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Can 4850 iMac owners help find the cause of the freezing? Is it WiFi?

Adding more fuel to fire...

Got my iMac 24", 2.93Ghz, 4850 card on the 14th (i live in sweden)

All updated, running on wifi:
1st try of WoW, Ultra settings - freeze after 1/2 hour (or so)
Then a few days later,
2nd try of WoW, Ultra settings - freeze after 1/2 hour (or so)
Talked to Apple and did a Apple hardware exdended test - no problems reported.

Disabled Wifi - running on Ethernet:
3rd try of WoW, Ultra settings - NO Freeze in 2 hours.

Gonna talk to Apple later on and see what they say.
 
Kaleri said:
Adding more fuel to fire...

Got my iMac 24", 2.93Ghz, 4850 card on the 14th (i live in sweden)

All updated, running on wifi:
1st try of WoW, Ultra settings - freeze after 1/2 hour (or so)
Then a few days later,
2nd try of WoW, Ultra settings - freeze after 1/2 hour (or so)
Talked to Apple and did a Apple hardware exdended test - no problems reported.

Disabled Wifi - running on Ethernet:
3rd try of WoW, Ultra settings - NO Freeze in 2 hours.

Gonna talk to Apple later on and see what they say.
Click to expand...

Somewhat identical scenario for me. 2.93ghz with 4850 card on the 14th (also Sweden).

Using wifi:

Freezes semi-randomly in WoW with Ultra settings. Sometimes almost right away, but usually after an hour. Occassionally no freeze for several hours.

Called Apple support every day last week and went through all the standard procedures including re-installing the OS. My machine is being replaced and picked up tomorrow.

Using ethernet:

Only tried this yesterday after reading the threads there. No freeze for 3 hours of WoW play.
 
what ever happened to that issue that people were reporting that after rebooting their systems would come up as 3.60ghz?
 
Just got a reply from Apple's 2nd line support;

They say a software/firmware update is on its way to fix this error. it's not 100 percent sure the 10.5.7 addresses the issues.

The workaround for now is to dissable the Airport, i understand there are more people with different issues as well. (those who still suffer the lock-ups with the airport switched off.)

Perhaps there are more problems going on.
 
serum said:
Just got a reply from Apple's 2nd line support;

They say a software/firmware update is on its way to fix this error. it's not 100 percent sure the 10.5.7 addresses the issues.

The workaround for now is to dissable the Airport, i understand there are more people with different issues as well. (those who still suffer the lock-ups with the airport switched off.)

Perhaps there are more problems going on.
Click to expand...


this is the first acknowledgement ive heard from apple that they are working on a fix, good news.. i will hold off returning my imac for now.. i dont wanna exchange and then get a dead pixel or something. oddly enough, my computer hasnt crashed for 4 straight days now after crashing 5 times in the first 4 days
 
serum said:
Just got a reply from Apple's 2nd line support;

They say a software/firmware update is on its way to fix this error. it's not 100 percent sure the 10.5.7 addresses the issues.

The workaround for now is to dissable the Airport, i understand there are more people with different issues as well. (those who still suffer the lock-ups with the airport switched off.)

Perhaps there are more problems going on.
Click to expand...

I am not calling you out or anything but do you have that in an email from Apple? I find it hard to believe they would acknowledge this given their history on this issue. Post it (xx out addys if you want).
 
It's in Dutch, so that won't help you a single bit is my best guess;
here is the translation though;

Dear;

As promised here is an update concerning your problems;

Apple is aware of the problems and we have had several reports over the weekend.

It's confirmed that it's defenitely not hardware, but software related.
Apple is working on a software solution asap.

We would like to ask you not to return your computer for a repair or an exchange.

The workaround for now is the one you tried; working through Ethernet; we offered this solution to several customers, and it appears to be a good and effective workaround.

Signed by
AppleCare
Dutch Technical Support Tier 2

And in adition to this message I replied asking if this software-solution also addresses the problems with the bootcamp XP or Vista issues, and if this software update included a firmware update and if it was included in 10.5.7

The answer to that question was;

Yes, the update also addresses those issues;
We hope to combine this among with 10.5.7 but it's possible this patch we be launched before 10.5.7, because of the large number of reports. It is indeed firmware/driver related.
 
I can mostly confirm what serum is saying. I spoke to tier 2 support (UK) tonight and they said that they are aware of this problem and working on a fix. They suggested the workaround of disabling Airport for now and also got me to send them a dump of my system using their capture data tool after rebooting from a lockup.

They didn't mention what the fix might be or any timescales apart from getting back to me with an update in c.48 hours.
They said that they have had a high call volume of people reporting the lockup issue with the ATI and airport enabled, in the past few days.

They also suggested that a replacement machine wouldn't be the answer. Of course you can think of other reasons why they might say that ;)

I'm confident that they are taking this seriously, that there will be a fix and that it will be a firmware update of the ATI or Airport card :)

W.
 
Yeah, i've send them the report the capture tool created. It was a nifty 106MB large file, good news 'they' are aware and a fix on its way.

My apple is now fed by an obnoxious blood-red ethernet wire, spoiling the virgin white table. :)
 
serum said:
It's in Dutch, so that won't help you a single bit is my best guess;
here is the translation though;

Dear;

As promised here is an update concerning your problems;

Apple is aware of the problems and we have had several reports over the weekend.

It's confirmed that it's defenitely not hardware, but software related.
Apple is working on a software solution asap.

We would like to ask you not to return your computer for a repair or an exchange.

The workaround for now is the one you tried; working through Ethernet; we offered this solution to several customers, and it appears to be a good and effective workaround.

Signed by
AppleCare
Dutch Technical Support Tier 2

And in adition to this message I replied asking if this software-solution also addresses the problems with the bootcamp XP or Vista issues, and if this software update included a firmware update and if it was included in 10.5.7

The answer to that question was;

Yes, the update also addresses those issues;
We hope to combine this among with 10.5.7 but it's possible this patch we be launched before 10.5.7, because of the large number of reports. It is indeed firmware/driver related.
Click to expand...

Yay software fix is coming!
 
serum said:
It's in Dutch, so that won't help you a single bit is my best guess;
here is the translation though;

Dear;

As promised here is an update concerning your problems;

Apple is aware of the problems and we have had several reports over the weekend.

It's confirmed that it's defenitely not hardware, but software related.
Apple is working on a software solution asap.

We would like to ask you not to return your computer for a repair or an exchange.

The workaround for now is the one you tried; working through Ethernet; we offered this solution to several customers, and it appears to be a good and effective workaround.

Signed by
AppleCare
Dutch Technical Support Tier 2

And in adition to this message I replied asking if this software-solution also addresses the problems with the bootcamp XP or Vista issues, and if this software update included a firmware update and if it was included in 10.5.7

The answer to that question was;

Yes, the update also addresses those issues;
We hope to combine this among with 10.5.7 but it's possible this patch we be launched before 10.5.7, because of the large number of reports. It is indeed firmware/driver related.
Click to expand...

I can confirm this as well, I just now got off the phone with a very nice Lady on one of the highest tiers in their tech support department. She told me that they are aware of this problem and that a fix is in the works. She estimated that maybe we will see something in 2 weeks but don't hold her to that. She did say once they are on top of this, they act fast on it. She did suggest that I don't return the iMac though she said I could if I wanted no problem, but that I may get the same problem back again. She said 10.5.7 is almost ready for release and the fix might or might not be with that software update but it should follow soon afterwards if 10.5.7 does not fix the problem.

I felt like she was being honest with me and on the up and up with me. She did offer to exchange it if nothing happens with 14 days even if I am out of my 14 day return period. She gave me her contact information (email and direct line phone number) which I will not display here Sorry... I don't want her getting bombarded with calls about this. She did not say if it was hardware or software related but that they will get on this asap. Not to worry so I will see how my imac runs for the next 14 days and hope that 10.5.7 will help it or that the fix is out by then otherwise I will return it at that time if I think it will benefit me at that time.
 
Just an update to my previous thread, it's been 4 days and my iMac has been on 24/7 -- using WiFi the entire time. Not a single lockup. I've been playing EVE Online as well as watching (streaming from a SMB share) at least 1-2 TV Episodes in MKV format daily. I've also been leaving iTunes running overnight with the visualizer on -- not so much as a hiccup.
 
Just because there is one single user of a non ATI iMac reporting having freezes does not mean at all that this has something todo with the iMac ATI issue.
The cause for his freeze seems to be totally different (maybe just a RAM thingy or whatever).
Don't panic...! Stick to facts!
 
I just got my iMac, and as expected, it freezes. I'm going to run my own tests now!
 
Apple is working on a fix right now

Not all ATI iMacs are having the problem. Temporary work around is disabling WiFi. It works for most, but not all. Apple is aware of the problem, and is working on a fix right now. It may be in 10.5.7, or it may come as a stand alone software update, but it is in the pipeline as we speak.
 
Well, as I somewhat expected, disabling WiFi and going Ethernet fixed it for me. I have submitted my data into my own survey!
 
It's not wifi...I just got off the phone with apple and the lady said they received reports that some of the 4850s might have been infected with swine flu, causing them to freeze.
 
Ok to catch you up to date. I emailed Tim Cook, the acting CEO of Apple while Steve Jobs is taking some time off. I got a phone call from his team. They had a High Level Tech Support Specialist contact me today and they gave me a program to capture my logs to trace why my freezes have been happening. They are putting a High Priority on it and I should know something within 24-48 hours. I will relay the findings here.

I did ask her a few questions regarding fan control, I see on this site that some of you are installing smc and other software and making your fans go faster to cool down the temperatures. She told me that it is not recommended that you do this, and that is because it will make your fan not last as long as it should for one thing. That alone is good enough for me. I did install istat to monitor some readings. She said that is ok, but they are not 100% accurate. But they will give you some idea of what is going on.

Also did you know that on your 2nd DVD install disk where applications is on there is a Hardware Test program. The instructions on how to use it is on the disk. You can try that if you like. Mine passed ok.

According to this Tech Support Specialist, the Apple Engineers do not have enough data yet and needs to collect as much as they can to figure out the program. So from that I think this will not be a quick fix. We are probably looking at least a month at the earliest to see a fix on this and maybe longer.

This of course is only my opinion and I could be way off. If you get a chance, call your Apple Tech support and tell them that you want to discuss with a High Level Tech Support Agent and give them your logs for the engineers to look over. The more logs they have to review the faster this fix will come. The program they use to capture the logs is called CaptureData81.

It will capture only the crash logs and make a DMG file in which you will upload to send by email back to the Support Agent. If you want a faster fix, then do this today. Contact Apple Support and tell them that you want the CaptureData81 program and that you want to give them your logs for the Apple Engineers to review. The more logs they have the faster we will get rid of these lockups. Hope this helps.
__________________
 
Just received my 2.93 ATI iMac yesterday. I've got an ethernet wire at my desk, so I just plugged it in and disabled wifi. No problems whatsoever, but I must admit I'm a little scared to turn on wifi. But as I don't need it, I'm fine =)
 
WizardHunt said:
Ok to catch you up to date. I emailed Tim Cook, the acting CEO of Apple while Steve Jobs is taking some time off. I got a phone call from his team. They had a High Level Tech Support Specialist contact me today and they gave me a program to capture my logs to trace why my freezes have been happening. They are putting a High Priority on it and I should know something within 24-48 hours. I will relay the findings here.

*snip*
Click to expand...

Thank you for the update. I haven't contacted them yet but I will once I actually have time to write a meaningful email. I think the process they walked you through is what they should be telling all their tech support staff re: 4850 lockups. That way people don't just keep getting replacements that don't work. Then again, maybe they're studying the ones that people have sent back.
 
WizardHunt said:
Ok to catch you up to date. I emailed Tim Cook, the acting CEO of Apple while Steve Jobs is taking some time off. I got a phone call from his team. They had a High Level Tech Support Specialist contact me today and they gave me a program to capture my logs to trace why my freezes have been happening. They are putting a High Priority on it and I should know something within 24-48 hours. I will relay
....etc.
__________________
Click to expand...

Thanks for the update WizardHunt. It's good to know they are working on a fix. Please keep us updated if you have more news regarding the iMac freezing issues. For the mean time, people who uses wifi to connect should probably run a long cat5/6 cable and disable wifi to stop it from locking up. Having the computer freezing then force shutting down holding the power button is not the best thing to do to it. Stuff can get corrupted and not good for your hard drive too. :eek:
 
hh83917 said:
Thanks for the update WizardHunt. It's good to know they are working on a fix. Please keep us updated if you have more news regarding the iMac freezing issues. For the mean time, people who uses wifi to connect should probably run a long cat5/6 cable and disable wifi to stop it from locking up. Having the computer freezing then force shutting down holding the power button is not the best thing to do to it. Stuff can get corrupted and not good for your hard drive too. :eek:
Click to expand...

Glad to do it. I just hope people that are getting these lock ups do in fact contact Apple Support and ask for the CaptureData81 program and upload their crash logs to the Tech Support Dept so they can get them over to the Apple Engineers and they can get on this problem quickly and knock out this problem once and for all. Don't you Agree?
 
Been a while since I posted about mine - 2.93 4mb. Lots of freezes first weekend until I killed the wifi, not one freeze since, and no fan control installed (tried it, too noisy - I'm a musician). Anyway, following Wizardhunt's post re. the hardware test I thought "ooh ok, might as well run that". Restarted from the DVD. Locked up halfway through the test - presumably the sneaky thing had re-enabled wifi on restart.... I did get through it on a second try, nothing wrong according to the app.

So it's back to normal wired use for me!
 
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