Mac OS X 10.5.7 and iMac Lock-Ups

Ever since I installed the OS X 10.5.7 update my iMac has been completely freezing up after a few hours of use, and I’m not the only one as indicated by this thread. Some people were able to fix the problem with some of the recommended solutions, but like Jeff Zeldman I was unable to get them to work for me and OS X 10.5.7 remained nearly unusable` for me.

I had upgraded my MacBook without incident although I was not able to test it for very long since soon after it lost it’s battle with coffee. I also didn’t have a problem with my Mac Mini. Both of those were updated through software update. Since the update was so large I decided to download the file and run it manually on my iMac. It didn’t help. Within two hours of the update my first lockup occurred. I should point out that by the time I got around t0 OS X 10.5.7 there were a bunch of additional updates. I did the OS X 10.5.7 first, from the combo updater and did some minor testing. Then I did the updates that didn’t require a reboot followed by those that did, all through software update.

Luckily I had put off updating my iMac since I didn’t have time to deal with any problems and didn’t want to take a chance. Well, today I had enough and I’m in the process of flattening my iMac and re-installing everything from scratch. Something I hoped to put off until my Snow Leopard update in September.

I realize that every software vendor has problems at times. But I switched from Microsoft to Apple back when it seemed I was spending more time keeping my Windows machines running than actually using them. In thinking about this I’ve noticed a bit of change in my attitude. My Windows PCs, with one exception, are now all set to apply updates from Microsoft automatically without needing my approval. That one exception is the Windows 7 PC I’m using now. That one is set to notify me but I routinely apply the patches the same day I’m notified. For my iMac I now hold off applying updates until I have the time I may need to recover. Granted, there’s a difference in priorities. My Windows PCs are expendable as I us most for testing and playing but it would still be a hassle to recover from a crash. While my iMac is used daily.

I’m definitely at a low point in my Mac love, but I have to wonder if it’s time to reconsider Windows for my primary machine and move the Mac to special cases. If the rebuild goes well and things just work I may look back on this and wonder what I was thinking. Or, Windows 7 could be my future.