04-17-2006, 03:11 AM

Hello and sorry to trouble you.
I own a Powerbook 15" G4 with a 1 Ghz processor. I read the instruction manual to make sure that this laptop is able to support 2 GB of ram, PC2700 DDR333. I recently bought 2 Kingston 1 GB Chips, PC2700 and DDR333.
My laptop started running fine, until at the LOGIN screen, my machine froze. Now, I thought this was only a one time thing, until I tried it again.. and again...
It keeps freezing. I guess my Mac is detecting my RAM (no internal chip) but why is it freezing? Is it the memory? Is Kingston NOT compatible with Pre 1.33GHz G4's? (My brother owns a PB 12" G4 1.33 GHZ... He installed a 512 MB Kingston RAM and it worked fine).
Any help is appreciated.

04-17-2006, 11:40 AM

If you bought two sticks, try them both individually. That would help you in terms of determining if just one of the sticks is bad.

Also, make sure the RAM is in all the way (a diagram should have come w/ the actual RAM).

Good luck and let us know how everything works out!

04-17-2006, 10:27 PM

Thanks for replying!
Yes, I tried that before I posted this message. I don't know what the real problem is... it can be OSX (It hasn't been upgraded to a version above 10.4.0).
Anyways... I'm dling the updates just in case...
I'll keep you informed.
Thank you.

04-18-2006, 07:58 PM

Allright... I've updated my PB 15" Al to Mac OS X 10.4.6, along with other updates.
It still doesn't work. It freezes during OSX bootup, even if the "white screen" loads the software without freezing (I guess this part uses RAM... so why is this happening?). I'll contact Best Buy and Kingston Technologies to see if they can help me out too, but I'd appreciate your help... forums aren't "Bot replying" yet, and as far as I can tell, are way better than to contact the manufacturer.

Thanks in advance

04-18-2006, 08:20 PM

The only two guesses I have would be:
1) Bad RAM.
2) RAM not inserted all the way.

I wish I could help but its hard to without being there.

Good luck!

04-18-2006, 08:50 PM

HMmm... Yes... I also thought it was a bad RAM... but what are the odds of having 2 bad RAMS of the same kind (at least Kingston has no report about the KVR333SO/1GR model in their website)?
I'll try to reinstall it for the last time... I can swear it's all the way in (the golden stuff is not visible...). neye:

04-18-2006, 09:13 PM

Actually, I'd say the odds of having two bad sticks of RAM of the same kind shipped at the same time is much higher than two bad sticks of RAM of two diff. brands. Usually the "issues" come up in batches. I'd recommend returning it and grabbing some RAM from www.otherworldcomputing.com. They're great, awesome RAM, and they have a nice advance replacement warranty (if your RAM is bad, they send you new RAM w/ packing to send back the bad RAM).

My only suggestion to see if it's RAM related is to either try it in a buddies computer, or grab some from your local computer store (make sure there's no restocking fee!!) If it works in your buddies computer but not yours, maybe your motherboard is angry at the RAM.

That would be what I'd try next!

04-20-2006, 01:50 AM

Oh great!! Screwed up again... even if I did a background search for this RAM...
How is it possible that my brother's PB 12" ALLOWED ValueRAM and this one does not?
Great... the model I was supposed to get is KTA-PBG4333/1G... system specific.. manufactured for PB's below 1GHz... even if BestBuy told me it was fully compatible (and sure, I believed them due to my brother's experience).
Now I've browsed BestBuy's Store Return Policy... yes I have to pay a restocking fee of 15%. How can I get rid of this stuff.. or at least recover two KTA-PBG4333/1G 1 GB RAMs instead of this ValueRAM?

(I'm sorry if this reply is badly structured gramatically... I'm just pissed... why do I make such big mistakes when I do a background research?)

slyydrr... thanks a lot man... you would've been correct except for this "tiny"... $300-worth flaw.

...Jeez.

04-20-2006, 02:15 AM

You might want to get ahold of Best Buy... I'm not positive, but you might be able to get them on a technicality if the RAM itself is defective. I may be COMPLETELY wrong, but, I have a feeling the 15% restockingn fee only applies to things that can actually be restocked, and would therefore be waived for your RAM.

Give 'em a call or stop by!

04-20-2006, 03:54 AM

just get it replaced and see what happens.

or just take your machine into the store and show them whats happening, almost as a proof that you want to return it as its defective rather than you want to return it as buyers remorse

04-20-2006, 10:10 PM

Well... It might work both of your suggestions. (I just found out it isn't defective though... that PB I tested the RAM with was jeebeezusly fast!).
Well I might try it... I hope it is possible to change the RAM that way... or simply risk it all in an online auction... (die eBay... or not?)
Thanks for your support :cool: