Ticket Options

Question Profile

Question Details

TICKET ARCHIVE -> ichat freezes up

kwinst - Aug 23, 2006 - 6:51 am

When using ichat the computer will freeze up and I can't even force quit. any suggestions?

LovesMacs - Aug 23, 2006 - 8:29 am

Hi Keith,

Let's try this first, if it doesn't resolve the issue just reply.

Go to your MacintoshHD>Users>Library>Preferences. Open the Preferences file and locate: com.apple.ichat.plist Drag that file to the Trash, then empty the Trash. Reboot your Mac and see if iChat works like it should. Sometimes preference files can become corrupted and don't worry, when you reboot your Mac it will create a new ichat.plist file for you.

Carolyn :-)

kwinst - Aug 23, 2006 - 3:08 pm

Tried that and it did not resolve the problem.

LovesMacs - Aug 23, 2006 - 3:25 pm

Keith, by chance are you using Address Book while in iChat? If so, look for this file and do the same thing: com.apple.addressbook.plist Sometimes Address Book and iChat together can cause iChat to freeze up... see if that helps.

Also, try running Disk Utility and Repair Permissions. DU is in your Applications>Utility folder.

And... this little disk utility is free and can be downloaded here:
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macos...ties/onyx.html

Onyx is a great little maintenance and cleaning utility that can keep your programs stable. If you don't already have it, download it and run the Maintenace and Cleaning Scripts. It empties log files, caches, etc.

Keith, you have an eMac? How much RAM? If you aren't sure, click the Apple logo top left of your Desktop, then click, "About This Mac". A pane will open and your RAM will be indicated there.

How much free space do you have available on your eMac? Keep at least 15% free hard drive space in order to keep programs from freezing up.

Carolyn :-)

kwinst - Aug 24, 2006 - 2:40 pm

Carolyn,

I am not using address book while in iChat. I ran the disk utility - repair permissions. I also downloaded onyx and ran the maintenance and cleaning scripts. I then rebooted and opened up iChat and it froze up again.

I do have an eMac, 256 RAM, 80 gig hard drive and 71% available. Thanks for your help so far, I hope you have some more ideas for me to try.

Keith.

LovesMacs - Aug 24, 2006 - 4:13 pm

HI Keith,

Have you checked to make sure you have your most recent software updates? Click the Apple icon top left of your screen, click Software Updates. Let the updater run while you are online to see if you need any.

I should have asked this sooner. Which Mac OS are you running? To locate this information click the Apple icon, then click "About This Mac" ... a pane will open and tell you wish Mac OS version you are running.

Are you running any other programs while using iChat? Obviously, your online software, but aside from that? With only 256 mb of RAM... that could be the culprit. One way to see which programs are using the most memory is to launch Activity Monitor. It's in tthe Applications>Utilities folder. It's a great way to see which programs are taking the most memory and how much.

One other idea is to create a new user. Open System Preferences. Then click "Accounts". In order to create a new user you will probably have to click the lock to make any changes. Now, just below the panel on the left click the +
A new account window will appear. Create a new account with a password. When you are done, close System Preferences. Now, look top right of your screen, whichever account you are in right now... that account name will show. Click there, then click the new account you just created. That will take you to that account. Now, launch iChat. See if it freezes up on you. If it doesn't then the problem lies in your home folder assuming you are the administrator of your Mac. Try this... let me know what happens. Also, do you have the system disks that came with your eMac???

Carolyn :-)