OSX Issues on G4--Graphics Related

Question

I installed OS X 10.4.3. I began to experience kernal panics one right after the other. The only way the computer would boot was in safe mode. I Zapped PRAM, performed fsck, reset open firmware. Checked all RAM disabled all non-shipped perifs. I even erased all hard disks, checked them out and reinstalled OS X.
What would happen in reg boot mode, the screen would get all distorted. This would usually happen when a graphic action was taking place. Like a sub-menu coming down from a window (asking for a ok or cancel action). In safe mode this never happens, but the menus are not smooth when the action is taking place). When it crashes, a kernal panic screen always occurs. I even installed panther on another hard drive but it did it there too. I have been running OS X since version 10.0.1 and it never did it untill tiger was installed.
I was running in safe mode almost exclusively. Then perchance I booted in reg. mode and the computer seems fine...however, when I run some graphic programs, I get a window that says OpenGL not installed or cannot access.
I did notice that preview will not display any graphic files. when I double click a jpeg file or tiff file...Preview launches but the screen is grey and no file displayed. I can open them in QuickTime or the graphic program (photoshop).
the odd thing is that when I check About this Mac, the graphics card and settings say that QuartzExtreme and core Image is not supported.
NVIDIA GeForce2 MX:
Chipset Model: GeForce2 MX
Type: Display
Bus: AGP
Slot: SLOT-1
VRAM (Total): 32 MB
Vendor: nVIDIA (0x10de)
Device ID: 0x0110
Revision ID: 0x00a1
ROM Revision: 1057.019
Displays:
Q95-2:
Resolution: 1024 x 768 @ 60 Hz
Depth: 32-bit Color
Core Image: Not Supported
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Quartz Extreme: Not Supported
The thing I cannot understand is why for the longest time I could not even boot in reg. mode. Now all of a sudden it starts up. My suspicion is that the graphics card or something on the board is going. Can anyone shed some light on this issue. If you need further info, feel free to ask.
AL
G4 Quicksilver 2001 Mac OS X (10.4.3) SCSI Card, GeForce2 MX, Internal Zip, 2 60gb Internal HD, 1 120gb external HD, 1.5gb of RAM

Answer 1

Hello hartfree,
> I installed OS X 10.4.3.
Was it an install disk or an update? If it was an update, you may have encountered an error in the download. You may want to re-download the combo and try again:
<a href:"http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macosxupdate1043combo.html">
Mac OS X Update 10.4.3 Combo
>I began to experience kernal panics one right after the other.
The problems you're experiencing could be any number of things.
1. It could happen with a bad installation of OS X. (an error in the installation disk, a glitch in the optical drive when installing, other unecessary peripherals attached to the computer via USB/Firewire...)
2. Hardware such as memory, cpu, graphics card, can all of a sudden go bad. (But, that doesn't seem to be the case here.)
>My suspicion is that the graphics card or something on the board is going.
Your graphics card is, to put it as gently as possible, old. But, it is well within the requirements of Tiger.
The only suggestion I have, when a kernal panic (or anything else unusual) happens, is to go to the Console (in /Applications/Utilities) and view the system log file. Sometimes, and sometimes not, there are clues that can indicate the source of the problem(s).
Gary