Gremlins 4: When RAM goes bad!

•MACMAN• · Dec 24th, 2002, 02:24 PM

So I don't know if anyone's been following my ongoing strife with Jaguar... the latest happenings are here... but after more troubles this morning I think I have solved the problem.

Attack of the killer RAM. Unbelievable crap this morning with, believe it or not, Kernal Panics trying to boot from the OSX Sytem Disk of all things. Preferences were resetting, the clock in the menu bar was flashing along with the icons, a solid coloured dock bar, Apps quitting, you name it it was happening. So I pulled my 512 stick of RAM in one last ditch effort to restore my faith in OSX and low and behold I have my OS back. Evidence is in the fact that I'm actually able to write this post without my browser crashing.

So now all I have to do is see if I can exchange this piece of _____ RAM and/or buy some new ones.

Can anyone recommend a retailer in the GTA that has proven reliable RAM for not a whole lot of money? I'd like at least a 512MB stick if not 2 but with all the Christmas expenditures the budget is a little tighter than usual. I'd wait a little while but I'm not sure how long I can survive on 128MB alone.

Thanks,
Macman.

monokitty · Dec 24th, 2002, 02:43 PM

Where do you buy your RAM from? They should offer a warranty.

MacDoc · Dec 24th, 2002, 04:05 PM

This has been covered before and someone mentioned Kingston RAM as a solution. Sorry but that ain't it either.

This is today
I had a G4 Sawtooth from a client that worked fine. He had mixed RAM in it but no problems. Ran it as a FCP3 station.
Put in a new Apple Combo drive - hmmm the keyboard won't open the drive [img]tongue.gif[/img] .
Tried a new drive, nope, new keyboard, nope, without the Zip nope.
Humph
Okay check the firmware - -aha - updated the firmware - uhoh - no chime flashing front button.
Pulled the correctly spec'd Kingston RAM - machine booted fine - drive door opened from the keyboard. arrrrrgh.

There is no easy answer - RAM suppliers can't get the same chips as previously to construct the RAM - I tried 6 different 256 sodimms that were correctly spec'd - PC100 - not one worked in a Wallstreet and only two worked in a Lombard but all worked in a Pismo.

We test RAM sets and where ever possible match them completely but even that doesn't cover all the situations.

Said it before - you have to be able to return RAM and best to take the machine in and get a matched set for an upgrade.
It's just bad situation right now.

MacMan get in touch we'll sort you out.

coyote · Dec 24th, 2002, 05:35 PM

I've used Mainly Mac for upgrades and they've been great in the past. Talk to Ted. Email me if you want his toll free number. I've also been talking to Macdoc through email for advice on an upgrade and my impression is he's a decent guy to deal with too. Appearently others feel the same if you look at the forum feedback on this site.

PosterBoy · Dec 24th, 2002, 10:49 PM

I'd just like to chime in and point out that while every manufacturer ships the occasional bad apple (pun intended), I have never personally seen a bad Kingston RAM chip, and I dont sell any other brand for laptops.

I have heard of bad chips from Kingston (twice to be exact), and in both cases Kingston was happy to exchange the chips I believe at no cost to the customer.

--PB

haiggy · Dec 25th, 2002, 03:57 AM

Between my brother and I, we bought 4 sticks of RAM from http://www.crucial.com/ RAM works fine, and is still working!

The only drawback is the shipping charges. Other than that, the RAM price itself is quite reasonable.

MacDoc · Dec 25th, 2002, 03:53 PM

Poster boy - this was not "bad ram".
It was spec'd correctly and worked correctly then Apple changed the firmware and it did not work in that machine anymore.
That's not bad or defective RAM. That' life these days.
No amount of saying this works or that works or that manufacturer has been fine is any guide these days.
You MUST be able to easily exchange RAM and you should keep your sets matched if possible.
With firmware changes even that is no guarantee down the road.
Because we see thousands of combinations we see the overall problem and it's getting worse as fewer manufacturers make the older RAM and move to DDR, [img]tongue.gif[/img]
We spend hours testing and assembling sets we know work.
Subtle changes between manufacturing runs etc can allow one Mac model to accept certain RAM and the same model to reject or have problems and you may run fine until you hit an upgrade. No easy answer and it can be incredibly time consuming and frustrating to deal with.

Bottom line for RAM upgrades -
Don't be surprised if problems surface,
BE pleasantly surprised and grateful if all goes smoothly
Don't blame your supplier as they are doing the best they can in a difficult supply situation.
Try for working matched sets
Cross your fingers and toes [img]tongue.gif[/img]
Good luck