Problem! (Kernel Panics)

[MT37]

Well when I'm sitting on my iMac surfing the web, and chatting with people. All of sudden this black screen will scroll over everything. It'll say "Hold the power button to restart" or something along those lines. It's also in 4 languages.

Also when I restart my computer sometimes it'll just go to a white screen, and beep three times. The light will flash three times also.

I did a search, and I found it could be the RAM. But I would like to know if you guys have any ideas/input.

Later.

*Edit* I'm wondering is there way to defrag the harddrive? I have search throughout my iMac, and I haven't found anything.

 

[dartzorichalcos]

It's called a Kernel Panic. If you added any ram recently, try putting the original ram back in and see if the computer works fine.

 

[WildCowboy]

What you're experiencing is a kernel panic. They can be caused by a number of different things...here is a decent guide to understanding them with links to Apple's site.

The primary question to ask is whether you made some change (either hardware or software) to your system just prior to the first kernel panic. RAM is a common cause...have you added any? If the kernel panic is reproducible and you have two sticks of RAM, try swapping them or having only of them installed and see if you still have problems.

Regarding defrag, it's not needed for most users, as OS X does it automatically on the fly for files smaller than 20 MB. See Apple's support article on the topic.

 

[MT37]

What you're experiencing is a kernel panic. They can be caused by a number of different things...here is a decent guide to understanding them with links to Apple's site.

The primary question to ask is whether you made some change (either hardware or software) to your system just prior to the first kernel panic. RAM is a common cause...have you added any? If the kernel panic is reproducible and you have two sticks of RAM, try swapping them or having only of them installed and see if you still have problems.

Regarding defrag, it's not needed for most users, as OS X does it automatically on the fly for files smaller than 20 MB. See Apple's support article on the topic.

Well I haven't touched anything hardware wise. The only thing I have done is installed software. I remembered it started happening after I installed a few programs.

So how would I go fixing that? Just removing the programs?

 

[MT37]

Update.

So I think it's the RAM. I ran the program called Rember, and it said my RAM failed. But I'm going to run it again just to double check. But if it is the RAM. What type of RAM is in the iMac? I'm running the 2 Ghz Intel Core Duo.

Sorry for the double post.

 

[WildCowboy]

Is it Apple RAM or did you add third-party RAM?

Is the machine still under warranty?

The machine uses 667 MHz PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM (SO-DIMMs).

 

[MT37]

Is it Apple RAM or did you add third-party RAM?

Is the machine still under warranty?

The machine uses 667 MHz PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM (SO-DIMMs).

It's Apple RAM. I think it is under warranty. I looked at the AppleCare booklet that came with it, and it says the service is for a year. I got the machine back in September '06.

 

[WildCowboy]

Yep...it's still under warranty, and Apple should be willing to address the issue since it's their RAM. Unfortunately, phone support is only free for the first 90 days, so they'll want credit card information if you call them up. If it turns out to be a hardware issue as you suspect, you won't owe anything. But if not, they'll charge you a fee for speaking with them.

Apple Stores in-person are often a better bet. The folks there can help diagnose the issue for free and submit it for warranty repair. Planning a trip to Toronto anytime soon?

 

[MT37]

Alright, cool. Thanks for helping out.

But I haven't had a kernel panic in awhile actually. I updated the fireware like an hour ago, and nothing yet. I bet I'll have another soon, but it hasn't happened yet. Haha.

I will go to one of the Toronto Apple Stores, and see what they say. But I just hope I don't have to send it to Apple, and not have it for a few weeks.