Readers like you help support MUO. When you make a purchase using links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Read More.
What would be the most common cause for an iMac to freeze up?
2011-04-29 06:25:00
Yes, type of "freeze" would help too.
2011-04-29 06:24:00
Faulty logic boardIf it were pc, I'd say reinstall. But I don't think that will help. Do you have access to the appropriate hardware diagnostics CDs, as that will test and pinpoint/crash on hardware issues. Depends on your model, as there are a few versions of the CDs around. Do you have another computer you can download and burn a DVD from, or are you using some kind mobile device to post this?I assume you're out of warranty?
2011-04-29 06:21:00
The most common cause would be a bad Kernel Extension which might be fixed by (re)installing the latest Combo Update of the system.But it depends a lot on the type of Freeze e.g. sometimes the entire Finder will be frozen (hanging) while the system is still operating in the background. This is way I always turn on showing the seconds in the clock (they will keep counting as usual). Another way to spot this is by SSHing into the machine.Another reason for a freeze could be a faulty Hard Drive. If Mac OS X is trying to access system files on a bad Hard Drive or Sector it will try almost indefinitely to read them.