IMac running 10.5.6 almost unusable.

My iMac is close to unusable since 10.5.6.
This is a list of the chronic problems it has since that update.
(1) iMac ALWAYS crashes the first time I start up. Either it freezes at grey screen, or blue screen, or login window. It always starts the second time after a forced shutdown and restart.
(2) After running for a while it will not recognize a firewire hard drive that I attempt to mount. It will right after startup, but it won't after a short, undetermined amount of time.
(3) Sleep mode will ALWAYS cause a crash. It either won't wake up because it died in its sleep, or it will wake up unstable and eventually crash quickly.
This is an Aluminum iMac 24", 2.8 GHz, 2GB running 10.5.6.
(Note: I have an Unibody MacBook that runs 10.5.6 with no problems).
Please help if you have any answers. I'm ready to heave this thing out a frickin window.
Thanks,
Jim.

Hi James,
Follow these instructions to verify the hard disk for errors:
Open Disk Utility, in the Utilities folder in the Applications folder.
Select your disk, and click First Aid.
Click Verify Disk.
If the disk needs repairs, do one of the following:
Insert your Mac OS X Install disc in your computer’s optical drive or an optical drive connected to your computer, and then restart your computer. When you hear the startup tone, hold down the C key until you see the progress indicator, which looks like a spinning gear.
Follow the onscreen instructions until the menu bar appears with the Utilities menu in it, choose Utilities > Disk Utility, click First Aid, and then click Repair Disk. When Disk Utility is finished, from the Menu Bar select Utilities/Startup Disk. Select MacintoshHD 10.5 in the window and click: Restart
If there are no errors on the boot disk, try the 10.5.6 combo update. It might stabilize the system:
http://support.apple.com/downloads/MacOS_X_10-5-6_ComboUpdate
Run Disk Utility and Repair Disk Permissions BEFORE and AFTER you download and install this update: Launch Disk Utility. (Applications/Utilities) Select MacintoshHD in the panel on the left, select FirstAid, then click: Repair Disk Permissions. Quit DU when it's finished and reboot.
*Available Disk Space:*
Right or control click the MacintoshHD icon on your Desktop, then click: Get Info. In the Get Info window, click the discovery triangle so it's facing down. You will see; Capacity and Available Make sure you have 10% available disk space.
Carolyn
Message was edited by: Carolyn Samit

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IS THE SITUATION HOPELESS
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Graham Giles wrote:
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http://gizmodo.com/5411073/why-its-gotten-straight-stupid-to-buy-a-mac-pro
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No, there's no way to talk to Apple technical support via email, and they probably could not or would not be able to answer any questions about performance with third-party products. I doubt that more than a handful of Apple employees, sales rep or tech, would have access to any benchmark data on Maya with any model of Mac, and those Apple people would probably be those working with the Pro VAR channel or directly with large production companies.
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P.S.
And on top of that I can't buy a 27 inch display separately
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Message was edited by: Dave Sawyer

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