[tpicco]

In the last week, for the first time since I got my G4 iMac last year, this warning has popped up on my screen:

You Need To Restart Your Computer

...and it is restated in several languages. So I restart it, and everything seems to work fine.

It happened for the second time five minutes ago. Why does this happen?

Some comments about my iMac:

It's 80GB, and it's slowly filling up. Only 22GB left.

I am running OSX 10.2.8

I got a 40GB iPod for Xmas, and this has only happened when the iPod was connected, though I'm not sure the iPod has anything to do with it.

I have had several programs open at once when it told me to restart: Quark 6, Photoshop, Acrobat, Firefox, Word, iTunes, AOL Messenger & Mail... maybe even Fetch in Classic 9...

Incidentally, I have not defragged the drive since I got it.

Any thoughts?

[larkost]

This is a kernel panic, it means that the lowest level part of the OS encountered a problem that it could not recover from. The usual causes for this are: bad ram, something going wrong with a peripheral or its driver, and haxies.

You don't mention if you have added any hardware recently other than the iPod, so that would be something to look into. I don't tend to suspect the iPod, but it is possible, and there are also the cables to think of, a single bad cable or connection that is almost working could cause this.

Oh, and fragmentation does not tend to be a problem on MacOS X (truth be told it is not the problem people make it out to be on Windows either). It is even less of one on 10.3.

[tpicco]

The iPod is the only new hardware. Everything else was bought when the iMac was... No cables have shifted or even been touched...

What can I do about "bad ram," if that's what it is?

What is a "haxie?"

Is there a risk of "losing everything" due to a kernal panic episode?

[tpicco]

OK... I googles the term and am investigating the whole "kernal panic" thing at apple.com

[discotronic]

I recently had a string of kernal panics on my iMac G5. It turned out that every time I opened iTunes with my 3G 20GB iPod attached it would happen. I restored the iPod and it took care of the problem.

I've seen kernal panics more often than not as a result of bad RAM. Remove the RAM if possible and run your system. See if you can get the machine to have a kernel panic by opening the same apps and working for a little while. That might not be so easy on the iMac G4 since you can only remove one module easily.

You shouldn't lose anything except maybe unsaved work. Try to restore your iPod and go from there. If it is your iPod and you use a dock, you could try just using the firewire cable without the dock. Let us know what happens.

[tpicco]

Many thanks everyone...

I suspect the iPod now...
I will restore it and give it a go, probably tonight. Both times it occured, the iPod was attached...

I'm a little nervous to mess with the RAM... but will if I have to. Not even sure how to, but I imagine apple.com will have instructions, yes???

I got the iPod at Xmas, took it to the UK, plugged it into a PC, had to reformat it there to use it as a hard drive and do download trade of all of a friend's bootleg mp3 files... (NO copies of commercially released recordings... just live recordings freely traded with no cash exchanging hands!)

then I got home to NYC, uploaded the files to my Mac and re-set the iPod to factory settings about a week ago, and have been loading the iPod with songs the normal way...

[barang]

Attempting to use an external device (Such as a wi-fi card) that is for Windows only almost always causes this error message.

[tpicco]

The only time I contacted a PC was when I downloaded the files in England... His PC iTunes "told" me to reformat my iPod so I could connect with his computer... And after I downloaded the files at home, I reformated the iPod to "factory settings."

Are you saying the iPod was damaged when I reformatted it in the U.K.???

[macaddict0001]

No it wasn't damaged from that, it is most likely not damaged, work for a while with your ipod disconnected if it continues to happen with the ipod connected it is most likely in order of highest chance of that being the problem:
iTunes/ipod software(remedy: reinstall itunes and restore ipod)
mac osx software(remedy: archive and reinstall)
Problem with ipod(remedy: replace ipod)
But this is only true if it only happens with the ipod connected and can be reliably linked to an ipod problem with the system log. If it is not the ipod it is most likely a hardware problem with your imac. Probably ram.

[tpicco]

Well since I first started this thread, kernal panic has occured three more times. Every time, the iPod has been attached. Last time, today, I thought I would plug in the iPod to the computer and let it charge while I puttered around the apartment. I started iTunes playing, and triggered the light show pattern thing 'cause I like seeing it twirl and change. Five minutes later and the kernal panic sign is on...

It certainly seems to be the iPod... and I have already restored it once...

hmmmmm...

[macaddict0001]

Try using a different cable with the ipod, it could be a problem with that.