G4 Mac Mini running Tiger constantly crashing

[richjtg]

Hi folks,

Over the past couple of weeks, my Mac Mini (G4, 1.5Ghz, 1 GB RAM), which is running Tiger, has started to crash frequently.

I can't seem to pin point what is the cause of the issue, which normally allows me around 5-10 minutes of up time, before showing the greyed out 'hold the power button down' screen. The machine will run fine for hours however if left alone and not used. Which applications are open, or being used doesn't seem to matter for triggering a crash.

After searching through old posts/FAQ pages, I've tried repairing and verifying permissions, and also verifying the disk too... nothing seem out of place. I've also run maintenance scripts (via Onyx).

There doesn't appear to be any direct relation to the issue and any new software that I can think of either.

Crash reports are mentioned on restart, though I've not been able to find them in ~/Library/Logs/CrashReporter.

Can anyone please advice me how to start and track down a cause for crashes?

Many thanks.

 

[TEG]

This is usually caused by RAM problems. I would try to re-seat the memory or replace.

TEG

 

[California]

Hi folks,

Over the past couple of weeks, my Mac Mini (G4, 1.5Ghz, 1 GB RAM), which is running Tiger, has started to crash frequently.

I can't seem to pin point what is the cause of the issue, which normally allows me around 5-10 minutes of up time, before showing the greyed out 'hold the power button down' screen. The machine will run fine for hours however if left alone and not used. Which applications are open, or being used doesn't seem to matter for triggering a crash.

After searching through old posts/FAQ pages, I've tried repairing and verifying permissions, and also verifying the disk too... nothing seem out of place. I've also run maintenance scripts (via Onyx).

There doesn't appear to be any direct relation to the issue and any new software that I can think of either.

Crash reports are mentioned on restart, though I've not been able to find them in ~/Library/Logs/CrashReporter.

Can anyone please advice me how to start and track down a cause for crashes?

Many thanks.

Your ram that you upgraded to 1 gig from original 512 may be going bad?

Do you have the original chip?

I had exact mini, loved it but for the ram limitation of one gig..

When I ran tiger on it, I deleted Dashboard on Tiger and Leopard. Still not enough ram.

 

[richjtg]

Thanks for your replies - much appreciated.

The RAM is the original chip that came with the Mini (yep, I was stupid enough to pay for the upgrade via Apple! )

I guess I better go find a pallet knife, and get the case cracked open!

 

[California]

If you have applecare, then the ram should be under warranty.

I'd ask apple about it anyway, ram should have a lifetime guarantee.

Also, upgrade that hard drive when you are inside it. I had that same last revision mini and i maxed it out with a faster bigger hard drive, trying to get as much power out of it as possible.

Nice machine. 64mb vram drove my 23" ACD monitor.