2 questions on old and new Macs!

[kingtj]

Hi there! I have a couple of questions.

1. On the very newest Aluminum Powerbooks (15" and 17" 1.5Ghz models), is the video RAM expandable from 64MB to 128MB by adding the proper memory chip or card to the motherboard, or is this RAM physically soldered onto them? I'm wondering if it's possible to upgrade to 128MB from a stock 64MB configuration, after the initial purchase?

2. I have a beige G3 "all in one" Mac over here (donated by a lady who was having problems with it), and I can't seem to make it work right either (despite being a computer tech with 14 years of experience!). The problem is, the system will appear to be running just fine and then it suddenly freezes up. I assumed it was bad RAM, but I've swapped out memory with at least 6 or 7 different modules (64MB, 128MB and even 256MB, some PC100 and some PC133). Some of the RAM, it doesn't seem to like at all (just gives a black screen and won't boot). Other RAM, it seems to be fine with but eventually freezes up again while using it long enough. Does this sound like it's just a bad motherboard? (Wondering if anyone out there might have supported/administered these all-in-one G3's in any decent number, so they'd have extra insight as to what tends to fail on them??)

Thanks!

 

[7on]

1. No

2. G3 AIO

You could try PC66 DIMM

It might be a bad hdd though. Have you tried another hdd?
EDIT: if it won't boot have you checked the battery on the motherboard? I've never serviced these machines btw.

What OS?

 

[kingtj]

More on the beige all-in-one G3

Yeah, I already tried a different hard drive, because I wanted something larger than the original one, if possible, anyway. (It only had a 6GB in it originally.) The drive doesn't appear to be the issue.

It *may* be picky enough that it needs a PC66 DIMM, but that seems odd - since I've owned a beige G3 tower before (same motherboard), and it always behaved fine with PC100 DIMMs.

The battery on it is good. I have several extras around, so I tried swapping it for a fresh one.

Oh, and back to my question #1 for a moment, have you actually seen the insides of one of the new PB's, or are you just saying "no" because Apple doesn't mention it being an upgrade option? I'm aware it would probably void my warranty to upgrade the VRAM after the fact (not a user-installable part and all that), but I just wanted to know if an upgrade slot physically existed on the board anyplace. Most PC laptops I've seen that come in multiple video RAM configurations have a slot for a VRAM chip to snap into them. It's not just accessible by taking off a "door" on the bottom of the system.

1. No

2. G3 AIO

You could try PC66 DIMM

It might be a bad hdd though. Have you tried another hdd?
EDIT: if it won't boot have you checked the battery on the motherboard? I've never serviced these machines btw.

What OS?

 

[wrldwzrd89]

Yeah, I already tried a different hard drive, because I wanted something larger than the original one, if possible, anyway. (It only had a 6GB in it originally.) The drive doesn't appear to be the issue.

It *may* be picky enough that it needs a PC66 DIMM, but that seems odd - since I've owned a beige G3 tower before (same motherboard), and it always behaved fine with PC100 DIMMs.

The battery on it is good. I have several extras around, so I tried swapping it for a fresh one.

Oh, and back to my question #1 for a moment, have you actually seen the insides of one of the new PB's, or are you just saying "no" because Apple doesn't mention it being an upgrade option? I'm aware it would probably void my warranty to upgrade the VRAM after the fact (not a user-installable part and all that), but I just wanted to know if an upgrade slot physically existed on the board anyplace. Most PC laptops I've seen that come in multiple video RAM configurations have a slot for a VRAM chip to snap into them. It's not just accessible by taking off a "door" on the bottom of the system.

My suspicion is that the VRAM is attached to the mobile graphics card and thus cannot be upgraded without also replacing the mobile GPU - not an easy task or one for the faint of heart.