pete

So far, I've unplugged all external drives and removed the Apple RAM completely (the 4GB sticks). I was just going to see if this worked any better, but so far, I have been editing for several hours with no hiccups whatsoever. When it was at the Apple Store they did remove my RAM sticks and put them back in (in different slots that what I had previously. They said it didn't matter what order they were in. True?)

That is EXACTLY what they were doing. One "expert" DID apologize, and said Apple messed up by not working on my Mac, and said it was possibly the motherboard. But all the rest were pushing the non Apple RAM as being the problem. I'm going to try your suggestions. Also, you mentioned overheating which, my Mac DOES rev up and get loud from time to time when I have been on it for awhile. I'm guessing there's no way to check or add the Thermal Paste you mentioned?

I followed your advice on buying my last Mac: Date of Purchase DECEMBER 5, 2019 iMac retina 5k, 27-inch, 2019 Processor 3.6 GHz 8-Core Intel Core i9 Graphics Radeon Pro 580X 8 GB Memory 40GB 2667 MHzDDR4 Ventura The problem I have is that I haven't been able to upgrade in a long time. I'm using 568.86 GB of 1 TB storage My iMac won't let me upgrade from Ventura. It also has started to randomly turn off or show a black screen. I took to Apple who said at first they ran a diagnostic test. They said they ran MRI, memory failing. No cracks to display, housing shows minimal wear from use, no other indications of damage. They kept for 3 more days until I told them I needed it back and were supposed to check for further testing (EFI and OS) and VMI of RAM. But they did not ever do the additional testing. They told me that my options were pretty much either trying to take the iMac back to its version from when I initially bought it, and losing all the programs, etc. OR trying to buy more RAM but they couldn't say if that would help or not since there's no way to tell if that's the problem or not. They said other than that, I would come out cheaper to buy a new Mac. I'm a photographer, not a tech guy. So I need your help. I can't even edit anymore without my iMac shutting off during edits. Also, when I upload images (I use a card reader) I end up with several that are messed up, with like a purple/pink screen covering/erasing them. I'd rather fix this if I can (I've only had it 4 years! - is that a normal lifespan??), but if I have to buy do you have suggestions for a 2024 desktop? Thanks, Pete