[SeaKayaker]

My wife's Mac Pro is freezing temporarily and occasionally has to be rebooted because it just locks up.

We bought the machine in early 2008. It is a Mac Pro with the following spec's:

Model Name: Mac Pro
Model Identifier: MacPro1,1
Processor Name: Dual-Core Intel Xeon
Processor Speed: 2.66 GHz
Number Of Processors: 2
Total Number Of Cores: 4
L2 Cache (per processor): 4 MB
Memory: 1 GB
Bus Speed: 1.33 GHz
Boot ROM Version: MP11.005D.B00

The OS version is 10.5.5

We are running dual monitors; one 19" CRT and a 22" LCD.

I realize that 1 GB of RAM is a bit on the low side these days but we have had no problem with the machine until about 2-3 weeks ago.

We are running Firefox, Adobe CS 3, MS Excel 2004, Entourage, etc.

Starting about 2-3 weeks ago we are finding that the cursor will just freeze somewhere on the screen.
There does not seem to be any correlation to which application window is in the foreground.

In most cases, if one waits a minute or so we get control of the cursor back and the machine will work normally until the next freeze. I may be fooling myself but I think I hear disk activity during the period that the cursor is frozen. (As far as I can tell, we have lots of space left on the 500 GB drive).

Occasionally, we cannot get control of the frozen cursor and we have to reboot the machine... And very occasionally, we have to completely disconnect the machine from the AC power.

Any suggestions or ideas on what might be wrong and how to fix it would be welcome.

[TheCybologist]

I am experiencing the exact same freezing problem. The more I use the finder the more it freezes. I too am running the machine with dual monitors.

I noticed some ghosting on the screen too. I am beginning to wonder if it is a Video issue

I have replaced the HD, ReInstalled the OS, Changed the Ram...nothing works.

I also have noticed if the Finder Window I move around to try to get it to crash is a Window from a network volume I get the Screen Ghosting right away.

[SeaKayaker]

At this point, we can only run if we Safe Boot (hold the shift key down).

I shut it down, checked that the video card wasn't covered with dust... Reseated it and checked that the video cables were well plugged in... And I disconnected one of the monitors.

Unfortunately that did not solve the problem. We can only run is Safe Boot.

I ordered an additional 4 GB of RAM which should arrive today or tomorrow.

I also went to the Apple Store to see if they had any suggestions. The guy I spoke with at the Apple Store figures it is bad RAM and suggested that I take out the original 1 GB and replace it with the new 4 GB and see if that solves the problem. If that doesn't do it, I will take it back to the Apple Store and see if they can figure anything out.

[Bwa]

If you have an ATI X1900 video card, I'd start there--I believe a lot of those were known to be bad.

If you don't, read on:

This could be almost anything, but one thing that's easy to check is to see if you have any ECC errors. The ECC count will be reset on every reboot, so if you don't see any initially, check again after the computer has been running for a while.

Look in the System Profiler > Hardware > Memory (you can get to the System Profiler via Apple Menu > About This Mac > More Info).

In the table, the rightmost column 'Status' will show 'ECC errors'. Click on the DIMM that has some, if you have any, and the lower part of the window shows the number of correctable errors.

There are two types of ECC errors: Correctable and uncorrectable. If the DIMM doesn't correct the error, the OS "should" hang to avoid corrupting data. A lot of correctable errors is "ok" but it's also a warning that you may experience an uncorrectable error.

If you have a bad DIMM, try to get a replacement from the retailer or vendor. Since you said you have 1 GB, I assume this is Apple memory. Call Apple.

There might be a hardware test you can run that came with the computer CDs. I've never needed it so I've never looked for it. I'm sure others can comment on this.

[SeaKayaker]

Thanks for the tip on the ECC errors, I will check that out.

The card is the NVidia GeForce 7300 GT which was the default choice when we bought our Mac Pro.

I have heard of problems with other video cards but not with the GeForce 7300.

The chap at the Apple Store didn't think the video card was the problem, he suspected the RAM.

[Bwa]

Ah. Well, if it is the RAM, that's "good" in that it's easy to replace and you won't lose any data in replacing it. Good luck!

[interplas]

Make sure that you have closed all unneccessary fonts. If you are using font book or Extensis Suitcase, close all fonts. See if that works.

[interplas]

whoops, forgot to mention to restart your programs you are using after you do that.

[dimmer]

It's not freezing, it's just happy to see you...

[SeaKayaker]

The freezing problem got worse and worse inspite of everything I tried (I applied the 10.5.5 combo update, I tried DiskWarrior, we replaced the RAM, etc.). Eventually the only way we could get the machine up was by using Safe Boot.

The machine was still under warranty so I took it over to our local Apple Store and had them take a look at it. They felt it was a hardware problem and that replacing the logic board would fix it. Five days later they had replaced just about everything in the machine and it was still having problems. So they gave us a new machine and swapped over our two 500 GB hard drives. And the new machine was an 8 core instead of 4 core, 2.8 MHz cpu instead of 2.66 MHz, and they threw in 4 GB of RAM since the 4 GB I'd bought for the old machine was too slow for the new machine. And they extended the warranty for another year.

I am still disappointed that the original Mac Pro died so definitively after less than a year. And the last month or so as the old machined died and we tried desperately to fix it was very painful.

But the Apple Care guys definitely went the extra mile to resolve the situation satisfactorily.

[Big Mac]

Freak occurrences do happen. If it's any consolation, SeaKayaker, the Mac Pro line appears to produce substantially fewer major owner complaints than the G4 or the G5 lines the preceded it, if the anecdotal reports on this forum are any indication. (And even I can admit that, even though I'm a PowerPC zealot.)