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iMac G3: Network related Freezes

Porridge≈Dude

Porridge≈Dude

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 24, 2015
8
1
Hi all,
I've got an iMac DV SE which never causes any trouble - as long as it stays disconnected from the internet. But a certain time after I plug in a network cable (I've tried Ethernet and Internet Sharing via FireWire), the machine starts to freeze from time to time, forcing me to interrupt power supply. The freezes occur always while the browser (OmniWeb, TenFourFox, Safari, RSSOwl and Classilla) is loading a web page.

This is what I've tried:
I have
-reset PRAM, reinstalled Tiger etc.
-run Apple Hardware Test which doesn't reveal any problems
-run TechTool Pro 4 several times which doesn't reveal any problems
-run memtest for hours without problems
-stressed the CPU using SystemLoad (to determine cooling issues), without problems.

Does anyone have an idea why the hangs occur only while being connected to the web?
 
Is your electric instalation grounded?

Can you try with other memory?

Maybe the Web stresses more the whole computer than just the CPU or the Memory.

When a hard drive start to die, can make loading a heavy page eternal. And more in a G3 400/450
 
G4fanboy said:
Maybe the Web stresses more the whole computer than just the CPU or the Memory.
Click to expand...
This sounds interesting. My RAM should by OK, I have replaced both sticks recently with brand new ones, and my hard drive is a new OWC SSD. What do you mean with the "electric installation"? Infact, the electrical outlet where the iMac gets its power from is grounded. The thing I consider to be strange is: what does specifically the web do with the computer to freeze it? I have always believed that any hardware issue would make itself felt at least when running memtest etc …
 
I would partition the drive to have a native OS9 boot and try classilla versus tiger&Tenfourfox.

But it sounds like the I/O chip (ethernet and firewire) is faulty.
 
The drive is already partitioned this way ;). I will try to do a "long-term study" about when exactly the hangs appear, but so far I've observed the problem to be browser independent.
When the I/O chip is faulty, wouldn't be there freezes also with other (FW, USB) devices?
 
I would also verify that this only occurs when using a web browser with the Ethernet cable plugged in. If the web browser programs themselves do not freeze when the cable is unplugged, then I would look at corrupted networking support files. On the other hand, if the iMac does not freeze when doing network tasks other then web browsing then I would look at doing a clean re-install of OS X.
 
To me it doesn't seem to be a software problem, as it turns up running OS9 as well as running a fresh Tiger installation. What I can do in order to exclude the OS as a culprit; try it with a 3rd OS like Debian.
 
Altemose said:
Try plugging the end of the cable into a different network device, even if it is not connected to the Internet, just for testing purposes.
Click to expand...
Result of the test:
I've done what you suggested, and so far there have been no more freezes! :)
I tried it out with another router and with a DSL modem. Not sure whether the freezes will come back some day, we'll see …

Thank you for your advice, Altemose! I hope the problems are gone now.
Merry Christmas!
 
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