[X4U] cause of kernel panics?

[J Flenner]

At least, I think they're kernel panics: a box that orders me in 4 languages
to shutdown and grays my screen over wherever I was when it happened.

I use Mac OS 10.2.8 on a 17-inch flatscreen iMac, still under warranty. 

I'm pretty ignorant about how to do anything but the news & legal research 
I do for a few nonprofits. I.e., I don't program (or know what things like "root" 
are talking about). (FWIW, I did systems design & programming from 1956-1966, 
in binary, then octal, then assembler languzges, in order to develop assemblers & 
then compilers, on what were then "large-scale" computers, so the basic logic  
of computers doesn't escape me tho' multi-tasking was just being designed when 
I changed careers. Things change.)

This problem started happening about a month ago; I called the person 
who got me set up when I got this computer, who said, "yes, that
happens to me all the time" and told me to try Disk Repair, and 
if that didn't take care of it, to use Norton Disk Dr. & Speed Disk.
He didn't label it "kernel panic"--I only discovered that a couple
wks ago while trying to figure out if there is something else I
should be doing--I understood it to not be a damaging problem 
because my friend seemed casual about it (he's a sysadmin for
a publishing co).

But in the last several days, I started getting it every day; I thought maybe
it was associated w/ Sleep, because i could go all day without problems, but
the box would show up when I first woke it up in the a.m. But then in the last
few days, touching the keyboard wldn't wake it up from the black screen, and
I had to Power off, then do Norton, then it would work fine all day.

It didn't become "terminal" until yesterday ("terminal" meaning, using 
Norton Disk Dr./Speed Disk and/or Disk Repair doesn't allow me to continue 
after I start up again-- instead the 4-language box shows up as soon as I get 
the Desktop & try to do anything at all.

What I find on the Web suggests it's a bad RAM or bad RAM slot?

I'm taking it to the shop tomorrow unless you tell me there's still something I
should try. 

Please pardon me for going on so long--I should have written you weeks ago.

Jackie Flenner
varney at mindspring.com