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iMac G5 programs keep crashing or don't even start up

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dibunjohn

macrumors newbie
Original poster
hello,

I think it might be something to do with a bug in my OS. I was wondering what might be the best software out there that i could download and run a sweep. If anyone has had similar problems with a 3 year old iMac G5 and found a solution for these symptoms:

At start up, the clock doesn't show up

Programs don't open when I click on them

if they do open, they immediately crash and sometimes the computer just freezes up

or when it freezes MS-DOS like text appears over the desktop with a bunch of codes and then says it's awaiting for a debugger.

I'm basically left staring at my screen, not knowing what the hell is going on in the background. Any tips or ideas would be much appreciated.

thanks
 
Try Applications -> Utilities -> Disk Utility, select your hard drive, and click "Repair Permissions."

Your hard drive itself could also physically be failing. Does it make any noises or is it louder than it was when you bought it?

I highly doubt you need to "sweep" anything.
 
Sounds like you have some serious problems with your OS. If repairing your permissions doesn't work, you might try reinstalling OS X. Things like the clock not showing up, and programs that won't launch means something pretty major is wrong.

Hopefully it is just software related, and not a hard drive issue.
 
kernel panic

oh man, thanks for your post, i just found out i seem to also be having a kernel panic, does that ring any bells?
 
thanks thanks! i'll give that a shot. I've also found out i may be having a kernel panic. Does that help narrow things down?
 
actually, yeah, i do remember my computer sounding a little louder, specifically the the fan, or fan-like sound when the kernel panic shows up.
 
Nothing really narrows down the solution --- it is still "There's something b0rked in your OS"

Disconnect all peripherals other than the Keyboard and mouse.

Boot from the OS CD/DVD (insert the DVD, restart, hold the "C" key down on the keyboard until it boots into the Installer welcome screen) and instead of proceeding to install, go into the Disk Utilities (from the Utilities menu at the top) and do a Repair Disk. See if it reports any errors.

Restart the machine from the hard drive, and before doing anything else, go into Disk Utility on the hard drive (Applications: Utilities) and run a Repair Permissions. It is normal for a couple of repairs to be made. Make note if it has a long list of repairs.

If your machine is still flakey, I would cut my losses, time-wise, and just reboot from the OS DVD, and do an Archive and Install. ARCHIVE and install, not Erase and Install. The Archive process will preserve your data and your User settings.

It is generally not worth the time to try and isolate an individual OS component that is giving trouble.
 
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