Hi Ronni, Carlo and James Just to feed back on the memory slot - before even reaching for the isopropyl I tried another suggestion I read - rubbing the contacts on the dimm with a pencil eraser. Whaddya know - now gets a perfect score on memtest and safari hasn't quit since. Haven't given illustrator much of a workout but I'm hopeful. If I'd known it was that simple weeks ago...
Many thanks for leading me in the right direction best alastair On 11/11/2011, at 3:34 AM, Ronda Brown wrote: > Hi Alastair, > > Depending on what model PowerBook you have. > The 15” PowerBook5,6 can take Maximum RAM 2.0GB, > The 12” PowerBook6,8 Maximum RAM 1.25GB > > Cheers, > Ronni > > On 11/11/2011, at 11:24 AM, Ronda Brown wrote: > >> Oh dear, not the best news Alastair, >> >> The PowerBook G4 (15-inch 1.67/1.5GHz Memory Slot Repair Extension >> Program ended on July 24, 2008 :-( >> >> <http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2164> >> >> I feel it is time for you to put the PowerBook ‘out to pasture’ and >> upgrade to a MacBook Pro, unless you can do as Carlo has suggested >> below. >> >> Cheers, >> Ronni >> >> >> On 11/11/2011, at 11:18 AM, cm wrote: >> >>> That's a pity, Alastair. As you say it is harder to fix the slot >>> than the DIMM. I have no corresponding model here to look at, but >>> your DIMM slot is likely connected to the mother board and may >>> require that the mother board be swapped out. A less painful >>> alternative may be to find out the maximum memory that you can >>> load up the remaining slots with and just live without the fourth >>> slot. It's possible that by increasing the size of DIMM in the >>> remaining good slots, you may end up with even more memory than >>> you have now. >>> >>> Cheers, >>> Carlo >>> >>> Sent from my iPad >>> >>> On 11/11/2011, at 11:10, alas.i...@iinet.net.au wrote: >>> >>>> Hi Ronni and Carlo >>>> >>>> It's not the dimms it's the slots! Both modules test fine in the >>>> bottom slot and throw a bunch of failures in the top one. I'm >>>> thinking it's a lot less easy to fix a slot than replace a dimm?? >>>> >>>> thanks >>>> alastair >>>> >>>> >>>> On 10/11/2011, at 12:20 PM, Ronda Brown wrote: >>>> >>>>> Sorry Alastair, >>>>> >>>>> I hit send before I realised I had not included the link for >>>>> Memtest, where you can download the ‘User Guide’ etc: >>>>> <http://www.memtestosx.org/joomla/index.php> >>>>> >>>>> On 10/11/2011, at 12:14 PM, Ronda Brown wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> Hi Alastair, >>>>>> >>>>>> If you are now experiencing Kernel Panics and because you also >>>>>> mentioned you had run Memtest and it reported many errors, that >>>>>> your RAM (Memory) ‘could’ be the problem. This is not conclusive >>>>>> as there are other things that can cause Kernel Panics. >>>>>> If you have run memtest before I imagine you have already read >>>>>> all >>>>>> the documentation regarding running memtest. >>>>>> >>>>>> When you ran Memtest, did you run it in ‘Single-User Mode’? >>>>>> >>>>>> In this mode, nearly all of the installed ram can be tested >>>>>> whereas under the full OS, a considerable portion of memory is >>>>>> tied up by OS X processes and the Quartz window manager. >>>>>> Running memtest in single-user mode maximizes the effectiveness >>>>>> of >>>>>> the memory test. >>>>>> >>>>>> To boot into single-user mode, hold down the "Command" and "S" >>>>>> keys during startup. You will be automatically logged in as the >>>>>> user root with a minimal command line environment. The login >>>>>> directory for the root account is "/" which is the top-level >>>>>> directory of the boot volume. >>>>>> >>>>>> Assuming that the memtest folder resides in your Applications >>>>>> folder, a typical invocation of memtest would be the following: >>>>>> >>>>>>> /Applications/memtest/memtest all 3 -L <RETURN> ( <RETURN> >>>>>>> means press the Return key) >>>>>> >>>>>> This would run three passes of the test suite, testing all >>>>>> available free memory. The "-L" switch instructs memtest to save >>>>>> the transcript of the run to a file named "memtest.log" within >>>>>> the >>>>>> working directory from which you invoked memtest (also known as >>>>>> the current working directory). >>>>>> >>>>>> Under the full OS, launching a terminal window sets the working >>>>>> directory to /Users/login_name where login_name is the account >>>>>> name you logged in with. >>>>>> Note that when running in single-user mode, you are automatically >>>>>> logged in as the "root" user so the default current working >>>>>> directory is /private/var/root. >>>>>> >>>>>> The main thing to remember is that the memtest.log file is always >>>>>> saved in the current working directory which is the same thing as >>>>>> the login directory unless the user manually changes to a >>>>>> different working directory. >>>>>> >>>>>> Alternatively, you can cd into the memtest folder and run the >>>>>> program using the command >>>>>> >>>>>>> ./memtest all 3 -L <RETURN> (Don't forget the period before >>>>>>> the forward slash!) >>>>>> >>>>>> Best to run at least 3 to 5 passes to obtain the best test >>>>>> coverage of marginal or intermittently failing DIMMs. >>>>>> >>>>>> To test less than all of the available free memory, replace the >>>>>> all option with the number of megabytes to test (e.g. 10, 100, >>>>>> 512, etc). The number entered is assumed to be in MB. For >>>>>> example, >>>>>> the command, >>>>>> >>>>>>> /Applications/memtest/memtest 1150 3 -L <RETURN> >>>>>> >>>>>> will test 1150 MB of the installed memory assuming this much is >>>>>> available for testing. >>>>>> >>>>>> TIPS FOR ISOLATING DEFECTIVE DIMMS >>>>>> >>>>>> Memtest currently does not have the ability to isolate which DIMM >>>>>> or DIMMs are marginal or defective when the test results report a >>>>>> failure. This feature is planned for a future release. For now, >>>>>> the best way to isolate the offending DIMM(s) is to use a binary >>>>>> search methodology. This is an algorithm which is popular in many >>>>>> sorting routines and can lead to the discovery of a defective >>>>>> DIMM >>>>>> in a minimal number of swap/test sequences. >>>>>> >>>>>> When memtest reports one or more failures, the first step in >>>>>> isolating the offending DIMMs is to remove half of them and then >>>>>> rerun memtest. If there are no failures, then the suspect DIMMs >>>>>> are the ones that were removed. If failures are still reported, >>>>>> then one or more of the still-installed DIMMs are bad. >>>>>> >>>>>> If the failures are in the still-installed DIMMs, again remove >>>>>> half of them and retest. If the failure are gone, then swap the >>>>>> installed half for the removed half and retest. Each time a test >>>>>> is run, either cut the number of installed DIMMs in half (for a >>>>>> failure) or swap the installed DIMMs for the removed ones (no >>>>>> failure) until the minimal number of DIMMs are installed (e.g., >>>>>> one pair in the G5 systems). Once you're down to the minimal >>>>>> installation, put back in all of the now known good DIMMs and >>>>>> swap >>>>>> one of the remaining suspects out for the next test. Under normal >>>>>> circumstances, you should be able to isolate the failing DIMMs in >>>>>> just a few swap/test cycles. >>>>>> >>>>>> There are many other reasons DIMMs can appear to be bad. >>>>>> Sometimes, a defective DIMM socket is the culprit and simply not >>>>>> using that socket solves the problem. Problems can also arise >>>>>> from >>>>>> mixing and matching different brands of DIMMs, especially if they >>>>>> aren't all rated with the same timing specs. It's even possible >>>>>> that the motherboard CPU caches may be bad and the fault doesn't >>>>>> lie with the DIMMs at all. Suspect the CPU caches if the tests >>>>>> pass in single-user mode but fail in a terminal window under the >>>>>> full OS. The CPU caches are turned off in single-user mode and >>>>>> are >>>>>> therefore not part of the memory test, whereas the caches are in >>>>>> the test path under full OS operation. >>>>>> >>>>>> EXITING SINGLE-USER MODE >>>>>> >>>>>> To exit single-user mode, type either the reboot command or the >>>>>> shut command at the unix prompt. The reboot command reboots the >>>>>> machine into the full operating system and is analogous to >>>>>> restarting from the Finder. The shut command powers down the >>>>>> machine and is analogous to shutting down the system from the >>>>>> Finder. These are the only recommended methods for exiting >>>>>> single- >>>>>> user mode. >>>>>> >>>>>> Carlo might suggest doing something else first. >>>>>> >>>>>> Cheers, >>>>>> Ronni >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> On 10/11/2011, at 11:43 AM, alas.i...@iinet.net.au wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>>> Hi Ronni and Carlo >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Well I did the permission repair from the disc and it found a >>>>>>> whole >>>>>>> paragraph of things to fix which hadn't appeared before, and >>>>>>> so far >>>>>>> no safari quits (though it hasn't been long and I'm not using >>>>>>> illustrator this morning) >>>>>>> >>>>>>> But I've had 2 kernel panics. Don't remember ever having one >>>>>>> on the >>>>>>> PB before. Any further thoughts appreciated >>>>>>> >>>>>>> best >>>>>>> alastair >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> On 09/11/2011, at 12:31 PM, cm wrote: >>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Hi Alastair, >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> (Just saw Ronni's email but this was mostly written so I will >>>>>>>> send >>>>>>>> it along) >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> When a problem is really baffling it can sometimes be hardware >>>>>>>> related but at this stage you can't rule out a software >>>>>>>> problem. >>>>>>>> Some serious diagnostics are in order. :-) >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> These tests could be run in order so that if one test comes >>>>>>>> back >>>>>>>> positive there is no need to proceed to the next. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> To check for a software problem: >>>>>>>> 1) Check your system log for anything unusual. >>>>>>>> 2) Try to repair permission from the CD so that you do not >>>>>>>> actually >>>>>>>> boot into your potentially faulty system. >>>>>>>> 3) Create a new account and run Safari to see if it is >>>>>>>> stable. If >>>>>>>> it is then the problem could be in the user settings of your >>>>>>>> original account. >>>>>>>> 4) Get an external drive with a clean install on the external >>>>>>>> drive >>>>>>>> see if Safari is stable -- if this works there could be >>>>>>>> something >>>>>>>> wrong with your system level settings, but there could also >>>>>>>> be a >>>>>>>> hard-drive hardware problem. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> To check for a hardware problem. The most likely candidates >>>>>>>> are the >>>>>>>> hard drive and memory. >>>>>>>> 1) Clone your current installation to an external drive. Run >>>>>>>> from >>>>>>>> the external drive and see if it is stable -- if so the hard >>>>>>>> drive >>>>>>>> is likely at fault. >>>>>>>> 2) If you have spares or know of someone with a similar model >>>>>>>> computer swap out the memory and give it a try. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> If you choose to do any of the above please write back and we >>>>>>>> can >>>>>>>> give you a hand interpreting the results. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Cheers, >>>>>>>> Carlo >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> On 09/11/2011, at 11:11 , alas.i...@iinet.net.au wrote: >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> Hi all >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> Been googling this till my fingers bleed and can't fix it. >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> G4 powerbook 1.5 10.4.11 Applications keep quitting >>>>>>>>> unexpectedly - >>>>>>>>> worst culprits safari and illustrator CS2 - no use switching >>>>>>>>> to >>>>>>>>> firefox or camino; if safari is doing it, so do they. >>>>>>>>> Sometimes >>>>>>>>> i can >>>>>>>>> go all day without quits, others it happens every 2 mins. if i >>>>>>>>> repair >>>>>>>>> permissions and restart things are usually ok for a while but >>>>>>>>> problem >>>>>>>>> soon returns. tried trashing plists and entire illustrator >>>>>>>>> folder in >>>>>>>>> application support, turning off plug-ins in safari, >>>>>>>>> deactivating all >>>>>>>>> but system fonts, run onyx and fsck. i'm running out of ideas! >>>>>>>>> sorry >>>>>>>>> about one hand typing - small niece on lap. >>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>> your suggestions much appreciated >>>>>>>>> kind regards >>>>>>>>> alastair > > -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List -- > Archives - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/archives.shtml> > Guidelines - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/guidelines.shtml> > Settings & Unsubscribe - > <http://lists.wamug.org.au/listinfo/wamug.org.au-wamug > > -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List -- Archives - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/archives.shtml> Guidelines - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/guidelines.shtml> Settings & Unsubscribe - <http://lists.wamug.org.au/listinfo/wamug.org.au-wamug>
