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I only have a Wacom, Bose USB speakers and the standard apple keyboard attached. I removed all of these apart from the keyboard, and the system still crashes.

RAM is the most common cause of panics. It can be very intermittent. Run a test on it like memtest. Allow it to run, this takes a long while. Sometimes you will get panics during the test, so the best advice is to put in the minimum RAM and run it on each stick.

Good luck
 
This issue will be as hard as you make it to solve.

Remove RAM one at a time.

Try different OS install via firewire or additional SATA drive.

Switch parts with similar MP that doesn't have problems.

Problem is 1 piece, when it is removed, problem stops.
 
Safe boot is worth to try as well. Do you have another graphics card to test? If you still have stock GT120, it can be its time...
 
Thanks for so much feedback. I have tried doing the ram tests on each chip - they all come back fine. I have also been through and removed pairs of ram. I thought i'd found two sets of faulty ram - but then the two that i hadn't experienced a crash with - then crashed. It's incredibly frustrating.

The Graphics card has been upgraded.
 
remove things one at a time until crashes stop

Do this.

The very random nature of the crashing suggest hardware in origin.

Is there any pattern at all? Heat related, power related, a nebulous 'load related'.

If the MP had been the 1,1 model, there'd have been knowing looks and fingers pointing straight at the power supply as the culprit for the crash fest.

I don't know if you're able to google up an appropriate AHT disk (Apple Hardware Test) - if memory serves, in the era of your machine, Applecare came with a test disk appropriate to your machine, if you took out Applecare/can find the disk! :) I've no idea where mine is btw!
 
Had similar problems a while ago with a 3,1

RAM was good - checked everything I could...... days went by.

Video card was the culprit ... very random and intermittent.

Had to buy a new GTX120 at the time IIRC

Can't remember what the original card was but it was "known" to fail.
( was bright red and looked like an F1 race car )
All good since :)

Follow the advice, you will find the culprit.

M.
 
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