Random freezing problem....need some serious help here! TonyMac suggested build

[mikod17]

[RESOLVED - CRUCIAL M4 SSD was culprit] Random freezing problem....need some serious help here! TonyMac suggested build

GA-Z68XP-UD3, i7 2600K OC'ed to 4.1, 8 GB 1600 MHz ram.

System boots fine, problem exists with my Gigabyte 6870 card or using the build-in graphics. I'll be working along when all the sudden the system will freeze with a spinning pinwheel. Weird thing is that the clock stays current, music still plays, and back ground processes seem to continue (not sure if I can still receive IMs though). Have tried unplugging all HDDs and DVD drive except boot drive. Removed one stick of RAM at a time, stock CPU speed. Only thing I have not done is updated the BIOS to the current version (currently F6, F10 is available). Tried upgrading it, but BIOS wouldn't recognize the data on a thumb drive.

Any thoughts? Other suggestions for troubleshooting? Problem started when I was running 10.7. This was the primary reason I upgraded to 10.8. Clean install. Did a second clean install to 10.8.1. Everything went smoothly. Really frustrated here. Have to do a hard reboot every time. No apparent kernel panics etc.

Built system off TonyMac's recommended hardware in Dec of 2011. Ran fine until last month. Very stable before.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Chipsybg]

I think that your video card freezes somehow, did you set AtiPorts and AtiConfig in Chameleon boot.plist?
I would research what works for your card and add it to the .plist.
I had similar problem with my 6850, but it was fixed with AtiPorts=4 and AtiConfig=Lotus (yours would be different). Now it works great!

 

[mikod17]

I eliminated the video card all together by removing it and using only the Intel 3000 graphics built in. Same problem as before. Seems to be within 3 min of start up and a couple hours.

 

[ovb1]

USB 3 kexts installed? Remove em if you have installed them? They caused me freezes.

 

[mikod17]

No USB 3.0 kexts installed. Couldn't get them to work and have no 3.0 devices so never bothered reinstalling them

 

[mikod17]

I tried booting in safe mode as well and still had a random freeze multiple times. Does that eliminate any potential kext problems? Still new to troubleshooting all this stuff.

-Michael

 

[tom.humphrey]

Interesting, I've been having something similar whilst running off HD4000 graphics.

I've just put my 6870 in as my computer wasn't even posting after a few days of this happening and now seems to be working fine, However I'm minus HD4000.

I really don't know what's causing it at all.

 

[mikod17]

It's frustrating because I feel that it might just be hardware related. Thinking about getting the MB RMA'ed and hoping that fixes the problem.

 

[RMJ114]

I wouldn't try RMAing anything unless you know for sure that is the problem. Otherwise you'll just give yourself even more grief.

Also, try to be more descriptive of these freezes. What programs were running and any error messages, etc...

what configurations you used to install OS X and options used in MultiBeast.

Update your profile to list which 6870 you use. Post model number as each manufacturer make several 6870s.

undo your overclock until all is stable and working fine.

Also, try other operating systems to test for stability. You can download boot CDs of many linux systems. Ubuntu is a good supported system to test with, also installing windows is a good place to start if you have an install disk. otherwise you can download free trial versions.

Here's Microsoft's Technet Evaluation Center:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/bb291020.aspx

Ubuntu download.
http://www.ubuntu.com/

Use 12.04.1 LTS as it's most stable.

Luck
-=Mark=-
Sometimes I have to switch USB ports for BIOS to recognize my flash drive. Also, try a different one as some are picky about the flash drive used.

 

[tom.humphrey]

I've been wondering if it is a CPU issue, as it has happened to me across two mobos which I was both using HD 4000, and now has been fixed since going back to my graphics card.


Have you tried using a different PCI Lane for your graphics card?