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reykjavik

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 31, 2004
260
0
I've had my G5 for a few months now (got it when it first came out). Its been perfect until recently my friend came up from college. He's been in my sight the entire time so its nothing physical, but he did install AOL which was horrifically buggy I can only imagine what else it did to my system. Anyway, now when my computer wakes up from sleep it freezes, or sometimes in mail it will get all squiggly and then freeze (once it got that way and unfroze which was a nice surprise). The strangest part is that when its rebooting the gray screen gets all like an old movie with the lines squigglying across it. I know im doing a terrible job describing it but I honestly dont know how else to explain it. It seems pretty stable otherwise, what should I do? Has anyone hads this problem before??
 
reykjavik said:
I've had my G5 for a few months now (got it when it first came out). Its been perfect until recently my friend came up from college. He's been in my sight the entire time so its nothing physical, but he did install AOL which was horrifically buggy I can only imagine what else it did to my system. Anyway, now when my computer wakes up from sleep it freezes, or sometimes in mail it will get all squiggly and then freeze (once it got that way and unfroze which was a nice surprise). The strangest part is that when its rebooting the gray screen gets all like an old movie with the lines squigglying across it. I know im doing a terrible job describing it but I honestly dont know how else to explain it. It seems pretty stable otherwise, what should I do? Has anyone hads this problem before??

And you have repaired permissions since installing the software, correct? Are you actually using it to dial out? If not, get rid of AOL. You can check your mail online though their website.
 
daveway00 said:
This sound serious. Try doing the standard reset of nv-ram, pram, and permissions.


I dont use AOl, it was downloaded for my friend and since then I have uninstalled it. When I get home Ill do a repair permissions off the bootable disc. Ill see if it works, idunno, last time i saw something like this it was on my iBook and they had to replace the logic board...the symptoms seem hardware related but wht do I know. Speaking of not knowing anything, I dont know what you mean when you refer to vram stuff. Can you tell me how to fix that?
 
Mertzen said:
Are all files related to the AOL been deleted ?/ use the Finder search to make sure ..


UGGH!! I hate AOL! why do they have to suck so much? I didnt think about left over files but thats a good point. When I get home Ill go through it and delete the extras. Are you guys positive its not a logic board thing?
 
Mertzen said:
Any way you can show us a pic of the " squiggle " ..

Not really because when it squiggles while the computer is on it also freezes so I cant take a shot f it. Screen shots dont work during boot up either so there goes that. As for taking a picture of the screen I never seem to have a cam handy when it happens. Its only happened 3 times thus far but its still unnerving. It sounds like a logic board thing to me too, but how?? I havent even touched the thing, its been in the same position since i got it!
 
Sounds like a hardware issue (display card, logic board, etc.) and its highly unlikely the AOL install had anything to do with it - just coincidence. Call Applecare.
 
kingjr3 said:
Sounds like a hardware issue (display card, logic board, etc.) and its highly unlikely the AOL install had anything to do with it - just coincidence. Call Applecare.


dammit, why would something like this randomly happen? In a laptop I can see since at least your throwin the thing around and something can go wrong, but this was on my desk the entire time....I cant imagine having to live 2-3 weeks without it ....
 
reykjavik said:
dammit, why would something like this randomly happen? In a laptop I can see since at least your throwin the thing around and something can go wrong, but this was on my desk the entire time....I cant imagine having to live 2-3 weeks without it ....

power fluctuations, condensation, static electricity...the list goes on. You don't have to manhandle a computer for it to fail.

You won't necessarily be without your machine. Could be a simple fix, like reseating a card or cable. Worst case is you send it and they fix it, which I don't see as a bad thing.

But call Applecare while you have a warranty, its your shortest path to resolution (in most cases).
 
kingjr3 said:
power fluctuations, condensation, static electricity...the list goes on. You don't have to manhandle a computer for it to fail.

You won't necessarily be without your machine. Could be a simple fix, like reseating a card or cable. Worst case is you send it and they fix it, which I don't see as a bad thing.

But call Applecare while you have a warranty, its your shortest path to resolution (in most cases).



i know....i know.....just dreading the whole situation.... :( Thnanks guys. Any updates keep me posted.
 
Same Problems with Dual G4

My Dual G4 developed the same problems last month - on boot the gray screen breaks up with hundreds of black lines going across it, stays hung up until I hit the power button, then it proceeds to the log-in screen but hangs up with the log-in screen spread all over the monitor like a smeared oil painting, it stays hung at that stage until I hit the power button again, then it gives me a log-in screen, I type my password, and it is rejected, then I type it again, and I get in. After a week of working with the folks at Applecare, and them dragging their feet, they finally guessed it might be a hardware problem - either logic board or video card. They told me to take it in to compusa. I took it in (big mistake), explained everything in detail and gave the applecare case number, compusa wiped the hard drive and sent it back home. The computer was still broke. I took it back, talked with the manager, explained everything again, and again gave the applecare case number, and compusa held it for a week, wiped the hard drive again and sent it back home. Computer was still broke. I called applecare, and they dragged their feet more, and finally agreed to send a tech out. That was two weeks ago. One of their contract techs is sked to come by tomorrow to replace the logic board and video card. Judging by my experience with applecare and their contract workers, I don't have much hope for success.
 
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