ibook g4 help!!

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Hi

I've been trying to help an even more computer illiterate friend fix her ibook g4

the problem: after a few minutes of use it freezes. can be turned off by pressing the power button down for a while, and the cursor will move, just not do anything.

attempted fixes tried so far:
mac hardware test - everything passed
reinstall operating system - still crashing

questions:
1 - any ideas what's going on and how to fix it?
2 - ibook was running 10.3 when problems started. i did an archive and install, having backed up all her information. however, i installed 10.2 because that was all she had the disc for. is there anyway i can undo this, and return to the archived 10.3?

ta
 
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I had that kind of problem quite a while ago and it was the RAM. Everything passed the hardware test as well and after about 3 month a technician installed different RAM just as an attempt. It worked. Have you done anything with your RAM (installed different/new)?

For me it seemed like the problem appeared when the RAM got used a lot. I could run small stuff for a while but as soon as I had too much and big applications everything did freeze.

Don't know where you are from, but I still have a 265mb RAM from my iBook G4. Took it out when upgraded the book with 1 GB. That one works for sure...
 
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T
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thanks for the thought.

i haven't done anything to the ram, and nor has the computer's owner - however the computer is a couple of years old and gets used a lot.

would it crashing on big applications be a feature of a ram problem? because this one seems to crash sometimes when its nothing more than safari open - and anyway, i don't think i've tried to run anything more than itunes and safari together, and that is enough to make it crash.
 
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Humm.. I am not totally familiar with how that stuff works inside of the mac, but the computer stores data in the ram and gets it back out, if needed. A certain segment might be damaged, so using the rest works fine. As soon as it uses the damaged part, it returns no or different data than expected and crashes.

When I had that problem it worked for quite a while and crashed as soon as it used the damaged segments. But I also bought new ram, installed it and had those weird problems until I exchanged it with a working module. You haven't done anything with it so it is probably not that. Sorry, it so sounded like my busted ram!
 
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Jönköping, Sweden
Your Mac's Specs
iBook G4, 1.07Ghz, 768 MB / iPod Video / Macbook Pro 2.4Ghz
I had that kind of problem quite a while ago and it was the RAM. Everything passed the hardware test as well and after about 3 month a technician installed different RAM just as an attempt. It worked. Have you done anything with your RAM (installed different/new)?

For me it seemed like the problem appeared when the RAM got used a lot. I could run small stuff for a while but as soon as I had too much and big applications everything did freeze.

Don't know where you are from, but I still have a 265mb RAM from my iBook G4. Took it out when upgraded the book with 1 GB. That one works for sure...

Hi, I'm new on here & think I have just found the solution to my problem within 5 minutes!!! :D

Your problem was pretty much a mirror image of mine! I will try this replacing the RAM asap! Thanks.

ps Will a RAM chip still appear in the "About This Mac" window if it is faulty? I mean will it be credited (eg On my iBook I have one 256Mb & one 512MB. In the window it says I have 768Mb) Sorry if this is a stupid question!
 
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ps Will a RAM chip still appear in the "About This Mac" window if it is faulty? I mean will it be credited (eg On my iBook I have one 256Mb & one 512MB. In the window it says I have 768Mb) Sorry if this is a stupid question!

I think it depends on how faulty the ram is. If it's just a few bad sectors, it will appear (did in my case) - if it's really bad probably not, but in that case the book might not even start up.
 
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I think it depends on how faulty the ram is. If it's just a few bad sectors, it will appear (did in my case) - if it's really bad probably not, but in that case the book might not even start up.

OK. My iBook will start, then work for about circa 30 mins (depending on use) then freeze. I can restart maybe 3 times then it won't start at all. I then have to wait for about 10-15 mins for a re-start!

Thanks for the answer though. I really appreciate it.
 
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Sounds a lot like RAM to me. But another thought: Did you try to call an apple store near you? They have so much more experience and might be able to tell you what it is right away.

If you want to try it on your own, I would try a different ram and see if that solves the problem. and if not we at least know a bit more...

PS: I like your avatar :)
 
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I actually had it in for repair but never thought of this. I don't think the repair guy did either. (it seems too obvious somehow!)
The original issue was a run-down HD & an broken Optical-Drive so he must have thought these were causing the probs as he changed both of these!

My plan was to try & solve the situation myself as the repair store is over 2 hours away & I don't drive! I want to try everything before I put it back in!

The avatar is cool. I can't claim for its creation however! :)
 

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