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TerryJ · Apr 3, 2006, 12:34 PM

Hey everybody,

I am dealing with an iMac G3/350/128/10 that keeps freezing up with an empty window on the screen with a small '>' in the upper left hand corner. The machine is running 9.2.2 with just the basic software other than AOL. It has a completely clean OS install, ran Disk Warrior to clean up the drive. I ran AHT and it frome during one of the RAM tests so I swapped out known good memory and thought the problem may have been solved, but after a few days, it is now doing it again. To describe the conditions... you can just be using the machine as normal, no particular application or process when it freezes. In the middle of the screen, an empty white box/window will appear and the pointer freezes and the machine will not take any input from the keyboard. The only way to shut it down is by pulling the cord as it does not respond to holding the power button for 30+ seconds. An aside... the machine did take a lightning hit a few years ago which took out the nodem. The modem was replaced and all has been just fine until recently when this issue started but again, the iMac ran perfectly for a couple years after that repair before this freeze issue started.

If anybody has any ideas or suggestions, please let me know!

TerryJ · Apr 3, 2006, 12:35 PM

Hey everybody,

I am dealing with an iMac G3/350/128/10 that keeps freezing up with an empty window on the screen with a small '>' in the upper left hand corner. The machine is running 9.2.2 with just the basic software other than AOL. It has a completely clean OS install, ran Disk Warrior to clean up the drive. I ran AHT and it frome during one of the RAM tests so I swapped out known good memory and thought the problem may have been solved, but after a few days, it is now doing it again. To describe the conditions... you can just be using the machine as normal, no particular application or process when it freezes. In the middle of the screen, an empty white box/window will appear and the pointer freezes and the machine will not take any input from the keyboard. The only way to shut it down is by pulling the cord as it does not respond to holding the power button for 30+ seconds. An aside... the machine did take a lightning hit a few years ago which took out the nodem. The modem was replaced and all has been just fine until recently when this issue started but again, the iMac ran perfectly for a couple years after that repair before this freeze issue started.

If anybody has any ideas or suggestions, please let me know!

Big Mac · Apr 3, 2006, 01:18 PM

Yeah, that's the programmer's box a.k.a. minibug. It appears when the OS freezes hard (or when it's manually invoked). If you install MacsBug you may be able to find out a bit more about what is freezing the system, but then again you may not. You may want to get rid of AOL to see if it's the cause, but I doubt that's the problem. You've done the right thing by doing a clean install and investigating the RAM, so it's troubling that you're still having problems. The next thing to do would be to zero the drive and reinstall. I once had a chronic problem with my LC that was fixed only after I formatted its drive.

TerryJ · Apr 3, 2006, 01:40 PM

Thanks Mig Mac!

I'll give MacsBug a try and I'll probably go ahead and do a zero format on the drive as well to be sure then see where we end up.

Thanks again, I appreciate your time and attention!

kick52 · Apr 8, 2006, 02:02 PM

try booting in to the open firmware and typing

reset all

i think that is it.