I get two kinds of crashes whenever I'm doing anything graphics-related...

Question

I think. I think it's got something to do with graphics-related. But I don't know. Here's what happens.
Sometimes I'll be in iPhoto working on my photos. All of a sudden, the screen will go dim and I'll get the message that goes like "You have to restart your computer at this time". This often kills my iPhoto database and I have to rebuild everything... which is killing my workflow.
Other times, I'll get this massive crash which I think dims the screen but also spills out tons of weird code and gibberish. If I remembmer correctly, some it has to do with "stacking error" and there's also some "debug" stuff. Not sure, can't remember, I'm at work right now. This is what I'd call a hard crash in that it's not even "friendly" like the crash above which at least tells you you crashed and need to restart.
In both cases, I have to push the power button for a few seconds to shut down and then power on again.
This also happens more frequently if I'm in iPhoto and I'm editing an image which then opens Photoshop CS2. I'll be working in CS2 and BAM, i get one of those crashes.
I'll also get these crashes sometimes even if I'm ONLY in Adobe Photoshop CS2.
I swear, if someone can help me with this, I'll put them in for Sainthood! These crashes are KILLING my iPhoto work.
I run DiskWarrior frequently, I repair permissions frequently, etc. But I'm just hunting and gathering for solutions. I haven't found a real cohesive "troubleshooting list" that might tell me if I have some hardware issues or what.
G5 1.8GHz (old model)   Mac OS X (10.3.9)   iPhoto 5.x and Adobe Photoshop CS2

Answer 1

Since you said you repair permissions and use a hard-drive repair utility, then I'd wager (guessing) you have bad RAM.
You can diagnose it, as long as you can repeat the kernal panic:
If you have more than one stick of RAM, then try taking one out and see if you get the panic. If not, put the other back in and try again for the panic. If you don't have more than one stick of RAM, there's no reliable way I know of to diagnose RAM...
Keep in mind that it's possible for the RAM slot itself to be bad. In this case, start over with the RAM in a different slot--just to make sure a slot isn't bad.
Generally, if you're getting kernal panics that you can't pinpoint to isolated operations, then bad RAM could be the culprit. I've gone through a bout of this myself.
**obviously you have to power off before changing RAM, and use precautions for static, such as a static strap, or grounding yourself before touching it. If none of that makes sense, then take it to a repair center.