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jpwauthier · Mar 8, 2004, 09:43 PM

I had problems with my PB (freezes) since I've put another 256 chip from Kingston. It's the second times it does that with those chip.

And now I've put it out and the computer is all fine.

What is the problem with my PB? It cannot get any more RAM?

I've heard that this problem occurs on the G5...

Is this possible that this is my PB that has a problem..

Thanks...

bastula · Mar 9, 2004, 05:42 PM

I had the same exact problems with 2 sticks of 512 MB SimpleTech RAM. First the one stick would freeze upon the OS Loading, so I just used the existing 256 + the working 512. The other 512 crapped out on me Sunday night. After each crapped out, I couldn't get them to work in any sort of combination. I never got a chance to test the SimpleTech RAM in another machine, so I am not sure if the PowerBook has a compatibility problem with the RAM, or it is just bad RAM.

I just returned the sticks yesterday and ordered a 512 stick of Crucial. Hopefully it does not exhibit the same problems.

I am curious though, would it be a heat related issue? I did not particularly like the placement of the SODIMM slots which are stacked one upon another. In my old Dell Inspiron 8200, the slots were parallel and were much easier to install RAM in.

By the way, I am using the 1 GHz/Combo 15" AlBook.

jpwauthier · Mar 9, 2004, 08:25 PM

I use the same as yours (PB 15 Combo).

My RAM are Kingston and the guy at the boutique told me that it is possible that it is the RAM but they have seen the same kind of problem with the G5 and he wonders if it is not the same issue.

I'll give you news when I'll come back from the shop, they will check it tomorrow.

Thanks!

ecrelin · Mar 10, 2004, 09:24 AM

FYI, I had a occasional crashing problem when I first got my 17" with an extra 512 in the second slot. It was a no name brand chip which I instantly blamed. I went through the wringer with the vendor who shipped me first another brand that didn't work and then two of another no name brand so as to not mix brands, no luck. He suggested that my book had problems but as I had never gotten a defective machine out of about 16 macs I've bought over the last 19 years, I still blamed the chips. I got an expensive Kingston chip, same problem, swapped the original Samsung and the Kingston in the first slot and ran the hardware test and they both show good if they are the only ones in the first slot. as soon as you put either in the second they fail. Its going back to Apple as soon as I can deal with it being gone for a few days.
good luck with yours

gotwalp · Mar 10, 2004, 09:34 AM

I ordered my Powerbook 15 w/superdrive from Club Mac and also ordered some generic ram (2-512's). My computer will run solid for up to a week, then all of a sudden it starts locking up. All I do it pull out the ram and reinstall it and then it will work fine again for an unknown amount of time. I am going to see if I can get this ram replaced. Not sure if it is the Powerbook or the ram. Please let me know if anybody figures it out.
Thanks,
Gotwalp

Squozen · Mar 10, 2004, 05:31 PM

I bought a 512Mb stick of memory from http://epowermac.com.au/ (no affiliation, they were just the cheapest online store I found that seemed to have a clue what would definitely work with an AlBook) and it works great. I'm sure Crucial/Micron RAM would work fine as well. I've had issues with Kingston on my PC desktop so I avoided it completely for my Mac.

bastula · Mar 11, 2004, 02:24 PM

Got the 512 Stick of Crucial today. Works fine so far without any crashes. I will try to run some tests this weekend to stress the system. Does anyone have any good ideas on what would be a solid benchmark to do so?

jpwauthier · Mar 11, 2004, 04:08 PM

I had a talk with an Apple tech here and that's what he says : he did some test with a System Disk from Apple and the system do not detect anything wrong. So that's what he suggests : the problem might be with the Logic Board. So if you're still under warranty with apple, have a good look at that!

Oh, and by the way, do you know a canadian resseller for Crucial Ram?

Maflynn · Mar 11, 2004, 06:12 PM

Macs seem very finicky with regard to ram, I only purchase memory from crucial. They have decent prices and *knocks on wood* I've never had a problem with them. Sure you can get the memory cheaper somewhere but what good is it if your computer continues to crash or doesn't boot up.

Mike

bastula · Mar 11, 2004, 11:43 PM

The same freezing problems upon startup of the OS still continue with this Crucial stick. After finder loads, the mouse pointer will just freeze and I can't do anything. I actually had an odd freeze in Safari when I was trying to open another tab and the page was loading. I am not sure what is going on.

I tried the Apple Hardware Test and the TechTool Deluxe CD from AppleCare. Both reported the system was fine. An odd curiosity is that I cannot boot from the TechTool CD - it either freezes or displays a "system has a problem, need to power down" screen. I can only run that once the OS has booted and I am logged in.

I did try memtest and had no problems with that, so my guesses are either a bad RAM slot, or the heat is killing the chip due to the layout.

Additionally, I had the problem of the system not showing the display upon waking from sleep after closing the lid. I closed the lid and went to do some work. I came back and the system had gone to sleep, but when I opened it, the screen was black and my Intellimouse was powered on. I could press the caps lock / num lock and they would turn on and off, but when I unplugged my Intellimouse and put it back in, it did not get any power (light up). This issue might be a different problem as I read another thread about it.

Bottom line is that the same symptoms that I had with the SimpleTech RAM is still occurring with this Crucial stick. However it does not occur with the original RAM.

Tomster · Mar 12, 2004, 12:08 AM

What OS are you using? Had some serious problems in the past when upgrading 15" AluBooks from Jaguar to Panther. Panther tightened up ram requirements and some of the 512mb ram sticks we bought caused crash after crash.

gotwalp · 03:10 PM

I talked to Tech support and they said the ram requirements were higher for Panther and some memory companies fell short. The memory companies claim Apple gave them the wrong specs. Supposedly the problem is fixed. You may want to call the place you got the memory from and ask them about this. The place I bought mine claims I have the new ram, but if it continues to freeze they will replace it. No freeze up in 2 days. We'll see.
-Gotwalp

Update: I was just told by Club Mac Technical support to buy Edge Ram. It's on the way, I'll have it Monday. We'll see...............

bastula · Mar 12, 2004, 03:24 PM

I'm using Panther -> 10.3.2. The system came with that as I bought it approximately 2-3 weeks ago.

I just came back from class (was gone approx 2.5 hours) and closed the lid and the same black screen issue is coming up. I tried to do the same thing just now - close the lid and wait 15 minutes, but it woke up fine. I think if I leave it in sleep for an extended period of time it will freeze.

Same thing happened with the other RAM, so I am wondering if it is the slot on the logic board? I am now ruling out heat as an issue, because if the computer is asleep there is no significant if not any heat produced.

I think I will call Apple support tonight, or take it to the store if I get a chance.

gotwalp · Mar 15, 2004, 10:54 AM

Any Luck with Apple Support?
I got my new ram and installed it this morning. It may take a few days to show any problems. I also have a friend with a dual 450 G4 that upgraded to Panther and now his computer locks up also.
-Cheers,
Gotwalp.

bastula · Mar 15, 2004, 11:43 PM

I just left the 512 stick in the lower slot for a few days and everything went great. I added the 256 in the upper and yet to hit any speedbumps.

So far so good, I also reset my PRAM and I think everything is ok now. I haven't had any problems as of yet. I didn't call AppleCare yet - I will see if any other problems arise.

Good to hear you got the new RAM. Hope everything works out for you.

gotwalp · Mar 17, 2004, 06:09 PM

New ram from egde crashes my computer. I contacted edge directly and they sent fed ex to pick up my ram, They say they will check it out and overnight me good ram back. Once again, we'll see.
cheers
-Gotwalp

bastula · Mar 17, 2004, 06:42 PM

Sorry to hear that, gotwalp.

I too had a similar fate with the 512 Crucial stick. I would keep on getting kernel panics after or during logging in. I would touch the dock and move the mouse erraticly and it would cause the beachball to come up and the system would either freeze or kernel panic. This would happen either with the stick by itself, or with the original Hynix 256 stick as well. The odd thing was that it only happened when I ran on battery power (at least what I could tell). It seemed pretty stable when on AC. Maybe the stick is not certified for low power situations? In addition, I was able to make Safari cause a kernel panic when clicking on a link.

I decided to buy a 512 stick from OWC and it should be here by tomorrow. If that works, I think I'll be set. Plus, since they are about an hour away from me, it shouldn't be a problem to change it out if it doesn't work.

I honestly am wondering where is the best place to buy guaranteed compatible RAM for this 15" AlBook. There should be a faq about this somewhere. Each time I try to search this forum for past experiences, it always brings up stuff from 2002, and hardly anything recent.

Good luck with the new stick - I'll keep you posted about my experiences.

gotwalp · Mar 22, 2004, 06:00 AM

My 15 AL Powerbook has been running perfect for 4 days now with the original installed ram. This at least lets me know that it's not the computer. Hopefully my new ram shows up today.

Hey Bastula, any luck with that new 512 stick?

Has anyone had a successful upgrade (15" 1.25ghz Al PB) with ram not bought from apple?

Cheers,
Gotwalp

IanCraft · Mar 22, 2004, 12:43 PM

Gotwalp:

Two weeks ago, I upgraded my 1.25 AlBook from 512MB RAM to 1GB. My AlBook shipped with one 512MB stick of Apple RAM, and I added a 512MB stick of Geil Golden Dragon PC2700 DDR RAM, which I bought from outpost.com for $97.

Haven't had any problems whatsoever, the AlBook is much "snappier", and I'm happy as clam.

- Ian

bastula · Mar 22, 2004, 01:04 PM

Got the 512 stick from OWC on Friday. It was supposed to come Thursday, but they had a problem with UPS. I called them up to see if I could pick it up locally (I am about 1 hour away from them), the person I spoke with told me it would be too much trouble and offered to send it overnight for my troubles. Now that is great service. Also the stick I bought has lifetime advance replacement, so if it doesn't work in the future, they will ship a new one out to me and I will mail the old one back to them.

Anyways, the stick has been running great since Friday. Ran the Apple Hardware Test on both battery and AC power back-to-back and no issues whatsoever. I forgot the markings on the stick, but it was a brand that I had never heard of (began with T if recall correctly). I don't really mind, it works like a charm.

I actually haven't noticed any wake-from-sleep issues either after installing this RAM. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this one is right

I think the original problem was that not all sticks are certified for the PowerBook. The RAM I originally bought, both the SimpleTech and the Crucial were just a 512 PC2700 SODIMM (both bought from NewEgg - I buy all my PC stuff from them, and never had a problem before). There was no indication of 15" AlBook compatibility. OWC did mention that their specific stick was compatible, so the little extra money to guarantee that was worth it, in my opinion.

Hopefully you can find something that works out for you.

QuadG5Man · Mar 22, 2004, 03:20 PM

So if you got a 15" AlBook with one 512 chip, could you put a 1 gig chip in it to take it to 1.5 gigs, or do they have to be added in pairs?

Thanks!

Keatman

DeRobeHer · Mar 22, 2004, 03:29 PM

I bought a 512 stick from Crucial for my PB 12" 1GHz. Installed it the day I got the laptop, and it would crash every now and then, almost always after the OS started to use more than 256MB ram (the onboard amount). The harware test reported no problems. I got a replacement from Crucial, and haven't had any problems since.

skrumrei · Mar 23, 2004, 10:28 AM

I'm seeing the same random freezes with my new (refurb) Al 15" PB/G4 ever since I replaced the origninal 256MB stick with two 512MB sticks from Crucial. Upon rebooting after a crash (freeze), system profiler indicates the top dimm slot is empty. After zapping the pram three times it will again recognize the stick in the top slot. I have called Crucial and they are sending out two replacement sticks, though they assert the sticks I have should be fully capatible. They suggest I have may have a bad upper dimm slot. They may be right in that the problem didn't show up until a second dimm was added, but I wanted to try new ram before I send the PB back to Apple. I'm keeping my fingers crossed in hopes the new ram solves the problem.

JCT · Mar 23, 2004, 09:26 PM

FWIW, I went through a similar scenario when I originally upgraded my 12" PB to 1.25 GB from the stock 256MB.

Both of the initial 1 GB sticks I received from Crucial did not work ....same symptoms, kernel panics galore, crashing upon awakening from sleep, etc. First time in *many* years that Crucial Ram didn't work for me.

I was a Mac newbie at the time so I was pretty surprised by this. The Crucial guys muttered something about the PB (and Panther, for that mattter) being very picky about RAM.

Finally I bought a 1GB stick from MemoryX , it was advertised as being the same as that used by Apple (Samsung chips) and it worked like a charm. 4 months later and haven't had a single problem.

Wish I could say as much for my Voodoo Centrino PC laptop ..... which represents my last PC purchase.

regards,

JT

skrumrei · Mar 24, 2004, 11:12 AM

Well, I received two new 512MB sticks from Crucial today and after installation I immediately had two consecutive freezes during the startup process. So either my Al PB doesn't like Crucial sodimms or there is a problem with my upper dimm slot. I'm now going to run with just one stick in the lower slot to see if the freezes continue or stop. If they continue, I will try another vendor's RAM. If they stop, I will send my PB back to Apple to get them to fix the upper slot problem.

gotwalp · Mar 25, 2004, 03:43 PM

I got my new ram from edge and it froze up my computer within an hour. I called them and they now have a 1.25 15" PB they are testing on. Once they solve the problem, they will send me new ram.
We'll see......
-Gotwalp

skrumrei · Mar 29, 2004, 10:39 AM

Looks like I have a problem with the upper DIMM slot (or logic board) as I get the same freezes with new RAM from Ramjet as well. Problem only shows up after adding RAM to upper slot. Will be sending this PB back to Apple for repair.

MOTHERWELL · Mar 29, 2004, 11:51 AM

So what I am getting from this thread is that the PB has problems?

I have 512MB in this AL Book and I need to get more (1GB+) becuase it is going to be used for editing an compositing on a film.

I read only one post, the ram from MemoryX, that seems to be working OK.

Has anyone else had GOOD results? I need the ram to work right from the start. The film has to be done by May 7 and any delays with technical issues is going to delay the film as well as cause me to pull my hair out.

bastula · Mar 29, 2004, 06:04 PM

Hi Motherwell,

I didn't have any problems with the RAM I ordered from OWC. It worked right from the start like a champ. I've been using this system every day and the last couple of days I've been stressing it with 3D models and Virtual PC in preparation for a neuroanatomy midterm.

The 512 stick cost me $105.99 + shipping + tax. It was a brand that I had never heard of before, but since they (OWC) have a lifetime advance warranty and specialize in Macs, I assumed they knew what sticks worked and what didn't.

It was my first time ordering from them, and would do so again.

You can see my post above if you want more details.

Here's the link: http://eshop.macsales.com/Catalog_It...WC2700DDRS512A

Cheers.

gotwalp · 06:14 AM

I just received my new ram from edge memory. I installed it and it has been running good so far. We'll see how it performs with my audio recording session this week. The people at Edge are really cool to work with and have awesome customer service.

****The Edge Ram still freezes up my powerbook. I'm going to return it and order new ram from OWC, Thanks for the info Bastula.

-Gotwalp

darnnit2 · Apr 1, 2004, 07:37 AM

Hey guys, I figured I would throw in my two cents. On the recommendation of another thread here, I checked out www.upgradenation.com. The 512mb chip I ordered was only like 90 after shipping and has been working perfectly.

The 15" Al PB has been much happier since the addition.

Hope this helps out.

Leo the 3rd · Apr 1, 2004, 08:16 AM

I've also been using OWC (no affiliation, just a satisfied customer)memory since 2000 and never had a problem. Great prices too. Lifetime warranty on their memory products. I'm now up to 1GB in my PB 15" Al.

angelmb · Apr 1, 2004, 11:06 AM

My 17" PB has its second ram module defective, it is a Transcend, and the local moron seller, refuses to change it. How could I contact Transcend?

gotwalp · Apr 2, 2004, 11:37 AM

I just received my 5th pair of 512 chips. This time from OWC. Let the testing begin.
-Cheers
Gotwalp

bastula · Apr 2, 2004, 03:07 PM

Originally posted by gotwalp:
I just received my 5th pair of 512 chips. This time from OWC. Let the testing begin.
-Cheers
Gotwalp

Good luck - hopefully you won't have any more problems.

bastula · May 12, 2004, 12:08 PM

Any updates, gotwalp?

Gig103 · Jul 2, 2004, 11:26 AM

^^BUMP^^

Any updates on this problem? I was going to order some Crucial memory since I've never had a problem with them in the past, but now I'm looking at OWC.

bastula · Jul 2, 2004, 02:41 PM

Still going strong with my OWC - not one problem yet. Would recommend them for sure.

Cheers.

wei · Jul 19, 2004, 01:17 AM

im going to do RAM upgrades soon, is there any way i can check if the RAM is good, with software?