.
Again, It is not over heating.
I can definatly state that heating isn't the problem. My iMac can freeze even a minute (nay, a second) after a boot, while the whole system is running at roomtemperature (20°c) and not a single area on the iMac that feels warm (yes, not even warm)..
Also, since the freezing is less frequent wih me than it is to others, I can actually play games, work on videos and do image-editing for hours, while the system is running at 47-49°c without a freeze.. But if I put it to sleep and come back 8 hours later, the temp would've dropped to 20°c-ish again and it can (doesn't always do that, but sometimes) just freeze.
And to answer another question: the reason why I'm not sending mine back (yet) is that there's a high risk of getting a replacement that freezes as well, and I really can't be arsed to wait weeks (no Apple-store in this country, only resellers) for my replacement, then spend hours of installing everything back, just to find out the new one freezes as well. I'll wait with sending it back untill they officialy fixed it or have hardware updates while this one is still having problems (but I hope Leopard would fix these issues..)
Also, since the freezing is less frequent wih me than it is to others, I can actually play games, work on videos and do image-editing for hours, while the system is running at 47-49°c without a freeze.. But if I put it to sleep and come back 8 hours later, the temp would've dropped to 20°c-ish again and it can (doesn't always do that, but sometimes) just freeze.
And to answer another question: the reason why I'm not sending mine back (yet) is that there's a high risk of getting a replacement that freezes as well, and I really can't be arsed to wait weeks (no Apple-store in this country, only resellers) for my replacement, then spend hours of installing everything back, just to find out the new one freezes as well. I'll wait with sending it back untill they officialy fixed it or have hardware updates while this one is still having problems (but I hope Leopard would fix these issues..)
Well, I spoke too soon. One of my iMacs has been freezing every couple of hours now under OSX. Not an issue under Windows. I will Install Leopard next Friday and hopefully that will be the end of it, but I doubt it.
According to the Mac tech of Blizzard's WoW-forums, Apple/AMD are making great progress of fixing this issue, and he thinks that if it wasn't for Leopard being so damn close to release, that there would've been a fix available already.
Let's hope he's right/knows for sure that they're working on it ^^
Let's hope he's right/knows for sure that they're working on it ^^
I couldn't take it anymore. I returned my 24" iMac this morning and got a MacBook Pro. I need a machine that functions on a regular basis.
Thats good news then
Just as I was starting to get fed up again too I had been thinking of getting of rid of it, and stumping up the extra for a Mac Pro. But would much rather have an iMac working as it is supposed to.Is there a link to this Blizzard/Wow thing? Im hoping it wont be just a WoW fix (I dont play it) and that it will address the other freezing gremlins too, like in UT2004 (which I do play).
Thats good news then
Is there a link to this Blizzard/Wow thing? Im hoping it wont be just a WoW fix (I dont play it) and that it will address the other freezing gremlins too, like in UT2004 (which I do play).
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=2366686310&sid=1&pageNo=1#3
By the sound of it, it's a "global" fix for the videocard issues.
