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I am really hoping Apple will acknowledge this issue and come up with a permanant fix. I still have not sent my PB in to get the logic board replaced. I don't want to get my PB back and have the logic board fail again only to have to send it out days or weeks later to get it replaced a second or even third time.

Maybe it could be a bad batch of RAM that Apple included with our Powerbooks? I've read posts on macrumors and also the official Apple forums where people have sent in their PB's to have the logic board replaced, only to get it back, and it fails again. Maybe the RAM is causing it?

Please Apple, at least write a statement to the general public saying you know there is a problem with the lower ram slot failing.
 
Maybe Apple wrote this into the updates so that we don't buy third party ram? I'll bet all of the ram that fried was non OEM.
 
I've been having problems with my 1.25ghz 15". I have a single 1gb OWC SODIMM in the lower slot. Since 10.4.0, it has been experiencing random freezes and unexpected quits at least once per day, usually more than twice. Last night I swapped the slot to the upper and everything seems alright now.

Does this jive with the lower slot problem, or does the slot just fail 100%? This kind of sucks as the warranty expired two months ago now :mad:
 
Guys please get APPLECARE if you can. It is totally worth it; Apple did more than they should have for me in my last year of warranty.
 
Bugger... add another notch for Apple. I was wondering why VPC was being sluggish and checked the PC settings and it was showing insufficient RAM when I bumped it up to the max 512MB. After a while of uninstalling VPC thinking it was at fault, I've gone and checked for my worst nightmare....

And yep, its a dead lower memory slot.

I use my PB at work as I now hate my work PC - the Mac is just so much more productive. Yet now I'm facing a week or two with no PB... maybe longer as mine is a BTO 128MB vram model. Hopefully living so close to the Apple Store on Regent Street will pay off, but I think the BTO nature will negate that....
 
ibook RAM slot

I upgraded to 10.3.9 a couple weeks ago and noticed the ibook slowed down massively. put a new 256 stick in and it is not recognized - or is the old 128MG stick... both modules tested good, but system profiler seems to think the slot is empty... are you powerbook users getting an indication of an empty slot? or is there no slot listed?
 
Well, wouldn't you know, today my powerbook 'lost' half its RAM. A few checks later and I found that I am suffering from the same problem as you have all documented here, a non working lower RAM slot.

After reading this thread and similar threads on Apple's forums, I have come to the logical conclusion that this is a design or manufacturing fault of the 15" powerbook resulting in a loss of connection between the logic board and the lower RAM slot.

Obviously replacing the logic board will solve the problem, but as its the same logic board design as the original logic board there is nothing stopping this problem reoccurring. Thus, I have decided to wait a little while in the hope that Apple do the right think and announce that this is a known issue and offer a solution.

For what it is worth, I filled out the feedback form on Apple's site. I have no idea if they read or respond to these things but I thought I would share with you what I wrote to Apple:

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.
 
I STILL have not sent in my Powerbook to get the logic board replaced. My warranty ends next March. My plan is to wait until Apple comes out in the open and admits this IS a manufacturing problem. If they don't before my warranty expires, I will simply pay for the Applecare, and continue to wait. I have a 1gb stick in the upper ram slot now, so it doesn't bother me that the lower ram slot is not working.
 
Funny thing - I got am RMA to return my Powerbook 1.33 Ghz to the shop I had purchase it from. Before returning the item, I swapped the RAM back to the lower slot - what do you know - it worked again!?

This only serves to make this problem more peculiar. I have no doubt the problem exists, since I have only one stick of RAM (Originally in the lower slot), and the machine wouldn't boot up at all (Booting up gave the RAM failure chime).

But fixing itself? Anyone else having a similar experience?
 
matheweis said:
Funny thing - I got am RMA to return my Powerbook 1.33 Ghz to the shop I had purchase it from. Before returning the item, I swapped the RAM back to the lower slot - what do you know - it worked again!?

This only serves to make this problem more peculiar. I have no doubt the problem exists, since I have only one stick of RAM (Originally in the lower slot), and the machine wouldn't boot up at all (Booting up gave the RAM failure chime).

But fixing itself? Anyone else having a similar experience?

This would make perfect sense if the problem was some kind of loose connection. Connection could be (temporarily) reestablished.
 
YET AGAIN!!

Hey,

You may have read my post on Page 1 of this thread, in April. At that time, I took my PB 15" 1.5ghz to my local Apple Store and had it "fixed" under warranty. BTW, I purchased it in late February 2005.

Guess what? The lower RAM slot has failed again. I submitted it to the same Apple store AGAIN for repair a week ago. Their repair shop hasn't even looked at it yet. It will be out of my hands for close to two weeks, and I am sure they will just be popping in a new MLB instead of getting to the REAL issue, because it is apparent to all of us here that they still don't know what that issue actually is.

FWIW, I never heard the fan come on, ever. My suspicion is that some goofy firmware glitch within 10.3.9 and up screws with the heat regulation systems, and some solder point in the stock MLBs fails under the excess temperatures. That would explain why the symptoms vary a bit from user to user, and why MLBs that are up to spec cold (i.e., when tested by a QC person at the production plant or on an Apple technician's work bench) would fail in actual use.

If you have not done so yet, please add your name to the host of people acknowledging the same problem. Use this link:

http://lowermemoryslot.editkid.com

I can't wait to be using my THIRD MLB in six months (stock + two replacements), and if this is not recognized by Apple soon, I'll be writing back to let you know how my FOURTH one is doing.

C'mon Apple! Use that iPod cash and fix this. Share the love, man!
 
Why are people getting their powerbooks fixed if apple has not fixed the problem? Does the same problem happen when using an older OS, i.e. 10.3.8? My powerbook seems to be having the same problem under 10.3.9. Has anyone tried switching to an older OS and seeing if that fixes the problem?
 
I'm thinking of buying an extra 1gb Ram for my powerbook.

I wanted to know if it makes a difference into which slot the additional RAM is installed.

Thats when I stumbled across this thread.

I'm very worried now.
I'm running 10.3.9, i have the standard 512 RAM in the lower slot.

If I add more RAM, is there a chance of frying my lower slot?

I don't want to take the chance.
If any thing happens to my powerbook, they will have to ship it half way around the world to get it repaired.
 
My little brother has a AlBook 1.5Ghz with the standard. Nothing is wrong with it yet but should i
a. buy applecare when apple might recall it?
or
b. buy 1GB of ram and keep it under my desk so when my little bro's AlBook goes crazy, i can replace it?
 
All I did was touch the keyboard...

Okay, i got a brand new iBook 1.33 14" for reasons I've discussed on this site. basically, I need a lower resolution screen to see my Word documents on than my 667 Tibook DVI gives me.

So I bought some Samsung ram 1gig chip to put in the ibook tonight and even though I am going to see my Apple tech guy tomorrow to help me put it in, I just pull up the keyboard (an easy task on Tibooks) to see where the more difficult ram chip has to go in past the Airport extreme card.

I try to reseat the keyboard after looking at the neat looking card and nothing else.

suddenly I get the flashing colored lights on the screen and three beeps.

Then the machine chimes up but no display.

Then nothing.

I was running the dreaded 10.3.9 Panther.

What happened? Did I just lose my HD or was it a logic board failure or what? I had the iBook for ONE WEEK. All it had was ORIGINAL ram, i have no idea even how to get into the ram area.

Unreal.
 
Cloudgazer,

No, adding a memory stick in your unused slot will not cause it or the other slot to fry. In fact, putting 1 Gig in the top slot would match my RAM configuration (1.5GB) exactly. So far working fine.

Now, does the RSA in your location mean you're in South Africa? If so, are there any Apple resellers/repair shops there? I ask because I too have a 15" Rev C PB running 10.3.9. If anything goes wrong, I was expecting South Africa to be the nearest source of repair so your remark about them (?) having to ship the machine half-way around the world for repair really got my attention.
 
ic1 said:
Cloudgazer,

No, adding a memory stick in your unused slot will not cause it or the other slot to fry. In fact, putting 1 Gig in the top slot would match my RAM configuration (1.5GB) exactly. So far working fine.

Now, does the RSA in your location mean you're in South Africa? If so, are there any Apple resellers/repair shops there? I ask because I too have a 15" Rev C PB running 10.3.9. If anything goes wrong, I was expecting South Africa to be the nearest source of repair so your remark about them (?) having to ship the machine half-way around the world for repair really got my attention.

Yes, RSA is South Africa.
You might be able to get minor repairs done here, but they usually just ship your machine overseas.
The techies who work for Apple here, are not the sharpest tools in the shed. (or should i say ripest fruit in the basket)

Also, they tend to give you the 3rd degree if you didn't purchase your Mac here. (I don't know if thier attitude would be different if you have Apple Care)

But, i must say Apple's presence in SA is getting better, so hopefully their service levels will as well,
 
Thanks for the insight Cloudgazer.

Now returning thread to its original purpose.
 
i recently purchased a 12" powerbook from apple store. has the original 512mb ram in it. no problems with it so far.

i still have not sent in my 15" to get the logic board replaced. :)
 
Tiger vs. Slots

I have an original AlBook (1.25/80GB/1.25GB/64MBDDR/SD) which I installed Tiger on fine. Then I decided to up the RAM, and replaced my 2x256MB with 1 Geil 1GB chip (cheap on NewEgg) on the top slot, and left the bottom slot with the 256MB. Then I started getting a lot of crashes and freezes, within 30secs to 5 mins of turning on my PB. I swapped out the 1GB for the original 256MB and everything worked fine (TTP and the Disk Verification said all was well in both RAM configs). Then I installed the 1GB on the bottom slot and one of the 256MB chips in the top, and everything seems to be working reasonably fine right now. Has Tiger (10.4.2) fixed the 10.3.9 bug? Why would changing from the top to the bottom slot make a difference? Am I going to burn my motherboard and a 1GB chip any day now? Has anyone had similar experiences? Advice?
 
spiffo said:
I have an original AlBook (1.25/80GB/1.25GB/64MBDDR/SD) which I installed Tiger on fine. Then I decided to up the RAM, and replaced my 2x256MB with 1 Geil 1GB chip (cheap on NewEgg) on the top slot, and left the bottom slot with the 256MB. Then I started getting a lot of crashes and freezes, within 30secs to 5 mins of turning on my PB. I swapped out the 1GB for the original 256MB and everything worked fine (TTP and the Disk Verification said all was well in both RAM configs). Then I installed the 1GB on the bottom slot and one of the 256MB chips in the top, and everything seems to be working reasonably fine right now. Has Tiger (10.4.2) fixed the 10.3.9 bug? Why would changing from the top to the bottom slot make a difference? Am I going to burn my motherboard and a 1GB chip any day now? Has anyone had similar experiences? Advice?
I'm going to guess the NewEgg RAM is to blame. Someone who really knows may be able to confirm, but perhaps the memory controller in that machine populates the memory in the top slot first, then the bottom. So if you had flakey RAM in the top slot, it would crash right away, whereas having it in the bottom slot won't give a problem until you start using a lot of RAM.

Anyway, regardless of the reason, there is no way the RAM 'has' to go in one slot or another, so if it crashes when the 1 gb is in the top slot, send it back for a refund. It'll come back and bite you later if you leave it in the bottom slot.
 
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