Could it be a software issue?

[nen]

My iBook G4 has a new hard drive, but it's having issues with Safari, Firefox, Thunderbird, and Mail. It crashes with increasing frequency (w/kernel panics) and I have to re-boot. I downloaded memtest, and it tells me that my RAM is OK. Both Disk Utility and Onyx tell me my hardware is fine. I'm wondering whether my laptop is having a software issue. I've erased my hard drive, re-installed my OS, and run all the recommended software updates. Here's what I've got and what I'm running. Any insight is appreciated. Thanks. Nen

1.07 GHz PowerPC G4
512 MB DDR SDRAM
Mac OS X 10.4.11
Safari 4.1.3
Thunderbird 3.1.6

 

[Mal]

No, if you've erased your drive and didn't restore from a backup (i.e. a clean install), you shouldn't be dealing with a software issue. From what you describe, I'd imagine it may be a logic board problem. Someone else may have another suggestion, but if I were diagnosing your machine in a shop, that's what I'd be testing for.

jW

 

[Saturdays]

possibly a bad hard drive, i've had somethign similar happen to me and considering you just changed yours its possible, i would say thats less likely than logic board failing though.

 

[nen]

That sounds pretty bad...

Thanks for the input.

Is there a way I can determine definitively that it's a logic board problem? Is this something that can be fixed, or is it so expensive it's not worth fixing?An Apple certified repair shop installed the new hard drive - would they have checked the logic board before they recommended I get a new hard drive (i.e., if they didn't, should I take my computer somewhere else)? Again, Thanks.