Mac OS X 10.4: Freezes during shutdown or startup, fixes

One of the most commonly reported significant issues with Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) is a freeze at startup or during shutdown. In most cases, only selecting a shutdown or restart through the Finder causes problems -- forcing a restart or shutdown through the Terminal does not exhibit the problematic behavior.

There are a number of potential culprits for this issue.

Disconnect external devices, check for problematic drivers In some cases, an errant external FireWire drive or another device can cause these issues -- particularly at startup.

In the case of external storage devices, issues can often be resolved by temporarily disconnecting the drive, restarting the Mac then re-connecting the drive once the startup process is complete, and obtaining applying updated firmware (check the manufacturer's Web site).

In other cases, the drivers linked to problematic devices can cause startup or shutdown problems.

For instance, Apple's structural changes to the way that Mac OS X handles audio and audio-based applications (Core Audio) has rendered some devices in conflict normal system routines. Removing, or downgrading device drivers can sometimes resolve these issues.

One reader describes a startup/shutdown issue that was resolved by removing the drivers for his M-Audio devices:

"I identified as responsible (after doing an archive and install installation) the package of drivers m-audio revolution 1.4 for m-audio 7.1 revolution. With these installed, my Mac wouldn't restart or shutdown. Without them, or uninstalling them, the problems are completely solved (but I've no audio card anymore.)

"Re-installing the old m-audio driver (1.2.9) allows normal system functioning (mac shutdowns and restarts) but surround sound is not working well, driver update absolutely needed.

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