Screensaver Freezes iMac

Quite often lately, when I walk over and wiggle the mouse, the computer freezes instead of waking from the screensaver. Usually, this lockup happens when I've been away for quite some time; most noticeably when the computer has gone into screensaver mode first and then (later) into display sleep as well. The problem doesn't always happen when waking from sleep, though. Sometimes the screensaver is up and moving very fluidly, but then when I touch the mouse, it freezes. The only way to rectify this problem is to reboot, which makes me wary of using the screensaver at all, and means I cannot do ANY important work on this machine because if I get a phone call, I could potentially lose everything. I really don't want to disable the screensaver given that this iMac was repaired last year when Apple determined the screen to be defective.
I don't have the hard drive set to sleep because my MacBook and AppleTV share the iTunes files. When the problem happened today, iTunes and Safari were running the background, but no windows were actually open; they had been closed four hours earlier, but not exited. When I came back everything locked.

Hi Freakydisco
Complex ScreenSaver's use tons of resources especially if they run for a long period of time, how much Ram do you have in the iMac?
I would disable the ScreenSaver, set Computer Sleep to never and set the Display to Sleep after 5 or 10 minutes.. you might try a simpler ScreenSaver for a shorter period of time to see if that helps.
Dennis

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Screensaver freezes

I had a screensaver freeze probably associated with 10.4.4 which was causing the Timer of Audio Hijack Pro not to start the recording from sleep at night. When I came to the computer in the morning the screensaver picture was frozen, the computer was running full blast and I had to restart.The frozen screensaver apparently prevented Audio Hijack Pro to start.
When I ran Disk Warrior 3.0.3 it showed that "57 files will be accessed", meaning of which I don't understand. There were no errors before 10.4.4 My Apple Disk Utility showed that my HD was fine. I also used Cocktail 3.7 without any problems.
After replacing ScreenSaver.prefPan from Tiger DVD using Pacifist and after removing all of the Account startup items, the Audio Hijack Pro Timer woke up the computer from sleep as before the 10.4.4 upgrade and the recording proceeded normally.The screensaver now works fine without freezing.
I am only noticing momentary questionmark on the computer startup screen which wasn't there before replacing the folder from the install Tiger DVD with Pacifist.It looks like my computer is for a moment searching for the operating system.
Any comments and explanations?
Milan

Hi, Milan.
1. You wrote: "When I ran Disk Warrior 3.0.3 it showed that "57 files will be accessed", meaning of which I don't understand."Neither have I. You might want to contact Alsoft.
Have you checked the SMART diagnostics of your hard drive? See: "Disk Utility 10.5 Help: Checking the S.M.A.R.T. status of your hard disk."
2. You wrote: "I am only noticing momentary questionmark on the computer startup screen which wasn't there before replacing the folder from the install Tiger DVD with Pacifist.It looks like my computer is for a moment searching for the operating system."See "A flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac."
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X

Will Apple ever address freezing iMacs

this is driving me nuts. i'm getting a run around.
will apple ADDRESS the freezing iMac issue properly? not some cheap software update that DOESN'T work.

Not likely. It is up to you to call AppleCare and request a repair under warranty. Info and phone numbers would have been included in the original box - the same are available online.
There will be no recall since there is not a hazardous condition.

Should I exchange my freezing iMac?

Hi I just got my 24" iMac 2 days ago. Yesterday the iMac froze 3 times.. .twice within 5 mintues! and twice today already. Now I know Apple is aware of this issue but I am also aware this does not happen on every iMac, so should I send this back into Apple for an exchange? What did you do about your freezing iMac?

First of all I can't believe Apple is letting this go on as long as they have. People buying new computers and right out of the box having issues is unacceptable.
I bought the first computer a week after they were released and had no problems until the Software update 1.1 was released then as soon as I downloaded it I crashed and froze all time after that. After nearly two weeks of phone calls back and forth with Apple I was told it was a hardware problem and that they needed to swap out the graphics card.
To say the least I was a little mad seeing how this was a brand new computer so I fired off a angry email to Steve Jobs. The very next day I got a call from a woman saying she was from the Apple executive offices and they were very sorry about my troubles and they would replace the computer. The next night I brought the computer home I turned it on, downloaded the updates and an hour later it froze. So at that point I removed the update called Apple again and told them the issue. And then unbelievably they told me to put the update back on the computer. So once again like an idiot I did it and had the same problems.
After that I said enough, I erased and reinstalled did not put the 1.1 update on my new computer but I went out on the web and downloaded the 1.0 update put that back on and everything has been stable ( I did have one questionable crash in the last 21/2 weeks which does lead me to think there is some kind of hardware issue which hopefully will be solved with a newer update. Though I don't want to be the first one to try it.) Also two days after I did this Apple made their "small number of computers" announcement.
So to cut to the chase if you can get your computer stable (maybe by taking the 1.1 update off and putting 1.0 on. Though a lot of people are saying that is not working for them either) I would stick with what you have. If not I would not put up with constant freezing.
I'm not buying the whole "small numbers" thing myself but thats just my opinion.

Solved freezing iMac

I thought I would post a separate thread as my experience may get lost in all the other threads about freezing iMacs.
I too like a lot of other people here suffered (sorry to those still suffering) my iMac freezing. It was not tied down to doing anything in particular it just did it when it liked.
After 3 phone calls to apple support and being refered to the higher level of support twice I told apple support that with all due respect I am going round in circles talking to you and will be taking it to the apple store in Birmingham.
Believe it or not but it didn't freeze once in the apple store, I asked the genius after he had spent half an hour on it that if it freezes again it has to be hardware. He confirmed this (not too loudly I may add).
On getting back home the first thing it did was freeze. I phoned up apple care again (no. 4) and basically said to them in no uncertain terms that they will repair or replace it. After trying to fob me off to the higher level of support again, they came back and informed me that there was a footnote on my file that said send it straight for repair.
Well after 3 weeks (busy local repair centre) I received my iMac in full working order; repair diagnosis - new graphics card. It has now been a week and it has operated flawlessly.
To those of you still having problems I would suggest that you ignore emailing them as I have still yet to receive a reply. But just keep phoning them and eventually you will get you just deserves.
Sorry to make you sit and read this but I just wanted to tell my story.
Now, a very happy iMac user and fully updated.

Hi bud ive just posted a thread about just taking delivery of a new imac..
When did you get yours fixed.. and could it be.. that my imac may have the same or a newer batch of graphics cards that may fix it?
I will be seriously urinated off if i have to send back a brand new £1500 computer.. like all of us i guess!!
I knew i shouldnt of googled new aluminium imac problems.
On another note i've also got an oldschool g4 emac arriving (strange ebay deal..!) so who knows where my next reply could be from, it arrives a week today

Screensaver Freezing in 10.5.1

Is anybody else having issues with their screensaver freezing since upgrading to 10.5.1?
Whichever screensaver I use it freezes after 15 seconds or so. The Mac doesn't freeze, just the screensaver, but it doesn't half spoil the new iPhoto Collage screensaver.

I've come across a bug a couple of times now: the Apple screensaver (Solid Colors) isn't waking up properly everytime. The System does work, but the screen itself will not be refreshed until you actually start moving things around in the Finder. For example, if it's happening then I press the spacebar to select some item on the Desktop, then I'll press Command-O to open up a window. Then I start dragging around that window to make the whole desktop visible again..
Take a look at the screenshot below to find out what I mean:
Did anyone else come across this bug yet?

Screensaver freezes my imac

I have a Mac OS X version 10.4.11 and every time my screensaver activates and I move my mouse to deactivate it, my computer freezes and I have to reboot. Any solutions to this problem, or why this is happening? Thanks!

ScreenSavers use lots or resources.
One reason could be that your earlier iMac has less than 1GB of RAM or that your Hard Drive is getting full. The second less pleasant reason is that your Hard Drive is starting to show signs of age.
Disable the ScreenSaver and check to see how much free space is left on your hard Drive? If you have less than 15% then you really need to free up some space on it. Some other options include upgrading the RAM, replacing the Hard Drive or the Computer.
Dennis

Test for freezing iMacs

Hello.
I am awaiting a new iMac, and though I realise it's a relatively rare condition, like many others I am anxious not to get a freezing one. I think it would be great if people could post "tests" for people to run on their new iMacs - i.e. processes or applications or combinations of applications that seem to bring on a freeze. This way, folks taking possession of new iMacs can subject their machines to some questioning as soon as they get them - and therefore remain within their 14 day return/replacement rights should patterns of freezing arise.
So, could a few people with freezing problems perhaps list some issues that commonly (or, even better: reliably) cause a freeze?
Thanks

Here's what I did (all at the same time):
1. I ran iTunes visualizer with the window open all the way so it was as close to full screen as I could get without hitting CTRL-F.
2. I played a mini-movie in PhotoBooth that I had recorded earlier. It was 2 minutes long.
3. I opened iPhoto, selected a photo, blew it up, and continuously rotated it using CTRL-R.
All of that, and I randomly went to my screensaver (Arabesque) and put it in sleep mode and woke it abruptly.
I've been testing it this way for a few hours and haven't had one glitch yet. A couple of slow-downs, but no video problems.
Hope this helps.
Chris Orcutt
http://www.orcutt.net

Screensaver freezes once per day?

I installed Leopard recently on my intel iMac. I am experiencing a weird bug. My screensaver keeps freezing. I have to power down the iMac each time this happens.
Any suggestions or thoughts?
Thanks in advance for any help with this!

My wife's MacBook has been having a similar issue. I suspect the screensaver is freezing the machine (because the screen is either totally black or the screensaver is on (frozen of course)).
I've been testing the hardware to see if that's causing it but we just disabled the screensaver to see if that stops the freezing. My main problem is that I can't find any crash logs that indicate what is causing Mac OS to lock up.
Are you fairly certain the screensaver is causing the freezes? What screensaver are you using?

Screensaver freeze

When I leave my computer on for an extended period of time, it often freezes during screensaver routine. Most frequently when I get up in the AM after leaving on overnight - any suggestions?
Thx!

Appears you are lost. These are the "original" _*MacBook Pro*_ forums.
You will need to repost over in either the Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard Forums and/or the Intel-based iMac Forums

Freezing iMac with both Tiger and now Leopard PLEASE HELP!!

Hello,
Our 1st gen 24" iMac was giving us Kernal Panics under Tiger 10.4.11 recently it all started two months ago.
We took it into the Apple store for a Cleaning and fresh install of Leopard.
When we received it back it locked/froze up immediately, forcing a hard restart. When I called the store they said one of my sticks of ram was not techinically bad but still suspect.
This is what I did after that call.
1. Checked the ram physically (the Apple store had placed my 512mb Apple ram stick in slot 1) which I thought very strange.
2. I corrected the ram, meaning I put the 2gb (suspect) stick in slot 0 and the 512 Apple ram in slot 1. Things were better it would take 10-15 minutes of use before locking up not 1-2 minutes.
3. I placed a new stick of Crucial (2gb from OWC) in place of the supect stick. that has had ZERO affect, our mac still freezes.
4. I pulled out the 512mb Apple (Micron) ram and replaced it with a 1gb Micron stick from OWC and that gives us roughly 20-40 minutes of time befroe freezing.
The software is up to date, I've max'd out the ram (at Apple's request) and all we have running is iTunes in the background to stream to AppleTV and a few tabs of Safari open when this locks up.
Right before it freezes we notice lines arcoss the application windows almost as though there a distorted pixels.
If any of you Mac Gods can help guide me in the right direction I would greatly appreciate it!
Thanks

Thanks, they did test the HD and booted from an external when I had it at the store, so maybe it is the Logic Board. That would suck bad!

Freezing iMac G5 with random red and black pixels, HELP!

Hello all, and thanks in advance for helping. Here's my dilemma: I have a 20" iMac G5 that I have been using for 2-3 years or so. I recently started doing less work on it, as I replaced it with a new 24" iMac, so now it is used for one or two programs as well as occasional internet use. The system began to become slower, then finally started freezing between minimal tasks, even something as simple as pressing TAB in Safari, to trying to make a new folder in iPhoto. We restarted a bunch of times, and even tried clearing the PRAM. Now, it freezes during the start-up and there's little red and black boxes (small, maybe 4x4 or 6x6 worth of pixels) appearing randomly on the screen. When we are able to get the system to start, after one or two small tasks (opening the Address Book, or starting Safari) the program freezes, the pinwheel starts spinning, and I lose any chance to do anything more on the computer without powering down. Any advice or suggestions is appreciated! Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you.

Hi PPRI and Miriam,
Same deal going on here. It's been a while since I last posted - meaning no problems (which is goooood). So here is the issue:
Would stop at blue screen before loading to main screen. Minor repair on HD volume, and now freezes on main screen very quickly, after booting past blue screen. A few wierd pixels are seen, which lets me know that it has frozen.
Here's what I did:
Hardware check with utility - no problems found, including logic board. From the manual, it seems like it is a software issue.
As before, I repaired a few permissions and minor repair on HD volume. Still not working.
Also opened up my vents and carefully vacuumed the dust - fans were spinning hard. Still, not working.
My next step is to do an archive & install. I'm not sure how to backup my files, so this will have to suffice. This leads me to my questions:
Q1 - How do you burn a backup, without an external HD and without being able to get past my main screen?
Q2 - I noticed a post before this one, concerning the same issue, with Miriam posting on it. Is it overkill to post the same problem/question in another thread in order to maximize the chances for a good response? Any suggestions Miriam?
Thank you for being so helpful. Apple community rocks!
(PS - will let you know how the archive/install goes. If it doesn't work, I may pay to back my files on disc, and then I'll try reformatting HD altogether. Again, will let you know how it goes).
(PS2 - Not sure if this matters, but my imac was one the ones that needed the free extended warranty for the capacitor issues - identified by the serial numbers. Doubt that's the problem since it was working fine after repairs).

Weird screen pattern freezes iMac, can't boot from HD or DVD

I woke up today to find the screen of my iMac black with a sparse pattern of bright pixels on it. I wasn't able to power down holding the Power buton so I unplugged it and left it for a bit before plugging back in. I was then able reboot without any problems. Then a few hours latter a weird pattern appeared across my screen, kind of rolling, animated in spots as seen here:
I powered down, started it up and the screen had this pattern on it:
It froze during startup at the point shown in the photo with the Apple logo. I powered down, unplugged, plugged back in and then tried booting up from my Snow Leopard install disc. It also froze on the logo screen. Another attempt brought up the "You need to restart your computer…" message in different languages shown here:
I figured it was having a kernel panic so I did some searching around and followed instructions on The X Lab - Resolving Kernel Panics page and Apple's Kernel Panic Troubleshooting page. I unplugged everything but my mouse (wireless keyboard) and tried booting into Safe Mode. The screen still had the same pattern but it froze again during startup, the grey progress bar having disappeared.
I can't boot from my hard drive or from a DVD and the pattern is always on screen when I turn the iMac back on. I can't run Apple Hardware Test. I'm stuck but I'm wondering if anyone knows what the cause might be or has any suggestions on how to fix it or even get it to boot up somehow.
I have TechTool Pro and a large flash drive. I'm going to try creating a bootable USB drive with Snow Leopard on it from this backup computer and try to get TechTool Pro on it as well. I'll report back but I'd really appreciate any feedback on this problem.

Some things to report. First, the night before any of this happened, I noticed the fan was running when there wasn't really any reason for it. The computer was idle, no major tasks running. I'm wondering if perhaps the videocard overheated and is causing problems. Perhaps the temperature sensors are screwed up?
Today I got a USB keyboard hooked up and reset the PRAM. Still unable to boot but the pattern on the screen did change from the mess of b&w squigglies above to vertical bars as shown here:
Trying to boot normally or in Safe Mode both result in the spinning wheel freezing and halting startup.
I found powering down then gets weird. It's like it tries to turn on again but can't after a second. Or sometimes it will and the mouse lights up, I can hear the optical drive but the screen stays dark. At that point I need to unplug and try again.
I tried booting from Snow Leopard install DVD during one of these weird cycles and could hear it trying to access the optical drive but I don't believe it even got to the chime stage.
I attempted booting from the install DVD again after unplugging. No luck there but instead of a frozen spinning wheel, it brings up the "You need to restart message…". Other methods don't do this.
Still at a loss to find a reason for this but it appears to be a hardware problem, no doubt the video card based on the screen issues. Does any of this shed any light on what the problem is or (even better) how to fix it?

My OS X 10.8.2 screensaver freezes

Hi,
I have noted on several occassions that my screensaver stops moving and becomes a static image, rather defeating its purpose!
If I touch the mouse of keyboard, it is correctly dismissed and I am returned to the OS, and when it comes back it is animated initially, but at some point if often seems to stop.
I am running OS X 10.8.2, on a Mac Mini late 2012, with my external display connected via Thunderbolt port. I have to date been using the screensaver "Arabesque", will be trying another shortly to see if it is specific to that screensaver.
Interestingly, I don't remember seeing this on 10.8.1, but that might be because my display was set to turn off after 10 mins, whereas now it is set for 1 hour.
Any suggestions as to how to resolve this minor annoyance greatly appreciated.
Cheers,
James

I am seeing the same thing. Brand new MBP 15 inch with retina display. I'm using a 4 year old Apple LED screen as my external monitor. Screen Saver is Flurry. Interestingly, the saver only freezes on the external monitor, not on the laptop retina display.

Freezing iMac 24" 2.4

So, I breezed into a store and saw the new iMacs and being a PC guy for years (Dells) I decide its time to see what all the fuss is about. Well, when I seee the new iMacs on the shelf I lose all self control and pay cash for mine with all the bells and whistles.
Got it home and have rebooted the machine 27 times in one day. Freezes constantly out of the box. Store has no more.
As a PC user and administrator for large PC based networks across the US, I am disappointed especially after all the posts I see for the same issue.
A lot of money for this paperweight.
Jim in New Orleans

With all of the freezing going on, I have to think that the store models are freezing up too. Has anyone experienced a store display model freezing, or does Apple have a special fix for them to keep them stable? Because I would think that having a freezing store display computer would be just about as bad for business as going for a new car test drive in a car that stalls at every stop sign.

Screensaver Freezes iMac

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