My Precious G4 Is In Trouble, Freezes, craches... Options

[add9]

Hi all!
I don't know what to do.
My G4 733 has been running like a tractor for nearly a year, but the last few days it seems to be in trouble
It freezes for no reason at all, it seems. It doesn't matter if I'm in Logic or in Netscape... I get a bus and an address error.
First I thought that maybe I don't have enough RAM (384) but now I think that it is maybe my USB hub that is the problem.
When it freeze I have tried to reconnect the USB hub and then it seems to be working again. Is it bad to reconnect the hub? Could I damage anything? And are there someone else out there who has a similar problem?
This is a terrible situation

[charlieb]

You most likely already did this but:
1. Zap the Pram
2. Rebuild the desktop/
3. Run Norton Disk doctor or something similar from another partition or outside source so that you are not using your start-up system.
4. When was the last time you installed something new? If it was within a few days of your problem occurring, try uninstalling and see what happens.

cb

[charlieb]

And, as far as I know, you are NOT supposed to plug any USB device in or out while the computer is on.

cb

[aladinsane]

Actually, as far as I know, USB can be plugged in and out without shutting down (that's the beauty of it - unlike, say, SCSI). Anyway, you can't damage the computer by plugging or unplugging a USB device while it's on. However, there are USB devices that need to be plugged at startup time in order to work correctly.

[Bart S.]

Just like Aladin said, USB devices CAN be plugged and unplugged without trouble.
As far as the Hub is concerned, what brand and model is it?... Many brands (more dedicated to PCs in the first place) are known to be very unreliable and a major cause for crashes. I personnaly bought an Adaptec XHub4 which is said to be very reliable and which indeed as worked without a glitch on my G4.

[charlieb]

Just like Aladin said, USB devices CAN be plugged and unplugged without trouble.

Thanks for this guys, and sorry for the mislead. I thought that only Firewire was hot swappable.

[add9]

Thanks guys
I have done all charlieb....but it still chrashes
I talked to the man in the shop who have sold me the Mac and Motu ect. and he says that it CAN be the hub, but I need to get an other to see if it gets better. He also said that there is no harm in reconnect the USB hub or cables when the Mac is running. Still don't feel safe...

I haven't done any installing of anything lately...



I can't live without my Mac

[holli]

From time to time, system files do get damaged and it's a royal pain to find the culprits. Given your system ran before this is most likely the case. In this instance and to save yourself alot of bother, reinstall a new OS. Not as drastic as it sounds! Just boot from your cd and move the System, app and docs to a new folder. Install a brand spanking new OS and then gradually move the prefs and extensions back over as you need them. Works every time! I always keep my backup for a few weeks to make sure I keep all the things I need. Just a thought xx

[gdoubleyou]

Could be several reasons for your problem.

If you are in OS9 try trashing the finder preferences. You can put it on your desktop and reboot. Another prefernce file will be created.

To troubleshoot connect the hub with no devices attached, and observe the performance. Add devices one at a time. If the problem is still there, check your USB cables one at a time.

Also use something like Nortons, Tech Tool Pro, or Disk Warrier.

[add9]

It is the USB hub! My mac has been working well for a hole day now. I reconnected the hub and use only the two USB output from the mac
I need those two for the midi interface and the keyboard. The MOTU is firewire connected. I just switch the output when I need to use the printer, scanner etc.
I am happy again. This is a good start of a new year

Thank you for listening to me when I was in despair... Now I know that a hub can't be trusted even if it is a expensive one