iMac (alum) and Leopard (Freezing and Other Bugs)

[Spankey]

Let's get feedback on whether or not Leopard has fixed some bugs...

Freezing...

Froze during account setup when the camera came on to take a snapshot for account.

Played Wow and the game runs MUCH better under Leopard than Tiger (with updated gfx drivers), but froze twice. The game will stutter every now and then, but most of the time will continue on.

Video...

Some graphical tears. Probably still video card related.

Overrall, the upgrade is worth it. The OS starts quicker and Cover Flow is awesome.

 

[hankolerd]

good to hear. i wonder how many games are going to benefit from the opengl upgrade. hopefully we will see updates over the next few weeks to fix the bugs.

 

[Bolteh]

So Leopard doesn't fix the freezing?

Well, there goes the main reason why I ordered Leopard -_-

I seriously wonder when Apple/AMD will come up with a fix for this extremely annoying issue.. I'm really getting frustrated here at Apple's attitude towards this very serious issue (the "hmm, let's not tell them anything because they'll stick around anyway because they bought a very expensive machine" attitude)

 

[Spankey]

So Leopard doesn't fix the freezing?

I'll put it this way. Leopard "improves" the freezing. Before I would get stuttering in the video image when logging into WoW. If you know the game, the swirl arount The Dark Portal at login would stutter. Now it is smooth and continuous. When there is a lot of action on screen or the scenery transitions from one to the next there is a stutter.

Not sure if these are Leopard bugs or driver issues. Otherwise, the game plays fantastically.

 

[Bolteh]

I play WoW and I've never had any stuttering. It runs mighty fast now (had to turn off the shader effects though, since those cause faster freezing)..

 

[kkat69]

Graphics fix is still in the work. It was never stated it would be fixed under leopard. People speculated and witch-hunt mentality that it would.

A fix is still being worked on.

 

[RRK]

"hmm, let's not tell them anything because they'll stick around anyway because they bought a very expensive machine"

What do you mean.

“We are tracking down the root cause of this bug, and will issue a software update which corrects it as soon as we can — most likely later this month,” the company spokesperson said. “We apologize for the inconvenience.”

 

[Spankey]

Graphics fix is still in the work. It was never stated it would be fixed under leopard. People speculated and witch-hunt mentality that it would.

A fix is still being worked on.

I never expected it to, but the improvements I saw were a nice surprise. I'm thinking that a true fix will really impress. Leopard is more of an upgrade for what's under the hood.

 

[Mindflux]

I'll put it this way. Leopard "improves" the freezing. Before I would get stuttering in the video image when logging into WoW. If you know the game, the swirl arount The Dark Portal at login would stutter. Now it is smooth and continuous. When there is a lot of action on screen or the scenery transitions from one to the next there is a stutter.

Not sure if these are Leopard bugs or driver issues. Otherwise, the game plays fantastically.

They're too busy with the Leopard launch and the 10.4.11 update. Simmer down.

 

[atthecross]

What do you mean.

“We are tracking down the root cause of this bug, and will issue a software update which corrects it as soon as we can — most likely later this month,” the company spokesperson said. “We apologize for the inconvenience.”

They admitted it after several weeks of being told by users on the apple forum that there was a problem. But before admitting there was a real problem they started deleted many post (mine included) relating to the freezing problem and denied there was a problem.

 

[RRK]

They admitted it after several weeks of being told by users on the apple forum that there was a problem. But before admitting there was a real problem they started deleted many post (mine included) relating to the freezing problem and denied there was a problem.

But you said:

I seriously wonder when Apple/AMD will come up with a fix for this extremely annoying issue.. I'm really getting frustrated here at Apple's attitude towards this very serious issue (the "hmm, let's not tell them anything because they'll stick around anyway because they bought a very expensive machine" attitude)

...which I think Apple has answered. Apple reps are never going to tell you anything that is not the official company stance so they have to wait until Apple can figure out what is going on and come up with a statement. Which they did.

 

[flopticalcube]

Sad to hear that the problem has yet to be resolved. Apple software is leaving a sour taste in my mouth recently (iMac freezing, MacBook 10.4.10 AirPort dropouts and AEBS 7.2.1 firmware). Let's hope that fixes are in the works soon now that Leopard is out the door. The freezing issue is particularly annoying as it interrupts the workflow.

 

[Mundy]

I understand why everyone is frustrated with this problem, but sometimes issues like this aren't as easy to fix as we might wish. Furthermore, it is likely that Apple can only fix this problem to the extent that ATI gets things straightened out on their end. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if ATI only had a couple of driver programmers on the Mac side, and even after they "fix" the issue, Apple still has to test the new drivers rigorously to make sure that the problem has truly been remedied.

According to the latest shareholder conference call, Apple's sales of iMac computers was way up last quarter. They know it is in their best interest to get this issue fixed. Have a little (more) patience.

 

[flopticalcube]

Actually, I disagree. The madder we get and the louder we yell at Apple, the quicker things will get fixed. The squeeky wheel....

 

[Mundy]

Actually, I disagree. The madder we get and the louder we yell at Apple, the quicker things will get fixed. The squeeky wheel....

I doubt that ATI is going to hire more driver programmers because you're screaming at Apple.

 

[kkat69]

The freezing and graphical issues are being worked on. Apple is hard at work.

As someone said simma-down. Believe me they ARE working on it.

 

[Bolteh]

In the meantime, hundreds of people should stay quiet while they can't do any schoolwork, any freelance work, or just their job in general? Hell! People can't even use their machine for entertainment.. Even watching a DVD freezes the machine, and believe me, getting up 5 times in a row during a movie just to hardboot the system isn't all that fun..

These issues have been here since the release of the new iMac, nearly 3 months ago. It took Apple 2 months to even aknowledge that there's an issue, let alone fix the damn thing. And believe me, they might be working on a fix right now, and I will be very happy when they release it (but it won't be this month, mark my words), but it'll be 3 months (or more) too late.

Now, don't get me wrong. I love the new iMac when it doesn't freeze, and I don't hate Apple for this. But it really is a slap in the face after reading and hearing all these positive reviews of Apple products, and Apple's ignorance regarding this issue isn't really helping either.

 

[kkat69]

In the meantime, hundreds of people should stay quiet while they can't do any schoolwork, any freelance work, or just their job in general? Hell! People can't even use their machine for entertainment.. Even watching a DVD freezes the machine, and believe me, getting up 5 times in a row during a movie just to hardboot the system isn't all that fun..

These issues have been here since the release of the new iMac, nearly 3 months ago. It took Apple 2 months to even aknowledge that there's an issue, let alone fix the damn thing. And believe me, they might be working on a fix right now, and I will be very happy when they release it (but it won't be this month, mark my words), but it'll be 3 months (or more) too late.

Now, don't get me wrong. I love the new iMac when it doesn't freeze, and I don't hate Apple for this. But it really is a slap in the face after reading and hearing all these positive reviews of Apple products, and Apple's ignorance regarding this issue isn't really helping either.

They know all this. They're trying to resolve the issue. I suffer as well and pissing and moaning now ain't gonna do any good. It did bring it to more light and now that they have admitted it. All we CAN do is just what you said, sit back and wait. It IS is work, they goofed up from the start, would you rather them goof up again by pushing it out to soon and incomplete to give you something more to complain about (not referring to you in particular but the masses) or try to fix it right this time.

I for one would prefer the latter. Only thing I can legally say is it's in work. So let's just be patient. I am a programmer as well so I know these things take time. If they rush, something will get overlooked (as it probably did the first time).

 

[RRK]

In the meantime, hundreds of people should stay quiet while they can't do any schoolwork, any freelance work, or just their job in general? Hell! People can't even use their machine for entertainment.. Even watching a DVD freezes the machine, and believe me, getting up 5 times in a row during a movie just to hardboot the system isn't all that fun..

These issues have been here since the release of the new iMac, nearly 3 months ago. It took Apple 2 months to even aknowledge that there's an issue, let alone fix the damn thing. And believe me, they might be working on a fix right now, and I will be very happy when they release it (but it won't be this month, mark my words), but it'll be 3 months (or more) too late.

Now, don't get me wrong. I love the new iMac when it doesn't freeze, and I don't hate Apple for this. But it really is a slap in the face after reading and hearing all these positive reviews of Apple products, and Apple's ignorance regarding this issue isn't really helping either.

Wow, my new 2.8 doesn't do any of that. I froze once before the 1.1.1 update when exiting Doom 3. I turned the fans up a little and haven't had a problem since. Though the power supply and GFX chip get pretty hot sometimes. I watched Transformers a few days ago and I have been playing Doom 3 and the Sims 2 since I got the machine. I have used the new iLife and iWork with no freezing issues.

 

[Bolteh]

Well, the thing is: My iMac can run for days without freezing, then all of the sudden it can freeze for no reason at all, I hardboot, then it will usually freeze again shortly after, and do that again for about 3 to 4 boots, then the machine can run for a few days again untill it freezes again for a couple of times. Rinse and repeat..

So it isn't all that bad, but if that freezing occurs during a schooltask or a job or even watching a movie, it sure ticks me off.


PS: last freeze I had was yesterday (again for 4 times in a row)

 

[Mindflux]

Well, the thing is: My iMac can run for days without freezing, then all of the sudden it can freeze for no reason at all, I hardboot, then it will usually freeze again shortly after, and do that again for about 3 to 4 boots, then the machine can run for a few days again untill it freezes again for a couple of times. Rinse and repeat..

So it isn't all that bad, but if that freezing occurs during a schooltask or a job or even watching a movie, it sure ticks me off.


PS: last freeze I had was yesterday (again for 4 times in a row)

Try a full power down and not just a soft reboot?

Have you checked your fan speeds/processor temps?

 

[powerbook911]

My iMac also freezes periodically, but I can sometimes go 3-4 weeks, without it happening.

Honestly, it doesn't happen much more than it did on my previous iMac. Now, my Powerbook never freezes, but I never have it on more than 4 hours either.

 

[Bolteh]

I always do a full power down when it freezes, and like I said, it freezes without any reason. Sometimes it freezes when my machine is running at 41°c, sometimes at 28°c.. But It never really goes higher than 45°c anyway, and last time I checked, that's far from critical.

 

[RRK]

I always do a full power down when it freezes, and like I said, it freezes without any reason. Sometimes it freezes when my machine is running at 41°c, sometimes at 28°c.. But It never really goes higher than 45°c anyway, and last time I checked, that's far from critical.

Is that your Ambient temp.? My Ambient is currently 26º but my highest sensor is at 62º and sometimes the power supply can get up to 83º. Before I bumped up my fans I was seeing mid 90s sometimes.

 

[Bolteh]

It's the temp shown with SMCFanControl, so ye, I guess that's overall temp.