G4 MDD having issues with RAM... Suggestions?

I used to have a 1.25 MDD G4 that I sold to a friend a while back.
It works fine with only one 512 MB RAM card in. But when you put in more than that, it freezes up.
The RAM my friend has in there was generic RAM bought from tigerdirect.com.
I'm aware that Macs can be more demanding when it comes to RAM, but I'm curious if there are other issues that could be causing this...

My buddy is about to order 2 gigs or RAM from Crucial or OWC, but I don't want him to spend the money on the "Mac qualified" RAM if there's something else wrong with it.

Are there any known motherboard issues with these models? I'm just hoping that a Logic Board issue isn't the cause. AT that point, replacing it would probably cost more than finding another MDD.

Thanks for any suggestions!

Remove the RAM sticks and then try them one at a time. Most suggestions re RAM brand say Crucial or Kingston. Generic RAM is often pot luck. The other thing might be RAM speed. Are the two present sticks matched in terms of speed, ie. PC2700?

Concerning specific MDD problems, there appear to be relatively few. See:
http://discussions.apple.com/forum.jspa?forumID=582

OWC is THE place for Mac memory. They are Mac specialiost and the memory sounds like it is not Mac compatible. The MDD is prey cheap also:-

http://eshop.macsales.com/MyOWC/Upg...9&type=Memory&TI=1518&shoupgrds=Show+Upgrades

the MDD prefers pairs, but with faulty RAM test them one by one. 2nd vote for OWC!

So, let me get this straight on the MDD....

The maximum supported memory is 2GB. So you could put four 512 RAM cards in there from OWC and it would be fine.

Or, since you say it prefers pairs, would it be better to put two 1-gig cards in?

Seems like I read that those models would recognize the 1-gig cards, but you would still only be able to put them in two slots since the computer only supports 2 gigs of memory.

Thanks for the suggestions!

JChance said:

So, let me get this straight on the MDD....

The maximum supported memory is 2GB. So you could put four 512 RAM cards in there from OWC and it would be fine.

Or, since you say it prefers pairs, would it be better to put two 1-gig cards in?

Seems like I read that those models would recognize the 1-gig cards, but you would still only be able to put them in two slots since the computer only supports 2 gigs of memory.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Click to expand...

I have 512 sticks all around - had 2 GB but loaned one to a friend. You could fill them all with 1GB sticks if you really wanted to, but it'll only recognize 2GB. IMHO 512MB sticks would be your best configuration.

They will recognise 1GB modules - as 512MB only so you do really need 4x512MB PC2700 modules to get the 2GB.

Otherwise we would all be running 4GB and that ain't on alas.