Computer tharn, cpu

I don't know anything about Mac's at all but I hope he can fix it for you!

Hi, jcboy, sorry to have missed your response.
I've searched around and the cursor dancing and bell ringing business seem to be attributed to the cpu (that means hard drive, right?). Some sort of whappo between the cpu and the mouse.

I thought this was all also related to my ongoing stuff with adobe flash, since my mac also gets upset if I open two sports pages at once - but not inevitably, more like once in a while. But now I don't have adobe flash at all (another story) and that hasn't remedied the dancing ringing wah whah.

I've started trying to do more with my arrow keys and less with the cursor, curse it. The computer acting up is random, but cursor involved. Have ordered another mouse, so we'll see if that is the magic bullet.

I'm not a computer expert but I know it's called the central processing unit, I don't think its a hard drive, I thoght it was a chip on the mother board?

Good to know if true, as my mac guru person (whom I haven't talked with yet, money involved) said my motherboard was fine not long ago. I got the cpu thing by reading about other people complaining about cursors jumping to distant points on the screen, and that was one or more person's surmise.

Mine does more than jump, it goes gah gah, followed by noise unless I quick shut the mac down... which is what it used to do before I took it to a mac place in 2009, where the guy replaced the hard drive.

Presently, it's only beginning gah gah.

I'm nursing baby mac along until I see if a new mouse helps.

What kind of mac do you have? Which operating system is on it?

One of the first things to do with a Mac when it's acting up is zap the pram.
http://www.technipages.com/mac-os-x-leopard-reset-or-zap-pram.html
You may need to find directions for your specific version of OS.

The other thing is to blow all the dust out of the computer. Heat can create problems and dust causes heat to build up. Use a can of compressed air, open the computer and make the dust fly.
Don't use a vacuum in the computer as it will cause static electricity which is very bad for computers.

Parados, nice to see you. I have an iMac I bought in early 2006, presently OS 10.6.8

Model Name: iMac
Model Identifier: iMac4,1
Processor Name: Intel Core Duo
Processor Speed: 1.83 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 2 MB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 667 MHz
Boot ROM Version: IM41.0055.B08
SMC Version (system): 1.1f5
Serial Number (system): QP61102EU2R
Hardware UUID: 00000000-0000-1000-8000-0016CB87DEFD

and not, I gather, able to be further upgraded from this. The memory was replaced recently.


I considered heat - it's hot here much of the time, though the house usually doesn't get about 85, and sandy, and I keep it on sleep. Didn't know if heat was going on as it looks like a closed system, while the house is a sand castle.

I'll listen and do the zap the pram thing (never heard of it) and go after dust. Will let you know - will do this over the weekend. Thanks for the advice - told nice and simply.

Should I do one of those before the other?

I'll do the dust thing first. This bell stuff is shutdown warning, pre black.

Shutdown warning probably means something is getting an error message that could cause problems. Most likely culprits are probably a heat issue or an issue with memory. I haven't dealt much with the imacs but this widget could help pinpoint if it's a heat issue.
http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/status/temperaturemonitorwidgetedition.html

Some other things to try. Run the apple hardware test. That will at least help eliminate some of the hardware from the likely culprit.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1509

You can also try resetting the SMC
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964

Thank you. This gives me a roadmap for checking it out.

Parados - update to that things are much better lately, by what forces I'm not quite sure.
Much better since I nixed adobe flash and its upgrades I cannot achieve due to the age of my computer.
Better since I did the vacuum thing - but I'm not done yet. I bought compressed air and as I was just about to use it read that you shouldn't tilt the can. Criminy, it was tilted as I read that. Plus I'm inconclusive on which of the three vents I should direct the compressed air while not tilting it (there is an extender bit).

Anyway, I'm mighty sure it is heat happening that is causing this - maybe a combo as if the babe mac tends to heat, adobe flash isn't helping. But I haven't read your run throughs yet, much to explore.

Since I vacuumed all I could reach from the outside of the vents (I've read advice not to open it at home), I've had only one very small glimmer of cursor figgitygibbits.

Will report as this goes along.

Thank you so much for all your help.

So....let me get this straight....if you blow your computer, it makes it happy, right?

=; - >)

When I moved I was horrified to find all my computer air intakes looked like little furry animals. No wonder the poor thing was running hot!

Good luck with yours, Osso.

Hah, yes indeed!

I did vacuum it and it is behaving better, but I've had two visits by the cursor elf since, though minor in comparison to the really scary ding dong bell ones. Also, since I seemingly can't upgrade to the newer Adobe Flash thingamajig because my computer is only and will remain only at the Snow Leopard level, the part that AFlash had in this whole likely overheating thing is gone, so that made it somewhat better, though not fixed. (That was before the vacuuming fun). Of course now it is hard for me to see stuff on youtube, but not impossible.

I did not do the compressed air blowing yet - I have to make sure from some source with a photo or diagram which is the intake 'vent'. Also, the writing on the can scared me, to wit: DO NOT tilt, shake, or turn can upside down before or during use as liquid contents may be dispensed. Liquid contents may cause frostbite on skin. On and on re not leaving in direct sunlight as overheating could cause can to burst.

Well, I read that with the can tilted. . . .

I'm not actually all afraid of getting frostbite but I thought I'd let the baby can sit a while, while I take care of other matters.

Anyway, if this all keeps up after I do my best to clear the iMac's nostrils and follow all of Parados' advice (I'm slow unless I have to be fast at this stuff), then I'll consult R, the reasonably priced wonder guru, if he's still at the same phone #. As it is, I'm calling Parados Saint Parados.