so i went into system profiler a few minutes ago to copy my system specs for a kernel panic report that i was submitting to apple. and much to my amazement (frustration, really) it said i only had 512 mb ram. i got my powerbook about five months ago, bto with 1 gb (2 dimm) ram. and now suddenly it isn't recognizing one of the modules. the first thing i did was to shut the computer down and remove the battery. then i removed the outermost dimm and tried to reboot. the computer made a sound like i'd never heard before and then the sleep light came on in a steady glow. so then i removed the second dimm and replaced it with the first one. and the computer booted just fine. when i replaced the other dimm (in effect having switched them around from their original arrangement) and booted it still only detected 512 mb. based on this it would seem apparent to me that the problem here isn't with the ram slots themselves, but rather that one of the modules is fried. is this something that happens a lot in new powerbooks? i mean, this is really the last thing i need to be dealing with right now. i have apple care for the next few years, so i'm assuming the best course of action would be to call them and explain the problem. my question is whether they'll just send me a replacement module or if i'll have to send them the whole computer. i would very much dread the latter. any advice?
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dead ram in powerbook
- Thread starter exeterbohemian
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followup to a frustrating situation:
after trying every possible permutation of ram module and slot, it became most evident that one of my modules was entirely dead. i called applecare this morning and they had me reset the pmu as well as the pram and nvram. when this did nothing i called applecare back, and the representative arranged for a new 512 mb module to be shipped to my house and for me to send back the defective one. with this, i set out to remove the defective module, only to discover that now my bottom ram slot had ceased to funciton. apparently this has been quite a common glitch in the rev. d powerbooks. nevertheless, the top slot still worked fine and at least one of my 512 mb modules was still working. interestingly enough, at one point i tried booting the machine with the defective ram module installed just to see what would happen, and much to my disbelief the computer started up just fine, now recognizing the module as being 256 mb. so while it may not be entirely 'dead', there's still clearly something wrong with it. in calling applecare for the third time, i arranged to have my powerbook sent in (since the closest apple store to me is nearly 4 hours away) through the mail to get the logic board replaced. right now i'm still trying to cope with the fact that i'll be without my powerbook for at least a week. either way, i'm pleased to report that the applecare representatives were more than helpful in dealing with my situation, and while i'm still kinda agitated that all of this happened, i'm at least glad that my $350 worth of applecare has now paid for itself many times over. (from what i can tell, a replacement logic board and 512 mb ram module would total >$1000).
after trying every possible permutation of ram module and slot, it became most evident that one of my modules was entirely dead. i called applecare this morning and they had me reset the pmu as well as the pram and nvram. when this did nothing i called applecare back, and the representative arranged for a new 512 mb module to be shipped to my house and for me to send back the defective one. with this, i set out to remove the defective module, only to discover that now my bottom ram slot had ceased to funciton. apparently this has been quite a common glitch in the rev. d powerbooks. nevertheless, the top slot still worked fine and at least one of my 512 mb modules was still working. interestingly enough, at one point i tried booting the machine with the defective ram module installed just to see what would happen, and much to my disbelief the computer started up just fine, now recognizing the module as being 256 mb. so while it may not be entirely 'dead', there's still clearly something wrong with it. in calling applecare for the third time, i arranged to have my powerbook sent in (since the closest apple store to me is nearly 4 hours away) through the mail to get the logic board replaced. right now i'm still trying to cope with the fact that i'll be without my powerbook for at least a week. either way, i'm pleased to report that the applecare representatives were more than helpful in dealing with my situation, and while i'm still kinda agitated that all of this happened, i'm at least glad that my $350 worth of applecare has now paid for itself many times over. (from what i can tell, a replacement logic board and 512 mb ram module would total >$1000).