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TICKET ARCHIVE -> OSX freezing, crashing, slow

stanhoffman - Dec 9, 2006 - 7:39 am

I have been experiencing increasing numbers of system freezes requiring a cold boot (sometimes with the physical power button when the touch-button on the cinema display does not respond). Also, sometimes the mouse stops responding for a time. System is generally sluggish.

I have tried re-updating with the 10.4.8 combo updater. Repairing permissions, repairing disk, thorough testing and optimization with TechTool 4 Pro, rebuilding directory with Disk Warrior, and just about everything that Onyx can do. Things aren't getting better.

I am thinking of doing an "archive and reinstall" on my main hard disk or possibly a clean install on one of my other internal hard drives. My questions are:

- Which of these would be better to try?
- Is there something else I should try before reinstalling?
- If I reinstall, is there some way I can copy over my applications without having to reinstall each one? Can I use Migration Assistant to copy from one internal drive to another?

Thank you,

Stan

Cheryl - Dec 9, 2006 - 12:35 pm

Stan,

A sluggish system could be caused by a number of things. The first thing you should check is the amount of free space on the internal hard drive - that is the one that OS X is installed and booting from.

Just open a finder window (go to the Go menu and select Home). Now look at the very bottom of the window in the border. It will tell you how many items and how much free or available space on the hard drive.

I need to know how large your hard drive is and what it shows for available space. OS X needs 12 - 15% free in order for the system to run smoothly and have space available for virtual memory.

Cheryl

stanhoffman - Dec 9, 2006 - 2:57 pm

My osx boot disk can hold 186.17 GB. It currently has 89.73 GB with 96.44 GB free. So it has more than 50% free.

Cheryl - Dec 9, 2006 - 4:07 pm

Stan,

Do yo have the latest version of Onyx (1.7.5) ? You can get the latest version from here:
http://www.titanium.free.fr/pgs2/english/download.html

What model Mac do you have?

I am trying to avoid you doing a clean install as some of your applications may need to be installed rather than copied. Your word processor is one that can not be copied.

Cheryl

stanhoffman - Dec 10, 2006 - 5:09 am

If I do an "archive and install" will that preserve my current applications?

Yes, I am using Onyx 1.7.5.

Here is my system information:

Hardware:

Hardware Overview:

Machine Name: Power Mac G4
Machine Model: PowerMac3,6
CPU Type: PowerPC G4 (3.3)
Number Of CPUs: 2
CPU Speed: 1.42 GHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 256 KB
L3 Cache (per CPU): 2 MB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 167 MHz
Boot ROM Version: 4.6.0f1
Serial Number:
Sales Order Number:

Software:

System Software Overview:

System Version: Mac OS X 10.4.8 (8L127)
Kernel Version: Darwin 8.8.0
Boot Volume: TigerA
Computer Name: Stan’s Power Mac G4
User Name: Stan (stan)

Memory:

DIMM0/J21:

Size: 512 MB
Type: DDR SDRAM
Speed: PC2700U-25330
Status: OK

DIMM1/J22:

Size: 512 MB
Type: DDR SDRAM
Speed: PC2700U-25330
Status: OK

DIMM2/J23:

Size: 512 MB
Type: DDR SDRAM
Speed: PC2700U-25330
Status: OK

DIMM3/J20:

Size: 512 MB
Type: DDR SDRAM
Speed: PC2700U-25330
Status: OK

USB:

USB Bus:

Host Controller Location: Built In USB
Host Controller Driver: AppleUSBOHCI
PCI Device ID: 0x0035
PCI Revision ID: 0x0043
PCI Vendor ID: 0x1033
Bus Number: 0x1b

Hub:

Version: 1.10
Bus Power (mA): 500
Speed: Up to 12 Mb/sec
Product ID: 0x9118
Vendor ID: 0x05ac (Apple Computer, Inc.)

Studio Display:

Version: 1.0e
Bus Power (mA): 500
Speed: Up to 1.5 Mb/sec
Product ID: 0x9218
Vendor ID: 0x05ac (Apple Computer, Inc.)

PTZ-430:

Version: 1.02
Bus Power (mA): 500
Speed: Up to 12 Mb/sec
Manufacturer: Tablet
Product ID: 0x00b0
Vendor ID: 0x056a

Hub:

Version: 1.00
Bus Power (mA): 500
Speed: Up to 12 Mb/sec
Product ID: 0x1446
Vendor ID: 0x0451

Microsoft IntelliMouse® Explorer:

Version: 1.21
Bus Power (mA): 500
Speed: Up to 1.5 Mb/sec
Manufacturer: Microsoft
Product ID: 0x001e
Vendor ID: 0x045e

iLok:

Version: 0.10
Bus Power (mA): 500
Speed: Up to 1.5 Mb/sec
Manufacturer: iLok
Product ID: 0x5036
Vendor ID: 0x088e

Hub in Apple Pro Keyboard:

Version: 1.22
Bus Power (mA): 500
Speed: Up to 12 Mb/sec
Manufacturer: Mitsumi Electric
Product ID: 0x1002
Vendor ID: 0x05ac (Apple Computer, Inc.)

Apple Pro Keyboard:

Version: 1.22
Bus Power (mA): 250
Speed: Up to 12 Mb/sec
Manufacturer: Mitsumi Electric
Product ID: 0x0204
Vendor ID: 0x05ac (Apple Computer, Inc.)

USB Bus:

Host Controller Location: Built In USB
Host Controller Driver: AppleUSBOHCI
PCI Device ID: 0x0035
PCI Revision ID: 0x0043
PCI Vendor ID: 0x1033
Bus Number: 0x3b

Mackie XD-2:

Version: 1.00
Bus Power (mA): 500
Speed: Up to 12 Mb/sec
Manufacturer: Mackie Designs
Product ID: 0x0002
Vendor ID: 0x0a73

FireWire:

FireWire Bus:

Maximum Speed: Up to 800 Mb/sec

Unknown Device:

Manufacturer: Unknown
Model: Unknown Device
GUID: 0x0
Maximum Speed: Up to 400 Mb/sec
Connection Speed: Up to 400 Mb/sec

Unknown Device:

Manufacturer: Unknown
Model: Unknown Device
GUID: 0x0
Maximum Speed: Up to 400 Mb/sec
Connection Speed: Up to 400 Mb/sec

Unknown Device:

Manufacturer: Unknown
Model: Unknown Device
Maximum Speed: Up to 400 Mb/sec
Connection Speed: Up to 400 Mb/sec

Cheryl - Dec 10, 2006 - 9:51 am

Stan,

Do you use your tablet all the time? From the looks of the System Profile report, you have an external USB Hub. Does that hub have its own power cord?

Can you do an experiment? Unplug all the USB devices (even the external Hub) except your keyboard and mouse. Now give your computer a test run. Does it still act slow or freeze?

An archive & preserve install will not touch your network preferences or any applications you have installed except for any Anti virus and Stuffit Expander. Onyx may need to be reinstalled as well. Your home folder (including pictures & music) will not be touched. Your user name (account name) and password will stay the same. Archive & Preserve is pretty handy.

But - once you do this, you also need to install all the security updates as well as the 10.4.8 combo update.

Let me know how things go with the experiment.

Cheryl

stanhoffman - Dec 11, 2006 - 6:36 am

I went ahead and did an archive and install before I received your last message. It seems to have made things much better. I did have to reinstall several third-party preference panes and some third-party extensions to Apple Mail, but most everything else seems to be intact.

Elsewhere on the macosx site it is recommended to ONLY use combo updaters. So I use the 10.4.8 combo updater. Doesn't this include the security updates as well?

Even though I had "archive and installed", I tried the experiment. It didn't seem to affect performance.

Thanks very much for your help,

Stan

Cheryl - Dec 11, 2006 - 4:24 pm

Stan,
The security updates are not included in the combo update. In fact, you may need to apply several security updates. After you combo update to 10.4.8, use Software Update in System Preferences to find all those security updates.

Also, do not forget to use Disk Utility to repair permissions.

Cheryl

stanhoffman - Dec 12, 2006 - 4:55 am

I just used Software Update and it did not find any security updates.....

Cheryl - Dec 12, 2006 - 3:46 pm

Stan,

Click twice on the hard drive icon on your desktop (the one that is your start up drive) and then open Library folder (the one sitting by itself - and not in another folder).
Now locate and open Receipts.
Trash the SecUpd2006-007Ti.pkg file or any others that maybe in there.
Empty the trash.

Now use Software Update to get those security updates. There were four updates this year for 10.4.

Cheryl

stanhoffman - Dec 13, 2006 - 5:16 am

I did exactly as you said. I even rebooted after emptying the trash. Software Update did not find any updates, security or otherwise except one for Airport that I don't need....

Cheryl - Dec 13, 2006 - 5:15 pm

Stan,

You need one security update and you will need to download it manually.

Security Update 2006-007
http://www.apple.com/support/downloa...clientppc.html

The others that I was referring to were indeed included in the 10.4.8 update. I doubled checked this to make sure.

I believe that Software Update needs a few days to 'find' the update for your system. Rather than wait, do the download and install manually.

When done with the install, make sure you run Disk Utility to repair permissions.

You should be all set. Let me know if you have any problems.

Cheryl