[salchicharey]

the 4 yr old iMac is frozen at the desk top and will not respond. too much we surfing led to this. is there a reset that will not destroy files in hard drive?

[seanc]

What iMac do you have? Does restarting the Mac fix the problem?

Also this is in the wrong forum, i'll move it.

[Big Mac]

Welcome to MacNN. It's not your fault that your Mac isn't working properly, and too much web surfing did not harm it. With older computers that haven't gotten enough routine system maintenance, problems like the one you're describing will occur. You probably have some amount of drive damage that could be corrected with a utility like Disk Warrior. Reinstalling the OS by doing an "Archive and Install" can also fix many common problems.

[SirCastor]

Boot up from your install CD and see if the Hard Drive needs repair (You should be able to access disk utilities from one of the menus.) If you repair a disc, or there's nothing to fix, Do as Big Mac recommends and do an Archive and Install. This will preserve your data while giving you a fresh OS installation.