[OS X TeX] Off topic: system stablitity

[Richard Seguin]

On Jun 21, 2009, at 2:05 PM, David Watson wrote:

> On Jun 21, 2009, at 10:15 AM, George Gratzer wrote:
>
>> Even though I reinstalled the system with wipe disk, it is much  
>> more unstable than ever before since the introduction of OS X. Now  
>> I work with the Force Quit Application window open all the time.
>>
>
> GG,
>
> If you are experiencing instabilities that you are unaccustomed to,  
> I would immediately suspect a problem with your hardware.
> I have never had problem with system memory, but faulty memory can  
> cause the sorts of problems you are experiencing.
>
> Much more likely, however, is the chance that the hard drive that  
> your system resides on is experiencing problems.
> Between the computers I use, and the systems I feel responsible for  
> at work, there have been around five hard drive failures within the  
> past year and a half.
> This type of failure does not correlate with operating system or  
> architecture.
>
> A last possibility is the dreaded "bad cap" problem is more easily  
> diagnosed, as it would require that the hardware you are using is  
> 2-5 years old.
> You would know about this problem as there would have been a  
> warranty extension program from Apple for your system.
>
> Good luck with your problem.
>
> It would be helpful if you would let us know which operating system  
> version and hardware you are using.
>

I would also suspect a hard disk that is getting flakey. This happened  
to me recently, and it had to be replaced on a Santa Rosa MPB. Also,  
bad RAM or RAM that is badly seated can cause unusual problems.

Richard Séguin