>>>>>>>>>> > Just suffered my first crash in OSX. At least that's what I guess it was. > I'm using my 17"Al when suddenly what looks like a pull-down shade runs down > the screen from top to bottom, making entire screen contents look grey > tinted. A notice appears (carrying the power button logo) announcing in > multiple languages that the computer needs to be restarted. No buttons work > except the power/restart buttons. Anyone else encountered this? <<<<<<<<<<------------------------ As another poster pointed out, this is a kernal panic. Can be caused by hardware (RAM or USB hubs malperforming, or other HW problems) and/or software. I experienced one panic that was caused by "bad" permissions. If you are still experiencing the problem, run the Fix Permissions from the pull-down menus of the Install DVD. You will need to restart from the DVD, then go to the Install menu and select Fix Permissions. It has been a while, so my memory may not be right on the exact name of the menu selections. Although you are using the Install DVD, you don't want to re-install your software...just run Fix Permissions. Jerry