Computers becoming schizophrenic

[dakota]

Moved almost a year ago and everything was fine with my computers, cable, etc., until now.  I have two 27 inch iMacs, time capsule. The one upstairs, which is in the same room as the modem and capsule keeps restarting.  This is only about a few weeks old. The second one is downstairs, connected on my wireless network.  Both computers are now reloading pages, with a message that there was a problem with the page. Both are giving me popup messages that I need to enter my password for AOL mail, which is one of the accounts I use in Apple Mail. If I put in the password, I get a message that it can not recognize me.  However, my mail is coming in anyway.  Occasionally I have the warning icon next to the account, but then it disappears, only to appear later, and then repeats.  I feel as though I am in the Twilight Zone.  Any ideas on any of this???

[Xairbusdriver]

Way too many problems to have happened without multiple causes. Way too many problems without any history of what has been done with the hardware, software, visitor events, etc. Things always have causes, the first thing to do is find the common thread of all these events. The second thing is to specifically identify all the problems, not just list a few results of them. Lastly, we need a list of steps you have taken in trouble-shooting, no point in repeating steps you've already taken.

[dakota]

QUOTE(Xairbusdriver @ Apr 24 2018, 10:48 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Way too many problems to have happened without multiple causes. Way too many problems without any history of what has been done with the hardware, software, visitor events, etc. Things always have causes, the first thing to do is find the common thread of all these events. The second thing is to specifically identify all the problems, not just list a few results of them. Lastly, we need a list of steps you have taken in trouble-shooting, no point in repeating steps you've already taken.

Nothing has been done on hardware, no software added or upgraded.  Status quo. If I could identify the causes, trust me, I would have.  I have read every thread I could find, and the only answer I have is possibly the one for pages constantly being reloaded, which could point to a need to empty the cache. All articles I have read on constant restart points to possible hardware problems, but that is not my area of expertise, so I would have to bring someone in, which means first finding someone reliable.  I have never needed a tech for problems like this before. As for the constant reminder about my AOL password, I have contacted AOL and not gotten a response.  I do know they changed over a lot on their site, because I have friends who went through hell with those changes, but I don't use their site.  I simply have the email account on Apple Mail.

[Xairbusdriver]

Even though we don't know what changed, it is obvious that something has. I suspect it will be nearly impossible to 'remember' what that was since it started "a few weeks" ago. It may be the dreaded voltage spike or even a too long period of low voltage. You may not have even been home when that occurred. A good, reliable, but not cheap uninterruptible power supply (UPS) will prevent these events.

A second "common ground" possibility is that you have a not-to-well protected WiFi setup. I assume you are living in an apartment complex or at least fairly close to neighbors? What type of password are you using (I think WPA/WPA2 Personal is about all you can do in System Prefs->Network)?

One question: What are the ages of the two computers?

Emptying the browser's cache, at least in Safari, is super simple. Use the "Empty Caches" item in the Develop Menu. If you don't have a "Develop" menu, go to Safari prefs, Advanced and check the "Show Develop menu...". Once you have done that, you can then disable the cache completely. Develop Menu->Web Inspector, click on the "Network" column, click the item near the extreme right-hand end of the row just below the column labels. It should change color from black to red lines:

[attachment=3550:disable_caches.jpg]

[dakota]

QUOTE(Xairbusdriver @ Apr 25 2018, 10:41 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Even though we don't know what changed, it is obvious that something has. I suspect it will be nearly impossible to 'remember' what that was since it started "a few weeks" ago. It may be the dreaded voltage spike or even a too long period of low voltage. You may not have even been home when that occurred. A good, reliable, but not cheap uninterruptible power supply (UPS) will prevent these events.

A second "common ground" possibility is that you have a not-to-well protected WiFi setup. I assume you are living in an apartment complex or at least fairly close to neighbors? What type of password are you using (I think WPA/WPA2 Personal is about all you can do in System Prefs->Network)?

One question: What are the ages of the two computers?

Emptying the browser's cache, at least in Safari, is super simple. Use the "Empty Caches" item in the Develop Menu. If you don't have a "Develop" menu, go to Safari prefs, Advanced and check the "Show Develop menu...". Once you have done that, you can then disable the cache completely. Develop Menu->Web Inspector, click on the "Network" column, click the item near the extreme right-hand end of the row just below the column labels. It should change color from black to red lines:

[attachment=3550:disable_caches.jpg]

Private house, but neighbors not that far away!  Yes to WPA/WPA2. One computer 2010, the other 2011. I will follow your advice.  Thanks.

[Xairbusdriver]

Age was to help determine the use of a small battery that kept some ram active even while the computer was unplugged. That pretty much ended after 2009. There is still a very small battery that keeps much less power-hungrey items going for years of unplugged existence and that could prevent the machine from keeping track of the time. However, most people have their Macs contact the government time keepers to keep their clocks up-to-date and that should happen very quickly. I just shut down my 2011 model a couple of days ago but it never displayed the problems you have reported, anyway.

Do make sure your WiFi password is strong and it won't hurt to change it anyway. While Mac users are not known for acts of unkindness, there is usually a bad 'apple' in any group! We often don't even 'admit' to neighbors that we use a Mac! That's another thing to watch for in your network 'name'; it's probably best not to even hint at what brand of devices you have.

There is a "Hardware" test app that you can use, but it's not a 'professional' version and may not tell you anything, anyway. What has me stumped is that you say both computers started 'acting up' at (nearly?) the same time. That makes finding the common problem more than twice as hard, in my opinion. That's why I suggested power line problems.

It is also possible that you have been able to get hold of one of the rare Mac malware issues. It might be found by running ClamXAV (click the "Free Trial" button at the top, right-hand corner of the page), a virus scanning app. You can run it for a while in the free mode.

The ultimate fix may require re-installing the OS. I hate to mention that since it would probably mean doing it to both machines.