G4 500 Freeze Problems

[Greg Loumos]

Hi folks,

I've been in and out of this group so I've lost some of the continuity of 
topics. If someone could get me on the right track I'd sure appreciate it.

I've got a G4 500 that I bought four years ago. Upgraded to OS 9.2.2 but 
still have that old problem of freeze ups. I've gone through a few clean 
installs but the problem remains.

The trigger seems to be Netscape or Internet Explorer. I was able to use IE 
5.1.7 for a while but now find that it won't fire up properly so I went back 
to IE 5.0. However, 5.0 now has problem with graphics (such as Yahoo 
financial pages) so I use Netscape 6 for some general purposes, although 
Netscape presents some copy and paste scrolling obstacles. I go back and 
forth. Most freezes occur as I do my surfing.

I've turned my extensions off but the problem remains. Same with defraging 
my disk. I have to do an interrupt-button restart a few times a day. Then 
there are the cursor freezes (Caps Lock light comes on and stays on) that 
require a few more restarts each time until it takes.

I use the FireWire ports for an ACOM external drive (audio and video 
storage) and Director's Cut digitizer. I'm also on a self-powered USB hub 
with three entries. The SCSI is used for a LaCie CD burner. I mention these 
in case they're germane.

I'd like to continue to use OS 9.2.2 because many of my core apps won't work 
on OS X. I'd like to avoid the cost of the upgrades.

However, I've been considering installing OS X on an external drive to see 
if the problem can be overcome. I tried the Iomega 120 GB but had difficulty 
mounting it stably so I sent it back. (No problem ever with the ACOM.) A Mac 
tech advised me that Seagate had the most compatible/durable drive for Mac 
OS but I see that the 160 GB back-up software works only with OS X; I'd like 
to use it also to back up my G4.

So, two questions. Is there some known solution to my G4 freeze ups in 9.2.2 
and can I use the Seagate (or something else) for an outboard OS X?

Thanks,

Greg

_________________________________________________________________
Test your ‘Travel Quotient’ and get the chance to win your dream trip! 
http://travel.msn.com