Crash/freeze

[qwerty007]

System
I have an G5 iMac (not dual), and a digi002 tack, and recently upgraded to Pro Tools LE 7, for which I had to upgrade to OS X 10.4.

Problem
Everything seemed OK for a couple of days, and then my Mac started to freeze. I was prompted to upgrade the Digi002 Rack software, which it did automatically. I installed various plug-ins that came with PT 7, until I found out they weren't free and had to uninstall them.

Symptoms
A transparent window appears, saying (in several languages) I need to restart my computer. Just pressing and holding the button at the back, doesn't seem to turn it off. The screen goes off, but when I try and boot it up, the screen goes grey and dos type commands appear. Unplugging it seems the only way to turn it off properly. The freezing seems to occur sporadically, and not necessarily when I'm using Pro Tools.

Checks
I have checked compatibility of the operating system and Pro Tools, ran the Digidesign diagnotics, Disc Utilities, and repaired partitions, and even Disc Warrior. It seems it might be an operating system bug, perhaps to do with older G5 iMacs and OSX Tiger, but I wondered if there are any compatibility issues with Tiger and PT LE 7? Any help much appreciated.

I originally posted this in the wrong forum, and someone has suggested that this is a kernel panic whatever that is, and that sub par ram is the the cause. I assume that means I don't have enough RAM. This problem also occurs outside of Pro Tools, and since all I have done is upgrade LE, and OSX to slightly later versions, I'm not totally convinced. Can anyone else confirm this before I go and buy more RAM.

[Phil Ogden]

Sub par RAM could mean faulty. If you've more than one stick, have you tried removing each in turn and booting-up. It might help identify the culprit if this is the cause.

[The Dougfather]

Are you running LE 7 with OSX 10.4 or are you running LE 7.x.x and OSX 10.4.x, it makes a difference.

Cheers

[qwerty007]

There's no xx on the install CDs, so I'm guessing they are just OS X 10.4 and Pro Tools LE 7. The problem has taken a turn for the worse. Apple confirms that it is a kernel panic, but now I can't even try any of the remedies they suggest. I just get a grey screen with the Apple logo, and if I try restarting with the option key, the CPU beeps and the fans whirl violently. An Apple seller has suggested my hard drive has gone, but this seems very unfortunate after only a simple upgrade. It seems almost inconceivable that after this, plus doing my due diligence for compatibility that a major problem should occur these days. I am wondering whether the place I bought the upgrade is kosher, or whether another third party software iDrum recently installed may be the problem. I really don't want to have to pay $275 for a new hard drive.

[qwerty007]

Sub par RAM could mean faulty. If you've more than one stick, have you tried removing each in turn and booting-up. It might help identify the culprit if this is the cause.

There are two, but I'm so afraid to even turn the computer on now, for reasons I have just given above. Would upgrading software cause faulty RAM? The problem could of course be independent of the upgrades, but it just seems too coincidental.

[qwerty007]

Phil, looks like you may have been right about RAM being faulty. The shop where I bought OS X 10.4 suggested that I try and boot up with the old system software disc. He said it would accept a CD even if the system didn't boot up fully, and that if this failed it may be the RAM. Feeling a little braver, I removed each RAM stick in turn, and have run Pro Tools LE successfully even though on only one 250 Megs. I don't know how it appeared to get damaged, or whether it was anything to do with the upgrade. I will buy a new stick, and just hope and pray it doesn't happen again.

Thanks ...a big hug!