iMac G5 RAM upgrade

Are you sure you seated the RAM correctly?
I noticed when I put the RAM in my iMac that you
really had to push it in hard to get it to seat properly.
I thought I was gonna break it at first.

Which seller?

Did the RAM say it only worked in certain motherboards?

I had a similar situation, make sure it is seated correctly, but I'd assume that it's actually "high density" RAM which doesn't work properly in 90% of PC's (including iMacs, I tested it in my iMac G5 2Ghz which is practically the same as yours.).

The moral of the story is that eBay RAM prices (at least for new RAM) are too good to be true.

I was screwed by a seller with 75000 positive feedback so feedback scores are no judge. I got my money back through PayPal, though it wasn't easy and there are hoops to jump through.

You have a problem

The iMac G5 is THE most fussy machine when it comes to RAM. Many types of generic PC3200 RAM will not work in it because their SPD settings are not written properly or the chip configuration is not right.

The RAM may well be faulty (based on your description) or it may be an incompatible configuration. THere is nada that you can to do change that. There is no RAM initialization or reconfiguring routine that you can run.

Sorry, if the seller didn't guarantee compatibility with your machine or offer a warranty and DOA return, then you'll have to chalk this one up to experience.

Next time, choose a reputable seller who tests and guarantees compatibility with your specific machine, offers a lifetime warranty, and a no-charge return for refund or replacement if it doesn't work. MR Readers often recommend Crucial, OWC (Macsales.com) and Data Memory Systems

Thanks
Trevor
CanadaRAM.com

There is no bigger buying mistake than buying anything memory related on Ebay. This goes for RAM as well as SD cards, CF cards, etc. Ebay is full of thieves and the memory market makes it easy for them to work their mischief. Do what you can to get a refund. Next time, stay away from Ebay and buy from a reputable dealer.

Klrbee25 said:

There is no bigger buying mistake than buying anything memory related on Ebay. This goes for RAM as well as SD cards, CF cards, etc. Ebay is full of thieves and the memory market makes it easy for them to work their mischief. Do what you can to get a refund. Next time, stay away from Ebay and buy from a reputable dealer.

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I totally agree.

I always buy Crucial ram and never had a problem.

FJ

Same seller as for me. He responded to emails though when I sent them...

The reason is that bad sellers can have "high" feedback ratings is if you leave him negative and he leaves negative his is reputation is affected by 0.0008% whereas yours (if you have about 30 feedback like me) is affected by about 3.3% which is a much much bigger difference.

If you have to buy RAM on eBay (which I 'm not recommending) I wouldn't buy RAM from a seller with less than 99.5% positive.

@Refund the only way to get a refund is via Paypal or your Credit Card (which would be easier) if the seller doesn't respond.

Not to play devil's advocate, buuut the auction is pretty clear about what kind of RAM it is and makes no clear distinction that your specific machine is compatible with this RAM.

You might want to think about that argument when you request the refund as I assume the RAM is fully functional (except when you put it in your iMac )

Note that the seller's terms say if you want a refund and the seller determines there is nothing wrong with the RAM, then postage, ebay fees and a £10 fee will be deducted. So in that case you might net back £20 or so of your £45.

At any rate, document the fact that you requested a replacement or refund within the seller's 14 day return period, that they were unresponsive, and enter a claim through PayPal.

Shipping from Birmingham but they don't charge VAT. That can't be right... this seller is not by any stretch a non-commercial or personal seller. Surely a business has to register and pay tax in the UK?

CanadaRAM said:

Shipping from Birmingham but they don't charge VAT. That can't be right... this seller is not by any stretch a non-commercial or personal seller. Surely a business has to register and pay tax in the UK?

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I'm pretty sure it's illegal, that is one thing I didn't try when I had trouble with the same seller, you could call up the tax authorities about it as he's clearly selling over £50k worth of stuff a year (the VAT limit), as he was only on 75k positive feedback in August, that might be an interesting result!

FWIW Returns are to the US, so after postage you are getting basically nothing back

CanadaRAM said:

Shipping from Birmingham but they don't charge VAT. That can't be right... this seller is not by any stretch a non-commercial or personal seller. Surely a business has to register and pay tax in the UK?

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Companies only need to start charging VAT on goods if their annual revenue exceeds a certain threshold (£30k if I remember correctly).

Edit : Bah, didn't read the post above .