new powerbooks and 1.5 gigs of RAM.

Sounds like you got a bad stick I don't think it would really matter where you put either stick.

I recommend returning it asap.

Have you updated to 10.4.3 and also the Latest Airport Update, they both correct annomolies in the new PB's.

I have 1.5 installed in mine and it works perfectly.

Wish I had your 30" display though

This is a documented problem with the new PBs if you run more than 1 gig of ram. If you restart the computer it will work fine for awhile and then start slowing down, right? Check the activity monitor, you will be at like 90% CPU usage! Many have reported the problem fixed after installing the 10.4.3 update and the Airport update, but if those updates don't work you should reset your PRAM. Everyone who's done these things has reported the problem solved (got that from Apple Discussion Boards). I think resetting the PRAM is to hold command+option+p+r at startup until you hear two angry bong noises, and then release. Should fix it for you, but you'll have to run the computer for a few hours to know for sure.

Edit: Your ram is probably ok, by the way, unless it's Kingston Value RAM--lots of people have reported it sucking in their machines.

Here is the main Apple thread:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=1131755

And another, non-Apple link discussing the issue:
http://earthlingsoft.net/ssp/blog/2005/10/ibook_ram_problem#remedy

Good luck.

Keep us posted on what, if anything, works for you--for my part, my PB is set to ship on or before the 29th and I'm concerned about this problem as well. Frankly, I'm surprised no thread on this hasn't been strted on MR before now (unless I missed it).

You actually have to read pretty far down the post to see people who solved the problem, and for some reason the thread posted by the guy who fixed his problem by resetting the PRAM is dead--the link takes you to an empty page. On THAT thread, I remember reading posts from 5-6 people who reset their PRAM and NVRAM and solved the problem. A few others did the Airport update and solved the problem. You're completely right to point out that there is a big problem here, because the thread is huge--I guess the only thing to keep in mind is that the discussion boards are disproportionately posted to by people who are having problems. Of course, you could also argue that lots of epople are probably having this problem and just returning their PBs DOA, so I don't know. Anyway, I'm hoping that one of these fixes works for me, too, because I ordered 2gb of RAM from OWC that I hope to be able to use.

If all else fails we will have to hope for 10.4.4

technocoy said:

this was one of the major selling points for me was being able to finally run more than the 1gig my Ti Book was capable of...

Click to expand...

I hear you--my Pismo is limited to 1gig as well (which I have)

It really does take time to know for sure; some of the people on the discussion thread left their machine running overnight and checked CPU and RAM usage in the morning to really make sure that the problem was resolved. For those whose machines were affected, RAM would be up to like 700MB for a single kernel extension and CPU would be at 70% or so. Did you try just the PRAM or just the NVRAM, or did you do both?

fklehman said:

I hear you--my Pismo is limited to 1gig as well (which I have)

Click to expand...

Dang, you got that Pismo pimped out.

gammamonk said:

Dang, you got that Pismo pimped out.

Click to expand...

That's why it's a BADASS Pismo!! I didn't even list the pair of Newertech 7200mAh batteries that I run in the dual bays most of the time--in 10.4.3 I get almost 9 hours of runtime out of those 2 suckers if I have the brightness down to 1/2 and am just typing and surfing the net on my wireless DSL. Sick. I'm gonna love my new PB 15" for power apps, but for lots of everyday stuff I still plan to use my Pismo. Best Mac I've ever owned.

technocoy said:

anyone have any luck on this yet?

Click to expand...

I received my powerbook on November 29, and I haven't had this problem. After loading all my stuff onto the PB and playing with it for a day with the 512MB stock RAM to make sure there were no other problems, I went ahead and installed the full 2GB. I restarted the computer and ran it for about 20 minutes, just doing random stuff, checked System Profiler to make sure the RAM was recognized etc. (just to make sure the sticks seemed good at least). I then shut the computer down and reset the PMU--on the new high-res PBs this requires unplugging the AC and removing the battery, then holding down the power button for 5-10 seconds. Doing this resets both the PRAM and NVRAM, which worked for at least one other person on the Apple Discussion boards. I restarted, played around for 5 more minutes, then restarted AGAIN holding down command+p+r to reset PRAM again. I held down the buttons until I heard 2 or 3 bongs, then released and let the machine start up.

Then came the fun part. I ran every single app and utility on my PB to try and thrash he RAM, including Garage Band and all the other iLife apps. Running iTunes with at least large visuals on eats a good bit of memory, looping a big movie in Quicktijme player, etc. Anyway I used 1.6 gigs of ram for 30 minutes or so with fan blowing at the PB to keep it cool, then I closed everything down and then left the PB idle for 3 hours. Opened Activity Monitor and CPU usage is oscillating between 2 and 8 per cent, exactly where it was after fresh restarts. I've run the PB for hours at a time since then and never lost my Airport connection (I use wireless DSL 24/7) or suffered from CPU hogging, so the problem seems to be solved for me.

Either everything I did fixed the problem, or Apple fixed it in the latest crop of PBs--that I will never know. My serial batch is W8547, for reference purposes.

technocoy said:

anyone have any luck on this yet? I'm really pissed about this issue... even the people in the apple forum have still not figured it out yet, and apple still does not acknowledge it... even the people who have replaced their powerbooks are having it on their new ones!

AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!

the screen is one thing, but not being able to run the two gigs of RAM advertised is really BS, and Apple should acknowledge it.

Click to expand...

Could you clarify: Have you done the 10.4.3 update? And still have the problem?
What happens if you disconnect from Ethernet, does the problem change?

Wow, I feel really bad for you. Glad that I have the rev right before yours! I've never had a single problem with it. Does anyone know what is causing all of these problems? How much did they really change with these new ones?


Good luck!!!!

two things for ya:

1) Take out the 3rd party RAM and see aht happens then. (If that does it, its probably no more than a bad stick of RAM. If that doesn't do it:

2) Leave out that RAM and sign up to see a genius bar over at the Durham Apple Store (which won't cost you anything since the book is still within warranty) and have them take a look at it. That;s probably your best option if you've gone through all the troubleshooting steps and nothing is working for you. (P.S. I would suggest signing up online before going to avoid wait times (apple.com/retail),