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acadian · Oct 30, 2003, 07:36 PM

New 17"rev B powerbook. Initially, Panther would not even install, kept freezing at the initial install screen. Pulled out my third party 512 dimm and everything worked fine. After install, put the stick back in...oh boy...when the computer would actually start, it would almost immediately freeze at desktop launch. Pulled the stick out, everythings fine. It's obviously the RAM, right? Hmmmmmm... Brought it back to the shop where they replace and install a new dimm. Less than 1 hour later, the same problem begins to occur...???? Once again I pull the stick and everything is fine. Coincidental? Maybe, I'm abvioulsy just having bad luck ...right? Hardware test says nothing is wrong so I think, maybe it's the ram slot? switch the dimms, same problem, pull the upgrade and leave the stock ram in the upgrade slot, just to be sure, no problems at all. Wow. today, I go back to the shop, once again they replace with anew dimm...well whaddya know? Same problem. Now the odds of me getting three, count em, three bad ram sticks consecutively have got to be pretty thin. So whats going? Is it panther? Jag had no problems with the original upgrade stick. I now have a kingston module on order, figured that if it is bad RAM, kingston's the most reliable way to go. Anyway to turm off ram check in panther?

booboo · Oct 30, 2003, 07:46 PM

Originally posted by acadian:
Anyway to turm off ram check in panther?

That's not going to help . . .

What is the spec of this RAM? It sounds like it's not right, not fast enough, or otherwise unsuited . . .

I get my RAM from Crucial. Pretty cheap, never had a problem . . .

acadian · Oct 30, 2003, 07:58 PM

All three had the same specs, DDR 333/pc2700. I'm at a loss..

proton · Oct 30, 2003, 09:49 PM

Run the hardware test CD/DVD that came with your computer. This should tell you if it detects any problems in the RAM. Note that even if the test shows up the RAM as good, it may actually still be bad RAM. If the test does show the RAM as bad, try swapping your upgrade RAM and Apple RAM and see if the problem moves with the RAM stick.

If the problem doesn't move, and the Apple RAM produces the same errors in the second slot, the RAM slot itself may be faulty, and you'll need to contact Apple to repair it.

- proton

acadian · Oct 31, 2003, 05:23 AM

It's not the ram slot, I've run it with no problems with the oem ram alone in either slot. What are the odds of getting three bad stick in a row? Thats why I'm wondering if panther is just more sensitive to ram than jag was.

sniffer · Oct 31, 2003, 06:54 AM

It could be, however, that the it sensitive with that specific ram brand/series. Can I assume the replacement ram chips was identical to the original bad module?

jock · Oct 31, 2003, 09:28 AM

I also have a rev b 17 and I had an extra 512 dimm from Apple installed. Under Jag it was ok except for a couple of Kernal panics when it woke from sleep. Anyway my Panther discs came and as I tried to install it it would freeze at the checking packages screen, I did this 5 times and then called the dealer. We tried a new set of disks and the same problem arose, the tech then removed the extra ram as he has had problems with numerous new 15's, however mine was the 3rd 17 that also had this problem. Apparantly there is a bad batch of Apple ram, Panther installed ok and is working as it should, so I would say that Panther is really sensitive, will let you know when the new ram comes next week.

JB72 · Oct 31, 2003, 11:49 AM

Newer Macs are notoriously RAM fastidious. I've had good luck sticking to www.crucial.com .

Terri · Oct 31, 2003, 12:11 PM

My 17" Powerbook was fine until 10.2.8 and then I had to replace one of the sticks.

It is purring along very nicely with 1 gig of RAM now under Panther now.

ebuddy · Nov 1, 2003, 09:23 AM

Crucial RAM, Crucial RAM, Crucial RAM.

You'll read this all over the net. Numerous people w/ problems (me included) switched to Crucial RAM and Voila! Remember, your hardware test can be skewed if bad RAM (I say bad only because if it's not Crucial for a new mac, it's probably bad) is anywhere in there. The error code rendered by running Hardware Test may not be reliable. This was my case. I tired three different pairs of sticks by PNY (very good brand for regular PC"s, very bad RAM for Apple).

Crucial RAM, Crucial RAM, Crucial RAM

acadian · Nov 1, 2003, 09:49 AM

What about Kingston RAM? Anyone have experience with this?