PROGRAMME AND SYSTEM CRASHES

[MichaelSchultz]

My system has become very unstable - particularly the apps that use the internet, especiallly Safari and Sherlock. Sometimes Safari just crashes over and over again. A restart stops it for a while, but then it starts again. I had installed broadband tuner 1.0 available at

http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/broadbandtuner10.html

But then thought that it might be causing the problems, so uninstalled it. But there doesn't seem to have been any change in performance.

I also occasionally get full system crashes, with OSX telling me I have to restart. This is usually when I try to wake up my computer from a sleep.

What's going on? I thought OSX was supposed to be crash proof.

Michael

[Randy Singer]

Originally Posted by MichaelSchultz

What's going on? I thought OSX was supposed to be crash proof.

Kernel panics on recent Macs running OS X tend to be most often (though not always) related to hardware, not software.

Have you installed any third-party (i.e. non-Apple) USB peripherals? You may want to try un-plugging them and see if that that clears things up. (A good, *powered*, USB hub can often fix this sort of problem.)

Have you installed third-party RAM? Using RAM that doesn't meet Apple's specs is also a frequent cause of kernel panics. If your kernel panics continue, you may want to uninstall all of the third-party RAM, leaving only the RAM that came with your Mac installed, and see if things get better. If they do, you should return your RAM for a replacement. Most RAM cards these days are covered by a lifetime warranty.

[ra3ndy]

Another thing to do to clear up flaky system behavior is Repair Permissions. Do this by opening Disk Utility (Applications/Utilities/Disk Utility) and clicking "Repair Permissions"

It also doesn't hurt to run some general maintenance scripts on your Mac from time to time. There are many free programs out there that run the full gammut of maintenance scripts, but Cocktail seems to be a preferred program on this forum.

[Randy Singer]

Originally Posted by ra3ndy

Another thing to do to clear up flaky system behavior is Repair Permissions. Do this by opening Disk Utility (Applications/Utilities/Disk Utility) and clicking "Repair Permissions"

It also doesn't hurt to run some general maintenance scripts on your Mac from time to time. There are many free programs out there that run the full gammut of maintenance scripts, but Cocktail seems to be a preferred program on this forum.

Those are both good ideas in general, especially for dealing with a system that seems to be running more slowly than normal, but neither suggestion is at all likely to fix the problem complained of here.

In fact, there are some folks who dispute whether repairing permissions ever helps anything. See:
http://www.unsanity.org/archives/000410.php

My view isn't that extreme, but I've never heard that repairing permissions can fix a problem with application and general system kernal panics. Indeed, as I said previously, I've rarely heard of a software problem causing kernal panics.

[ra3ndy]

Originally Posted by Randy Singer

My view isn't that extreme, but I've never heard that repairing permissions can fix a problem with application and general system kernal panics. Indeed, as I said previously, I've rarely heard of a software problem causing kernal panics.

I've gotten kernel panics from lotsa things. In the past, I've gotten them from bad system cache files (fixed by System Optimizer X's "Clear System Cache" option) on an eMac. Most recently, I had a brand new Powerbook G4 that stymied me for a week with kernel panics until i noticed that the user was using an older 45w power adapter instead of the 65w adapter that came with the powerbook. They're not technically supposed to happen, and therefore are unpredictable.

Typically, when kernel panics are precluded by consistent Application crashes, i tend to look toward system maintenance before i open the case and start pulling ram. It's a simple and free first step.

And you're right, I've never conclusively linked a kernel panic to bad permissions, but i have seen bad permissions cause a great list of problems, most in the "Huh....that's weird" category.

[Rhisiart]

Originally Posted by Randy Singer

I've rarely heard of a software problem causing kernal panics.

Try Norton Utilities...it caused KPs++.

[nixgeek]

BTW, could you give more information on the Mac model you have and what peripherals you're using? Right now, people are taking stabs at what the problem might be since they don't know what your setup is comprised of.

AS for OS X never crashing, no system is that stable. Something will always cause an operating system to crash no matter if it's OS X, Windows, Linux, BSD, etc. Sometimes it's hardware, and yes sometimes it's software. but unless we know what you're working with, it's going to be very hard to come up with a solution.

[MichaelSchultz]

Thanks for the suggestions. I downloaded yasu and trashed the Safari preference file and then ran the Cron scripts, Repair Permissions, clear Caches;

It seemed to work for a bit. But then when I clicked on about this macintosh to give you the info about my machine I was logged out!

I have an iMac G5 running Tiger, with a GB of Ram, with an iSight, Harmon Kardon soundstick speakers and an Epson C86 Printer.

Also, I am running Filevault, but want to turn it off, but keep getting messages telling me that I need 3,000+ GB of space to do it!! I have a 148 GB drive, with 129GB free. So don't really understand that message.. Any suggestions on how to turn off filevault?

I have put my sys info and a screen grab of what I get when I try to turn off filevault on my .mac page at:

http://homepage.mac.com/michaelschul...r_Information/



Michael