Today I noticed that my powerbook was not recognizing all my available RAM. On further investigation I concluded that it was a problem with the lower ram slot not recognizing the RAM that was in it. I did all possible checks to make sure that everything was installed correctly and that it wasn't the RAM itself that was defective but rather the slot itself.
After this discovery, I decided to search the apple support forums to see if other users had experienced similar problems. I was shocked by what I found. Hundreds of other 15" powerbook users have experienced the exact same problem. It seems that this is caused by a design or manufacturing problem with the logic board and/or ram slots. I am willing to bet that it is a problem with the soldering between the logic board and the ram slots, over time it degrades and the connection between the logic board and the lower ram slot is lost.
The (temporary) solution seems to be a Logic Board replacement, but, whilst this indeed cures the problem as in it returns the usability of the lower ram slot, it does nothing to stop it happening again to the replacement logic board / ram slots. Several users have had multiple logic board replacements for the exact same problem.
There is overwhelming evidence that this is a design or manufacturing problem, and I find it amazing that Apple has no knowledge of this issue. Actually, I believe that Apple has full knowledge of this issue (several Apple Store Geniuses have acknowledged this) but are for whatever reason not prepared to make their awareness of the problem known. Instead Apple are happy to continue to replace Logic Boards either under warranty or at the expense of the customer.
My powerbook is covered by AppleCare for the next two and a half years, thus it is not the cost of the Logic Board replacement that I have issue with, but rather it is the fact that this problem is obviously something more than a few isolated incidents, rather it is evidence of a design or manufacturing problem.
I believe that Apple knows this, but for some reason are not willing to admit this is a problem, possibly because they do not have a solution other than replacing the Logic Board with one that is equally susceptible to the same problem. Apple's failure to acknowledge this problem has a number of consequences, the alienation of is current powerbook users who are frustrated with this recurring problem, and the loss of many new users who are warned away from powerbooks due to this problem, to name two.
You may say "What's the problem? Apple will fix it for free under warranty." Whilst this is true, it doesn't actually solve the problem, it just (temporarily) removes the symptoms, the underlying cause is still present and thus users have no idea how long it will be before the problem resurfaces. Also, whilst the repair might not cost anything in terms of money (if under warranty), most users cannot afford to lose their powerbook for the week or two it takes to send it for repair. Thus the cost in terms of time can be high.
I am not an angry screaming neanderthal who just wants Apple to solve my problem at all costs. I am a intelligent rational person who is hoping that Apple will do the right thing by its users by admitting that this is a design or manufacturing problem and offering users a solution that will actually prevent the problem occurring rather than temporarily curing the symptoms.
I wait eagerly for your reply, and would be more than happy to discuss this with Apple further in order to solve this problem.
