My iMac G5 randomly falls asleep during use.

A few weeks ago I was using my iMac and suddenly lost control of the cursor, cursor became invisible and computer went to "sleep" (ie; screen went black, "woke up" a few seconds later after moving the mouse). This problem has persisted in all sorts of conditions and uses. Usually the intial episode is followed by another shortly after. The problem happens a lot while streaming video on the internet. However, the computer also falls asleep when using photoshop.
The problem began when the hardrive was nearly full (15 GB left on drive). I cleared out many of the larger files (lossless music files) to gain 87 GB or so. Problem persists. I mostly use this computer for typical web stuff (email, facebook, videos on youtube and the like) and graphic design (Illustrator and Photoshop). Hard drive had never been defragged. I usually restart the computer when problem gets really bad.
I've searched various forums for a solution. Many argue about defragging, some mention OS reinstall, no real clear consensus seems to exist about why the problem occurs or what to do about it. Any ideas?
Specs: Mac OS X, 10.4.11, 2.1 GHz G5, 1 GB DDR2 SDRAM

Your problem sounds more like a heat problem. Try resetting the SMU:
   1. Shut down the computer.
   2. Unplug the computer's power cord.
   3. Press and hold the power button for 5 seconds.
   4. Release the power button.
   5. Attach the computers power cable.
   6. Press the power button to turn on the computer.
If that doesn't clear things up defragging won't do anything much, the best would be to try an
Archive and Install http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1710
which will give you s shiny new OS, but keep your prefs and settings. Make sure you select that option when reinstalling.

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Get freeware Temperature Monitor.
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Message was edited by: WZZZ

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Pennet Smith wrote:
should I try clear my cash?
I think lots of people will help you get rid of any annoying cash you have!
8^)
Seriously, do you have anything that might be running in the background that the system is waiting for or gracefully suspending? Maybe a few external drives that need their buffers cleared first? Things that were not an issue the first times you used the system but may have been introduced. I don't think your Cache is the problem though.

My iMac G5 randomly falls asleep during use.

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