Due to problems with my Mac I have been forced back to 10.1.2 (original software). What a difference a couple of updates can make...

I was having constant Kernel panics, I did a hardware test -nothing-, I tried reinstalling -nothing-, so now I have completely started from scratch...hope this works.

Betty Fooz

Correct me if I'm mistaken, but Kernal panics have nothing to do with hardware—it's a software problem, correct? For the most part?

Perhaps you had 3rd party software installed that may have caused a Kernal panic? I've only come across one kernal panic ever and it was pre-Jaguar. Maybe you should have started from scratch with the newest version you have—BTW, what version were you at?

That's not quite true Manny - Panther in particular is much more prone to kernel panics if there is a problem.

We've seen a number of machines and a number of RAM situations where on earlier builds everything worked perfectly and constant problems with Panther.

Got in tussle with our Apple tech today over a tower he found nothing wrong with...tested on 10.2.4 ...yet immediate crashing on Panther so the motherboard will have to be replaced.

We were discussing this amongst ourselves and someone noted Apple was really pushing the envelope for the RAM performance.
( there was someone having a similar issue with PC100 RAM in his iMac - worked fine on earlier versions)

We've seen G4 towers that would run all day on 9 and get very cranky on X.

Any way Donut try pulling RAM if you have a mix. :cool:

Would concur: my machine is fairly slugish under 10.3.2 and I get the distinct impression that I need more RAM. However, with Apple RAM so expensive and the horror stories of 3rd party RAM being not 100% compatible, I am a bit at a loss...

Apple buys RAM doesn't make it and generally it's good quality but it can cause issues as well at times.
Just make sure you can take RAM back if it's problematic.
Apple sometimes authors it's own misfortunes by changing spec in mid stream so there is no "bulletproof" solution.

A good provider with flexible policies is your safest bet. Paying a bit more for flexibility in dealing with RAM issues is worth while.
We generally like fully matched RAM when it's big sets just to reduce issues but don't be afraid of "third party"...it's ALL third party. :cool:

Macdoc, just had a look at the Kingston site and they offer a 1.1Gig solution. I thought my machine was designed for 640Mb max. Has that changed? Here is the link (http://www.ec.kingston.com/ecom/configurator/modelsinfo.asp?SysID=+13704+&distributor=0&submit1=Search).

Thanks

Moscool, your Powerbook has 1 RAM-slot (SO-DIMM) and yes, it can hold a SO-DIMM 1 GB (1024 MB) in size, plus the 128 MB of on-board RAM - 1.1 GB total max. smile.gif

Very cool smile.gif

Of course every online store in the UK is out of stock (I'm not even sure it's available in the US because Kingston won't give a ETA). But why get 512 when you can have 1000? :D

Thanks MacDoc. This iMac is definately running with pc-100 RAM. If panicks stop happening on this OS then I am going to try re-installing Panther (considering it may have been the setting the HD to zeros, I have never done this in my years of owning this Mac). If Panther starts to crash again then I am going to rip out the RAM and stick the proper pc-133 in it (apple recomended).

RAM, PCI cards, USB devices, and other hardware can cause Kernel Panics, either because of the actual hardware, or the software and drivers written for the hardware. Stripping down your hardware to the standard configuration is often one of the first trouble-shooting steps.

And Macdoc is correct about Apple RAM. There is no such thing as Apple RAM, all RAM is 3rd party. Apple gets their RAM from RAM suppliers (3rd parties), just like Crucial and other RAM companies. This is a common misconception.

I did ALL of those tests and continued to crash. It must be the RAM, the computer hasn't crased once, by this time it would have crashed at least 4 or 5 times.

Does Panther require faster RAM to run, maybe part of the firmware?

Betty Fooz